Pope walks out over sheik's tirade

[Among_Strangers]

JERUSALEM – Pope Benedict XVI called for the establishment of a Palestinian homeland yesterday, mourned the deaths of millions of Jews in Nazi death camps during World War II, and issued repeated pleas for Middle Eastern peace.

But the 82-year-old pontiff abruptly walked out of a meeting about interreligious dialogue before it ended last night, after the chief Islamic judge of the Palestinian Authority delivered what was described as a venomous attack on Israel.

Sheik Tayseer Rajab Tamimi had not been scheduled to speak and his remarks, delivered in Arabic, took the event’s organizers by surprise.

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JERUSALEM – An meeting of 300 religious leaders hosted by the Pope came to an abrupt end Monday night when a Palestinian sheikh, who was not on the program, forced his way to the pulpit to criticize Israel.

The head of Sharia courts in the Palestinian Authority, Taysir Tamimi, made an animated plea to the Pope to fight for “a just peace for a Palestinian state and for Israel to stop killing women and children and destroying mosques as she did in Gaza.”

“Israel destroys Palestinian cities and establishes settlements on Palestinian land,” he cried in a rising voice, adding that Jerusalem “will remain the capital of a Palestinian state.”

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[pigtown]

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I wonder if there will ever be peace in that part of the world. It’s such a shame that the Holy Land is the site of constant fighting.

 

[tbcrawford]

Of course it put the Pope in a difficult position diplomatically between the two sides of Arab and Israelis.I feel disappointed though that he wasnt able to show stronger leadership by staying and leading by example and pursuing peace.

 

[pigtown]

Of course it put the Pope in a difficult position diplomatically between the two sides of Arab and Israelis.I feel disappointed though that he wasnt able to show stronger leadership by staying and leading by example and pursuing peace.

It would have been nice if he had stayed but there are times when I wonder if the leadership of the RC church is going downhill. Here in the US there is a lot of talk about the president of Notre Dame University inviting President Obama to give the commencement speech and then giving Obama an honorary degree. N.D. is supposed to be a Catholic university so to invite a pro-abortion speaker makes one wonder about the leadership.

 

[Indyann]

The title of this thread is untrue and the first linked article is not at all what happened.

I watched the whole thing live on EWTN. After this man took the podium, the Holy Father sat through his whole tirade.

When the shiek was finished with his rant, the Pope rose from his seat and turned to the shiek, offered his hand to the shiek and then was escorted off the stage.

Please try to watch a replay on EWTN. Raymond Arroyo was the commentator and will probably show it on “The World Over” Friday.

It was obvious that the Pope was very uncomfortable, but he did not leave the assembly.

 

[abbegirl]

It would have been nice if he had stayed but there are times when I wonder if the leadership of the RC church is going downhill. Here in the US there is a lot of talk about the president of Notre Dame University inviting President Obama to give the commencement speech and then giving Obama an honorary degree. N.D. is supposed to be a Catholic university so to invite a pro-abortion speaker makes one wonder about the leadership.

Jesus Christ is the Leader of the Catholic Church. He has given us the Holy Spirit to guide the Church. People have to make a decision to follow the Truth within the Church that God has given us. The president of Notre Dame has made a decision against what the Church teaches. It seems as if he wants the world and the Church. You can’t have both. The Pope is trying to bring peace. He is a wonderful leader and he is an example of one who chooses the Truth.

 

[tbcrawford]

Hi Indyann thankyou thankyou so much for informing me of what actually happened im so glad you were watching EWTN live!!! The poor Pope has a tough time with the media misrepresenting him and out of context.I hope this now clears things up for people on this thread.I have renewed belief in the Popes right judgement as directed by the Holy Spirit.

 

[Ana]

The title of this thread is untrue and the first linked article is not at all what happened.

I watched the whole thing live on EWTN. After this man took the podium, the Holy Father sat through his whole tirade.

When the shiek was finished with his rant, the Pope rose from his seat and turned to the shiek, offered his hand to the shiek and then was escorted off the stage.

Please try to watch a replay on EWTN. Raymond Arroyo was the commentator and will probably show it on “The World Over” Friday.

It was obvious that the Pope was very uncomfortable, but he did not leave the assembly.

I watched it on EWTN as well. The Pope looked uncomfortable, but he DID NOT walk out. Is it okay for the media to just write a bold faced lie like this? I mean it was televised!!

 

[Muzhik]

I watched it on EWTN as well. The Pope looked uncomfortable, but he DID NOT walk out. Is it okay for the media to just write a bold faced lie like this? I mean it was televised!!

Actually, he did walk out. The event was not officially over. He shook hands ONLY with the jerk, then left. In the language of diplomacy, it was the equivalent of a slap in the face. If His Holiness had stayed for the official closing of the meeting, that would have given the jerk some legitimacy. If he had shaken hands with all of the people on the stage, that would have meant what the jerk was saying was just as valid as what everyone else was saying. Instead, His Holiness waited for the jerk to finish, shook the jerk’s hand (thus drawing all attention to the jerk), turned, and left. Diplomatic b*tch-slap.

I haven’t been able to find any sources to say if His Holiness had any kind of translation going on. I don’t think so, because all the speakers were to be speaking in English as a neutral language. He didn’t understand what the jerk was saying, but the fact that the jerk was speaking in Arabic instead of English and the reactions of the people around him would have spoken volumes about the content of the speech. If His Holiness had walked out of the speech without having a translator, then there would be legitimate questions about “Why did the Pope walk out on the speaker when he didn’t know what the speaker was saying?” So the Pope waited until the Jerk was finished, then left.