Pope and shoe leather....

Open mouth, insert foot!

Pope Benedict allegedly quoted from a 14th century text, stating that Islam converted by the sword (I apologize for the abbreviation here). Then he issued an apology that he was sorry the quote was misunderstood by the Muslim community.

Result: 2 churches so far have been torched - by Muslims!

To be fair, before one goes casting stones, one should take a good, long, hard look into the mirror of his own soul and his own tradition. Look at the recent news in the Catholic Church! How many young people have been sexually assaulted numerous times and submitted because of something "Father said." The "Church" is still trying to cover this over rather than hand over the known sex offenders to legal authorities so that true justice can be dispensed. Instead, many of them are simply "relieved of priestly duties" and then assigned elsewhere, still supported by the Church - in other words, still the beneficiaries of money coming out of the offering plates, much of it still contributed by the victims!

Okay, while I am NOT defending the Islam belief of jihad, the elephant in the room needs to be acknowledged. What other religion has as its symbol A MAN BEING TORTURED TO DEATH ON A CROSS??? Is this not the symbol of violence and cruelty beyond belief? Remember the Crusades when thousands of children were sent to their death in the name of the Church? Remember the Spanish Inquisition? Remember the WOMEN who have been stoned, drowned, burned, and worse for being single mothers (some at the hands of their local ministers) or being accused (not proven) of being witches. How about the kids in school having to pay a quarter to a "buy a pagan baby out of Purgatory?" Remember the KKK - a lot of good ole church-goin' boys. How hard has the church (all sects) worked to convert the pagans - by the sword or by brain-washing. Sounds like a jihad to me - and it's not all Catholic.

Pope Benedict, please open your eyes beyond the gilt walls of the Vatican and look at reality. Before you pontificate, make sure you know what you're saying and that you've sufficiently cleaned your own home first.