Was the Pope spied on? Do you care?

[wmscott]

If he was, I am mostly concerned about a waste of taxpayer money. The pop has never been a threat to our nation.
The greater evil is the second part, not Graham specifically, but the spying on American citizens in general.

EDIT: I might add that if any American religious leaders are bering spied on today, they would be Cardinal Dolan and LCMS President Harrison for the outspoken opposition to the current regime’s attempt to limit religious liberty through the HHS Mandate.
Jon

I agree that it would be a great waste of the taxpayer’s money. I even expect that anything I do in the vast electronic world of cyberspace I am being spied on. No problem I expect it, but since I conduct myself aboveboard I have no worries. What does infuriate me is that the Obama administration considers the Catholic Church and Evangelicals as an extremist group to be watched and monitored. Not that is downright wrong.

 

[SteveVH]

I have no doubt that every “friendly” nation either has spies or has recruited Americans to spy in this country in their behalf. It’s as old as national sovereignty. No biggie.

I doubt we are using drones over the Vatican, and if we did, they’d get shot down. Italy has no reason to tolerate them obstructing their airspace.

The information we’d seek is human, not physical, in nature anyhow.

ICXC NIKA

 

[skigirl1689]

If he was, I am mostly concerned about a waste of taxpayer money. The pop has never been a threat to our nation.
The greater evil is the second part, not Graham specifically, but the spying on American citizens in general.

EDIT: I might add that if any American religious leaders are bering spied on today, they would be Cardinal Dolan and LCMS President Harrison for the outspoken opposition to the current regime’s attempt to limit religious liberty through the HHS Mandate.
Jon

Exactly…I am just concerned that the government is spying on our allies and thus weakening our stance in the global community. Nothing good can come out of spying on our friends in the world. And for what ends? That is what concerns me.

 

[GEddie]

Exactly…I am just concerned that the government is spying on our allies and thus weakening our stance in the global community. Nothing good can come out of spying on our friends in the world. And for what ends? That is what concerns me.

It is always useful for a nation to know what is going on backstage in other nations; it is not a threatening or unfriendly activity.

International politicians take this sort of activity into account.

I’d be more concerned about this government’s actions toward its own citizens; IMNAAHO.

ICXC NIKA

 

[hn160]

As far as spying on foreign leaders, they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But I don’t think that spying on the Pope or the Curia did any good.

 

[SteveVH]

As far as spying on foreign leaders, they say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But I don’t think that spying on the Pope or the Curia did any good.

It might do the government some good to hear the truth, however, at least now and then. So maybe there is some good that can come from it.

 

[Nacho45]

As long as Obama doesn’t involve his drones in spying on the pope,I agree that he might be the better for listening to Pope Francis speak for awhile.

Maybe, but he hasn’t learned a lot of useful things from anyone else he has listened to, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

 

[BettyBoop416]

But, if someone is spying on him, they really need to spy on someone that needs spying, like politicians.

You don’t think the pope is a politician?

 

[bben15]

The Pope really needs to be spied on. Maybe the rumors Presbyterians were told in the 1930s are true: All Catholic churches have cannons in their basements so they can be ready to take over the world at the orders of the Pope.

How about spying on someone that needs spying on, say North Korea, or Iran?

 

[BettyBoop416]

Maybe the rumors Presbyterians were told in the 1930s are true: All Catholic churches have cannons in their basements so they can be ready to take over the world at the orders of the Pope.

I’m on the Cannon Committee at my parish. We only fire them once a year - on the 4th of July so it blends in with the fireworks, but we perform maintenance weekly. I’m from a small parish, so our cannon are pretty old fashioned. Pour in the powder, shove the projectile down the bore, light the fuse with a match, point the muzzle in the general direction of the target, hold your ears and hope for the best. Some of the larger parishes in the area have some WWII vintage artillery pieces that are pretty accurate. Now at the cathedral…well, I’m not allowed to talk about that. Not even to other Catholics.

 

[bben15]

I’m on the Cannon Committee at my parish. We only fire them once a year - on the 4th of July so it blends in with the fireworks, but we perform maintenance weekly. I’m from a small parish, so our cannon are pretty old fashioned. Pour in the powder, shove the projectile down the bore, light the fuse with a match, point the muzzle in the general direction of the target, hold your ears and hope for the best. Some of the larger parishes in the area have some WWII vintage artillery pieces that are pretty accurate. Now at the cathedral…well, I’m not allowed to talk about that. Not even to other Catholics.

 

[Jimmy_B]

The Vatican has one of the best intelligence operations in the world, rivaling that of Israel. With the state of our own intelligence gathering being diminished, I think they may be looking for information, not about the Vatican, but the rest of the world. We must remember that the Vatican is recognized as a sovereign state, not just a religious entity.

While I find spying on our friends deceitful, it has been done throughout history and we should not be surprised. I would also venture to guess that this has been done by other administrations as well.

I can remember a few presidents who liked the pope and considered him a friend and not a threat but you might be correct about the intelligence aspect. Although, I do believe that the resources could have been used in a better way. If all the cops, chased all the good guys and all of the bad guys, there wouldn’t be enough cops to catch the bad guys… Resources are always limited and should only be use in an effective way. There should oversight and an auditing of these groups so they keep their eye on the ball and not wander, every which way, just because they can.

 

[LiberalPrincess]

The Vatican doesn’t care it might have been spied on and neither should we.

 

[Jimmy_B]

Also, His Holiness is a world leader; world leaders get spied on; it is the nature of the beast. I’m not concerned.

ICXC NIKA.

True, however the Vatican does not have a military and they aren’t trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

I wonder if President Roosevelt spied on Prime Minister Winston Churchill during WWII. And if so, what benefit did, or would that have had?

 

[Jimmy_B]

The Vatican doesn’t care it might have been spied on and neither should we.

This may be true, because as Christians we should be more concerned about our souls, our life after death and more concern about heaven than earth.

 

[GEddie]

True, however the Vatican does not have a military and they aren’t trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

I wonder if President Roosevelt spied on Prime Minister Winston Churchill during WWII. And if so, what benefit did, or would that have had?

He probably did.

And, if their war situation were far more dire than it ended up being, such espionage would have been invaluable in giving the USA additional time to adapt.

In a war, the secret situation of your allies is just as important as your enemies. Knowledge could save your hand if the ally turns out to be a “broken reed.”

ICXC NIKA