Vatican calls verbal attack on Pope "terrorism"

[meegbear]

Source: Reuters (from RawStory)

The Vatican's official newspaper accused an Italian comedian on Wednesday of "terrorism" for criticizing the Pope and warned his rhetoric could fuel a return to 1970s-style political violence.

In an unusually strongly worded editorial, L'Osservatore Romano said a presenter of a televised May Day rock concert, which is sponsored by Italy's labor unions, had launched "vile attacks" on Pope Benedict in front of an "excitable crowd".

"This, too, is terrorism. It's terrorism to launch attacks on the Church," it said. "It's terrorism to stoke blind and irrational rage against someone who always speaks in the name of love, love for life and love for man."

At the concert, held every year in front of the Saint John in Lateran basilica -- Rome's cathedral where Pope Benedict sits as bishop -- one of the presenters, Andrea Rivera, spoke out against the Pontiff's stand on a number of issues.

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Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Ftoday.reuters.com%2Fnews%2Farticlenews.aspx%3Ftype%3DworldNews%26storyid%3D2007-05-02T171124Z_01_L02113440_RTRUKOC_0_US-POPE-TERRORISM.xml%26src%3Drss%26rpc%3D22

[Madspirit]

1. The Pope

...can kiss my butt.

k&r
Lee

[LiberalFighter]

30. Careful now... he is a man

[Warpy]

2. The war the Church has waged against women

since it adopted the misogynistic rantings of Paul as gospel is terrorism.

Criticizing those old men in dresses is not.

[depakid]

20. "...those old men in dresses"

also have a thing for protecting child molesters....

[Lord Balto]

25. Pope Adolf I

This from a "former" nazi. As Ambrose Bierce said: "Civilization will truly begin when the last stone of the last church falls on the head of the last priest.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

3. I'm a Catholic and I agree with the comedian,

especially with the remarks about Pinochet and Franco.

Pope Benny and the boys really need a sense of humor.

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. The dark ages never ended

as far as the church is concerned;

and not just the Catholic Church.

[mitchum]

5. Well, the Vatican has a long history of just making shit up...

and they are carrying on proudly

[closeupready]

6. Is this the Vatican or the Boy Scouts we are talking about?

Judging by his defensive language, either way, we are dealing with egotists.

[donco6]

7. Waking people up isn't terrorism. It's a duty. n/t

[Cant trust em]

8. I want to like you, Catholic church!

But you keep sticking your foot in your mouth and I can't get past it. I know that JPII has done a lot of good things to benefit humankind, but if they can't cut out their hypocrisy they'll always be damaged to me. Since when is calling homosexuality an abhorrent sin speaking in the name of love?

[Madspirit]

11. I don't want to like them.

What have they done to benefit mankind? Let's see, THEY rant and rave and rail against women, THEY'VE called people in the Choice movement terrorists.... They rant about the right to choice, against gays and lesbians.... Let's see Mother Theresa...*snort*...the great humanitarian...NOT. The women went into one of the poorest, most over-populated places in the ENTIRE world...Calcutta and preached against abortion AND birth control. That's not humanitarian. So just curious here...what humanitarian acts?
Lee

[Zhade]

15. Nothing secular humanity hasn't done as well, if not better.

NT!

[Cant trust em]

19. To quote JPII

"No to war! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity." - 2003 speech against war in Iraq.

All I'm saying is that I want to look at the whole picture and not just their stance on abortion and gay marriage. At this point my opinion is neutral. Most things in the world aren't 100% good or 100% bad.

[Madspirit]

22. Well...don't agree

Sorry, as a lesbian, if you're against MY right to exist, you are 100% evil. I'm funny that way.

Lee

[Madspirit]

23. ...and that wacky

That wacky covering for pedophiles...kinda 100% Evil too....

...and the Wombless One...Poop Head...telling me I can't have an abortion. Controlling MY own body is a human right's issue. 100% Evil.

What you said is like saying..."well, forget that pesky slavery, the uneven playing field and those hate crimes...racism isn't 100% bad."....<g>

The Pope and his Cult are Evil. Not everyone in it is Evil but IT is.
Lee

[Cant trust em]

29. Except that it's not like saying that

I can't think of anything good about racism. I can however think of at least one thing (opposition to the war) that the Catholic church has done. By definition it is not 100% bad. I'm not defending their positions on pedophilia, gay marriage, abortion, etc. I'm not Catholic and am pretty much an agnostic, but to say that everything they've done is bad and haven't benefitted humankind in any way is intellectually dishonest. Even if all they did was make a lot of people feel good about their faith, that is something and therefore can't be 100% evil. You may hate them with 100% of your heart, which I would never argue with.

[Madspirit]

31. It is like saying this

John Doe saved one person's life.

John Doe killed 14 million people.

Therefore he is not Evil.

Sorry, I don't buy it. ...especially not the part where just giving people the fuzzy wuzzies makes them worth being. They are responsible for so much Evil, now and historically...sorry. I see not one good thing about them.

Some of the individual members of the church sure but they would be good even if they weren't members of that church. That church has done too much damage to be even considered a shade of gray.
Lee

[Cant trust em]

34. We've reached that point

of agreeing to disagree.

[Demeter]

26. Lots of Art and Music--Supporting Artists Only Church Accomplishment

If they stuck to that, they'd be a lot more effective influencing people to follow the Teacher.

[arcos]

9. Right, but it is not terrorism when the church launches attacks on gays and lesbians? nt

[varun]

12. exactly

Vatican and the Catholic Church is responsible for the hate crimes on gays and lesbians. They have created a climate that encourages such attacks. They (Vatican) are the terrorists.

[Zhade]

16. Or covers up child rape as a matter of secret, but official, written policy?

I think covering up for those who rape children is a form of real terrorism against every child unfortunate enough to not be free of the requirement to attend a Catholic church.

(No, not all Catholic priests rape. But how can you tell which ones do when your own church covers it up?)

[youngdem]

10. Hilarious. What a fucking joke. Being called a terrorist by the organization

that perfected intellectual fascism, imprisoned and executed scholars, brought the Crusades to the world, molests children and protects the offenders, and is currently run by a member of the HITLER YOUTH? What a fucking joke.

What a FUCKING JOKE.

Everyday, I add another reason to list of why I don't have any use for Catholicism or any other invisible friend club.

[newscott]

28. Invisible friend club.

I like that.

[Madspirit]

32. There are a lot

There's an amazing amount of members of the Invisible Friend Club at DU. I was really surprised when I joined.
Lee

[formercia]

13. Gladio Redux

History shows that most of the 'political' violence was directed by reactionary right wing elements with connections to the Church. Even the 'Red brigades' was a false-flag operation carried out by the right.

[Zhade]

14. Arrest me, then, because Ratzinger is an enabler of child rape.

He believes in ridiculous mythical shit that causes his ilk to hold back science and humanity, has set back his own church through his ignorance and hatred, and should be shunned for the crazy asshole liar he is (AIDS doesn't pass through condoms, gays aren't evil and don't "choose" to be gay, and science isn't a religion).

FUCK Ratzinger, fuck his office, fuck his personal beliefs, and fuck anyone who thinks having an opinion is terrorism.

Fools.

[Madspirit]

17. I couldn't have said it better...n/t

[SpiralHawk]

18. The Inquistion was terrorism. Comedy? That's entertainment.

Get a clue, Pope Ratzinger...

[Solly Mack]

21. Oh _____ the Pope

insert word of choice

[6000eliot]

24. This is what happens when you declare "war" on a tactic.

You can define it however you want. Ask all those people in Guantanamo.

[Smarmie Doofus]

27. Pope Ratzinger is engaging in terrorism by....

... falsly accusing the comedian of terrorism.

[LiberalFighter]

33. Is all of Rome the Vatican? If not STFU Ratz

Since the Vatican City is a part of Rome they don't have jurisdiction outside their borders!!!!!!!!!!! So STFU Ratz

[anotherdrew]

35. and THAT's why jesus left a bunny rabbit in charge! n/t

[IndianaGreen]

36. It is terrorism for the Church to preach homophobia and misogyny

The Vatican is second to none when it comes to advocating intolerance and hatred.