Benedict's blunders
Pope Benedict XVI seems intent on pissing everyone off.
First came the controversial remarks he made about Islam in September 2006, describing Islam as a bloodthirsty religion. Besides showing a disturbing lack of understanding of one of the world's major faiths (particularly disconcerting from a religious leader of such import, who one would assume would at least be passingly familiar with the tenets of Islam), it also suggested that this pope, unlike John Paul II, was not particularly concerned with uniting faiths.
More recently, Benedict seems to have decided that what the Christian faith needs is a good ol' fashioned return to pre-Vatican II sectarianism. Just last week, he decided that saying the traditional mass in Latin is ok, with all its good anti-Semitic language intact (a decision that has caused controversy within the Catholic community). Now, he's decided that Protestants don't have churches, in a document highlighting the 'defects' of non-Roman Catholic Christian faiths.
What next? A return to selling indulgences? Maybe a little blood libel discussion? Reneging on the notion that the earth is round? The Thirty Years' War sure was fun too...
I get that retro is in - looking at women's fashion this summer it's hard to miss. But retro-Catholicism is not a good idea, no matter from whose perspective you look at it.
First came the controversial remarks he made about Islam in September 2006, describing Islam as a bloodthirsty religion. Besides showing a disturbing lack of understanding of one of the world's major faiths (particularly disconcerting from a religious leader of such import, who one would assume would at least be passingly familiar with the tenets of Islam), it also suggested that this pope, unlike John Paul II, was not particularly concerned with uniting faiths.
More recently, Benedict seems to have decided that what the Christian faith needs is a good ol' fashioned return to pre-Vatican II sectarianism. Just last week, he decided that saying the traditional mass in Latin is ok, with all its good anti-Semitic language intact (a decision that has caused controversy within the Catholic community). Now, he's decided that Protestants don't have churches, in a document highlighting the 'defects' of non-Roman Catholic Christian faiths.
What next? A return to selling indulgences? Maybe a little blood libel discussion? Reneging on the notion that the earth is round? The Thirty Years' War sure was fun too...
I get that retro is in - looking at women's fashion this summer it's hard to miss. But retro-Catholicism is not a good idea, no matter from whose perspective you look at it.
posted by Nixie at 6:54 PM
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