The new crusaders

Pope Benedict XVI, successor to the popes who have organized the Crusades to murder Muslims – and Jews – in the Holy Land, and George W. Bush, who continues to murder Muslims in Iraq, met up for a cozy half an hour chat at the Vatican. For the Catholics, the Pope is the representative of God on earth. How could this “Holy Father” shake the hand of a war criminal and mass murderer? And if God is looking on, how could he refrain from “pulverizing” those two?

According to some reports, (CNN: Bush calls meeting pope a 'moving experience') the Pope reproached Bush for the Iraq mess and Bush stood “in awe” before the Pope, whom he addressed with the rather unholy “sir”. What's the use of this meeting? Bush does not recognize the Pope as the head of his religion, since he belongs to a Protestant sect. And the Pope was unable to stop the bloodshed in Iraq. Just another meaningless photo-op.

Bush said the Pope was a “a very smart, loving man”. Loving to whom? To Bush or to the Iraqi people? You can't be loving both...

If the Pope wants to be remotely useful, he could have told Bush that God doesn't like his Iraq War and he would go straight to Hell if he wouldn't recall his troops immediately. Obviously the Pope didn't do that. Shame on him.

Comrade Bishop

The head of the Catholic Patriotic Church in China and bishop of the Beijing diocese, Fu Tieshan, died in Beijing on Friday evening, aged 75. He was also a vice chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) and thereby considered to be a state leader of China. His remains will be cremated next Friday at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery. Bishop Fu passed away after a long battle with cancer. (Catholic News Service: Beijing Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan, 75, dies)

He made his last public appearance during a preparatory meeting for the annual NPC session on March 4, but did not attend the March 5-16 session itself.

Fu Tieshan became the first “self-elected and self-ordained” bishop in 1979 at the age of 48, following the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. He was not recognized by the Pope.

The major questions are: how will the Vatican react? Vatican-appointed Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong said he would pray for Fu, but will probably not attend his funeral. Who will be Fu's successor, not only at the head of the Beijing diocese and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association but also as a vice chairman of the NPC. Will his successor be recognized by the Vatican? And if so, will he also become a vice chairman of the NPC? Too many questions waiting for an answer. And the major question of all: when will the Vatican and the People's Republic of China reconcile?

Even non-Catholics are interested to find out the answers...

A day before he died, president and party general secretary Hu Jintao visited Fu at Beijing Hospital. This shows he was not only a bishop, but also an honorary comrade. Even without the blessing of the Vatican, he inaugurated a new spring for Catholicism in Beijing. And the party and the government let it be.

“Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God” (Bishop Fu Tieshan, March 2003)

The Pope is a dictator

The Vatican is all up in arms because a bishop was ordained in China without papal approval. It urged that there be no more 'illicit' ordinations.

Ye Xiaowen, Director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs and officials from the Communist Party's United Front Department attended the mass to ordinate Wang Renlei as coadjutor bishop of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province. This is an indication that the central government recognizes the ordination. It is the third episcopal ordination in China this year the Vatican considers to be 'illicit', because the Pope didn't give his prior approval.

Bishop Zhao Fengchang, who celebrated of the mass, and bishop Wang, both face excommunication by dictator Benedict.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry urged the Vatican to view the ordination in a positively light and warned against interference in China's internal affairs.

While everybody is talking about promoting democracy, the Pope is acting like a dictator. Where is the proof that 'God' gave him the right to decide about bishop's ordinations all over the world?

Three religions believe in the existence of one God: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Shia Grand Ayatollahs, Sunni Great Muftis and Orthodox Rabbis are only benevolent guides, they do not claim to be infallible dictators like the popes. The Protestants among the Christians also do not recognize a supreme representative of God on earth.

Which leaves us with dictator Benedict XVI. If God does exist, and if He recognizes the Pope as his earthly diplomat, and as the Chinese patriotic church disobeys the Pope, and as God is supposedly almighty, then why does he not strike down those blasphemous 'illicitly ordained' bishops with a bold strike of thunder and lightning? He is doing nothing of the sort, which only proves the Pope is acting as a petty dictator. Or perhaps proves that at least the God of Catholicism doesn't exist...

Shi'a muslims may follow the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani or Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani, or Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, or Grand Ayatollah Yusef Saanei or Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi or Grand Ayatollah Sayeed Hassan Fadlallah. Or who knows how many others. Our Iranian brothers and sisters have the freedom to choose whom to follow in their quest for God. Catholics have only the freedom to submit to the whims of a dictator.

The Chinese Patriotic Church is right to resist the dictatorship of Benedict XVI. Amen.