[Le Temps, Switzerland]

El Tiempo, Colombia

The Pope and Bush: Brothers in Arms

"Bush sees the world in terms of good and evil, and he considers that only a united front encompassing all 2.2 billion Judeo-Christians will be able to resist Islam. … One hundred twenty years ago, Frederick Nietzsche announced that God had died. Nonetheless, the 'deceased' occasionally resurrects itself … occasionally with a sword in hand."

EDITORIAL

Translated By Douglas Myles Rasmussen

April 21, 2008

Colombia - El Tiempo - Original Article (Spanish)

Benedict XVI and the United States get on well, as demonstrated by the visit of the Holy Father and Bush's celebration of his birthday. 

The most glorious moment for Catholics in the United States occurred in 1961 when, for the only time, a Catholic, Apostolic and Roman politician - John F. Kennedy - was elected president. The most lamentable moment was when, beginning in 2002, it was revealed that some 10,000 cases of pedophilia had been committed by Catholic priests over the course of 30 years. Nearly 3,000 church leaders in the country have been prosecuted for abusing minors and the Church paid $2 billion in compensation. So it was hoped that the first Papal visit since then would refer to the crisis of the "hot sacristies" which left seminaries empty, forced over 800 parishes to close and left 3,238 churches without a full-time priest. 

Benedict XVI is showing, during his five-day visit to the United States, that the gentleness of his manner hasn't reduced the vigor with which he repudiates the pedophilia of his pastors. On at least three occasions he asked for forgiveness, and he met with young people who had suffered sexual abuse. By confronting the situation with strength and frankness, the Holy Father seeks to overcome the shameful attitude of concealment and pusillanimity with which the Church handled the scandal, an attitude that neither John Paul II, nor the Vatican hierarchy, nor the hierarchy of other countries, including Colombia, has not been free of.

His trip seemed less spectacular than those of his predecessor to the same country; but all the same, Benedict's visit will have better effects on the Catholic community which accounts for 1 in 4 Americans. There were no extraordinary expectations for his trip, except that George Bush exceptionally received him at the airport to show that, beyond honoring the patriarch of a faith or a head of state, he was celebrating a religion. The scene of a Protestant-President Bush - being the first to sing Happy 81st Birthday to a Catholic Pope is just as memorable as a Catholic President - Kennedy - got a sensual "Happy Birthday" from by Marilyn Monroe.

Although it is rumored that Bush might convert to Catholicism, as did former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, it is nothing more than theological gossip . What is true is that Bush sees the world in terms of good and evil, and he considers that only a united front encompassing all 2.2 billion Judeo-Christians will be able to resist Islam, which, with its 1.3 billion adherents, has passed Catholicism as the religion with the greatest number of faithful.

For the time being, the Pope, who presided over full stadiums and spoke before the United Nations, didn't direct his gaze at the old Irish Catholics of Boston - a city he didn't even visit. Rather, he embraced the new Hispanic Catholics, whose language he spoke more than once. Therein lies the future of Gringo Catholicism. It could also be the future of candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, striving to win back an electorate that always sympathized with the Democratic Party but which moved toward the Republicans in 2004. These days, both have careful to publicly display their Catholic advisers. 

One hundred twenty years ago, Frederick Nietzsche announced that God had died . Nonetheless, the "deceased" occasionally resurrects itself, only its does so with various revelations with differing levels of power, and occasionally, a sword in hand. Recent decades have seen increasing religious tension and the spread of theocracies, which now encompass almost all Arab countries. There are few places on the map where there aren't conflicts of metaphysical origin and political expression, which, in some cases, are run by terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. 

In the Middle East, religious extremists of different denominations have ever-increasing influence; in India, Hindus complain of the sectarianism of 150 million Muslims; in the former Soviet Union, churches are once again being filled; Christian Europe looks upon Turkish Islam with greater mistrust than the rise of Atheism (worldwide there are about 500 million atheists or agnostics); Ireland is just beginning to overcome the clash between Protestants and Catholics; the curia of Spain and Italy is suffering a decline in influence; even the Olympic Games in China are stained by protests from Tibetan Buddhists of the Dalai Lama and followers of Falun Gong cult; and in the United States they just arrested polygamist Mormons and Obama hasn't been able to shake off the racist image of his spiritual advisor, Pastor Jeremy Wright.  

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

Benedict XVI and the United States get on well, as his visit shows: one in two citizens has a favorable view of the Pope. Another issue is that the religious inspiration that Bush and the neoconservatives have tried to inject into matters of State is dangerous and noxious. On this point, the kind of European Secularism that wouldn't please either leader is much more advisable. As someone who's Christianity is above all controversy once said, "Render unto God what is God's, and to Caesar what is Caesar's."

[Editor's Note: The actual quote of Jesus, which appears three times in the King James Bible, is, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."]

CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH VERSION

SEE ALSO:

Nachrichten, Switzerland
No Slap in the Face for
Bush; Pope's Unspoken
Endorsement of McCain

http://worldmeets.us/nachrichten000008.shtml

Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien, France
The Pope 'Subliminally'

Campaigns for McCain

http://worldmeets.us/journaldudimancheauquotidien000011.shtml

BBC Brazil, Brazil

Trip to America: The Papal 'Vote'

http://worldmeets.us/bbcbrazil000001.shtml

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US April 23, 5:57pm]