How. Very. Nice.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/pope_turkey
If I could add ice to my words, I would. I know I'm going to get flack for this and I don't care. The Pope, God bless him, is a wonderful man. I know he's far holier than I'll ever be, and I know that he's God's Vicar. All right. Fine. Good. Wonderful. I know, he's seeing the big picture. I know. And for all I know, he could have been saying the words of unmaking for that mosque he was praying in. I just feel... disappointed. No, I didn't expect him to go to Constantinople and preach a crusade. No, I don't want him killed by an angry fanatic while he's over there. No. I just... It's just...
Constantinople was a city. Cities have good things and bad, good people and bad. I'm under no delusions as far as that's concerned, having just spent the past 3 months in Rome. But I'll think of it this way. How would I feel if Rome, modern Rome, today's Rome was sacked? Most people killed, churches destroyed, the whole place in ruins. And I imagine that St. Peter's is taken. The Swiss Guard dead in the Pope's defence, the Pope dead or an exile. And St. Peter's is whitewashed and looted. I would be devastated and I don't think I'd be the only one. I know, Constantinople fell a long time ago. There's no one to avenge, there's nothing to take back, the city is almost thoroughly Moslem. Still. To have the Pope pray in a mosque. Talk about scandal. I mean, I'm not allowed to go to a Lutheran friend's Sunday service so no one thinks I'm an indiferentist, but the Pope is allowed to go pray in a mosque?
A quote from that nice little news article-
"Haghia Sophia, once a spiritual center of Christianity, was converted to a mosque in the 15th century. The site became a museum following the secular reforms that formed modern Turkey in the 1920s."
My revision of the same
Hagia Sophia, once the largest church in the world was desecrated and turned into a mosque in 1453 after the conquest of Constantinople by an invading Moslem army.
I'm glad I don't believe that the ghosts of the faithful departed hang around too much in this world (outside of those who come back from Purgatory to ask for prayers, more on this later), because I would think they'd be very unhappy with the Pope. I dunno. Maybe he's doing the right thing. I don't think so. Opinions anyone?
If I could add ice to my words, I would. I know I'm going to get flack for this and I don't care. The Pope, God bless him, is a wonderful man. I know he's far holier than I'll ever be, and I know that he's God's Vicar. All right. Fine. Good. Wonderful. I know, he's seeing the big picture. I know. And for all I know, he could have been saying the words of unmaking for that mosque he was praying in. I just feel... disappointed. No, I didn't expect him to go to Constantinople and preach a crusade. No, I don't want him killed by an angry fanatic while he's over there. No. I just... It's just...
Constantinople was a city. Cities have good things and bad, good people and bad. I'm under no delusions as far as that's concerned, having just spent the past 3 months in Rome. But I'll think of it this way. How would I feel if Rome, modern Rome, today's Rome was sacked? Most people killed, churches destroyed, the whole place in ruins. And I imagine that St. Peter's is taken. The Swiss Guard dead in the Pope's defence, the Pope dead or an exile. And St. Peter's is whitewashed and looted. I would be devastated and I don't think I'd be the only one. I know, Constantinople fell a long time ago. There's no one to avenge, there's nothing to take back, the city is almost thoroughly Moslem. Still. To have the Pope pray in a mosque. Talk about scandal. I mean, I'm not allowed to go to a Lutheran friend's Sunday service so no one thinks I'm an indiferentist, but the Pope is allowed to go pray in a mosque?
A quote from that nice little news article-
"Haghia Sophia, once a spiritual center of Christianity, was converted to a mosque in the 15th century. The site became a museum following the secular reforms that formed modern Turkey in the 1920s."
My revision of the same
Hagia Sophia, once the largest church in the world was desecrated and turned into a mosque in 1453 after the conquest of Constantinople by an invading Moslem army.
I'm glad I don't believe that the ghosts of the faithful departed hang around too much in this world (outside of those who come back from Purgatory to ask for prayers, more on this later), because I would think they'd be very unhappy with the Pope. I dunno. Maybe he's doing the right thing. I don't think so. Opinions anyone?
3 Comments:
Well it is now a museum and was once a great church. As long as he's not turning moslem on us, I don't see the problem. One can pray anywere. I'd still pray at St. Peter's after it had been whitewashed and taken over. It's still an important place to me as a Catholic. I look at Hagia Sophia the same way. It was taken over and changed, but it is still an important place in Christian history and has significant value to the Church.
Well there's my opinion
Would you have preffered him behave irreligiously? All of life is supposed to be a prayer. Prayer should be constant. Just because one enters a mosque, synagogue, or pagan temple, doesn't mean one should stop praying. You can pray to God anywhere, even in the house of worship of some other sect.
The Pope really had three choices there, he could have gone in and said Christian prayers, he could have said Muslim prayers, or he could have said no prayers. I think he made the right choice.
As for what he prayed, I think the well being of all adherents to Islam would be good. Did not Christ tell us to love our enemies? Seeing as their conversion is there wellbeing, and that it can only come about through their own voluntary acquiessence, praying for them is about the most Christian, even Catholic thing he could have done.
Oh, and RT, he prayed in the Blue Mosque, not Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia is no longer a mosque but a museum. The Blue Mosque was built deliberately opposing Hagia Sophia and was meant to surpass it and express the supremacy of Islam over Christianity. It failed however, the architect couldn't reproduce the size of the dome and the entire mosque was smaller and less impressive than Hagia Sophia. It was very symmetrical though. Seriously though, the Pope prayed at the mosque across from Hagia Sophia, not Hagia Sophia.
Saraaaaaaaaah!!!! You're back!
::cantemus Deo gratias::
Well, I actually wish he had prayed in Hagia Sophia rather than the Blue Mosque. People who say "well you can pray anywhere" are being naive. Of course you can pray anywhere. We're ideally supposed to pray "at all times." This doesn't mean always showing it outwardly. And when you're the Pope, and going on an extreeeemly dicey diplomatical venture, you make sure to be very deliberate and symbolic in what you do.
Actually, I just refreshed my memory of the incident, and it turns out that the Islamic mufti announced that he was going to pray, and that Benedict starting praying silently as the mufti prayed. So it was kind of a counterbalance. I still wish that he had prayed in Hagia Sophia (perhaps he did), but really I'm just thankful to God that he got home alive. Remember, everyone, that the Christians of Turkey have to deal with the consequences of Muslim anger at the Pope. He was thinking of them.
The whole "doves and dialogue" approach used by the modern Church really gets on my nerves - but then, I'm an irrelevant minority and I know my place. Best not to court acrimony from our neighbors and the sword from our enemies. Life is short enough.
[/wry]
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