Pope says his remarks were not his views

[Erika]

So why didn't he keep his remarks to himself?

at www.drudgereport.com

[CarlVK]

1. HAHAH!! Good question.

Personally I think his real views slipped out and then he really wished he never would have opened his bigotted mouth.

[niyad]

2. so whose views were they, and why was maledict spouting them?

[Kutjara]

3. I usually find that, when seeking the perfect quote...

...to demonstrate the necessity of understanding and compassion in the modern world, the words of some Dark Ages megalomaniac are far more appropriate than any Enlightenment thinker. Oh, yes, why quote Hobbs, Locke, Shakespeare, Dante, Cervantes, Voltaire or any of the rest when you can dredge up a Byzantine Emperor with an axe to grind?

Manuel II spent most of his life fighting against Persians, Saracens and assorted Middle Eastern kingdoms for control of the 'Holy Land'. He was also held hostage by the Persians and forced, as was the custom of the time, to participate in the sack of one of his own cities. At the end of his life, he had to sign a peace treaty that recognized the legitimacy of Saracen control over parts of the Byzantine Empire. That must have hurt. In short, Manuel was not in a position to be 'fair and balanced' in his views about Islam.

Quoting him in preference to other contemporary or subsequent 'Christian' commentators certainly looks like an act designed to provoke a reaction. One would think that someone as 'infallible' as the Pope wouldn't make such an elementary rhetorical error.

[Erika]

4. Yeah, he screwed up big time. n/t

[REP]

8. Well Put!

Manuel II might be forgiven by us in this century or at least judgement of his words tempered with the understanding of him, his times and circumstances. It doesn't mean it's a viewpoint I want to embrace.

Josef Ratzinger, however, lives in a far different time and as far as I know, has never been captured by Persians. There is no light that makes his use of those words understandable.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

5. Let me guess

The Devil made him do it.

[Erika]

6. Yeah

I like it.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

7. I'm not a Catholic, so I'm a little confused on one little thing

I thought the Popes are supposedly a direct connection to the will of God, and are thus infallible in what they say concerning... well, pretty much EVERYTHING.

Why would a Pope suddenly find it necessary to apologize for something he said, if this infallibility is true? Would this not mean that God Himself changed his mind about something He said?

As a Protestant Christian, I find this extremely confusing.

[REP]

9. Pope is Only 'Infallible' Ex Cathedra

That is, when speaking for the RCC, such as when issuing an Encyclical. Yes, that means the hateful and hate-filled encyclicals of Karol Wotijla are 'infallible' even though they are full of factual errors.

[TexasProgresive]

15. REP, below is correct

in the subject line but not in the message. Infallibility is only when the pope speaks Ex Cathedra and that requires some special circumstances. There are only 2 Ex Cathedra statements ever.

[johnaries]

10. Well, technically he was quoting someone else, but generally

you only quote someone for one of 2 reasons: either you agree with them, or you disagree and you quote them as a prelude to refuting their statements.

I didn't hear the speech. Did a refutation come immediately afterwards?

I don't want to sound like a Christian-basher or a Catholic-basher here, but...

Jesus, Joseph, and Mary! Can't you idiots hold it together? You are the most powerful religion on earth, can't you elect a leader that's not a total dumb-fuck?

Oh, wait a minute. The US is the most powerful country on earth, and we "elected" a total dumb-fuck TWICE!

How did that happen? Maybe I need to re-evaluate. Maybe it truly IS the "end-times".


NAH! (with apologies to Steve Martin)

[still_one]

11. that is a sky news report, which I question its accuracy

of course when the Whabbi movement or other fundamentalist Islamic leaders spread their hate speech, I do not see the same outrage expressed. The Danish paper protest resulted in demonstrations and violence for depicting Mohamad in a bad way, but the same outrage was hardly mentioned when Iran had an exhibit to present the best cartoons on the holocaust.

Funny, but at least 300000 people have DIED IN Sudan, the government will NOT allow UN peace keeping forces, and tens of thousands of more lives are in peril, but where is the outrage here?

[Disturbed]

12. This pope is a dumbass or still a Nazi.

You decide. Uh... er he could be a dumbass Nazi.

[still_one]

13. wow, you called the pope a dumb ass and a nazi

I guess I should go out and riot, huh?

[Disturbed]

14. Yeah, rioting over myths is a great idea.

Bring it on. :party:

[TexasProgresive]

16. Here's the text in English

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/september/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060912_university-regensburg_en.html