Dope on the Pope
Because I am neither a Catholic nor the son of a Catholic, I have no compunction whatsoever in second guessing last week’s announcement, that the Vatican is granting recognition to “The State of Palestine”. At the risk of sounding like the fictional Hyman Roth of The Godfather II, I truly believe that when pressed for an explanation, the Pontiff, with a modicum of remonstration in his voice would say: “It had nothing to do with Israel”.
As a rabbi, I believe him! I also can’t help but believe that there is a strong possibility that any or all of the following three theories might help shed light on a move that is disconcerting to say the least, to many Jews and others:
Pope Francis is pulling the same shtick as Pope Pious XII. It’s the smart move. With the rise and spread of islamofascism in the world and the inability of the West to contain it, much less eradicate it, Pope Francis is buying an insurance policy. Should the time come when the Moslem extremists vanquish Europe, His Holiness is hoping that they will adopt pretty much the same “hands-off” attitude toward the Vatican as did the Nazis during World War II and leave it intact.
The Pope is expressing Teshuvah. With the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate on October 28th of this year, where, after close to two thousand years, the Catholic Church chose to bury the hatchet and absolve us Jews for killing their lord, the Pope feels that it’s no longer necessary to wait another two thousand years for a Mea Culpa of an entirely different nature. The Pope is doing Teshuvah for the Crusades and all the innocent Moslem blood that Christians shed, as they wrested the Holy Land from the infidels. What better way of saying I’m sorry for soaking the soil of Israel with Moslem blood, than granting recognition to “the State of Palestine”. Only thing is, the Pope has yet to do Teshuvah for the Crusades and all the innocent Jewish blood that Christians shed, as they traversed Europe on their way to wrest the Holy Land from the infidels.
The Pope is expressing Christian love and forgiveness. By recognizing “The State of Palestine”, the Pope is sending the following message: We peace loving Christians forgive you Moslem murderers for eradicating and “cleansing” any number of Israeli and Lebanese villages inhabited by Christian Arabs, thereby causing mayhem and carnage, only to turn those very same villages into terrorist strongholds, where further acts of mayhem and carnage can be carried out with abandon and impunity. In true apostolic tradition, it’s as though the Pontiff is pontificating the following: Verily it has been said “Do not bite the hand that feeds you. I however say unto you: Feed the hand that bites you.”
A big Yasher Koach to you Khaled (Mashal) and to you Mahmoud (Abbas) along with the rest of your sub-human thugs and murderers! You are that much closer to fooling all of the people all of the time. You’ve even succeeded in duping a well-meaning Pope.