Will his Islamic “friends” allow him to decline? Will he even wish to decline?
More comments from me on this below.
“Hagia Sophia: Pope’s Interfaith Time Bomb,” by Jules Gomes, ChurchMilitant.com, July 22, 2020:
ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) – Greece’s president is urging Pope Francis to condemn the Islamic takeover of Hagia Sophia a day after Turkey’s radical Islamic president made a counteroffer inviting the pontiff to attend the Byzantine basilica’s reopening as a mosque on July 24.
Turkish presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın revealed Sunday that Pope Francis was among the guests invited to attend the reversion of Hagia Sophia to its status as a mosque conquered by Sultan Mehmet II in 1453.
Greece’s president Katerina Sakellaropoulou, however, phoned the pontiff Monday, calling for the move to be “explicitly and unequivocally condemned.” The progressive judge, known for her leftwing positions on ecology and same-sex unions, asked Francis to help her raise international support on revoking Turkey’s decision.
“I asked @Pontifex to use his influence to raise the awareness of the international community about the conversion of #HagiaSophia into a mosque. I stressed that this decision by Turkey undermines the foundations of tolerance and deepens the rift between cultures and religions,” 62-year-old Sakellaropoulou tweeted.
“Pope Francis is now caught in a massive dilemma of his own making,” distinguished Islamic historian Robert Spencer told Church Militant. “He has for the entire span of his pontificate assiduously courted the goodwill of Muslims, and Muslim leaders have praised him for his defense of Islam.”
“So it’s entirely reasonable for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to invite him and think he will be delighted to attend and serve as the Turkish president’s trophy of the surrender and submission of Christianity,” Spencer pointed out.
Pope Francis is now caught in a massive dilemma of his own making.TweetSpencer, author of the bestselling The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS, described the trap Francis had created for himself:
If Pope Francis does attend, however, he will insult and offend millions of Christians, Catholic and non-Catholic who wonder why he hasn’t stood up for Christianity the way he has for Islam and why he would attend a ceremony that commemorates what Erdoğan believes is the triumph of Islam over Christianity and its superiority to Christianity.
“If Francis doesn’t go, he risks offending his Muslim friends and supporters. If he does go, he risks offending Christians worldwide. There is no pleasing everyone,” Spencer observed.
Spencer, director of Jihad Watch and Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, also noted that the pontiff’s “Human Fraternity declaration with the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar has not brought about harmony between the two religions, nor will it — and now he is caught between reality and the bland fictions he has propagated about Islam being peaceful.”
Meanwhile, Greece’s president is slamming “the decision of the Turkish leadership to turn Hagia Sophia into a mosque” as “a profoundly provocative act against the international community.”
“It brutally insults historical memory, undermines the value of tolerance, and poisons Turkey’s relations with the entire civilized world,” she fumed.Spencer told Church Militant he was expecting Francis “to ignore the Greek president’s appeal.”
“If the pope does answer, I’d expect he will say nothing about Hagia Sophia and instead enlarge upon how different faith traditions have to have mutual respect and engage in dialogue,” Spencer remarked.
The injunction to protect churches applies only to dhimmis — those who have surrendered to Islam, are subject to its rules and paying the jizya tax to their Muslim overlords….