The Vatican embarrasses itself today in its newspaper, mistakenly scolding Israel for not offering aid to Sri Lanka when in fact the anti-Semites in the island nation refused entry to the Israeli aid delegation. In the language they used to issue their judgment on the only nation in Southwest Asia that allows Christians unfettered religious freedom, the Vatican revealed a bias that calls into question John Paul II's famous outreach to Jews:

The Vatican newspaper has denounced what it called a decision by the IDF to deny emergency help to disaster victims in Sri Lanka.

Calling for "a radical and dramatic change of perspective" among people "too often preoccupied with making war," L'Osservatore Romano singled out Israeli military leaders for declining a request for emergency medical help.

Contrary to the Vatican report, an Israeli plane carrying 80 tons of food and medical supplies worth $100,000 was set to depart for Sri Lanka Wednesday morning. At the request of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry, a team of some 150 Israeli medical and security personnel aborted their planned trip to the island nation Tuesday night.

Oops! I guess the Vatican doesn't take its mission to provide the Truth to the world too seriously these days. The blogosphere had the Sri Lanka/Israel story hours ago, another short-sighted and pointless example of Islamic anti-Semitism that hurts themselves more than it could ever hurt the Jews bearing the aid the Sri Lankans need. Instead of spending a few minutes getting their story straight, the Vatican mouthpiece wasted little time jumping to a conclusion that has to force Catholics around the world to question the Vatican's true attitude towards Israel and Jews.

Question 1: Why did an official Catholic newspaper fail to research the issue before issuing an opinion?

Question 2: Why did L'Osservatore Romano automatically blame the Jews?

Question 3: Who wrote that editorial, and at what level was it approved?

The Vatican has generated a lot of publicity during John Paul II's reign out of their outreach to Israel and the worldwide Jewish community. This incident appears to betray a completely different attitude towards them in the upper echelons of the Catholic Church. When leaders within Christ's Church take the side of tyrants and terrorists and turn on the one small oasis in a desert of oppression for Christians, we Catholics have to wonder where the Vatican is leading us.

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