September 18, 2006- Every Word Meant

   One of the things that we have not seen much of in the last few decades is anything controversial concerning the Pope. Much of that is due to the fact that the last pontificate, that of John Paul II, lasted damn near thirty years, and that gut was as non-controversial as they come. Everything that was controversial about him revolved around an act that was done to him, when that dude tried to assassinate him back in the 1980's, and that was only controversial because it was the first time in many a century that anyone had actually tried to assassinate a Pope. Other than that, the Pontificate of John Paul II was known for dipolmacy, no controversy, as the dude met with factions thgat no Pope had given the time of day to in centuries and made efforts to try and heal real old wounds and the like. That was why the guy ended up becoming sort of a saint on earth, and why he was so beloved by billions around the world, catholic or not. he always had a good word for everyone, and never tried to run much of anyone or anything down. Well, as we know, John Paull  II died last year, and they elected that Joseph Ratzinger dude that took the name Pope Benedict XIV. Once he became Pope, we never hard much about the guy, we saw him doing shit like blessing a buch of sportscars in St. Peter's square, and he headed World Yout hDay festivities earlier this year, but other than that,  the dude has been quiet, he has not elevated anyone to sainthood or done much else except make his appearances on Sunday in Rome and preach the usual bullshit and lies. Most TV stations here in the USA don't even have stock footage of the dude as the actual Pope, they all show the footage from the day he was elected and was wearing that temporary Pope-elect outfit, so almost none ever show him dressed in the official Pope clothes and such because he never does anything. Well, that changed last week, because last Tuesday, Pope Benedict XIV finally did something morte noteworthy than blessing sportscars and kids, he did so on a trip back to the part of Germany that he grew up and got started in the priesthood in. It was a regular homecoming for Pope Benny, adoring followers everywhere he went and everything poissible being bestowed upon him. Hundreds of thousands of people from all across the world came the Masses that he celebrated, and the media was everywhere. Pope Benny was well aware of that media too, and he used it to his advantage all the way through the trip. On Tuesday, he was somewhere or another, delivering either a speech or a homily to the faithful gathered there, and he quoted this book that he liked, it was something apparently written by some obscure 14th Century Byzantine Emperor that no one except scholars ever heard of, and the dude was talking about Islam, and he had nothing good to say about it, he said that it was evil and  murderous and the like, prety much stock stuff for any 14th Century Byzantine Emperor, seeing as how the Byzantine Empire was at war against the Muslims a war that had lasted a long time by then and still had no end in sight, a war that George W. Bush has tried to recreate today, so no Byzantine Emperor, not even the obscure ones, was going to say anything positive about Islam at all ever. Pope Benny quoted the dude last week, and told everyone that it was a quote from a book and not his original writings, and thought nothing more of it and went on his way, but that speech/homily came back to haunt him.

   As soon as word got out to the rest of the world that Pope Benny had said this, the shit started to hit the fan. Muslims were outraged that he would quote somethiung like this, especially in this day and age. They tend to be a little paranoid these  days, and who coulld blame them, because only the truly dense do not see the fact that the war that America is fighting is a war against Islam, just like the one that Byzantine Emperor inherited, and the Pope is the leader of what that Byzantine Empire used to be. In fact, the Byzantine Empire's fall is considered to be the final death of the old Roman Empire, the place where Catholicism and the Pope scene got its start. So Pope Benny is not that different than that 14th century dude that he quoted in his position in life. Many feel that Pope Benny is not destined to rule for long, he is in his seventies already and had had health problems, so the similarities get even closer. So many in the Islamic world took what he said like their 14th century ancestors surely did when that Emperor said it, they got mad and continue to be that way. Demonstrations over this issue are an everyday thing in the likes of Indonesia and the Middle East now, effigies of Pope Benny have been burned, and Catholic churches have been attacked also, and yesterday, an Itlaian nun in Somalia was shot to death. the Muslims are screaming for blood in many places,and many now fear that Pope benny has put his life in danger, esp;ecially since he plans on visiting Turkey  in November, the country where the dude that tried to assassinate his predecessor came from, a place where the vatican has never been too popular, only John Paul II and his diplomacy cleared the way for any Pope at all to even go there for anything. Many in Turkey don't really want him to come there anyway, and what he said last week has inflamed that passion greatly, so now many fear for his life, when The Pope made his  Sunday appearance yesterday, there was increased security there, and that was at his Rome vacation house. Pope Benny did more in a five minute period to be controversial than his predecessor did in almost thirty years. There have not been anti-Papal demonstrations of this magnitude in the Muslim world for really centuries  now, that is how old the wounds are that Pope Benny seemed  to open last week. The Muslims that are not demanding blood are demanding an apology, and the Vatican  has not been very helpful on that either. Those that study these things have said that what the Pope said could not have come at a worse time, just look at the outcry in the Muslim world over some obscure Danish cartoons, so this could very well trump that. Those Danish cartoonists were only like a few newspapers, while the Pope has over one billion followers that hang on his every word in many cases. That is what upsets many Muslims, because they see it as a thing where many that heard what he said that day will believe him unquestingly, because they would feel that even if these were not the original words of The Pope, that he must believe it or else he would not have bothered quoting some obscure 14th century ruler that never amounted to shit.  That gives those ancient words new life and new meaning in a new millennium in the minds of many Muslims, and they don't need that shit now, they have enough problems with the Evangelical Christians in the USA, and certainly do not want one billion or so devout Catholics demonizing them as well. So they do the only thing that they know how to do in much of the Muslim world, they riot and demonstrate and make a fuss like all hell, and that fuss is ganining strength every day.

   After not personally saying anything on this for four days, preferring to let the Vatican propagandists and spin doctors handle it, after all, that is what they get paid for, but on Sunday, Pope Benny himself broke his silence on the issue at that get together at his vacation house. He said tha he truly regretted the uproar that certain comments that he made while in Germany have caused, and said that he was not quoting any original writing of his, but that of an obscure 14th Century nobody that only dorks and geeks like people that become priests and Popes would know of. He tried to say that what he quoted was 14th century stuff and should be thought of in that manner, that it had nothing to do with the modern day world at all. He appareltly just liked this dude's writings and thought that he was able  to say things elequently and like dit as a piece of literature, not as a modern day political statement. He went on to say that he still want to go to Turkey in November, and that he does not considers islam anenemy, he said that stock Holy Man shit about even though the religions and denominations are different, that they are all about the same thing, and that is God and all things Holy. He seemed taken aback by the controversy that he caused, and you could look at it as a situation where the guy still has not really gotten used to just how large and powerful a figure that he is now that he is Pope, for like fifty years he was just some German priest working his way up the Catholic ladder and he never had much contact with the world outside of the Church. When he spoke, it was at conferences that were attended by primarily Bishops and Cardinals and other assorted Holy Men, a sympathetic crowd. Yes, he was the head Holy Man of Germany for a few years, but Germany is part of Europe, and people in Europe don't much bother with the Church anymore, attendance is way down all ovetr the Continent, so even when he was Cardinal, Ratzinger's countrymen largely ignored him and paid no attention, except for the pious and dedicated, that same sympathetic crowd that he always spoke to. So Pope Benny actually has littlle experience in speaking to anyone outside the faithful and is also not used to anyone paying much attention to what he says anyway. If he quoted Hitler when he was Cardinal, hardly anyone would have been paying enough attention to notice, so he was safe with that shit all along. So Pope Benny may have gotten very used to being able to quote who he wanted and say what he wanted with no one saying much about it, and he has not yet really grasped the fact that he is on one of the largest stages in the world now and followed by over one billion people, many of whom do care deeply about everything that he has to say. It is reasonable to think this because after all, about all that he has done is bless sportscars and go to youth festivals, and doing shit like that is not how you learn just how many people follow and listen to you now, and perhaps Benny just was not aware. That is kind of what he is making it out to be, he makes it sound as if he just misunderstood the fact that people would see it as a literary quotation and not as a statement of any kind. That is what the Vatican wants the Muslim world to see and understand and for them not to go wild and kill and destroy any more, and they  hope that will smooth everything over. The Muslims say that is not so easy, especially because the first step in that process is a full apology from Pope Benny himself, and none has been forthcoming, just that bullshit about regrets ove the way the remarks were construed.

   The reason for that is that Pope Benny does not regret one fucking word that he said that day. it is true that he quoted that Emperor because he agreed 100% with what the guy said way back then, and feels that it is relevant again today. Pope Benny is not at all against the war that America is waging against Islam, he is actually all for it. He sees the fact that Islam is a religion on the move and growing at a fantastic rate worldwide, and he knows well that Catholicism and Islam have fought one another many times before, and he feels that they are due to do so agin in thie new millennium. He knows full well just how powerful and such he is, and he also knows that he is the modern day version of that Byzantine Emperor fighting against Islam and wanted them to know that he is ready when they are. Pope Benny is no diplomat like his predecessor was, he is a soldier in God's army, and now sees himself as the leader of that Holy army. He feels that Islam is evil simply because evey Muslim that there is means that there is one less person that is Catholic in the world, one less person that sweras fealty to him and his Church. He wants Islam put down every bit as much as Washington does, that is why he is so popular there. The Muslims were correct to freak out over what he said because they knew that it was essentially  a battle cry against them. They know that he is no the kindly old man in a dress and skullcap that his predecessor was, that he is a warrior, and they are the enemy. All of that diplomacy that John Paul II did was not so innocent either, because what he did was to open up what had previously been the Muslim world to the Church and made them competitors to Islam there. Since no one cares about the Church in Europe anymore, they had to find new ground, and the Third World was it, the places that Islam had previously reigned alone in. Now, the Church and Islam arre face to face there and fighting over the population explosion that is occuring in that part of the world. Benny doe snot plan on losing that war, and he let Islam know that in the speech last week. He waited like eighteen months before he said it to let everyone grieve his predecessor and get on with things,and now is the time. It was no coincidence that he said that shit on his home turf in Germany either that was all part of the battle declaration too. He has been ready to take on Islam for decades now, and he had to wait for John Paul II to die before he could put it into action, and now he is ready, and he wanted Islam to know that in no uncertain terms. He does not care if they freak out in the Muslim world, that might make them more willing to fight and therefore be defeated, so he would want that very much and he started that process last week. He does not even care if he is assassinated while in Turkey, if that happens, the war will be on big time and America and England and the rest of the West would jump in and it would be just like he wanted. That is why he said that stuff just weeks before he goes to Turkey, he is daring the Muslims to get him when he is on their turf, if they don't, that shows how ineffective they are and how easily they will be defeated, if they do, then it is on like never before, making the Crusades look like a frat party. Pope Benny meant every word that he said last week, even if they were supposed to be the words of an obscure 14th century Emperor, they were essentially his. Whenever Islam is ready to come and take his troops on, he is waiting, and he wants them to do is soon because he is an  old man and does not have much time left and has been waiting like fifty years for this war and wants it as soon as he can, and if November proves to be when it starts, so much the better as far as the Vatican is concerned.

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