HYPER-SENSITIVITIES OF MENTALITIES

Pope fails to heal rift with Islam
By Martine Nouaille

...

A furore erupted in the Muslim world when the pope made a speech on September 12 at the University of Regensburg in Germany, in which he quoted a medieval Christian emperor who equated Islam with violence.

While insisting that the content of his lecture had been misinterpreted, the pope sought to calm the situation, saying he was "deeply sorry" for any offence Muslims might have taken from his comments.

The Vatican also organised a meeting between the pope and 22 Muslim envoys in an effort to patch up diplomatic relations and reiterate his desire for inter-faith dialogue.

But the meeting merely served to confirm that Benedict does not see dialogue in the same way as his predecessor, analysts charge.

On the very day after this very formal audience – which lasted barely half an hour – the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) issued a statement still calling for the head of the Roman Catholic Church to "retract or redress" his comments.

"The pope’s address reinforced in the Muslim world the impression that they can expect nothing from the West," French academic Olivier Roy, author of "Globalised Islam", said.

"His speech also shrank the room given to Christian minorities in the East who live among a Muslim majority (when) John Paul II knew how to put across the idea that not all Christians align themselves with the policies of (US President) George (W.) Bush."

...

But a Jesuit priest with long experience in the Middle East thinks differently: "We should not close one’s eyes from the truth: the major confrontation that we are living with is the one between Islam and the rest of the world," he claimed.

During his traditional Angelus blessing on Sunday Benedict called on believers to pray for "peace and understanding" in war-torn Iraq where, he said, Christians and Muslims have lived together for 14 centuries. – AFP


[1] It is not the Pontiff's job to heal rifts that are constantly created by moslems around the world attacking Christians.

[2] What exactly does the West owe the moslem world?!? Are we to flood their ummah with pearls of Western civilization in order for them to use them against us in their JIHAD and quest for Dar al Islam?!?

Pertinent Links:

1) Pope fails to heal rift with Islam