Pope Benedict XVI apologized more clearly for any offense taken from his speech by Muslims that decried violence in relgious proselytization, as Muslims burnt two churches in the West Bank. Benedict now says that he hoped Muslims would understand the core meaning of his speech, which appears extremely unlikely:

In a statement read out by a senior Vatican official, the Pope said he respected Islam and hoped Muslims would understand the true sense of his words. ...

The BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome says the speed with which the Vatican has reacted shows just how seriously it views the situation.

Reading the statement, new Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Pope's position on Islam was in line with Vatican teaching that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God".

"The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the "esteemed Muslims" continue to escalate their demonstrations, providing the perfect example of what Benedict meant when he said that "The decisive statement in this argument against violent conversion is this: not to act in accordance with reason is contrary to God’s nature." A group calling itself the "Lords of Monotheism" firebombed two Christian churches in Nablus today:

Two churches in the West Bank were hit by firebombs early Saturday, witnesses and clergy said, and a group claiming responsiblity said the attacks were meant as a protest against comments by Pope Benedict XVI about Islam.

The firebombs left black scorch marks on the walls and windows of a Roman Catholic and an Anglican church in the West Bank city of Nablus. Father Yousef, a priest at the Anglican Church, said several firebombs hit the church's outside wall.

These were not the only churches in the Palestinian territories to suffer attacks. Michelle Malkin notes that a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza got hit with two separate bombs and a concussion grenade. The Jerusalem Post reports that the priest couldn't understand why Muslims would bomb his church, since it has no connection to Rome -- but the Anglican priests could say much the same thing.

People use words to criticize Islam; Muslims use stones, fire, and eventually bombs to protest back. When was the last time Christians threw firebombs at a mosque to protest Muslim imams characterizing Christianity as polytheistic? When have we seen Jews firebomb mosques for Muslim leaders calling them the descendants of pigs and monkeys, a common insult from both religious and secular Muslims in the Middle East? Muslims have proven Benedict prophetic, and don't think for a moment that this wave of violence has peaked.

Political leaders and opinion makers will soon start calling for Benedict to withdraw his remarks, even though he never aimed them at Islam specifically (only as an example from 600 years ago) and even while Muslims prove him correct. The New York Times put itself on the leading edge of this impulse yesterday, to the shame of their stockholders, but they will not be alone long. Soon and very soon, calls will come from around the world, even within the Catholic Church, for Benedict to withdraw his remarks altogether and apologize for having implied that Muslims use violence to spread their religious beliefs -- even while the evidence of Benedict's truth continues to expand all around them.

We have no end of dhimmis. We need men like Benedict and other leaders to tell the truth, rather than to submit to Islam's violent outbursts. His predecessor did the same when he challenged the evil of Communist oppression, speaking out against its totalitarian demands and standing up to its agents of violence. He almost paid for that with his life, but his example helped demonstrate the truth he spoke to a world that was only too eager to collaborate in order to save themselves from violence -- and in the end, truth won out over both Communism and violence.

The dhimmis will not have to stand alone. Will Benedict? Or will Western leaders and opinion makers finally realize that the freedom of criticism is at stake in these battles over speeches and editorial cartoons, and stand with Benedict and freedom instead of the rioting Muslims and their silencing violence?

I think you know where I stand. Where do you stand?

UPDATE: I know where The Anchoress stands:

Lancing a boil or two is messy work, so no right-thinking person can think we are headed for days of sweetness and light, but I am a little peeved at the way Benedict’s speech has been presented by some - I say some - in the press.

Benedict’s speech is not easily compressed into a 30-second soundbite, I grant you. And the print media must pluck the ripest phrases from any speechmaker’s text and build a story around it. But the headlines count. They matter. And some in the press - not all, but some - could not resist the urge to provoke precisely these violent and angry reactions and these predictable, camera-ready burnings in effigy from a people the press knows they can rouse to fury in less than three notes.

I mean, when isn’t the “Muslim world” furious, enraged, raising its sword and setting fire to flags or images? When isn’t some Muslim cleric demanding a retraction of what he perceives to he “harsh” words? When a few cartoons can be turned into worldwide protests, resulting in death to too many and literally cowing the media into relative silence, does the press not understand that a snarky headline or a careless phrase can cost lives?

Of course the press realizes this. That's why the New York Times demanded that Benedict apologize.

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» BENEDICT’S SUBTLEY LOST ON THE MSM from Right Wing Nut House
If ever one needed proof of the shallowness and intellectual laziness of the mainstream media, the hysteria they’ve managed to gin up over remarks by the Pope regarding the Islamic faith, taken wildly out of context, serves as a potent reminder ... [Read More]

Tracked on September 16, 2006 9:13 AM

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Tracked on September 16, 2006 10:02 AM

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