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Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Pope says 9/11 caused by “inability to find solutions which respect the common good”

Sep 26, 2015 5:28 pm By Robert Spencer

“It is possible to live in a world of peace. It is possible to live together with our different paths, different cultures, different religions.” Yes, that’s true, if all of us with our different paths, different cultures, and different religions respect one another and one group doesn’t try to gain hegemony and deny equal rights to the other groups.

And as for the “inability to find solutions which respect the common good,” Pope Francis appears to be suggesting that if the U.S. had offered the Islamic world a solution that respected the common good, 9/11 wouldn’t have happened. But the Islamic jihadists who murdered 3,000 people on that day did so because they believed that it was their duty before their god to wage war against Infidels, with the ultimate goal of subjugating Infidel societies under the hegemony of Islamic law. Any concessions the U.S. offered to the Islamic world short of submitting to Sharia would do nothing to blunt that imperative. The only solution that would be acceptable to Islamic jihadis would be the U.S.’s submission to Sharia. Is the Pope prepared to submit to Sharia? He certainly has already internalized the Sharia blasphemy provision that forbids all criticism of Islam. Are jizya payments in his future? Or even the shahada? After all, his submission and acceptance of dhimmi status, or his conversion to Islam, are the only solutions that respect the common good that the Islamic jihadis who want to kill him would find acceptable.

Pope Francis Ground Zero

“Pope Francis: Grief still palpable at site of Sept. 11 terror attacks,” by Rick Hampson, USA TODAY, September 25, 2015

NEW YORK — Pope Francis said Friday that grief remains palpable at the site where nearly 3,000 were killed in terrorist attacks 14 years ago at the World Trade Center.

“This is a place where we cry … for the powerlessness we feel when we see injustice, the inability to solve our differences, to dialogue,” Francis said in Spanish, addressing an interfaith prayer service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

The pope also stopped at one of the memorial’s two outdoor reflecting pools, which trace the footprints of the Twin Towers destroyed by hijacked planes and said a silent prayer with about 1,000 invited guests. Most were survivors of the attack, relatives of those who were killed or emergency responders.

Francis, who has devoted much of his papacy to calling for peace, joined an interfaith prayer service at the lowest level of the subterranean 9/11 Museum. He shook hands with leaders of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other religions on the stage of the memorial’s foundation hall.

In prayer, the pontiff recalled the 2001 terrorist attacks and all its victims. “We are mindful as well of those who suffered death injury and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.,” he said. Francis said he felt “many different emotions standing here” – above all grief.

In a remark some relatives of 9/11 victims may disagree with, the pope attributed “the wrongful and senseless loss of innocent lives” at Ground Zero to “the inability to find solutions which respect the common good.” Many 9/11 families believe the terrorists’ determination to attack the United States would have trumped any solutions proposed for any problems….

“It is possible to live in a world of peace,” he said, referring to “this great city” of New York, and the gathering before him as proof. “It is possible to live together with our different paths, different cultures, different religions.”…

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Comments

  1. jwm says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 5:34 pm

    shocking commie pope insults America @ 9/11 memorial by blaming USA 4 Muslim Jihadi attacks…

    • cs says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 5:49 pm

      Outrageous.

      • Huck Folder says

        Sep 26, 2015 at 8:16 pm

        “It is possible to live in a world of peace. It is possible to live together with our different paths, different cultures, different religions.” Yes, that’s true, if all of us with our different paths, different cultures, and different religions respect one another and ONE GROUP DOESN’T TRY TO GAIN HEGEMONY AND DENY EQUAL RIGHTS TO THE OTHER GROUPS.”

        “This is a place where we cry … [did he?] for the powerlessness we feel when we see injustice, the inability to solve OUR differences, [NO, islam is the problem] to dialogue,” Francis said in Spanish, addressing an INTERFAITH prayer service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

        “Francis, who has devoted much of his papacy to CALLING for peace, [How’s that going frank?] joined an ‘interfaith’ prayer service at the lowest level of the subterranean 9/11 Museum. He shook hands with leaders of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other religions on the stage of the memorial’s foundation hall.”

        How did the supremacist moslems manage to keep a straight face at the nauseating saccharine anodynes of The Supreme Dhimmi?

        In the middle ages, the then Popes didn’t grovel and wash and kiss jihadists’ feet.
        They didn’t stand by mute, while their congregations in the middle east were systematically enslaved, raped, murdered and sold for chattel.

        Unfortunately they were terribly led, and couldn’t resist yet another antisemitic genocide.
        They were also short-sighted enough not to aid their Eastern brethren, thus losing Byzantium to Turkey.

        Any influential real Christians should attempt to break through this wall of taqiyya and dhimmitude deliberately erected by this bloody marxist; he is alienating millions.

        • Rev. Robert M. Paris, D.Min, D.D. says

          Sep 26, 2015 at 9:45 pm

          The Pope has again shown the danger of life in the Vatican, he is insulated from the real world. He thinks the Muslims are peaceful yet their book preaches the glories of war. Their founder was not a man of peace but a pedophile and a war monger. In fact the Crusades were in direct response to Muslim attacks on Christian cities and not some Islamophobic first strike. Had the Crusaders not come in all the people in Constantinople would have undoubtedly been killed. And in WW1 had it not been for General J.J. “Blackjack” Pershing the Philippines would have been taken over. But General Pershing bought the world almost 50 years of peace. He captured 50 Muslim fighters and had his men slaughter several pigs in front of them then dip their bullets in the blood of the pigs. They executed 49 of the prisoners. Then dug a mass grave and tossed the bodies in, covering them with the blood and entrails of the pigs. The remaining prisoner was released to tell what he had witnessed and the Muslims retreated and were relatively quiet for the next half century. We need a man like Pershing again.

        • Rev g says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 9:40 am

          The story about Pershing is likely a legend, and in any event was not during the first world war.

        • Voytek Gagalka says

          Sep 26, 2015 at 10:00 pm

          “They were also short-sighted enough not to aid their Eastern brethren, thus losing Byzantium to Turkey.”

          If you study carefully history of Crusades, I mean ALL Crusades, you’ll notice that only about 1/2 of them were directed against Mohammedans. The other half was directed against fellow Christians from the East. Why? Because of that Great Schism in Christendom which happened in 9th century. Subsequently, Western Catholic Church was quite content to see that Eastern Roman Empire fell to Mohammedans (Turks). And how about Crusaders pursued against Russian Principalities? Alexander Nevsky and Teutonic Knights come to mind, to name only this one. Until well into 15th century the main desire of the RCC was to see Russia conquered, Eastern Church abolished. In many respect that still lasts till our time (though not by RCC anymore), thus desire of various warmongers from the West to see Russia destroyed or subjugated (consult views of Zbigniew Brzezinski on that!)

        • silvergreycat says

          Sep 26, 2015 at 10:31 pm

          Voytek,

          *…Because of that Great Schism in Christendom which happened in 9th century.* More details can be found here… http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/greatschism.aspx

        • voegelinian says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:08 pm

          The East/West Schism happened in the 11th century, not the 9th.

    • Mo says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 7:46 pm

      @ jwm

      “shocking commie pope insults America @ 9/11 memorial by blaming USA 4 Muslim Jihadi attacks…”

      This is exactly what should’ve been published as the headline of every major newspaper in the world.

  2. Neil Jennison says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    Why have we got this dreadful Pope? Why doesn’t the bloody idiot just READ the Koran?

    He is doing his best to destroy the Catholic Faith in every way he can, and he is so stupid he cannot even see what Islam teaches. He says little about the massacre of Christians by Muslims throughout the Muslim world.

    He is a disgrace!

    • The vilest of creatures says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 5:40 pm

      He is to the Catholic Church what Obama is to America.

      • cs says

        Sep 26, 2015 at 6:15 pm

        I was about to say the same thing, just could not find better words.

      • Peggy says

        Sep 26, 2015 at 11:57 pm

        Yes, and now that the elites have all their ducks in a row, what next?
        This is a perfect storm. How many of us will survive it?

    • Peter Charles says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 5:57 pm

      The man has his head so far up third fifth point of contact that he’s deprived his brain of sufficent oxygen to think clearly.

      • Godwin says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 5:16 am

        Too much of bible studies makes him as stupid as an ass.

        • *BostonLauren says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 6:06 am

          I would say exactly the opposite actually, as he doesn’t seem to know the Word of God at all. If he had been more familiar with the Bible, he’d know that global warming is garbage! Christianity is also NOT to be confused with social justice. Charity, helping others, moral choices, etc are all choices between the individual and God, not thru the govt FORCING individuals to do what society feels is for the good. All liberal concepts, all held by the highest Catholic leader in the world.
          Jesus himself, however, said this would happen about the state of faith in the world and many falling away. Very sad

        • abad says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 7:12 pm

          I guess someone forgot to tell Francis that Jesus was NOT a liberal.

          Neither was He a Conservative nor Independent.

          Jesus was VERY clear in stating that His world was not of this one.

          Problem is Francis is (as usual) attempting to implement a political ideology on top of Christ’s words. It does not work that way!

          Pope Francis, you get an F.

    • Walter Zinck says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 7:04 pm

      Your right Neil , Why he did not about talk about the torture and murder of Christians , burning of the church,etc,etc,etc.I don’t understand

  3. Don McKellar says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    So a bunch of privileged Saudi young men, quoting and referencing the Islamic texts, following the orders of a rich Saudi mastermind devoted to Islam, chose to be mass murderers of innocent people because of the “inability to find solutions which respect the common good”? REALLY? This Pope is a retard. Better be careful there, Popey, or the Islamic supremacists may have to correct you. In their minds, Islam is the solution which respects the common good — by terror and murder if necessary.

  4. duh_swami says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 5:44 pm

    ‘Can;t we just all get along’?…No…

  5. Angemon says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 5:50 pm

    Pope Francis = New Coca Cola.

  6. Wellington says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 6:04 pm

    Clueless.

    • Kepha says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 9:02 pm

      One would think that ***THA POOOOOOPE!*** would have some grasp of the doctrine of original sin. My guess is that he, like many other theological modernists, jettisoned it as incompatible with the progressive character of modern life; and as a result, he is baffled why people do evil things.

      • abad says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 7:16 pm

        Yep – Pope Francis is clueless about human nature all right.

        His whole “people are basically good” is proof positive he is a liberal.

        No Roman Catholic Pope – nor cardinal, archbishop, bishop, priest , deacon would ever say that.

  7. Rob says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 6:07 pm

    The connection to 9/11 isn’t as clear as Robert would have it.
    Sure the Pope made the comment on the occasion of his visit to the memorial. but to say it implies that the US had it (9/11) coming, is a bit of a stretch.

    • Robert Spencer says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 6:12 pm

      Rob,

      You should read the USA TODAY article, quoted above.

  8. Robert Spencer says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 6:16 pm

    Rob

    Let me be clearer: the import of what the pope said was so clear that even the USA Today reporter noted that it would anger 911 families.

    • John C. Barile says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 7:45 pm

      Yes, that’s clear.

    • John C. Barile says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 7:56 pm

      Mealy-mouth. Just whose “inability to find solutions” is His Holiness speaking about? The terrorists sure weren’t looking to “advance the common good.”

      • Huck Folder says

        Sep 26, 2015 at 11:20 pm

        Simple: Define “common good”.

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 11:17 pm

      I agree with Robert Spencer. It was clear that this was the Pope’s meaning. *Ugh*.

    • Rob says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 2:54 am

      Thanks all for the clarification.
      I’m not in the US and not sure how USA Today rates as a commentator on these issues.

      • voegelinian says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 5:11 pm

        USA Today is a solidly mainstream newspaper, and quite commonly read.

      • quotha raven says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 5:50 pm

        to Rob (and Voeg) –

        USA Today is actually huge, if circulation still has any significance. Here’s some info about it in the link below, and here is a list of the top four newspapers rated by circulation. These are 2014 circulation figures for US newspapers. I’m surprised The Enquirer is not among the first three. In another time period,(see link) USA was #1 in circulation, followed by WSJ and NYT.

        #1 Wall Street Journal !The Wall Street Journal Nationwide Circulation

        #2 New York Times !The New York Times Nationwide, New York City circulation

        #3 USA Today Nationwide circulation

        #4 Los Angeles Times Los Angeles circulation

        USA Today, WSJ, NYT top U.S. newspapers by circulation …
        http://www.poynter.org/…/usa-today-wsj-nyt-top-u-s-newspap...
        Poynter Institute

        Cheers! quotha r

  9. somehistory says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 6:16 pm

    He’s of the old school…the one that said of the drunk that his wife drove him to drink, so when he hit her while drunk, she was the one at fault.

    He also said something about Jesus being in the midst of “our pots and pans.”

    He’s either looney or he’s an enabler. Like those who taught that women who nagged were at fault when their husband hit them
    Only worse because moslems are determined to kill…steal, kill and destroy…in the *name* of their false prophet, their false *god* who is satan the devil..

    and the more people they can kill, the more they can destroy, the greater their idea that they are deserving of worship themselves as people like the pope make excuses for their evil acts and then give them what they ask for…apologies, money, deference…fear.

  10. Ginger says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 6:28 pm

    Pope Dope. He’s a menace to the Christian world.

  11. rubiconcrest says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 7:04 pm

    Surprise attacks leave no time for discussion. The Pope’s advice is directed at another continent and alien culture. Somebody buy him a map I think he’s lost.

  12. Paul says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    Is this guy for real? Instead of becoming pope, maybe he should have
    considered a career in stand up comedy – albeit an extremely insensitive
    form of comedy and one of very poor taste indeed.

  13. Transmaster says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 7:17 pm

    What do you expect from a “Brown Shoe Liberation Theology priest. He is presently one of the most hated Pope by the Curia in Vatican in recent centuries. It is Liberation Theology that caused the ban of Catholic Priest wearing their priestly dress outside of a church in Mexico except on holy processions. Liberation Theology is socialist movement that was banned by Pope John Paul II for being to involved in politics at the detriment of the people.

    • voegelinian says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:15 pm

      “He is presently one of the most hated Pope by the Curia in Vatican in recent centuries.”

      Is that why Cardinal Danneels of Belgium admits: “Mafia” club brought down Benedict XVI to make Church “much more modern” …?

      http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/09/cardinal-danneels-admits-to-being-part-of-mafia-club-that-brought-down-benedict-xvi-to-make-church-much-more-modern

  14. Karen says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 7:28 pm

    “the pope attributed “the wrongful and senseless loss of innocent lives” at Ground Zero to “the inability to find solutions which respect the common good.”

    I’m afraid the Pope didn’t encode this one carefully enough. He didn’t quite say that bin Laden had a point, but he’s in the neighborhood.

  15. Jay Boo says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 7:59 pm

    He shook hands with leaders of the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other religions on the stage of the memorial’s foundation hall.

    Why couldn’t it had been a pope visit with just his entourage and NYC officials.
    Why did they make a point to invite Jewish, Hindu and other religions on the stage?
    Are Jewish, Hindu and other religions that spotlight hungry that they feel a need to join in?

    Oh I see,
    They felt obligated to invite Muslims?

    How long before an imam guest sneaks in a ‘prayer’ with Allahu ackbar?

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 5:59 pm

      Probably not long, Jay Boo.

      Here’s Imam Khalid Latif–who was, sickeningly, at Ground Zero with the Pope–issuing thinly veiled Jihad threats at NYU for daring to show the Danish MoToons:

      “Khalil Gibran School Advisor Khalid Latif Threatened NYU with Jihad Over Danish Cartoons”

      http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2910

      And here he is, sneering at Infidels’ concern over Jihad terrorism:

      “A lot of the hesitation you see on the parts of individuals today is rooted in a feeling that is very substantiated on both sides. You have a broader non-Muslim population that is very much fearful of Islam, and consequently the followers of Islam – because of the narrative that they are being shown – are fearful and are just trying to fit in and compartmentalize their identity.”

      See? We’re only concerned about Jihad because of “the narrative we’re being shown”–in other words, knowing about pious Muslims murdering us in the name of Islam.

      And in the same article, he is both whitewashing Islamic “extremism”, and possibly blaming it on the ‘filthy Infidels’:

      “With regards to extremism, I think it happens when younger Muslims don’t necessarily feel empowered by their Islam. They don’t feel as if they themselves are deriving a benefit from their religion because it’s been shaped and defined for them in a way where many feel alienated because of a cultural hegemonic application of it, as opposed to one that takes into consideration the context of how they have been brought up or where they are coming from.”

      http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/25/towards-a-younger-hipper-islam/

      And here he is, whitewashing brutal Shari’ah Law at the Huffington Post:

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/imam-khalid-latif/ramadan-reflection-sharia-law_b_923100.html

  16. Joseph says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 8:15 pm

    The Pope’s comments fall just a fraction of a hair short of having an Imam say Satanic prayers at a Navy Seal Team six funeral.

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/05/muslim-cleric-invited-to-pray-over-fallen-seals-damns-them-to-hell-during-service

    If the Pope respects and loves Islam so much why don’t he do us all a favor and convert. The world will then see what he really is.

  17. Don Foss says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 8:15 pm

    “Pope Francis appears to be suggesting that if the U.S. had offered the Islamic world a solution that respected the common good, 9/11 wouldn’t have happened.”

    Where did he “appear” to blame America? It sounds to methat he is speaking directly to Muslims and Islamic leaders.

    Where am I wrong?

  18. Mac-101 says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 8:26 pm

    The Pope is NOT stupid. I be willin to guess he is smarter than all of us. He most likely knows more about Islam than Robert Spencer. He has access to the sealed Vatican Achieves which has who knows what in it about the West’s interaction with Islam for the last 1400 years.
    .
    So da BIG QUESTION is why? Why does he ALSO want to destroy Western Civilization and his Church? The only answer I can think of ain’t Purdy!

    • abad says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 7:22 pm

      I suspect Francis suffers from “white man’s guilt”, the syndrome that affects a lot of liberals.

      • Mac-101 says

        Sep 28, 2015 at 1:11 am

        I doubt a Jesuit has White man guilt. It would be a nicer explanation than he bein a typical Revolutionary Marxist Jesuit bent on workin with the NWO.

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 9:01 am

          Mac-101 – I agree 100%. Jesuits don’t moan about with guilt. And Frank’s BIG on meddlin’, throwing his power around. Cheers! quotha r

  19. خَليفة says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    That “acceptable solution” is to level Mecca, destroy all mosques in current and former Christian lands, ban the construction of new mosques, outlaw owning a Koran, stop foreign aid and all trade with Muslim countries, restore to Christendom all its lost lands, territories and countries. Declare Islam to be a criminal entity.

    In the mean time, Obama, Pope, Muslims “Quit trying to make the apocalypse happen.”

    • Kepha says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 9:13 pm

      I guess old unreconstructed 17th century Calvinist Christian Uncle Kepha would be breaking the law, then. I own both the N. Dawood and Yusuf ‘Ali translations.

      • gravenimage says

        Sep 26, 2015 at 11:21 pm

        I’d have to go to jail with you, Kepha–I own several Qur’ans.

        So does Robert Spencer–and so do many others here at JIhad Watch. In fact, every well-informed Infidel *should* read that foul tome, to see just what a threat Islam represents to us.

        • Kepha says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 10:41 am

          I guess we could form an inter-faith critical study committee. We could ask Robert to be our Arabic expert in residence.

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 6:04 pm

          Sounds good, Kepha.

          Meanwhile, of course, all the Infidels on the “outside” would have to remain utterly ignorant of Islam.

    • mortimer says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 9:52 pm

      خَليفة says we starting a nuclear war is ‘acceptable’.

      You, خَليفة , are insane and require psychiatric treatment. You are a Nazi.

      • Joseph says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 1:39 pm

        mortimer, could it be possible that خَليفة is suggesting the use of bulldozers and the like and not nuclear devices? Why ruin perfectly good land? Most certainly the Mosque on the Temple Mount would have to be removed surgically.

  20. Jay Boo says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    Wasn’t Hillary a NY State Senator during 911.
    The Pope might be better to inquire as to how Islam apologists like Hillary emboldened Muslims.

    Did the pretty long legged Muslimah wearing summer skirts with high heeled shoes console Hillary after Bill gave his wife the adultery blues.

    http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2556
    At age 18, Huma Abedin returned to the U.S. to attend George Washington University. In 1996 she began working as an intern in the Bill Clinton White House, where she was assigned to then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

  21. Scott says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 9:04 pm

    I will not comment on the theological “infallibility” of the Pope.
    However, he clearly fails as a man. His understanding of the world is lost in the Orwellian leftist visions he has been brought up with. His Utopian ideology is a prescription for human suffering and abject failure.

    • kaffir007 says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 9:21 pm

      The Pope is welcomed into nations because he is a “Head of State”, he just happens to ALSO be the head of a religion. The Pope’s entourage is about 100, including his valet.

    • abad says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 7:24 pm

      I actually took a class on Utopian ideology back in college.

      To sum it up:

      “One person’s Utopia is another person’s hell.”

  22. Bezelel says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 9:18 pm

    Why doesn’t the pope go to mecca with his message? Surely they practice true islam there, you know the religion of peace? Maybe convince the saudis to take some refugees? I’m sure hamas is willing to listen to reason.Of course he could spread the Gospel while he’s at it. Oh, I know, go to the Temple Mt. and tell us all we can live in peace now, because he said so. That should go over real well.

    • خَليفة says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 9:29 pm

      Non-Muslims are not permitted to enter Mecca.

      • PJG says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 7:34 am

        No kidding?

      • Joseph says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 1:49 pm

        What if one Infidel did happen to get in and touch everything he could, especially that black rock with a hand covered in bacon grease?
        What would they do then?…..Besides throw a hissy fit and start blowing up everything they could? I know the Jews can cleanse the Temple, do the Muslims have something like this??

        Just doing a little pleasant daydreaming here

        • Rev g says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 6:20 pm

          Just do a flyover with an aircraft equipped for cropdusting, with a bacon grease aerosol.

  23. BringBackTheCrusades says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 9:35 pm

    Robert,

    Are we sure the article wasn’t reporting on the interfaith, coexist, al-la-ding-dong Unitarian Universalist Mrs. Popey commenting on how 9/11 could have been avoided if we all just followed Mo’s example?

    It is painfully obvious their is no Vicar of Christ on US Soil.

    • mortimer says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 9:45 pm

      “Painful”? Yes.

      The pope sounds like a potheaded, crunchy-granola, cultural-Marxist, New-Age ex-hippy.

      It’s painfully obvious he is entirely out of his depth on the topic of Islam.

    • Kepha says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 10:44 am

      Dear BringBacktheCrusades: I can’t let your comment go without a respect-intended reply.

      Even though few care to pay attention to him, there is a substitute for Christ in these here United States (and other places, too). He’s called the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity. He, not the Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Abu Mutallib of Mecca is the “other comforter” promised by Jesus the Messiah in the Gospel of John.

      • BringBackTheCrusades says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 2:04 pm

        Kepha,

        Profound words indeed. More need to be filled with the Gifts of The Holy Spirit during these Dark Days.

  24. mortimer says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD:

    Pope Francis said -“find solutions which respect the common good”?

    Answer: Islam may not seek ‘common good’, but only the good of Islam. Islam uses jihad to make it “prevail over all other religions, however much the idolaters may be averse.” Koran 9:33

    Pope Francis said: ““It is possible to live together with our different paths, different cultures, different religions.”

    Answer: Osama ben Laden invited Americans to become Muslim before he attacked on 9/11. In other words, the Muslims who planned 9/11 did not want to ‘live together…with different religions’. They demanded a Muslim America as the only way to avoid the 9/11 attacks.

  25. Roger Gangitano says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 10:25 pm

    God gave us the power of reason, but the Pope is NOT using that power. Ezekiel 33:6 states the if the watchmen see the sword coming and fails to blow the trumpet to warn of the threat, and a life is taken by the sword, God will hold the watchman accountable for his blood. WE are the watchman, and the Pope failed to blow the trumpet to warn of the threat.

    So, I thank, not the Pope, but thank Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer and the others who constantly warn of the threat we face. The REAL watchmen blow the trumpet 24/7/365. Heed their warning.

  26. William says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 10:43 pm

    I believe Christianity tend toward pacifism and asceticism in its extreme form.
    Could this Pope be regarded as a Christian extremist?

    • Huck Folder says

      Sep 26, 2015 at 11:26 pm

      Yes.

      And he needs a little practice with his pacifier.

    • Kepha says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 10:47 am

      William: Christianity as found in the Old and New Testaments also believes that we’re born in sin, and have a deep-seated tendency towards doing and thinking evil. This Pope seems to have forgotten that biblical doctrine, and is following a foolish `19th century creed.

    • voegelinian says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:18 pm

      Hardly. He’s going with the Kumbaya flow which seems to typify the modern Western Christian.

  27. Rev g says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    I hear the Cardinals thought Benedict was kidding and that they were picking a “Dope Francis”.

  28. Papa Whiskey says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    Reading this guy’s pontifications calls to mind Qur’an 3:64, which urges Christians to “come to a common word” between their faith and Islam, to wit: “that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God.” In other words, stop worshipping Jesus, infidels, and forsake your religion for ours. Or else. (See Qur’an 9:29.)

  29. gravenimage says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    Pope Francis appears to be suggesting that if the U.S. had offered the Islamic world a solution that respected the common good, 9/11 wouldn’t have happened. But the Islamic jihadists who murdered 3,000 people on that day did so because they believed that it was their duty before their god to wage war against Infidels, with the ultimate goal of subjugating Infidel societies under the hegemony of Islamic law.
    ……………………………..

    Yes–how can you “dialogue” with such evil? Supremacist Muslims will only consider this a sign of weakness.

    More:

    “This is a place where we cry … for the powerlessness we feel when we see injustice…
    ……………………………..

    Shouldn’t this fill good people with resolve to fight such injustice? As Pope Francisw would have it, we should wallow in “powerlessness”…

    More:

    …the inability to solve our differences, to dialogue,”
    ……………………………..

    Shouldn’t a Christian pontiff understand that you cannot “dialogue” with evil? Apparently not…

    More:

    The pope also stopped at one of the memorial’s two outdoor reflecting pools, which trace the footprints of the Twin Towers destroyed by hijacked planes and said a silent prayer with about 1,000 invited guests. Most were survivors of the attack, relatives of those who were killed or emergency responders.
    ……………………………..

    Yes–but not *all* of them were. There were also Orthodox Christian clerics, a Rabbi and Hindus, Buddhists, and Sikhs–well and good–but also *an Imam*–a purveyor of the same vicious creed that led to the murder of almost 3,000 people there over 14 years ago.

    Imam Khalid Latif, chaplain to Muslim students at New York University was there with Dr. Sarah Sayeed, a senior adviser to New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. Can you imagine this happening under Rudy Giuliani?

    They prayed, “lead us to your abode of peace.”

    I’m sure many well-meaning ignoramuses thought this sounded just grand–the problem is that in Islam the “abode of peace” is Dar-al-Islam”, or the part of the world under Muslim rule. The part of the world under Infidel rule is Dar-al-Harb, or the “house of war”–that Muslims must fight against.

    So–far from this being a call for peace, it is a desire to see New York City–and by extension, all of America–*under Muslim conquest*.

    The Pope also said, “Here, amid pain and grief, we also have a palpable sense of the heroic goodness which people are capable of,” he said. On the day of the tragedy, “no one thought about race, nationality, neighborhoods, religion or politics” as they helped each other.

    This is, of course, quite false. The Pontiff makes it sound as though this were an earthquake or flood or building collapse–rather than a *deliberate* act of mass murder done in the name of Islam by pious Muslims.

    • PJG says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 7:38 am

      Excellent points, Graven.

      • gravenimage says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 5:22 pm

        Hi, PJG. Great to see you posting.

        • Paul says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:38 pm

          Mentally ill Rezali’s absurd proposition below is to start worshipping
          ‘allah’ which is just a modern version of the false god mentioned in
          the Bible, Baal. Even their version of ‘Jesus’ is an imposter who is
          a mirror image of the “false prophet” of Revelation and who we
          are warned of in Matthew 24 :

    • Rezali Mehil says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 9:49 am

      Salaam Graven,

      I feel your pain I really do …all these double whammys that you keep getting.

      The pontiff is an idiot …that is what many of you are saying …he is not up to the job ..not leading , not recognising Islam…or perhaps understanding …but pissing in his pants so just going with the flow..most important him not understanding Christianity..

      But I don’t see any *real* opposition against what he is saying on the streets…sure posting a comment here and there …but where are the placards and the marches in NY…why aren’t you driving him out of New York?

      Do you honestly think that a muslim leader would stand for this type of behaviour?

      It the same with Prezzie Hussain Obama….

      I see now that the peoples (which includes you) are totally lost …cursing and swearing at both the religious leaders and also the political leaders that you have.

      What you forget is that a higher power is directing this …Allah T’allah …the quicker you peoples see that Inshallah the utterances from the Pope’s mouth are influenced by Allah SWT. It is no good you cursing the pope..he cannot help it …you need to join us and be on the right side of history…keep that keyboard and paintbrush going for the good of Islam.

      3000+ lost souls are swirling around ground zero …no one can hear their soundless screams … many of them will have wanted to get salvation off the Pope…most of these poor souls no doubt were Catholics..would have have got salvation… had he cried for them? but he could not reach out to them …he did not want to reach out to them…and so they remain lost …Graven, when it is windy in New York…can you her their cries mixed in the wind?…hitting the buildings…ahhhhhheeeeeee Aaaaaahhhheeee ..can you see the odd shadow Graven…ahhhhhheeeeeee…those poor poor lost souls …

      One day proper prayers will be offered by an Imam…to give relief to those souls…and even the souls will convert…even the souls Graven…will become Muslims …who wants to wail for eternity Graven?

      Hopefully even hardened peoples like you will now see that you may as well join…Christianity is dying on it’s feet …in the future Popes’ will stop being elected….there will be a pope if the global and interstellar Islamic government decides it is necessary or at least the candidate will be specially chosen.

      I know that all this is a bit of a burden for your mind …this on top of your dear hubby’s mother wanting to take her final breaths in Egypt and then him becoming a mummy’s boy forever.

      NO worries…you are in my thoughts…

      More Later …

      Rezali

      • Shane says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 9:58 am

        I will say it – This Pope is a foolish, cowardly dhimmi. Islam has never been a religion of peace; Islam is a religion of jihad and misogyny. Why aren’t the feminsists speaking up against Islam? This Pope is a freaking disaster for Christianity and Western Civlization.

      • Kepha says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 10:56 am

        Rezali, I agree that there is a higher power directing all this. Unfortunately, you are caught up in a religion that sees in a God who is in his essential being a living richness nothing other than one God with partners–and your holy book can’t even identify them correctly.

        There is no name under heaven by which we must be saved other than that of Jesus the Messiah. He redeemed us not by the blood of bulls and goats, or by giving us a new code to follow, but through his own blood shed on the cross for many for the remission of sins, and through his resurrection from the dead on the third day.

        And we are not dying on our feet. We may be defeated and scattered, but one day God raises up his church anew. Perhaps when your muezzein calls from St. Peter’s in Rome, Christians in Africa and Asia who started out merely defending themselves against your depredations will find themselves on the march that will end your galloping falsehood of a religion.

        Remember, that while Jesus Christ conquered death, and even your religion admits he’s sitting both body and soul in heaven, your supposedly “greatest” prophet lies in the dust of Medina awaiting the summons from Jesus Christ that all of us will one day hear.

        Much as I fear that this Pope is one misguided puppy, I would hope the Pope seeks dialogue not with evil, but by fellow human creatures born in sin and in need of the redemption which Jesus offers us.

      • Angemon says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 1:30 pm

        Rezali posted:

        “I know that all this is a bit of a burden for your mind …”

        Now, now, Reza, don’t sell yourself short – parsing your nonsense and gibberish is taxing for everyone equally.

        • Paul says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:24 pm

          Rezali knows as much as the rest of us that Muhammad was at
          best a madman, or deceived by satan at worst – in reality, probably
          both. She knows islam is a load of evil nonsense, but she gets off on
          it and enjoys winding trying to wind people up.
          It’s impossible to take someone seriously in any way who uses an
          Arabic greeting on an English speaking forum. Bloody idiot!

        • Paul says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:43 pm

          “trying to wind people up…”, I meant to write.

      • voegelinian says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 4:51 pm

        I think Rezali is a twisted Leftist impersonating a Muslim; as bad as Muslims can be, as devious, deceitful, and pathological they can be, I don’t believe any are culturally or intellectually capable of the kind of eccentric oddities and queer locutions evinced by this Rezali character.

        • Jay Boo says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 4:59 pm

          You might be correct about Rezali

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:26 pm

          Voegelinian, Rezali Mehil was educated in “filthy Infidels'” schools in Britain. This is the only reason she is as (comparatively) impressive as she is.

        • voegelinian says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:34 pm

          Being educated in Western schools isn’t enough for a Muslim to acquire what takes a cultural & historical memory of generations. My suspicion, however, remains based on a je ne sais quoi; and if one cannot detect the elusive, amorphous flavor I allude to in Rezali’s prose, one will find it easy to rest in a more conventional explanation that preserves his (or her) Muslim identity intact.

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 6:14 pm

          Voeg, it *is* possible that Rezali Mehil is a sock puppet for a Leftist, or some other sort of internet troll. Although if this *is* a Leftist, then they are not doing a very good just of supporting “multiculturalism”, since Rezali Mehil is a truly appalling figure. It is also possible that this is actually a man, as some posters have suspected.

          Personally, I have found this poster’s evident confusion over how to regard the rise of militant Sunnism such as the Islamic State–hysterically seesawing back and forth between gloating over the rise of supremacist Islam and its threat to Infidels, and recoiling in terror over the threat to her fellow Shia and demanding that we Kuffar save them–to be quite compelling.

          As always, though, intelligent people can come to different conclusions.

          Hope you are well.

        • voegelinian says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 12:51 pm

          Voeg, it *is* possible that Rezali Mehil is a sock puppet for a Leftist, or some other sort of internet troll. Although if this *is* a Leftist, then they are not doing a very good just of supporting “multiculturalism”,

          I noticed that; however, one possibility — he could be saying deliberately provocative things that egregiously test the counter-jihadist’s antipathy to things Islamic in order to see how extreme will be the rhetoric of those responding. I suspect further (though I realize it’s going out on a limb) that the person behind that particular mask also takes pleasure in inhabiting that character and in provocation for the sake of it; and I recognize the mask-play of the same person I think were also former commenters Americana/Stardust Psyche/(perhaps) Liatris Spicuata (I think there was another character on JW along the way as well, perhaps even preceding Americana…). All of these stem back, I suspect, to a commenter on another forum, in another life, long ago (nearly back to the dawn of time in the year after 911…) — a commenter who was almost the Man of a Thousand Faces (including once for a while, impersonating a female Bangladeshi intellectual).

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 6:36 pm

          To Voeg – How do you know about these impostors? I can definitely see similarities in content and esp writing style (something I’m sensitive to) among some of these troll types. Americana/Stardust Psycho is a good example. And there are many others. But you sound quite authoritative on impostors now and in the distant past. How do you confirm your suspicions about these posters? Do you have some evidence that they are operating under numerous identities? Just asking informationally where you get the evidence and what it is beyond sensitive reading. Cheers! quotha raven (your former sock puppet, if briefly. It was kinda like a one night stand, non?)))

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 5:00 pm

          This is possible, Voeg–but the agendas of figures such as Americana and Stardusty Psyche were to appear as superficially plausible Anti-Jihadists while slyly attempting to undermine the Counter Jihad. These trolls were especially dangerous as a result.

          I think Rezali Mehil is a different animal–and a more common one, despite her being (moderately) more articulate than most–the gloating Muslim supremacist, crowing over Islamic savagery and urging surrender at every turn.

          But I do try to keep an eye on trolls–by their very nature, I realize that they sometimes turn out to be something other than what they initially appear. In Rezali Mehil’s case, though, I think she is pretty much what she presents herself to be–a Muslim supremacist who has wormed her way into the West–which is disturbing enough.

        • voegelinian says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 5:12 pm

          Well, different ostensible agendas don’t necessarily mean different people; the Man of a Thousand Faces would also sport different agendas. If my theory is correct, one wonders what his end game would be. The only thing I can think of us to sow confusion in the interest of an ulterior agenda that would be an amorphous amalgam of Alinsky, Derrida, and Baudrillard — a less linear Leftism than the norm, but still of course defending Islam and attacking the West.

      • Jack Diamond says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 5:18 pm

        Don’t even dare to mention those 3,000 martyrs, you miserable piece of shit. You are not fit to even speak of them. They are not “lost souls”at all, you’re just having intimations of your own bleak future with Old Scratch (Allah T’allah). You’re the one soundlessly screaming through eternity, fool.

      • Joseph says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 5:58 pm

        @ Rezali Mehil
        How is that FGM working for you, or as you may put it female circumcision? Oh how I know that you miss the pleasure of a good hard man giving you a real good pounding. Tell me oh dear one, is that why so many women like you derive pleasure from the sadistic beatings by your husbands? Or deary are you of a different type who derives her pleasure from watching her husband screw another woman? How about a goat?, does that excite you even more?
        So many ways for you to get your pleasure but the one that should be most important to you is so far away because of Muslim tradition. That all important human feeling of an orgasm is so so close and yet far enough away that you will never feel it.
        My my and all in the name of a sadistic murdering pedophile 1400 years ago.

      • gravenimage says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 6:03 pm

        The vicious Rezali Mehil wrote:

        …why aren’t you driving him out of New York?

        Do you honestly think that a muslim leader would stand for this type of behaviour?
        …………………………………

        Typical–Muslims believe that civilized Infidels failing to threaten or murder those they disagree with are simply weak. They believe that if you are not slaughtering people in the name of you faith, that you are not truly devout. *Ugh*.

        More:

        I see now that the peoples (which includes you) are totally lost …cursing and swearing at both the religious leaders and also the political leaders that you have.
        …………………………………

        Where have I–or anyone else here–been “cursing and swearing”? Again, Mohammedans don’t believe anyone is serious in their convictions unless they are violently unhinged.

        More:

        What you forget is that a higher power is directing this …Allah T’allah …the quicker you peoples see that Inshallah the utterances from the Pope’s mouth are influenced by Allah SWT. It is no good you cursing the pope..he cannot help it …you need to join us and be on the right side of history…keep that keyboard and paintbrush going for the good of Islam.
        …………………………………

        Muslims don’t believe in intellectual freedom–nor in any kind of free will.

        And since orthodox Islam bans most art, chances are I would be imprisoned or brutalized for my art even if I did choose to sell out to evil.

        Instead–like all those here–I choose to fight.

        The idea that working to usher in another violent Dark Age is the “right side of history”–an Infidel concept, mind you–could not be more perverse.

        Besides, if “Allah” is orchestrating all this, why is he so apparently happy about majority Sunnis butchering Shia like Rezali Mehil? I doubt she has an answer for that one…

        More:

        3000+ lost souls are swirling around ground zero …no one can hear their soundless screams … many of them will have wanted to get salvation off the Pope…most of these poor souls no doubt were Catholics..would have have got salvation… had he cried for them? but he could not reach out to them …he did not want to reach out to them…and so they remain lost …Graven, when it is windy in New York…can you her their cries mixed in the wind?…hitting the buildings…ahhhhhheeeeeee Aaaaaahhhheeee ..can you see the odd shadow Graven…ahhhhhheeeeeee…those poor poor lost souls …
        …………………………………

        Here’s the sickening Rezali Mehil, taunting us over the innocent people her own savage coreligionists slaughtered. *Ugh*.

        Also, she understands *nothing* about Christianity if she believes that people remain unsaved if the current Pope happens to be a fool. Besides, fool that he is, the idea that he is unconcerned about these victims is just more calumny.

        More:

        One day proper prayers will be offered by an Imam…to give relief to those souls…and even the souls will convert…even the souls Graven…will become Muslims …who wants to wail for eternity Graven?
        …………………………………

        What utter crap. Under Islam, all of these victims–except for the handful of Mohammedans who got caught in the crossfire of the Jihadists’s zeal–are condemned to eternal torment in Jahannum.

        I don’t believe in this evil bs–but Rezali Mehil *certainly does*. But given the rest of her viciousness, lying to Infidels concerned over the souls of the victims of Jihad is nothing to her.

        More:

        Hopefully even hardened peoples like you will now see that you may as well join…Christianity is dying on it’s (sic) feet …in the future Popes’ will stop being elected….there will be a pope if the global and interstellar Islamic government decides it is necessary or at least the candidate will be specially chosen.
        …………………………………

        Abandon hope. Resistance is futile. Surrender Dorothy…

        Winston Churchill said “We will never surrender”, and we never will.

        More:

        I know that all this is a bit of a burden for your mind …this on top of your dear hubby’s mother wanting to take her final breaths in Egypt and then him becoming a mummy’s boy forever.

        NO worries…you are in my thoughts…
        …………………………………

        My mother-in-law was a docent at a major collection of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, which Mohammedan thugs like Rezali Mahil regard as nothing but worthless “Jahillya”. She has been ill recently, and so this vicious Muslimah is taunting me over my concern for her.

        This–and sneering at the victims of 9/11–show that appalling moral level of Islam.

        *This* is what pious Muslims want us to surrender to.

        Rezali Mehil does not realize it, but exposing such leering callousness just reveals further why we have to resist the rising threat of loveless Islam.

        • Paul says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 6:37 pm

          Tawfik Hamid – himself an Egyptian muslim – said that when
          islamists gain control of anywhere the first people they
          effectively declare war upon and immediately oppress are
          muslim women. I don’t believe that they will gain the upper
          hand in the long run, but even if Rezali Mahound’s wet dream
          came true, she’d be amongst the very first to get it and all of
          her freedoms would be immediately taken away (which I would
          agree are already too much). So, as they say, every cloud has
          a silver lining.

      • Peggy says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 9:04 pm

        Just keep waiting for us to convert.
        You say that this Pope doesn’t want to give them salvation. News for you, the Pope cannot give anyone salvation. Only Jesus can so it doesn’t matter what this old fool says or does if we belive in Jesus we’ll be ok.
        That’s why I can’t understand how any religious leader gets a celebrity receiption. They are only people like the rest of us and probably not even as good as some of us (not including myself here). We don’t need any man pretending he can give us absolution because we know he can’t. It is only up to God who already knows what we have in our hearts to decide on that.
        So don’t be so smug because the Catholic church has this silly man at the top. He is not in charge and never was. As Christians we know who is in charge and we follow him. Anyone who follows the Pope will be lost.

        So keep waiting for a true Christian to convert. It will never happen.

    • quotha raven says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 10:54 am

      To gravenimage – Thanks for your characteristically clear and thoughtful response. As for me, I find myself less disciplined. This guy is getting under my skin; I can’t wait for him to just fuck off back to Rome. Cheers! quotha r

      • Karen says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 7:20 pm

        gravenimage, quotha r, allow me to ride your coat tails; both superb responses. Rezali is a creepy-frustrated-philosopher-wannabe, who I think I’ve run into before. He/she/it/whoever tries to form alliances by sweet-talking you while insulting you, believing you’re to stupid to notice. I can’t image how low a person must be to attack someone’s loved one in public; apparently Allah the Merciful approves of mental torment.

        • Karen says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 7:29 pm

          Apologies, quotha r, at first I thought you were talking about Rezali. I got a little lost in all the replies. 🙂

    • Wellington says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 3:16 pm

      Very solid destruction as usual,, graveimage, of bogus thinking, this time courtesy of a very foolish Pope.

      • gravenimage says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 6:18 pm

        Thank you, Quotha Raven and Wellington.

        And yes, Quotha–I’ll be glad with Pope Francis tour of the States is over, and we are not so directly subjected to his foolishness. God Knows, we have enough idiots here at home.

    • Peter Charles says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 3:59 pm

      This -Pope and reality seem to be divorced.

  30. Jay Boo says

    Sep 26, 2015 at 11:45 pm

    There is a meat and potatoes dish called poutine râpée.

    On the outside is a baseball size ball of grated potatoes and hidden on the inside is the meat.

    It must be cut open to reveal the meat.

  31. Avner Eliyahu Romm says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 1:55 am

  32. Michelle Myers says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 2:51 am

    Catholicism is very close to Islam.As Muslims put Muhammad on a pedestal so do Catholics put the Pope on a pedestal. Interfaith is not Biblical. Not to say that people of different religions should fight each other. Who is the Pope that his opinion means so much?

    • spot on says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 9:40 am

      Not so. Catholics are free to love him (the Pope) or leave him. 1/2 of the Catholics think this Pope is an imbecile and they are not afraid to say it. No Catholic ever lost his head by speaking out against Catholics unless you want to go back 500 years to a different eon when normal sensible reasonable people were driven by fear of disease and death of their children and other loved ones. Death and disease were all around them in those days and they thought the devil was the cause of disease. It was easy for very bad things to happen to anyone under those circumstances.

      Rampant religious corruption at that time resulted in the reformation, which was a good thing. Competition makes everything work better for the folks.

      Take a look at (Islamic) Saudi Arabia today…They have a modern education. They have modern medicine. They attend the same universities as we do. Yet, they are just fine with their religious police vans going around and cutting of people’s heads in the public square. Those decapitated ones were guilty of nothing else than breaking certain Islamic religious rules. Take a look at Sharia (Islamic) law which was developed by Mohammad and his followers (not Jesus Christ). Islam is a wretched religion of death and destruction. Not so for any Christians including Catholics, who promote love, reason, and fellowship.

      • Shane says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 10:00 am

        This pope is a fool, coward, and a dhimmi. May he be forced to live in the Muslim Caliphate with ISIS.

        • Alarmed Pig Farmer says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:03 pm

          Riyadh would do, and there he could still enjoy plush surroundings. Or Islamabad. Or maybe Cairo would be best for Pope Frank, the economy is one of the world’s foremost basket cases and he could work his socialist magic there to save the place from its deep economic dysfunction.

          Did you know that a century ago Argentina was the tenth most prosperous country in the world?

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 6:25 pm

      Michelle Myers wrote:

      Catholicism is very close to Islam.As Muslims put Muhammad on a pedestal so do Catholics put the Pope on a pedestal…
      ……………………………

      Oh, pish tosh, Michelle. Robert Spencer, who runs this site, is himself a devout Catholic. One many respect the holy office without respecting every individual who has held it.

      And it is just wrong to say that “Catholicism is very close to Islam”–where are Catholics perpetrating the sort of violence and horror that Muslims are?

      And fool that he is–dangerous fool, even–Pope Francis is not promulgating evil as Muslim clerics are.

      I have my issues with Catholicism–I am not Catholic myself. But to compare Islam with Catholicism is rank calumny against the latter.

    • Wellington says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 6:57 pm

      I’m just going to put it plain like to you, Michelle. Here it is: Quit embarrassing yourself. To assert, as you have, that “Catholicism is very close to Islam” is so breathtakingly wrong (and sorry, but stupid too), that the only problem in dealing with someone of your enormous ignorance is the tactical problem of “where to begin?” And, btw, I am not religious in the least so don’t assume I argue from any “inside” religious perspective.

      The Islamic theological blueprint is a prescription for totalitarian control, as both Bertrand Russell, a liberal, and Winston Churchill, a conservative, equally and clearly understood almost a century ago. Russell, himself an atheist, asserted in his The Practice and Theory of Bolzhevism, that Islam is the only major religion which is totalitarian in structure and ideology. This is why Russell compared Islam to fascism and Marxism. Churchill, immensely well read as was Russell, said of Islam, “No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.” Churchill also described Mein Kampf as “the new Koran.”

      You see, Michelle, when Christians have done terrible things in the name of their faith, they were violating the tenets of their religion. My God, can’t you see, don’t you know, that when Muslims wage war in the name of their faith, and do other terrible things like assigning non-Muslims to pure second-class status in comparison to Muslims (in Islamic law non-Muslims are the equivalent of human waste—–do you even know this?), they are fulfilling major dictates of their religion? Yes, can’t you even make this distinction?

      Wake up, Michelle. Quit demonstrating, as you have, that a little knowledge is a bad thing. Learn. Read. And don’t opine until you know a lot more than you do now.

    • Paul says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 7:28 pm

      @Michelle Myers
      I don’t think you were trying to say that Catholics are as bad as
      muslims – at least I hope that’s the case! I agree with you that
      “interfaith” dialogue is not Biblical. Being a Christian means to
      rebel against the state of play where you see wickedness and
      deceit prospering, and were others are too self-serving or
      comfortable to do anything about it. The pope is a mere man
      who may be a coward, a dhimmi, naive, corrupt, or maybe all
      of these things. We’ll never know.
      One thing I am sure of is that you can trust in the Bible 100%.
      There’s absolutely nothing in the Qur’ap that could ever compare
      to this, I am sure you’d agree :

  33. Charli Main says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 4:59 am

    Pope Francis is a Judas shepherd, leading his flock of lambs into the Muslim slaughter house.

    • spot on says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:38 am

      Exactly.

    • Paul says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 7:35 pm

      When I read your comment this immediately came to mind
      about our wonderful pope – 1 John 2:19

      “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.
      For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained
      with us; but their going showed that none of them
      belonged to us.”

  34. Will says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 5:19 am

    What an idiot!! b It is akin to saying that “water is wet”. Words fail here to describe the sheer stupidity and pusillanimity behind such a comment. Then they will have us believe that the Mafia had him elected and Pope Benedict given an offer “too good to refuse” Even Jesus of Nazareth would have choked with rage at what Islam is doing in this world and he created pacifism although he well knew its limitations unlike this fool.

    • Tbone says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:33 am

      Yes he is an utter and complete idiot.all that kissy feel good crap has just been working wonders for countless people around the world when it comes to islam. This utopia and the deity in the sky may sound good and all but it won’t appease these evil muslims, a double tap to the cranium is the best course of action when dealing with those lowest of all life forms (muslims) I also wish we could coexist peacefully but as it is plain to see mudslimes just can’t play well with others ,ergo tap tap. Problem solved.

    • Peter Charles says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 4:19 pm

      Jesus said that if you have a cloak and no sword, sell the cloak and buy a sword. Simply, you have the right to defend yourself from savages bent on murdering you. I guess Pope Frank thinks he knows better than Jesus!

      • Jay Boo says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 5:09 pm

        Peter Charles that interpretation is not correct.

        “Of course the disciples wouldn’t understand Him, but a little crime (2 swords) was enough to (number Him among transgressors) to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy.”

        http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/7121/why-did-jesus-tell-his-disciples-to-buy-a-sword

  35. spot on says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 5:36 am

    There seems to be no limits to Pope Francis’s ignorance. This is buffoonery. The Marxist MSM loves him. Catholics and Christians should beware when the Marxist MSM loves a Pope. Either hell has frozen over or he is being used to the detriment of Christianity.

  36. BC says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 6:03 am

    Muslims are not interested in the common good, unless the common good means everybody submitting to Islam. Every Muslim whether he considers himself ‘moderate’ or not believes that in their deepest core as it is a fundamental tent of their religion

    • spot on says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 9:48 am

      A very recent poll of Muslims in the US showed that a vast majority of Muslims prefer Sharia law to our constitution. This is not due to ignorance, it is part of their religious belief. Freedom and human dignity are not part of their vocabulary.

  37. BC says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 6:03 am

    Typo alert that should be ‘tenet’

  38. PJG says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 6:58 am

    “This is a place where we cry … for the powerlessness we feel when we see injustice”
    Non-stop socialist jargon.

    • Shmooviyet says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 3:02 pm

      As well as infuriating BS!
      Do people really go to the memorial to cry over (social) injustice? He left the word out, but I’d guess that’s the type of injustice to which he refers. This pope’s words are too eerily similar to another community organizer I’ve heard. BTW, did he mention ‘injustice’ while with the Castros?
      It is sickening:
      “No one was thinking of… religion… that day…” I understand he’s speaking of coming together to help- but
      nineteen men were thinking of their ‘religion’ pretty hard, and many thousands more guessed at that same religion as they watched the aftermath.

  39. Vicky says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 7:19 am

    This Pope is everything ‘wrong’ with the Catholic Church all rolled up into one!

  40. duh_swami says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 8:09 am

    Kinanna caused his own death..He had an inability to come up with a solution for the common good , so Mahound had him tortured and murdered….All infidels are Kinanna in waiting…
    It’s your fault for being kuffar…None of your solutions for the common good are good…Only sharia law is for the common good…Or so say the seriously deluded…

    • Alarmed Pig Farmer says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:08 pm

      He had an inability to come up with a solution for the common good , so Mahound had him tortured and murdered…

      Do you mean Kinana, the banu treasurer whom the Holy Prophet Mohammed ordered a campfire be built atop his chest and let to burn through his thorax into the sand? My understanding is that Kinana knew where the gold and silver was stashed, but refused to divulge that to the Perfect Man, which sent old Mo over the edge and into a murderous rage.

      • Jack Diamond says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 10:44 pm

        He also happened to have a beautiful young wife, er, widow, whom Muhammad took for his own spoils of war. Kinana had his chest set on fire but wasn’t quite dead when Muhammad had his head separated from his neck, tortured and killed in the search for even more plunder than had already been obtained by sacking Khaybar itself (and was soon to impose the first extortion taxes upon). Kinana at least chose to die bravely, rather than choose life at any price.

  41. Joycey says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 8:51 am

    So much hate and lies re Catholicism being posted by commentators here. I am unsubscribing.

    • spot on says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 10:15 am

      You have the right to defend Catholicism as I do any time. However, I am also quite willing to speak the truth about Pope Francis any time of the day. Socialism corrupts the soul. Pope Francis is a socialist. 100 million people have been murdered by socialists in the past 100 years. (FYI, someone here computed that 2.8 million souls have been killed by Muslims during the 1400 years they have existed.) On the offensive side of every war is either a socialist or an Islamic army. Just look at the world today. I see the Catholics and Christians defending their lives with Muslims or socialists trying to kill them and others.

      The Pope’s view on social justice is all BS. Individual justice is necessary before any social justice is ever even thinkable. He believes the citizens of the US are not entitled to our country and that any illegal alien has an equal right to live here. The Pope is NOT considered infallible by Catholics when he talks about politics or social matters. Once he takes the political stage as he has done by perpetuating the hoax that Global Warming is caused by humans, the same as Al Gore preaches, he is subject to political rhetoric and debate.

      Please distinguish this very important difference. I have not seen “anti-catholic” or “anti-Jewish” sentiment displayed here except by Islamic trolls. There are very detailed theological arguments made here at times and Catholic theology can sometimes be involved.

      • Kepha says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 11:06 am

        Spot On:

        Let’s just say that I disagree with Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Evolutionary Materialism, sexual liberationism, godless liberalism, and a number of other “isms”; so I guess someone might call me “anti-(fill in the blank)”. I guess where I differ with the Muslims is that while I’m willing to argue, I and my spiritual brethren recognize are not out to rob or murder everyone, and consider that whether done against a fellow believer or an unbeliever, robbery and murder violate the eternal moral law of God–and as sins, such behaviors are things from which we must turn away as followers of Jesus Christ.

        • spot on says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 1:11 pm

          Kepha,

          You wrote: “robbery and murder violate the eternal moral law of God–and as sins, such behaviors are things from which we must turn away as followers of Jesus Christ.”

          Good way to go. We all have a beef with one religion or another. Having a beef with Judaism is not being “anti-Semitic”. Likewise having a beef with Roman Catholicism is not being “anti-Catholic”. Religions generally embrace the Golden Rule. Islam does the exact opposite. With Islam, it is “hurray for my tribe” and literally…”kill, rob, or screw your tribe”..

          Marxists-socialists have joined with Islam to help them conquer Christianity (and the West). Obama and all his many cohorts are leading this effort posing as “Secularists”. (Marxism is also a belief system albeit without a deity.) The Marxists feel that Muslims will naturally gravitate to their way of thinking with a little education and assimilation… after Islam help them get rid of Christians. Christians have always stood in their way in their quest for power. The Marxist MSM helps Muslims at every turn. When the Marxist MSM and all of Obama’s cohorts give some “love” to the Pope, there is good reason to question everything about the Pope.

          Does anyone remember several years ago how Obama treated the Dali Lama. He was led in back door next to the garbage cans in the rear of the WH while on a state visit.

      • Peter Charles says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 4:30 pm

        According to Dr. J. Rummel , the number is 262,000,000 See The Statistics of Democide

        • Holy Prophet APF says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 5:14 pm

          Yes, the estimates for the Moghul Jihad — with that mass murder lasting over a few decades, made by both Moslem and Hindu historians is somewhere in the range of 60 to 110 million dead Infidels. In many cases the Moghul Mujahidin would slaughter entire Hindu villages, including babes, women and the elderly, a dark twist on the old saw Women, children and the old go first.

    • quotha raven says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 11:05 am

      Joycey – See ya! Can I help pour the sand over your head, once you get into the right position? Cheers! quotha r

    • Bezelel says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 11:36 am

      Joycey, There is a Big difference between a critique of the pope and an attack on the Church, at least to me there is. Please view the link provided, It will help.
      http://universalfreepress.com/friday-funnies-presents-the-complete-history-of-jack-schitt/

    • Gerald Mucci says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 11:57 am

      Joycey: My wife is a Catholic. I was raised in a Catholic family but have chosen other Christian paths. My wife has a blind allegiance to the Pope, to the Papacy, including a particular love for this one, whatever he says. In fact, she has expressed that whoever the Pope is, whatever he does or says, she will always love the Pope. That, in my humble opinion, is blind idiocy. That is how dictators arise and succeed. Turning off your brain and sense of discernment because of a personality or position is dangerous. It is dangerous to dismiss the words of someone you otherwise respect when those words spoken by another person would otherwise cause you great alarm.

    • Charli Main says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 12:07 pm

      @Joycey

      I believe that nobody here is attacking Catholics or Catholicism, only the current head of the Catholic Church.

      • gfmucci says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 1:32 pm

        Charli, count me out of your conclusion that “no one is attacking Catholicism.” I chose not to associate with the Catholic Church for more reasons than just this Pope. Previous Popes amazingly call Islam “a religion of peace.” Catholic doctrine places Muslims among the most favored.

        Here is a quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, item #841, The Church’s relationship with the Muslims.

        “The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.”

        This statement is ill-informed, in error, and suicidal. Nothing could be further from the truth regarding Islam’s “allah” and the God of the Bible. And holding the faith of Abraham? You have got to be totally deceived.

        • Rev g says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 1:38 pm

          God the Father is not the greatest of deceivers. Those who have such a god worship someone else.

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 6:37 pm

      Joycey, Jihad Watch is run by a devout Catholic. Some of these comments here *have* been anti-Catholic–but surely you have also seen many comments chiding such knee-jerk anti-Catholicism. As for the main story, criticizing some of the positions of an individual Pope are not in and of themselves anti-Catholic.

  42. Marty says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 9:20 am

    As popes go, this guy is a decent chap. But he is woefully ignorant on Islam.
    9/11 was an act of war against the US & the West by Saudi Arabia & its vile
    version of vile religion of islam.
    There was obviously no other source of the crime, but there can be no doubt
    that the US & the West generally are soft on Saudi to the extent of cow towing to it.
    Exactly why we had to attack the stable but vile regime of Iraq as a result is
    beyond my comprehension.
    The aftermath has permitted the Saudis to create the Islamic State which will
    become annexed to Saudi Arabia in due course.

    • voegelinian says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 4:56 pm

      The road to Hell is paved with the bones of decent chaps (like Neville Chamberlain…)

      • gravenimage says

        Sep 29, 2015 at 5:09 pm

        I can forgive Neville Chamberlain his denial over the danger of Hitler, insanely dangerous though it was–but I *cannot* forgive his throwing little Czechoslovakia under the Nazi bus. That he did so shows that he wasn’t merely a well-meaning naif foolishly convinced that the Fascists had nothing but good intentions.

        We find all too many of his ilk today vis-a-vis Islam.

        • Wellington says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 5:29 pm

          I had the pleasure, gravenimage, of teaching several Czech students over the almost thirty years I taught at the college level and everyone of them said, essentially, that it is in the DNA of every Czech never to trust the English again. Now, though a life-long Anglophile as I am, nonetheless I can’t blame the Czechs one bit for thinking this way.

          What Chamberlain did at Munich in 1938 is definitely one of the low points in English history, as Winston Churchill clearly understood.. I am aware of the argument that Britain was far better militarily prepared (especially with respect to the RAF) by September of 1939 than the previous September but this hardly exculpates what Chamberlain engaged in at Munich, though I would add that Obama’s craven Iran nuclear deal may very well prove to be an exercise in atrocious statesmanship that even eclipses the Munich debacle of 1938. The verdict is still out on this one.

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 7:13 pm

          Agreed, Wellington. I certainly don’t believe that Chamberlain was acting purely strategically. I don’t blame these Czech students–although I do hope they realized that Churchill would *never* have done what Chamberlain did, whether he believed Britain was ready to fully take on the Nazi war machine at that point or not.

          As for today, I forgive those fools who support the suicidal Iran deal, naively believing it will bring peace–but I *do not* forgive the abandonment of American prisoners in Iran, which is a *known* evil.

          Similarly, I can forgive those who desperately want to believe that ISIS and other Jihadists have nothing to do with Islam itself–but I cannot forgive those who choose to ignore the terrible plight of their Christian and other Infidel victims.

  43. Paul says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 9:37 am

    This Pope is a complete idiot. He should have said a few words about Christian suffering all over the world right now in the hands of Muslims. But he ignored them all because he is more concerned about political correctness than truth. This fool should never have been elected the Pope in the first place because he has no regard for truth.

    • dlbrand says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 12:58 am

      Well stated. In brief.

  44. TomTB says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 11:02 am

    So the Pope visited my former workplace (worked for the Port Authority of NY&NJ), and didn’t mention that eight years earlier (02/26/93) ANOTHER group of Islamists set off an explosion in the same place!

  45. Richard Hawkins says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 11:06 am

    Ultimately, what the Pope is suggesting is that God and Satan should have dialogued after Satan decided to replace God due to pride rather than God casting Satan and his fallen angels out of Heaven. Perhaps Jesus, after spending 40 days in the desert, should have compromised with Satan rather than ordering to leave and sticking with the fundamental Truths of His Father? How intolerant.

    • Kepha says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 11:07 am

      Richard, all I can say is “Amen”.

    • Bezelel says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 12:33 pm

      Richard H. It seems to me that also negates any incentive to avoid the “weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

  46. gfmucci says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 11:45 am

    I’ve heard “conspiracy theorist” rumors that there is a White Pope who is the puppet of a secret, evil Black Pope. Up till now I was predisposed to dismiss those rumors as quackery. Given the words of this current Pope, especially those of the past week, and especially his “diagnosis” of the cause of the 9-11 attack, I am beginning to see the wisdom in that “rumor.” In fact, at one time being a Lutheran for a short while, I have a new appreciation of their doctrine that the Papacy is The Anti-Christ.

    In spite of all the grand, churchy, preachy, mercy, goodness, lovey words out of his mouth, and despite his feeble claims that he is not a Socialist, the Pope stands shoulder to shoulder with leftists and Communists who wish to tear down the systems and institutions and culture that has eliminated so much poverty and which has defended so many liberties over the past two centuries.

  47. Ed says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 11:57 am

    Popeye is right. It’s Islam “inability to find solutions which respect the common good.”
    Why doesn’t he go Syria and tell that to ISIS?

  48. Ed says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 11:58 am

    He reminds me of Popeye the Savior Man.

  49. Roger Gangitano says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 12:11 pm

    Pope Francis said; “It is possible to live in a world of peace. It is possible to live together with our different paths, different cultures, different religions.” But, he fails to note that different cultures can only “live with” each other, ONLY if the different cultures choose to live with each. Many say that Islam only “lives with” another culture until it becomes powerful enough in that society to eliminate it. It’s hard to the facts as they exist on this topic. But, since Ben carson has said he would not vote for a Muslim for President, the Pope responds by leaning to the other side of the view, impling we should learn to “live with” each other’s differences.

    Jihad is a RELIGIOUS DUTY of Islam and some Sunni scholars even refer to it as the sixth pillar of Islam. There is controversy regarding the correlation between jihad and violence, and Islamists have used this jihadist obligation to their own agenda as with; ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas and Boko Haram to name a few. How can we learn to “Live With” those groups and people like them?

    There are numerous verses in the Quran that support Violent Jihad , such as; Quran, verse 8:12-13 “(Remember) when your Lord inspired the angels, “Verily, I am with you, so keep firm those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved, so strike them over the necks, and smite over all their fingers and toes.” So ISIS and other Islamic entities use this, and other Quranic verses, to justify beheadings by calling it a religious commandment. There are, in fact, well over 100 verses in the Quran that can be used to justify violence. ALL the different religions in America live with each other peacefully, but Muslims become more hostile toward other religions as they become more dominant in a society. Should we simply learn to “live with” that discord in our society? The following figures, which you may have seen, illustrates the Muslim population growth, and it’s subsequent effect, on societies around the world;
    When the Muslim Population is;
    Under 2% – for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens, as evidenced by the Muslim population in ; United States-0.6%; Australia- 1.5%; Canada-1.9%; China- 1.8%; Italy- 1.5% & Norway- 1.8%
    At 2% to 5% – Proselytizing from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups becomes active, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. Denmark- 2%; Germany- 3.7%; United Kingdom- 2.7%; Spain- 4%; & Thailand- 4.6%
    From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population; Push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food in supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves — along with threats for non-compliance, such as in; France- 8%; Philippines- 5%; Sweden- 5%; Switzerland- 4.3%; The Netherlands- 5.5%; Trinidad & Tobago- 5.8%.
    At about 10%, Lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions increases with car-burnings and attacks on shops, as with the Muslim populations in these countries; Guyana- 10%; India- 13.4%; Israel- 16%; Kenya- 10%; Russia-15%
    After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in: Ethiopia- 32.8%.
    At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in: Bosnia- Muslim 40%; Chad- Muslim 53.1%; Lebanon- 59.7%.
    From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions, as in; Albania- Muslim 70%; Malaysia- 60.4%; Qatar- 77.5% & Sudan- 70%.
    After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as in; Bangladesh- 83%; Egypt- 90%; Gaza- 98.7%; Indonesia- 86.1% Iran- 98%; Iraq; 97%; Jordan- 92%; Morocco- 98.7%; Pakistan- 97%; Palestine- 99%; Syria- 90%; Tajikistan- 90%; Turkey- 99.8%; United Arab Emirates- 96%;

    At 100%, the peace of ‘Dar-es-Salaam’– the Islamic House of Peace is achieved. There’s supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in: Afghanistan- 100%; Saudi Arabia- 100%; Somalia- 100%; Yemen-100%.

    So, I ask the Pope, and all other Apologists for Islam;
    1) Are the above Muslim population percentages wrong? ”
    2) WHERE (on Earth) has Islam flourished without chaos and violence following with it?
    3) How are we supposed to learn to ‘Live With’ these Islamic effects on society?

    Ezekiel 33:6 states; “But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”

    The Pope should have come to America and blown the Watchman’s trumpet – He did not.

    • Shmooviyet says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 3:25 pm

      Thank you for posting that intriguing, frightening list of percentages and their effects at this story– it needs to be seen and understood often.
      The muslim woman at the school board meeting summed it up: “We will be the majority..”

      • Shmooviyet says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 3:29 pm

        Pardon– “seen often and understood”

  50. abad says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 1:01 pm

    I have a feeling that Francis has one of those “Coexist” bumper stickers on his Popemobile.

    • gfmucci says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 1:38 pm

      “coexistir”

      • voegelinian says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 4:58 pm

        It’d be nice to see his Yugo packed up heading out of Rome with a Coexcommunicate sticker on its receding rear end…

  51. Katnis says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 1:04 pm

    Folks, I appreciate all the comments here. I have to disagree. How do you know that the comment “inability to find solutions which respect the common good” was not referring to the muslims having an inability to even see a common good? It’s not 100% clear. We’re all like lawyers here, picking at the meaning.

    The Pope is not stupid. In fact, he is highly educated. He is speaking from what he knows, which is based in love, forgiveness, hope, and honest dialogue. He knows that islam is very different than Catholicism. He knows that we have different values. His job is to try and bridge those gaps and bring our hearts closer to God through love and compassion and serving others.

    The problem is that this is easier for Judeo-Christian-based faiths to accomplish because it is placed in our minds from day one (his mind included.) A universal love would be harder for muslims to achieve because they are instructed in heartless tactics to achieve a common understanding and they are taught this from day one.

    My opinion, for what it’s worth.

    • Rev g says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 1:35 pm

      The message must be understood as being tailored to the audience. I have not heard of him making similar comments to predominantly Islamic crowds.

      • gfmucci says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 1:40 pm

        Exactly. Like Obama putting on his black accent for a black audience, the Pope does his kumbeyah act for a Muslim audience. Don’t forget, this Pope and the ones before him have claimed “Islam is a religion of peace.”

      • Katnis says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 3:16 pm

        Thanks for the comments. Appreciate your thoughts.

        This is what it is. Our discussion is on one statement that can be exaggerated, overlooked, or misinterpreted. The Pope did not expound upon his thoughts, and we are running with ours.

        We live in a world of many religions and many perspectives. The Pope is bound by a responsibility to live a life that demonstrates that Catholicism is grounded in peace and love. Perhaps his words show a hope that those who practice islam will find peace and love from their own sources. Perhaps Pope Francis’ words Francis’ touches on his desire for inter-religious dialogue with Muslims and shared work toward peace.

        The misfortune here is that we are all left to interpret his address as a politically correct statement made to a mixed audience. The other misfortune is that we all see the news daily and see the Pope’s global call for peace and love falling and it seems naive.

        I love our Pope and his message of peace and I hope he continues to inspire people and change lives for the better, mine included. But the realist in me also understands the saying that you can’t sit next to a rabid dog and love him into not biting you. Again, it is what it is.

        🙁

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 10:38 pm

          Katnis wrote:

          Our discussion is on one statement that can be exaggerated, overlooked, or misinterpreted. The Pope did not expound upon his thoughts, and we are running with ours.
          …………………………

          Alas, Katnis, Pope Francis *has* expounded on his views. He has called the foul Qur’an a “book of peace”, and said that there is nothing violent about Islam. He has further said that “the Qur’an and the Holy Bible are the same”. He says that equating Islam with violence “is wrong”.

          He has implied that “Christian fundamentalists” are as bad as Muslim fundamentalists.

          I *wish* that his words at Ground Zero were the only concerning things that this Pope has said re Islam.

    • Alarmed Pig Farmer says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:20 pm

      The Pope is not stupid. In fact, he is highly educated.

      I wouldn’t bank on that. The word was that Barack Hussein wasn’t stupid, that he was highly educated. No leader of America has ever left in his wake such a trail of stupidities. To paraphrase Forest Ghump, stupid is as stupid does.

      • quotha raven says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 6:21 pm

        to Alarmed Pig Farmer, who sez “I wouldn’t bank on that. The word was that Barack Hussein wasn’t stupid, that he was highly educated. No leader of America has ever left in his wake such a trail of stupidities. To paraphrase Forest Ghump, stupid is as stupid does.’

        Roger that, APF!

        Cheers! Quotha r

        • Rev g says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 6:24 pm

          Educated and intelligent do not mean the same thing. These days even more so.

      • dlbrand says

        Sep 28, 2015 at 1:00 am

        “stupid is as stupid does.”

        Indeed, indeed.

    • Roger Gangitano says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:23 pm

      If the Pope’s comment is considered as an individual, solitary comment, his meaning might be questioned, but the Pope made multiple comments, and met with some people, while here in America that are cause for concern. At the U.N., he spoke of sustainable developement, climate change and other left-leaning, Socialist talking points. At the White House he met with a pro-abortion nun, a gay couple and a transgender (and Obama!!)
      Ezekiel 33:6 says if the Watchman fails to blow the trumpet and warn of the coming sword (threat) and a life is taken by the sword, God will hold the Watchman accountable.
      The Pope should have blown the trumpet while in America and certainly should have played a few notes at Ground Zero. He did not.

    • abad says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 6:58 pm

      “The Pope is not stupid. In fact, he is highly educated.”

      No he is NOT highly educated because if he were he would not be claiming Islam is a “Religion of Peace.”

      I doubt Francis can even read or speak Arabic. He knows zilch about Islam. Pope Francis needs to concentrate on the problems of the Catholic church including the pedophile priests. Until he can say something intelligent about Islam which he cannot – he should not be speaking about Islam at all.

  52. Les says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 1:42 pm

    Is it possible for the devil to convert and some day live in heaven? hell no and all the platitudes the Pope wants to say will not change the fact that the Quran and Islam are straight from hell and no one is going to change that!

  53. gfmucci says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    Question for Robert: How do you maintain your own Catholicism amidst all this Catholic hooey and ignorance about Islam?

    • Roger Gangitano says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 5:44 pm

      gfmucci – Your question was posed to Robert, (and I don;t see a post from a “Robert”) but I have to ask; What “Catholic Hooey and ignorance about Islam” are you referring to? Just trying to keep up here ….

      • abad says

        Sep 27, 2015 at 7:02 pm

        I think he means Robert Spencer.

        • Roger Gangitano says

          Sep 27, 2015 at 8:13 pm

          Duhhh …. Yeah – I knew dat.

  54. Lenny Thetruth says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 3:28 pm

    Throughout written history, there have been only three positive checks on how many humans live on the Earth. They ar Disease, Famine, and War. In the future, we can expect to add, at some point, Natural Disaster.
    Science is dong a lot to improve and lengthen life on Earth. We have discovered and cured many diseases. Epidemics like Ebola killed and threatened to kill a lot more. So did polio and smallpox. Great influenzas could still haunt us. We took control over AIDS. But, more will come, and let’s hope we find a way to limit them, before they limit us.

    We know how to grow food. Recent innovations have given us a way to grow more on less land, with less stress on natural resources. This is a trend we need to continue, but we need to do more. We waste a lot of food. It does not always make it to market. Some becomes spoiled. Sometimes crops fail. But, yet, there are people starving to death from poverty. They can’t access food even if they had something to barter.

    What is most cruel, is war. people lose their humanity. They are out to conquer and steal, or to defend from those who do. Large numbers of people die. The world’s population takes a dive. There are times when invaders want to take the food from the mouths of children. Other times, invaders want those children to join their own war against their parents. But, the number of people dwindles. There are less undivided spoils. Eventually, people will fight these invaders. But, by then, they will need allies, people that have already gone through the same thing and don’t want it to come back.

    Finally, there is the final problem. We don’t know exactly what it will be, where it will hit, or when. Natural disaster may be the Earth collapsing beneath our feet. Or, it could be a meteor strike big enough to wipe out all of us. It could be pollution, which we have caused. Another virus that we were not prepared for. It can happen slowly, or in an instant.

    years ago, researchers had an idea. They would take a bunch of mice and put them in a limited area which they would supply with food. The mice flourished. They bred and their numbers enlarged. Then, it started to get crowded. The personality of the mice began to change. They became aggressive, and started killing one another. Their population had reached a saturation point and they started killing fellow mice till their population levels dropped. There are such inevitable things and we must recognize them as they come. It happened to mice in a social experiment, and it will happen to us in real life. Just be aware.

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 12:02 am

      I’m sorry, Lenny–this is ridiculous. Mohammedans are not slaughtering people because of food shortages, if that is what you are implying.

      The fact is that we are growing more food than ever before. And for the first time recently, overweight outstripped hunger as a global health issue. And distribution of food worldwide through trade and charity is better than ever before.

      Things are not perfect, of course, but the fact is that no one is suffering from out-and-out starvation any more unless they are in the middle of a war zone where some party is actively *blocking* food aid.

      Are most Jihadists suffering from starvation and want? They *are not*.

      The fact is that Muslims want to kill people for *ideological reasons*–because they want everyone on earth to submit to Islam, either through conversion or as an oppressed and exploited dhimmi.

  55. Walter Sieruk says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 4:29 pm

    When the pope come out with such a statement as above, he then make me glad that I’m a Protestant.

  56. Voytek Gagalka says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 5:41 pm

    “Pope says 9/11 caused by ‘inability to find solutions which respect the common good’”

    Let reverse it a bit. The Papacy (and Christianity in large) was caused by inability to find solutions which respect the common good… with polytheistic Romans! The church was absolutist in that respect to dismiss absolutely Roman gods and refusing to accommodate to moderate Roman request to adapt their deity to the long list of Roman gods. If they would do so, Roman would have no quarrel with them and Christians would not be prosecuted as they were. Hence, the Papacy did not have ANY respect for “common good” and were unwilling to compromise on it! Eventually, their hard line caused Roman Empire to collapse, particularly after it adopted finally Christianity as the state religion when it was largely too late!

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 12:05 am

      Oh, good grief–more revisionist history…

    • Jack Diamond says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 2:10 am

      Gladiator nostalgia. Sounds like the Christians deserved the lions?
      btw Bacchus, Pluto, Mars–still seem to be around. A word to the wise:
      “Napoleon is a pastry, Caesar is a salad….

      DuBarry is a lipstick
      Pompadour’s a hairdo
      Good Queen Mary just floats along from pier to pier
      And the mighty Kaiser, just a stocking
      The Czar of Russia is now a jar of caviar
      And Cleopatra is a black cigar

      Yes, my honey lamb, Swift is just a ham
      Lincoln’s a tunnel, Coolidge is a dam
      All these bigwig controversials
      Are just commercials now

      Julius Caesar is just a salad on a shelf
      So, little brother, get wise to yourself”

      • quotha raven says

        Sep 28, 2015 at 9:06 am

        to Jack Diamond – REALLY GREAT ONE, JD! I love it, and I’m gonna nominate you for a poetry prize! Cheers! quotha r

        • Jack Diamond says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 9:36 am

          lol, thanks qr but it’s an old cabaret song, the lyric by Yip Harburg (who also wrote the words for “Brother Can You Spare Dime” “April in Paris” and all the songs in the Wizard of Oz). I like Blossom Dearie’s version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbbb542lMtA

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 10:26 am

          ‘Venus de Milo’s just a pink brassiere… Hoover’s a vacu-um.”..LOVE it! Thanks for this unexpected morning entertainment. Cheers! qr

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 6:32 pm

          Yes–I recognized that fine old chestnut, Jack. Some of the the references are themselves now history–but many of them are still with us.

          Here are the lyrics:

          http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2005/11/more-lyrics-i-like.html

  57. Isabella says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    Muslims converge together. Result is death and tragedy.
    Catholics converge together with the Pope. Result is joy and happiness.

    • abad says

      Sep 27, 2015 at 7:07 pm

      Yeah so you too have also noticed there have been ZERO casualties with Pope Francis’ tour of the USA compared to the most recent Hajj in Mecca – over 700 dead.

      Tells you something right there….

  58. vlparker says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 5:57 pm

    Is the Pope prepared to submit to Sharia?

    I suspect the answer to that is ‘yes’.

  59. glenn says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 9:49 pm

    Gee. If you took away all his pope stuff and din’t know who he is he’d sound just like any other pie in the sky head in the sand liberal.

  60. deja vu says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    I believe the first Jesuit ‘Pope’ Francis knows full well what he is about, and the role he is playing in the undermining of Biblical Christianity in the West. No man could be elected as the Pontiff, far less a Jesuit, who was that gullible. He’s a mere chess piece being played by *far* bigger fish to usher in an amalgam of ‘Christianity’ and Islam, already recognised as ‘Chrislam’ and eventually to be the mandatory One World Faith. The Catholic church has always been open to syncretism – nothing new for them, but this will be on an unprecedented scale. The unsuspecting hoards of Catholics who, like Muslims, are taught never to question, will fall for it hook, line and sinker. The rest of us should do our research on the enormous power of the Jesuit order over world affairs.

    According to Catholics, Protestants are already ‘separated brethren’ who should be turning back to Rome. Puppet Pope Francis is a man for our times, appeasing Muslims, feeble in his condemnation of the butchery of Catholics in Pakistan and elsewhere (and certainly opting out when asked to *do* something about it), a double-minded man, bending with every wind that blows, and speaking out of both sides of his mouth. Not a man to be trusted, far less revered.

    The tragedy is that so many can’t see behind the affable mask and the need to educate themselves about the chicanery that has always gone on in the Vatican. The Holy Spirit is about to take His hand off the apostate West thus identifying the faithful remnant prophesied in Scripture.

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 3:18 pm

      deja vu wrote:

      The unsuspecting hoards of Catholics who, like Muslims, are taught never to question, will fall for it hook, line and sinker.
      ……………………………….

      Actually, Catholics question all the time, deja vu.

      And as bad as this pope is–and he’s pretty bad–there are any number of protestant and secular leaders who are also every bit as clueless and appeasing of Islam.

      • Wellington says

        Sep 28, 2015 at 9:41 pm

        Agreed, gravenimage. This pope is truly a dope but so are a lot of Protestant leaders—–as you indicated. As an agnostic, I sometimes find myself being more traditionally Christian than many Christians, which indeed can only sustain the assessment I often entertain, and not diminish it, that life is absurd.

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 10:42 pm

          To Wellington – I’m with you, Wellington! I’m a lapsed Episcopalian, and I still love the hymns and the architecture and the atmosphere and the rock solid value system. But I was unable to make the required leap of faith in my late teens, so here I am: lapsed. And I hold more dearly to Christian values than many Christians do, although I don’t know very many devout Christians at this time. Life is indeed Absurd. Cheers!

          quotha r

        • Wellington says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 11:31 pm

          Ah, you’re a fellow devout ex-Christian, quotha raven. I get it.

          And yes, faith is necessary to be religious and I have no faith. I can’t help but require, indeed demand, that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Still though, Romanesque and Gothic architecture strike something in me that almost nothing else does——a variation, I guess, of a stranger but an admiring stranger in a strange land. Go figure, eh? And cheers to you as well.

        • Roger Gangitano says

          Sep 28, 2015 at 11:51 pm

          Hi Wellington & Gravenimage –
          I’m not the most religious guy around, but I do believe in God and I accept Jesus and Christianity as my religion. I look at it this way – If I don’t believe God exists and I’m wrong, when I die I’ll pay the price, which could turn out to be worse than serving time with some fat slob named “Bubba” as a cellmate.

          If I die, and I’m right for believing, and accepting God & Jesus, even if just to save my own pathetic butt, that has to work in my favor, even if just a bit.

          And, if I believe, or accept God & Jesus, and I’m WRONG …. well, no harm done. I guess I’m just not willing to gamble against His “House” on this one. The “House” always wins! But, that’s just me.

        • Rev g says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 1:27 am

          Pascal’s wager aside, the extraordinary claim is that there is no God. Throughout human history it can be found that man believed in a supreme being of some sort. Thus the existence of a God is quite the ordinary claim.

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 2:05 am

          to Wellington – Actually the way I managed the realization that I couldn’t make that essential “leap of faith” was quite nice, satisfying, and it very cozily filled the spiritual hole I felt at 18, when I realized I was hopelessly “lapsed”))). I majored in philosophy in college, and at some point in my sophomore year I realized I could say the apostles’ creed and the Nicene creed with complete sincerity if I just substituted “the (Platonic) forms” – the good, the true and the beautiful – for “Jesus” in those creeds. I realized I hadn’t lost “everything”, and I’m still content and happy about it today! Isn’t that nice? It may sound silly, but it works for me! Cheers! quotha r

      • voegelinian says

        Sep 29, 2015 at 12:29 pm

        While deja vu was focusing his conspiracy theory on the Pope and the Catholic Church, he did leave the way open for other Christians to be part of this nefarious, dastardly cabal of Christians and Muslims, in a globalist new world order directed by “Chrislamists” (why not throw Jews into the pot too, one wonders…?)

  61. tedh754 says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 10:05 pm

    I’m glad I’m not a Catholic. Because I would be ashamed of this Pope. Not that I’ve ever cared for any of them.

  62. tedh754 says

    Sep 27, 2015 at 10:06 pm

    I take that back. John Paul II did great work.

    • Wellington says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 9:53 pm

      He did, tedh754, but not when he kissed the Koran and made other excuses for Islam. John Paul was a warrior against the totalitarianism which is Marxism but he failed miserably where the totalitarianism which is Islam is concerned. Here his successor, Benedict XVI, clearly was his superior since he opposed (and understood) both of these totalitarianisms quite well.

      As for the current Pope, Francis I, the man is a dimwit who neither gets Marxism nor Islam. And so the papacy is at a low ebb right now. Just about its lowest ever I would argue since the corruption of many Renaissance Popes (e.g., Alexander VI) was nothing more than baseness while the stupidity of the present Pope is harmful to the world at large, and particularly to the West. Besides, many Renaissance Popes had great taste in art (e.g., Julius II) while, so far, this present Pope has revealed great taste in nothing.

      • gravenimage says

        Sep 29, 2015 at 4:31 pm

        And a Muslim tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II, and he still failed to see the threat of Islam–though he fully understood how deadly Communism was. But then, one could say much the same of Ronald Reagan. Certainly, some people can see certain forms of evil very clearly–then underestimate or even completely miss evil when it appears in unfamiliar forms.

        Of course, fourteen years after 9/11, such cluelessness is much less understandable, and in most cases is not mere honest ignorance, but actual willful denial. Certainly, that must be the case with the current pontiff.

        • Wellington says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 5:11 pm

          Good point, gravenimage, about John Paul and Reagan. These two extraordinary men were raised in a time when first Nazism and then Communism were the totalitarian menaces of the day. Islam was still in slumber mode until 1979 or thereabouts and so I’m ready to cut these two men some slack here, though John Paul had no business kissing the Koran.

        • voegelinian says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 5:22 pm

          “And a Muslim tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II”

          I’m setting my timer to count the seconds before “Mazo” has to pop his head in with his encyclopedic minutiae supposedly showing that the assassin was a member of the “Grey Wolves”, characterized as “ultra-nationalist” and “right wing” — therefore, it is assumed in our era of a mélange of disinformation & misinformation, cannot possibly have an Islamic agenda (the gold standard for that meme-canard was the Baathist party, and before that, Nasser who, being a “nationalist” could not possibly have had an Islamic agenda). In fact Muslims can take on any ideology and use it as a vehicle for the advancement of islam — whether that be nationalism, right wing politics, left wing politics, Marxism, ethnic pride (e.g., Turkishness), whatever…

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 4:19 pm

          Agreed, Wellington. No one can know the future, and we all have blind spots.

          And certainly, while I became increasingly concerned about Islam after the Iran hostage crisis and long years of airplane hijackings and “Palestinian” terrorism against Israel, I didn’t fully wake up to the scope and ideological basis of Jihad until after 9/11.

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 9:12 pm

          To Gravenimage and Wellington – Too true about “blind spots” – Mine lasted for about twenty years in the 80s and 90s, when I was super bizzy! But those same events (Carter and the Iranian hostages, Palestinian terrorism and assorted other atrocities like Flt the FIRST bombing in the basement of the WTC (that killed 13 if memory serves); at that time I was in the NYPD and working in the WTC neighborhood.And the terrorist bombing of PanAm 103 over Lockerbie Then 9/11. It was then that I began to see (and look at) the big picture. Chilling. Then my army intel linguist pal with experience in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, etc, introduced me to JW and Islam 101, The rest is history…living history. Good ta know ya both and thanks, always, for your input! Cheers! Quotha R

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 9:20 pm

          Further to my previous to GRAVENIMAGE and Wellington – I meant to say that those terrorist events and situations “registered, but what they were all about eluded me, perhaps because during those days I scarcely had time to think.”

        • gravenimage says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 4:49 pm

          True, Voeg–that’s just the kind of distraction and obfuscation a Muslim apologist like Mazo engages in.

          The fact is that Mehmet Ali Agca was involved in Jihad against Israel, in crushing free speech by assassinating a famous journalist, and in attempting to kill the most high-profile Christian leader in the world–all perfectly Islamic. He had also planned to set off a bomb in St. Peter’s Square, but his accomplice panicked.

          Later other Muslim Jihadists–hijackers–demanded Agca’s release from prison,

          As for Agca’s being “right wing”, this is rather undercut by his being heavily involved with the communists, as well.

          In the end, he seems like so many Jihadists operating at that period, who often had the barest gloss of some sort of “secular” ism grafted on to the standard Muslim violence.

          At this point he’s running around free. He’s claimed to have converted to Christianity–but then, he’s also claimed that he’s the messiah. Let’s just say I find his conversion barely less plausible than his other claim…

          One thing I must say for Pope Francis is that he ignored this murderous thug’s request to meet with him last year. Of course, I’m not sure of his reasons.

  63. SoCalMike says

    Sep 28, 2015 at 1:04 am

    Beware of false prophets. And Francis is one.

  64. Cecilia Ellis says

    Sep 28, 2015 at 6:17 am

    “This is a place where we cry … for the powerlessness we feel when we see injustice, the inability to solve our differences, to dialogue,” Francis said in Spanish, addressing an interfaith prayer service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.

    How awkward it must have sounded to the families of victims, to hear the world’s most prominent religious leader render the loss of life – at New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville – a result of an inability to resolve differences and a failure to dialogue. On September 11, 2001, approximately 3000 children, under the age of 18, lost a parent; some of those children were born after the loss of their fathers; some of those children were in the presence of Pope Francis when he addressed prayer service attendees.

    Having posed the premise at a solemn occasion, Pope Francis had the obligation to present the facts that supported his statement. He did not. As such, what, then, were the differences to be resolved and who failed to entertain dialogue as a path to resolution of these differences?

    With his noted interpretation of all social ills as having their genesis in poverty and capitalism, one might deduce that liberation theology inspired the Pope’s conclusions, culminating in his failure to acknowledge terrorism instigated solely by an ideology – Islam – that welcomes no deviation from its core principles. This fact alone precludes resolution of differences.

    Yet, according to Pope Francis’ biographer, Austen Ivereigh, it was a close friend, Argentinian Muslim Omar Abboud, who “explained to him [Bergoglio] about Islam, but found the cardinal already well informed.” [1] Perhaps that knowledge came from Jorge Luis Borges, a famous Argentinian short-story writer, who befriended Pope Francis and who “knew the Qur’an well enough to declare that there wasn’t a single camel in it.” [2] As Ivereigh further writes of Borges, “In his last fantasy, Los Conjurados, he imagines the founding miracle of a nation in which ‘men of diverse tribes, professing diverse religions, and speaking diverse languages, have taken the strange decision to be reasonable. They have resolved to forget their differences and stress their affinities.’ It sounded much like what Cardinal Bergoglio would later promote as the culture of encounter.” [3]

    There are echoes of that “encounter” in Pope Francis’ address:

    “We weep out of a sense of helplessness in the face of injustice, murder, and the failure to settle conflicts through dialogue . . . Here we mourn the wrongful and senseless loss of innocent lives because of the inability to find solutions which respect the common good . . . In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions, and lift our voices against everything which would stand in the way of such unity. Together we are called to say ‘no’ to every attempt to impose uniformity and ‘yes’ to a diversity accepted and reconciled.” [4]

    What, then, should those children and the nation have heard? According to the Compendium
    of the Social Doctrine of the Church, “Terrorism is to be condemned in the most absolute terms. It shows complete contempt for human life and can never be justified, since the human person is always an end and never a means.” (Article 514) Additionally, “It is a profanation and a blasphemy to declare oneself a terrorist in God’s name.” (Article 515) [5]

    The children, victims’ families, and the nation heard none of this. They should have.

    [1] Austen Ivereigh, The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope, p. 346. [Note: Page number is from e-book.]
    [2] Ibid., p. 99. [Note: The word “camel” does appear in the Qur’an, a discrepancy not noted by Ivereigh.]
    [3] Ibid., p. 99.
    [4] Transcript of Pope Francis’ 9/11 Memorial and Prayer Service address may be found at following link:
    http://vavnews.com/pope-francis-and-x27;-reflection-at-911-memorial-and-museum-full-transcript-124832.vav
    [5] Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,” http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_compendio-dott-soc_en.html

    • voegelinian says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 3:35 pm

      …Jorge Luis Borges, a famous Argentinian short-story writer, who befriended Pope Francis and who “knew the Qur’an well enough to declare that there wasn’t a single camel in it.” [2] As Ivereigh further writes of Borges, “In his last fantasy, Los Conjurados, he imagines the founding miracle of a nation in which ‘men of diverse tribes, professing diverse religions, and speaking diverse languages, have taken the strange decision to be reasonable. They have resolved to forget their differences and stress their affinities.’

      Knowing Borges as much as I do — which is not that much, but perhaps enough — I’d bet that in that work of fantasy fiction Borges, a twinklingly jaded realist-cum-surrealist, was being wickedly satirical, probably weaving together a surreal spoof of a futuristic Tower of Babel scenario; not the simplistic Kumbaya Tale which perhaps Bergoglio (the future Pope Francis) saw only through his naively sincere starry eyes further inflected by his rose-colored glasses of Socialist ideaism.

      • voegelinian says

        Sep 28, 2015 at 3:37 pm

        CURSES ON THIS DRAFT TEXT BOX — with its ghostly grey font and limited draft space crowded over by advertisement boxes you can’t move out of the freaking way… I missed the end italics tag…

      • Cecilia Ellis says

        Sep 29, 2015 at 12:46 am

        Voeg, I know nothing of Jorge Luis Borges. Sadly, I can neither confirm nor discount your speculation. But I do agree with you that Pope Francis seems to project a Socialistic idealism.

      • voegelinian says

        Sep 29, 2015 at 4:08 am

        It seems that Borges wasn’t directly referencing the Koran from his own reading, but was citing the great historian Edward Gibbon, who supposedly said there were no camels in the Koran. Since Gibbon was an impeccable historian, and since Western scholars in the time when he wrote (mid-18th century had perfectly good access to a complete translation of the Koran — George Sale’s was published in 1734), I find it highly odd that Gibbon would say such a blatantly inaccurate thing. It doesn’t make sense; and so… Watson — the game is afoot!

        • Cecilia Ellis says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 9:57 am

          Good info. Maybe Gibbon did not want to provoke Muslim readers by telling the truth.

        • voegelinian says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 12:35 pm

          Well, 1) in the mid-18th century, Muslims had far less ability than they do now to provoke and threaten the West, (even factoring in the piracy problem); and 2) I don’t see how saying the Koran has no mention of the word “camel” is going to markedly appease Muslims more than the converse would. I mean, I know Muslims are irrationally hypersensitive, but even that strains credulity…

        • Jack Diamond says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 5:03 pm

          Borges probably dreamed that he read it in Gibbon. Beside the fact he was blind.
          Gibbon has his biases. He finds much to admire in Mahomet, even excuses his rapacious appetites and the episode with Ayesha by blaming it on the weather: “the heat of the climate inflames the blood of the Arabs…(Ayesha) was doubtless a virgin, since Mahomet consummated his nuptials (such is the premature ripeness of the climate) when she was only nine years of age. “

        • Cecilia Ellis says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 9:22 pm

          Jack Diamond, at 5:03 p.m., wrote: “the heat of the climate inflames the blood of the Arabs…(Ayesha) was doubtless a virgin, since Mahomet consummated his nuptials (such is the premature ripeness of the climate) when she was only nine years of age. “

          This is great, Jack! So . . . now we have the proof . . . climate change is responsible for Muhammad’s behavior . . .

        • quotha raven says

          Sep 30, 2015 at 9:58 pm

          To Y’all regarding hot climates and sexual matters, not to put too fine a point on it, but it is absolutely true that in hot, jungle, equatorial climes, children mature earlier, and it is not unusual for girls to grow breasts and begin to menstruate at 9 or 10. I don’t know what Aisha’s situation was, but it is a context that should perhaps be considered…Cheers! Quotha R

        • Jack Diamond says

          Oct 1, 2015 at 2:08 am

          Menstruation wouldn’t have mattered, Muslim men are allowed to marry prepubescent girls.

          65:1 O Prophet, when you (and the believers) divorce women, divorce them for their prescribed waiting-period and count the waiting-period accurately . . . 4 And if you are in doubt about those of your women who have despaired of menstruation, (you should know that) their waiting period is three months, and the same applies to those who have not menstruated as yet. As for pregnant women, their period ends when they have delivered their burden. (Maududi, vol. 5, pp. 599 and 617, emphasis added)

          Maududi correctly interprets the plain meaning of verse 4, which appears in the context of divorce:

          Therefore, making mention of the waiting-period for girls who have not yet menstruated, clearly proves that it is not only permissible to give away the girl at this age but it is permissible for the husband to consummate marriage with her. Now, obviously no Muslim has the right to forbid a thing which the Qur’an has held as permissible. (Maududi, vol. 5, p. 620, note 13)
          http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/women_top_ten.htm

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 28, 2015 at 3:38 pm

      Perhaps that knowledge came from Jorge Luis Borges, a famous Argentinian short-story writer, who befriended Pope Francis and who “knew the Qur’an well enough to declare that there wasn’t a single camel in it.”
      ……………………………..

      In that case, Borges didn’t know the Qur’an very well at all–there are 21 references to camels, in 19 Suras, including this blatant rip-off from the Bible:

      “To those who reject Our signs and treat them with arrogance, no opening will there be of the gates of heaven, nor will they enter the garden, until the camel can pass through the eye of the needle: Such is Our reward for those in sin”

      Qur’an Sura Al-A’raaf, verse 40

      (an aside, but notice how the Qur’an changes the Biblical reference to rich men to unbelievers?)

      Of course, I’m sure he missed much more than this–like the terrible threat the devotees of that violent book present to us all.

      This should not surprise–he considered the eight centuries Spain spent under brutal Muslim conquest as coexistence. Borges was, in fact, much enamored of Islamic mysticism, much of which superficially found its way into his work.

      • Cecilia Ellis says

        Sep 29, 2015 at 12:21 am

        Graven, appreciate your reply. I had never heard of Jorge Luis Borges until I read of him in Ivereigh’s book. Then, again, I am not familiar with Argentinian writers, but your information regarding Borges’ appreciation for Islamic mysticism explains a lot. I was surprised that Ivereigh failed to mention the inaccuracy of Borges’ statement concerning the Qur’an.

        • voegelinian says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 12:37 pm

          That gave me a thought: The next time I encounter a PC MC or a Leftist who claims they have read the Koran, I will innocently mention that “there are no camels in the Koran” and see if he catches that. One could also devise many other similar tests…

        • Angemon says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 5:11 pm

          voegelinian posted:

          “That gave me a thought: The next time I encounter a PC MC or a Leftist who claims they have read the Koran, I will innocently mention that “there are no camels in the Koran” and see if he catches that. One could also devise many other similar tests…”

          There’s a difference between “reading the quran” and “knowing all the minutiae in the quran”, so such a query is not bound to produce any worthwhile result.

          Of course, if I can figure out your way of thinking from your posts, you won’t let a mere fact discourage you from assuming that anyone who read the quran and doesn’t know whether it mentions camels or not (or any other obscure, easy to ignore detail) is a) lying or b) in fact a secret muslim practicing taqiyya and lying to non-muslims as it can be seem in the mountain of data recorded in Jihad Watch and other sites, indicating a broadly systemic fanaticism in ALL muslims. Conversely, if anyone knows whatever obscure and/or easy to ignore detail you tested them on, you’d very likely assume that they are in fact a secret muslim – because who else would care so much about the quran to know by heart such an obscure/easy to ignore detail?

        • Cecilia Ellis says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 12:43 pm

          Voegelian at 12:37 p.m. stated: “The next time I encounter a PC MC or a Leftist who claims they have read the Koran, I will innocently mention that “there are no camels in the Koran” and see if he catches that.”

          Good one!

        • rev g says

          Sep 29, 2015 at 6:47 pm

          I usually ask which part they found more inspiring, the Meccan or Medinan periods. This sets up a pseudo-parallel with the NT/OT and invites commentary.

  65. harbidoll says

    Sep 29, 2015 at 8:21 am

    Uh, Mohamad was middle class or upper class who ran a large merchandise trade company. (tho he married it).

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 29, 2015 at 4:37 pm

      Also, while Mohammed was orphaned early, he was born into the most powerful tribe in Mecca, at a time when such things mattered.

  66. Eva Campbell says

    Sep 29, 2015 at 9:34 am

    Ever think he may have been speaking TO those Islamic jihadists and not to Americans? Of course not, you are, after all, the center of the universe.

    “Pope Francis appears to be suggesting…”

    Like every other media outlet out there, you put words in everyone’s mouth and are absolutely certain that your interpretation is correct.

    • rev g says

      Sep 29, 2015 at 11:39 am

      Eva, there are people in this world that are very dense. People who do not understand that when a figure speaks to an audience the message is typically addressed to that audience. These dense folks would rather concoct wild theories about what could be meant than accept the most logical premise. It may be a result of a need to deny the reality of the speaker’s message, an adulation related problem perhaps. You most assuredly know someone like this.
      Also, if in doubt, comparing the new message to others the speaker has promulgated of late could prove useful. I guess you never thought of that.

    • gravenimage says

      Sep 29, 2015 at 4:44 pm

      Eva Campbell wrote:

      Ever think he may have been speaking TO those Islamic jihadists and not to Americans? Of course not, you are, after all, the center of the universe.
      ………………………….

      This has nothing to do with (alleged) American egotism, Eva. The Pope was on American soil, addressing an audience largely made up of Americans, referring to an atrocity on American soil that specifically targeted Americans. The idea that his comments were somehow to be understood as being addressed to Jihadists is implausible, I’m afraid.

  67. kay says

    Oct 5, 2015 at 2:04 pm

    (1)
    “The Pope” Calls for a Fight against Islamic Threat
    Published on Friday, 02 October 2015 14:55
    Written by Alexander Boot
    http://libertygb.org.uk/v1/index.php/news-libertygb/6914-the-pope-calls-for-a-fight-against-islamic-threat

    St. Bernard of Clairvaux, 31 March 1146:

    “If it were announced to you that the enemy has invaded your cities, your castles, your land; had ravished your wives and your daughters, and profaned your temples – which among you would not fly to arms? Well, then, all those calamities and calamities still greater, have fallen upon your brethren, upon the family of Jesus Christ, which is yours. Why do you hesitate to repair so many evils – to revenge so many outrages? . . . Yes, the living God has charged me to announce to you that He will punish them who shall not have defended Him against His enemies.

    “Fly then to arms; let the holy rage animate you in the fight, and let the Christian world resound with these words of the prophet: ‘Cursed be he who does not stain his sword with blood!’ . . .

    “Christian warriors, He who gave his life for you, today demands yours in return. These are combats worthy of you, combats in which it is glorious to conquer and advantageous to die. Illustrious knights, defenders of the Cross, remember the example of your fathers who conquered Jerusalem, and whose names are inscribed in Heaven. . .”
    —————————

    (2)
    Video: Robert Spencer — the speech the U.S. Catholic Bishops don’t want you to see (IMPROVED AUDIO)
    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/10/video-robert-spencer-the-speech-the-u-s-catholic-bishops-dont-want-you-to-see-improved-audio

    Robert Spencer:
    Watch this speech and see what the Catholic Bishops of the United States find so objectionable that they can’t even be in the same room while it is being said…

    • kay says

      Oct 5, 2015 at 2:40 pm

      Pope John Paul II DID kiss the Koran. I saw the photo a couple weeks back. It absolutely shocked me.

      And anyway, whatever happened to his immediate predecessor John Paul I?
      He was perfectly fine, then he’s just GONE. Right at the beginning of his Papal duties. Right before he was going to reform the Vatican Bank.
      The body was whisked away overnight with no medical enquiry. The medicine bottle he kept on his table was gone.

      Can’t trust these people. Something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark.

      And now we have this horrible nonsense from Pope Francis.
      “Together we are called to say ‘no’ to every attempt to impose uniformity. . .”

      In that case, we must say No to Sharia and jihad. And in 2015 that clearly means war.

      Also “failure to settle conflicts through dialogue. . .”

      We were NOT at open war with al Qaeda, nor with the Taliban before 9/11. This began as THEIR SURPRISE ATTACK against a major city and against the Pentagon. What conflict could this old man possibly be referencing? ? ?
      This major speech makes no sense whatsoever! It is only doubletalk and doublethink. It is completely delusional. Perhaps many Roman Catholics and New Yorkers lost faith in this Pope as a result of this astonishing nonsense. If not, then maybe these people need to.start thinking for themselves and develop critical thinking skills.

      SHAME. SHAME. Pam Geller got it right on the 9/11 NYC Cordoba mosque. We will remember her contribution and leadership, not the “guidance” of this Pope Francis in New York.

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