{"id":2164,"date":"2007-04-10T13:09:11","date_gmt":"2007-04-10T13:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2007\/04\/the-pope-and-iraq.html"},"modified":"2007-04-10T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2007-04-10T13:09:11","slug":"the-pope-and-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/04\/the-pope-and-iraq.html","title":{"rendered":"The Pope and Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Sunday’s Urbi et Orbi message, Pope Benedict said the following:<\/a> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and
\npeace as it prepares to hold important elections. Elsewhere too, peace is sorely
\nneeded: in Sri Lanka only a negotiated solution can put an end to the conflict
\nthat causes so much bloodshed; Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and
\ninstability; In the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue
\nbetween Israel and the Palestinian authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq,
\ntorn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees. In Lebanon the
\nparalysis of the country\u2019s political institutions threatens the role that the
\ncountry is called to play in the Middle East and puts its future seriously in
\njeopardy. Finally, I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian
\ncommunities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed Land which is the
\ncradle of our faith. I affectionately renew to these populations the expression
\nof my spiritual closeness.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Pope’s remark about the impact of violence in Iraq has raised hackles.<\/p>\n

An editorial in the New York Sun:<\/a> <\/p>\n

\n

If the pope wants to help
\nIraqis and the Americans and others who are risking their lives to help
\nthem, he could underscore this progress rather than denying it. Recent
\nyears have shown us that popes certainly have the capacity to play a
\nconstructive role in world affairs. We refer not only to John Paul II’s
\nheroic struggle against Soviet Communism, but even to the part that
\nBenedict XVI himself apparently played in winning the safe release from
\nIran of the royal marines. The pope, in citing a list of trouble spots
\nfrom Zimbabwe to Sri Lanka, avoided in his Easter message the error the
\nAmerican left makes of focusing on the carnage in Iraq to the exclusion
\nof all the other woes.<\/p>\n

It is possible, too, that the reference to Iraq was not intended as
\na criticism of America’s intervention, which after all was four years
\nago, but on the failures since the invasion of the followers of Sunni
\nand Shiite Islam to live together in peace. At least it can be observed
\nthat the pope’s comment comes in from a prelate who has been speaking
\nup for Christianity in Europe, where it is threatened not only by
\nsecularism but by an intolerant streak of Islam that also targets Jews.<\/p>\n

The danger of Benedict’s negativism about Iraq yesterday is that it
\nwill be interpreted in a way that will undermine the West in the war
\nwith the very extremist factions he seemed concerned about last year at
\nRegensburg, where he sparked a controversy by quoting the Byzantine
\nemperor Manuel II. Following the controversy the pontiff courageously
\nmade a trip to Turkey. Wouldn’t it be something were he, in the wake of
\nhis remarks about Iraq, to make a trip to Baghdad and look for himself
\nat the positive things that are happening in Iraq, at the civil
\npopulation that has chosen to stay and build up the country, and give
\nhimself and his billion or more followers a chance to see the situation
\nthrough eyes of hope.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Michael Novak at the Corner:<\/a> <\/p>\n

\n

Benedict XVI’s Easter Sunday remarks<\/a>
\nin St Peter Square hit a low point, I would think. He said that
\n"nothing positive comes from Iraq." This is a very skewed report on the
\nrealities on the ground. But it might mean that the message the Pope
\nwanted to convey is that of the American Left: "Whatever the good or
\nthe bad achievements, it is time to get out." In other words, not an
\naccurate description, but a prescription for the near future.<\/p>\n

When
\nI was invited to the Vatican in 2003, just before the war began, I told
\nthe Foreign Minister of the Vatican, Archbishop Tauran, that articles
\nappearing under a Vatican imprint in Civilta Cattolica were blaming the
\nUS for seeking oil in Iraq (a hypothetical), while ignoring the real
\nand existing contracts of the French, Germans and Russians for Iraqi
\noil. This double standard seemed to me hypocritical. The Archbishop
\nwinced, and said that perhaps I was being too uncritical of the
\nAmericans, and that I needed to factor in the fact that most such
\nVatican editorials were, after all, written by Europeans from a
\nEuropean point of view. I replied that I expected the Vatican to
\nproceed in a more catholic manner than that.<\/p>\n

Those words came
\nback to me when I saw what Benedict XVI had said in his Urbi et Orbi
\nremarks in the Piazza of St Peter’s. They sounded like a standard
\nEuropean view of reality \u2014 at least of those Europeans who have always
\ndisagreed with the American war aims, and now that things have become
\ndifficult and costly want to stick it to the Americans.<\/p>\n

I was disappointed in Benedict XVI for being uncritical about this.<\/p>\n

Even
\nas he was speaking, an immense protest meeting among Iraqi Shiites was
\ntaking shape in the holy city of Najaf. Here were TWO positive things
\ntaking place in Iraq on account of the deposing of Saddam Hussein.
\nFirst, the Shiite holy cities are free and open for feast days,
\nfestivals, and pilgrimages from all over, as they were not under
\nSaddam. Second, this particular protest, against the Americans and in
\nfavor of Iraqi nationalism, was also free, peaceful, and not only
\nunopposed by Coalition forces but protected and assisted by them.<\/p>\n

In
\naddition, there are 200 or so free newspapers and magazines in Iraq now
\nthat did not used to be there in the time of Saddam. There are many
\nhundreds of private, nongovernmental organizations and associations of
\nall sorts. In short, civil society is coming back to life, slowly but
\nsurely.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Fr. Neuhaus:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Pope Benedict said that \u201cnothing positive comes from Iraq.\u201d The most
\nplausible interpretation of those words is that he sees no improvement
\nin the situation for the people of Iraq. He says the country is \u201ctorn
\napart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees.\u201d He does
\nnot say who is responsible for the continual slaughter, the various
\nfactions in Iraq or the coalition forces trying to bring the slaughter
\nto an end. His concern for the fleeing civil population is undoubtedly
\na reference to the rapidly declining Christian population there. The
\nplight of Christians in the Middle East comes in for more extended
\ntreatment in his Easter Sunday address. I hope he is wrong about there
\nbeing nothing positive in what is happening in Iraq. I am confident
\nthat he hopes he is wrong. It is inconceivable that he hopes there will
\nbe no positive developments in the months ahead.<\/p>\n

While opponents of American policy are, quite understandably,
\ncapitalizing on the pope\u2019s words, there is a dramatically different
\nresponse from some other sources. The New York Sun<\/em>, for instance, featured the pope on the front page and joined that with a long editorial<\/a><\/u>
\ndeploring \u201cBenedict\u2019s negativism.\u201d The editorial concludes: \u201cWouldn\u2019t
\nit be something were he, in the wake of his remarks about Iraq, to make
\na trip to Baghdad and look for himself at the positive things that are
\nhappening in Iraq, at the civil population that has chosen to stay and
\nbuild up the country, and give himself and his billion or more
\nfollowers a chance to see the situation through eyes of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well yes, it would be something. Something like a very bad idea, I
\nexpect. There are many reasons why the pope should not, and almost
\ncertainly will not, insert his person and office into the religious and
\npolitical rivalries in Iraq, or into the public debate about the merits
\nand demerits of the strategy being pursued by coalition forces under
\nGeneral Petraeus. Among the many topics addressed on Easter Sunday,
\nBenedict devoted a few words to his dour assessment of the situation in
\nIraq. Lost in this discussion are his extensive comments on conflicts
\nin Africa, very notably on the situation in Zimbabwe, where the
\nCatholic bishops have issued a powerful statement calling for an end to
\nthe tyrannical regime of Robert Mugabe.<\/p>\n

As for what he said about Iraq, he may be right but I very
\nrespectfully hope he is wrong. As I have no doubt that he also hopes he
\nis wrong. In the next several months, all of us will likely know more
\nthan we know now about whether there is anything positive about
\ndevelopments in Iraq.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Sunday’s Urbi et Orbi message, Pope Benedict said the following: Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and peace as it prepares to hold important elections. Elsewhere too, peace is sorely needed: in Sri Lanka only a negotiated solution can put an end to the conflict that causes so much…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Pope and Iraq - Via Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/04\/the-pope-and-iraq.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Pope and Iraq - Via Media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Sunday’s Urbi et Orbi message, Pope Benedict said the following: Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and peace as it prepares to hold important elections. 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She has written 17 books. 18, if you included the as yet tragically unpublished novel. Amy has five children, ranging in age from 26 to 4 and was married to Michael Dubruiel, who died unexpectedly in February 2009. 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