Dividing Catholics from Protestants, Christians from Muslims and so Conquering the World

Every world religion has dark spots in it´s history.
These are the times when power-greedy men used the religion for their own ends.
It´s easy to find these spots in history and it is easy to use them to demonise the whole religion.
By demonising a religion or culture you can then incite members of another religion or sect to hate and to fight and at least to distance themselves from them.

Natural alliances between oppressed groups and people of similar world view are hindered by this kind of demonising.
And so a cynical elite can hold on to their power by making the prols fight each other.

Nobody within the Catholic church denies, that there were times in the middle ages when corruption reigned supreme especially in the upper echelons of the hierarchy.
These were the times when the European aristocracy pushed their superfluous second and third sons into the clergy, so their estates would not be divided up and religious and worldly powers stayed roughly in the same hands.
Those second and third sons did not become priests or bishops or even popes out of religious idealism and so they did not live a life-style according to an idealism they did not have.

If God is in the Church, why would He allow this?
Maybe God allows us to make mistakes not only as individuals but also as humanity in order to learn and grow over time.

The custom of putting aristocrats into the higher positions of the Church was not abandoned in many parts of the world until quite recently.
Pope John Paul II was the first Polish bishop who had no aristocratic background.
But things have changed Pope Benedict XVI is the son of a small-town Bavarian police man.
In some South American countries the higher ups in Church hierarchy still come from the white elites, who are descendants of Spanish aristocrats.
That´s why the Venezuelan bishops hate Hugo Chavez so much. They fear for the privileges of their brothers and sisters in the Venezuelan elite.

But the Church is growing and things will change there as well.

From what I have read from statements coming out of the Vatican in recent decades, the position the Church has on economics for developing countries is far closer to the ideas of Hugo Chavez than to the ones of the Venezuelan bishops.

But the Catholic church, according to the Social Agenda, does not propose one single model of economics for the whole world, it would mean a monopolization of power.
The Catholic church opposes the concentration of power and wealth in too few hands.
And the Catholic church supports national sovereignty, like the right to impose tariffs and restrictions, to for instance allow developing countries to develop themselves by preventing a market take over from greedy western corporations and elites.
Pope Benedict himself said, that developing countries and their majority peoples should be allowed to profit from the resources of their countries.

The ideas of social justice and peaceful cooperation are very similar within Catholic and mainline Protestant Christianity and mainline Islam.
The reality on the ground is, that we have far more in common than divides us.

But there are people who love to hate.
Or at least they love to watch us hating and fighting each other.
And so they drag up every past incidence of failures to make their point that we can´t live together in peace.

Posted in Submitted by erlenda on Mon, 2007-09-10 00:29.

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Pope Benedict XVI, Arnold Ratzinger is the most anti-Islam and anti-Muslim pope in the modern history of the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church is in decline because of it's own deviation from the teachings of Christ.
To arrest this decline in followers he seeks confrontation with Islam and Muslims, which is no different from the Zionist neo-cons, and that is why I have called him a Talmudist.

awakenedgoyim | Mon, 2007-09-10 01:26

Are you Catholic? If not, I consider it the Catholic Church's loss. We could sure use more souls who think like you, but the world is blessed to have you and those who are capable of right reason, like you. Peace and long life.

---------------------------------------
To Jesus Through Mary

Jesse | Mon, 2007-09-10 01:28

..yes, peace is the answer, with love and freedom thrown in for good measure..

..but don't ask the zionuts, because they're as racist as it gets, even if they were a 'race'

Grim Reaper | Mon, 2007-09-10 01:58

either.
Whoever says so, is either biased from the very beginning against everything Catholic or he does, what the mainline media did last year, trying to push the one billion Catholics and the one billion Muslims into a confrontation by quoting the Pope out of context.

And the same is true regarding compassionate activists for social justice and peace.

Disinformation all over the place, cui bono?

The Pope's speech to the representatives from the Muslim Community
Ambassadors to the Holy See from predominantly Muslim countries and representatives of Italy's Muslim Community.

Dear Cardinal Poupard,
Your Excellencies,
Dear Muslim Friends,

I am pleased to welcome you to this gathering that I wanted to arrange in order to strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity between the Holy See and Muslim communities throughout the world. I thank Cardinal Poupard, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, for the words that he has just addressed to me, and I thank all of you for responding to my invitation.

The circumstances which have given rise to our gathering are well known. I have already had occasion to dwell upon them in the course of the past week. In this particular context, I should like to reiterate today all the esteem and the profound respect that I have for Muslim believers, calling to mind the words of the Second Vatican Council which for the Catholic Church are the Magna Carta of Muslim-Christian dialogue:
“The Church looks upon Muslims with respect. They worship the one God living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to humanity and to whose decrees, even the hidden ones, they seek to submit themselves whole-heartedly, just as Abraham, to whom the Islamic faith readily relates itself, submitted to God” (Declaration Nostra Aetate, 3).

Placing myself firmly within this perspective, I have had occasion, since the very beginning of my pontificate, to express my wish to continue establishing bridges of friendship with the adherents of all religions, showing particular appreciation for the growth of dialogue between Muslims and Christians (cf. Address to the Delegates of Other Churches and Ecclesial Communities and of Other Religious Traditions, 25 April 2005). As I underlined at Cologne last year, “Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims cannot be reduced to an optional extra. It is, in fact, a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends” (Meeting with Representatives of Some Muslim Communities, Cologne, 20 August 2005).

In a world marked by relativism and too often excluding the transcendence and universality of reason, we are in great need of an authentic dialogue between religions and between cultures, capable of assisting us, in a spirit of fruitful co-operation, to overcome all the tensions together. Continuing, then, the work undertaken by my predecessor, Pope John Paul II, I sincerely pray that the relations of trust which have developed between Christians and Muslims over several years, will not only continue, but will develop further in a spirit of sincere and respectful dialogue, based on ever more authentic reciprocal knowledge which, with joy, recognizes the religious values that we have in common and, with loyalty, respects the differences.

Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is a necessity for building together this world of peace and fraternity ardently desired by all people of good will. In this area, our contemporaries expect from us an eloquent witness to show all people the value of the religious dimension of life. Likewise, faithful to the teachings of their own religious traditions, Christians and Muslims must learn to work together, as indeed they already do in many common undertakings, in order to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence; as for us, religious authorities and political leaders, we must guide and encourage them in this direction.

Indeed, “although considerable dissensions and enmities between Christians and Muslims may have arisen in the course of the centuries, the Council urges all parties that, forgetting past things, they train themselves towards sincere mutual understanding and together maintain and promote social justice and moral values as well as peace and freedom for all people” (Declaration, Nostra Aetate, 3).

The lessons of the past must therefore help us to seek paths of reconciliation, in order to live with respect for the identity and freedom of each individual, with a view to fruitful co-operation in the service of all humanity. As Pope John Paul II said in his memorable speech to young people at Casablanca in Morocco, “Respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres, especially in that which concerns basic freedoms, more particularly religious freedom. They favour peace and agreement between peoples” (no. 5).

Dear friends, I am profoundly convinced that in the current world situation it is imperative that Christians and Muslims engage with one another in order to address the numerous challenges that present themselves to humanity, especially those concerning the defence and promotion of the dignity of the human person and of the rights ensuing from that dignity. When threats mount up against people and against peace, by recognizing the central character of the human person and by working with perseverance to see that human life is always respected, Christians and Muslims manifest their obedience to the Creator, who wishes all people to live in the dignity that he has bestowed upon them.

Dear friends, I pray with my whole heart that the merciful God will guide our steps along the paths of an ever more authentic mutual understanding. At this time when for Muslims the spiritual journey of the month of Ramadan is beginning, I address to all of them my cordial good wishes, praying that the Almighty may grant them serene and peaceful lives. May the God of peace fill you with the abundance of his Blessings, together with the communities that you represent!

Pope Speaks to Diplomats

by Pope Benedict XVI

At the start of the year, we are invited to turn our attention to the international situation, so as to focus upon the challenges that we are called to address together.

Among the key issues, how can we not think of the millions of people, especially women and children, who lack water, food, or shelter? The worsening scandal of hunger is unacceptable in a world which has the resources, the knowledge, and the means available to bring it to an end. It impels us to change our way of life, it reminds us of the urgent need to eliminate the structural causes of global economic dysfunction and to correct models of growth that seem incapable of guaranteeing respect for the environment and for integral human development, both now and in the future. Once again I invite the leaders of the wealthiest nations to take the necessary steps to ensure that poor countries, which often have a wealth of natural resources, are able to benefit from the fruits of goods that are rightfully theirs. From this point of view, the delay in implementing the commitments undertaken by the international community during the last few years is another cause of concern. So it is to be hoped that the trade negotiations of the “Doha Development Round” of the World Trade Organization will be resumed, and that the process of debt cancellation and reduction for the poorest countries will be continued and accelerated. At the same time, these processes must not be made conditional upon structural adjustments that are detrimental to the most vulnerable populations.

Equally, in the area of disarmament, symptoms of a developing crisis are multiplying, linked to difficulties in negotiations over conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction and also to the rise in global military expenditure. Security issues – aggravated by terrorism, which is to be utterly condemned – must be approached from a global and far-sighted perspective.

As far as humanitarian crises are concerned, we should note that the organizations dealing with them need greater support, so that they can be equipped to provide protection and assistance to the victims. Another concern which looms ever larger is that of the movement of persons: millions of men and women are forced to leave their homes or their native lands because of violence or in order to seek more dignified living conditions. It is an illusion to think that migration can be blocked or checked simply by force. Migration and the problems to which it gives rise must be addressed humanely, with justice and compassion...

erlenda | Mon, 2007-09-10 02:19

The Catholic church opposes the concentration of power and wealth in too few hands.

You gotta be kidding me. What an uneducated remark.

Peacetroll | Mon, 2007-09-10 17:50

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