The Pope and Rosie

Paul in Cannon Beach

I am not Catholic nor am I necessarily a big supporter of the Pope but I do find it interesting that Muslims have responded to the Pope's comments about Mohammed's teachings being evil and violent by burning down several churches.

If "radical Christians" were as "dangerous" as these Muslim fanatics, then Rosie O'Donnell should be scared for her life.

I very much doubt that she is worried for her life. That in itself is proof that her comments were ridiculous.

ray a

I think this illustrates very well that we are in a religious conflict. Imagine what would happen to your freedom of speech if we were under Muslim law. Europe is headed in that direction.

HRinGA

Well, I am Catholic and while I am surprised he said it, I am more freaked out by the Muslim reaction. As fanatic as they are about anyone who says anything about their religion, the Pope had to have known this would create a firestorm. I mean, it wasn't like he came up with this on his own; he quoted it from some ancient writings waaayyy back when. And now his overall message of "tolerance of all religions" has completely gone out the window. This is serious stuff. I read today they now have sharp shooters stationed around the Vatican to protect him. Do they really think shooting someone for a comment is going to make it better? How does burning down a church make it better? I don't understand..

I missed Rosie's comments. What did she say?

ray a

I don't know what Rosie said, nor do I care. When the Pope's comments first hit the news, I understood that he was quoting from church fathers to demonstrate how the church used to believe to contrast to today's thinking as a way of setting the stage for a dialog on tolerance.

ray a

In the quote used by the pope, the writer said the Muslims were tainted by violence. Here is one reaction, “We shall break the cross and spill the wine ... God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome ... (May) God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen,”

The pope said the quote he read were not his views of the Muslim faith. But, judging from the reactions, .... well, draw your own conclusions.

Paul in Cannon Beach

On the tv show the View, Rosie O'Donnel responded to a statement made by one of the ohter hosts about Islam as a threat to free dom:

"Just a minute, radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state."