Pope Francis: “If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence”

Aboard the papal plane, Jul 31, 2016 / 05:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During his flight from Krakow to Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis gave a press conference to the journalists assembled aboard the papal plane. He reflected on the World Youth Day gathering in the Polish city, and the recent attempted coup in Turkey.

Pope Francis: I don’t like to speak of Islamic violence, because every day, when I browse the newspapers, I see violence, here in Italy… this one who has murdered his girlfriend, another who has murdered the mother-in-law… and these are baptized Catholics! There are violent Catholics! If I speak of Islamic violence, I must speak of Catholic violence . . . and no, not all Muslims are violent, not all Catholics are violent. It is like a fruit salad; there’s everything. There are violent persons of this religion… this is true: I believe that in pretty much every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. Fundamentalists. We have them. When fundamentalism comes to kill, it can kill with the language — the Apostle James says this, not me — and even with a knife, no? I do not believe it is right to identify Islam with violence. This is not right or true. I had a long conversation with the imam, the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar University, and I know how they think . . . They seek peace, encounter . . . The nuncio to an African country told me that the capital where he is there is a trail of people, always full, at the Jubilee Holy Door. And some approach the confessionals — Catholics — others to the benches to pray, but the majority go forward, to pray at the altar of Our Lady… these are Muslims, who want to make the Jubilee. They are brothers, they live… When I was in Central Africa, I went to them, and even the imam came up on the Popemobile… We can coexist well… But there are fundamentalist groups, and even I ask… there is a question… How many young people, how many young people of our Europe, whom we have left empty of ideals, who do not have work… they take drugs, alcohol, or go there to enlist in fundamentalist groups. One can say that the so-called ISIS, but it is an Islamic State which presents itself as violent . . . because when they show us their identity cards, they show us how on the Libyan coast how they slit the Egyptians’ throats or other things… But this is a fundamentalist group which is called ISIS… but you cannot say, I do not believe, that it is true or right that Islam is terrorist.

Terrorism is everywhere. You think of the tribal terrorism of some African countries. It is terrorism and also . . . But I don’t know if I say it because it is a little dangerous… Terrorism grows when there are no other options, and when the center of the global economy is the god of money and not the person — men and women — this is already the first terrorism! You have cast out the wonder of creation — man and woman — and you have put money in its place. This is a basic terrorism against all of humanity! Think about it!

The pope has chastised Western nations for not taking more Muslim migrants in, but he refuses to see the extensive crime and violence these migrants are bringing with them. And his hypocrisy is on full display when it is learned that the Vatican, an incredibly opulent and wealthy Catholic center that receives funding from the world over, has invited less than a handful of Islamic migrants to visit, and most likely none to permanently reside. In the meantime he suggests that western countries not only throw open their doors to unvetted Islamic immigrants, but also that they cross pollinate their cultures and intermarry for better integration.

He seems to be wholly ignorant of the history of Islam, which offered the choice of conversion, death or slavery and second class citizenship to those they conquered. The modern jihadi offer the same choices, and to compare that to other conflicts in society is naive or ignorant. It is true that greed and money cause many problems in the world, but the theology of the jihadi is a perverse and deadly drug, with as many as 25% to 50% of the 1.6 billion Muslims subscribing to Sharia or Islamic rule. That is not a small, fundamentalist sect, it is a tidal wave that seeks to inundate the world. The best thing would be for the Pope to go take a nap, he seems exceedingly confused at best.

Source: catholicnewsagency.com