You may have head about the pope – everyone’s favorite former nazi bigot religious leader – and his less-than-sparkling comments about Muslims last week. In case you missed it, he said:
Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.
It totally didn’t fly and people were straight up pissed. In an effort to quell some of the ire, the pope made a rare, unexpected apology.
I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address which were considered offensive. These were in fact quotations from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought…The true meaning of my address in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.
Hmmm, that’s the most half-assed apology we’ve heard since Arnold Schwarzenegger apologized for calling Latinos “hot blooded.” Anyway, aren’t most of the things the pope says from a medieval text? And when do the gays get an apology for all the shit he throws on us? We’re pissed, too. Do we need to form some sort of underground movement and blow shit up first?
Fuck. Do we have to issue an apology now? If we do, will anyone care?
How about we take this to the next level?
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KJ
Oh no! You godless pagans are at it again. I’m no Catholic and no fan of the pope specifically nor papal power in general, but I did bother to read the entire text of Benny’s lecture. And guess what? Shocking! The media grossly misrepresented the speech and followers of a certain faith that seem to be easily offended reacted in such a way that confirmed the apparent misrepresentation of their faith.
There is so much irony in all of this, the mind spins.
KJ
I trust that you understand when I call you “godless pagans”, I mean it in the greatest, possible affection.
Mike
But: It’s true. I’m no fan of the Pope, the Catholic Church, or Christianity in general, but he didn’t say a single thing in that particular speech that I found offensive, and, as he stated in his later comment that can’t quite be called an apology, the phrase a lot of people are pissed about was just a quote, and one that didn’t necessarily reflect his personal opinion.
The speech doesn’t even have Islam as its primary topic — it’s about different definitions and perceptions of God at different points in time or in different branches of faith. He even avoided stating that the Catholic Church’s definition was The Right One, comparing and analysing them from a surprisingly neutral point of view. I might mention at this point that his speech was not a standard public address, but an honorary university lecture given at and for the Department of Theology at the University of Regensburg. The setting should also be taken into account when building an opinion about this speech.
I wish even half the people who presume to comment on the speech had taken the time to do something as excessively sensible as…reading it. Seriously. There are approximately ten billion very valid reasons to disagree with or even hate the Pope. Find one and use that, instead of getting angry over a speech that you cannot reasonably say anything worse about than that it’s acutally kind of boring.
I even think he’s right to say that he is sorry for the reaction to the speech versus the speech itself, because the reaction is what is irrational and totally our of proportion here.
Well, I guess now that I’ve agreed with the Pope more in two days than I have in my entire life, I’ll go back to my usual feelings of nausea regarding all things religious. Thanks for reading this.
mike
I think it hypocritical for the pope to quote from a medieval text which states that Islam should be “spread by the sword”. What does he think Catholics were doing at the very same time? Perhaps someone should acquaint him with a little thing called The Crusades.
By the way–was he starting a chapter of the Red Hat Society in this photo? (www.redhatsociety.com)
joshue
Love the hat, Ratzie!
jackejett
wow, she looks hot in that fucking pope hat.
i wouldn’t wear it out to pick up a trick, but it looks great for a cool afternoon in vat city.
you go ms. pope girl sister woman thang.
jack jett
s__n
I think it hypocritical for the pope to quote from a medieval text which states that Islam should be “spread by the sword”. What does he think Catholics were doing at the very same time? Perhaps someone should acquaint him with a little thing called The Crusades.
Difference? Catholics aren’t exactly proud of the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, or the way Spanish missionaries “converted” South America. In fact, the previous Pope issued numerous apologies.
But if you imply that Islam is a violent religion and the extremists react with unabashed violence and threats. Forget the Pope’s apology, I want to hear the imams apologize for their followers. Catholics didn’t read the Pope’s word and start burning down mosques.
(And as long as we ourselves are asking for an apology from the Church, it wouldn’t hurt to remember that at least Catholics aren’t executing gays. Who’s really the greater threat?)
Creepy Lesbo
Right, so the Pope apologises for annoying some people even when he doesn’t agree with them – so when are the gays going to get an apology?
What do WE have to do to get him to stop slating us? Issue a fatwa? Spark up a jihad? Honestly, people should stick to their guns if they’re going to be venomous – there’s no point backing down just because you look unpopular. Convictions are for keeps, not just for Christmas.