Pope to drive around Bethlehem in open car, declare himself Che Guevara of 'Palestine'
Pope Francis apparently feels very at ease over his visit to Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled areas during his May 24-26 visit to Israel. The Vatican reported on Thursday that he will ride in open-top non-bulletproof cars in Bethlehem.
The pope's predecessor, Benedict XVI, rode in a bulletproof "popemobile," an armored car introduced after the attempted assassination of John Paul II in 1981. The current pope has in the past shown his preference for non-bulletproof cars.
"It's a program that he (the pope) himself has approved," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP.
Some may doubt Francis's decision, given the animosity towards Christians in Bethlehem which was on display last week, as Christian Arab residents of a village near the city were savagely attacked by local Muslims with stones as they celebrated a Christian holiday at Saint George’s Monastery. Indeed, most Christians have reportedly been driven out of the city by Muslims.
A possible indicator to the pope's feeling of ease may be found in reports from February by Rabbi Sergio Bergman, a member of the Argentinian parliament and close friend of Pope Francis, who said that the pope intends to define himself as the "Che Guevera of the Palestinians" and support their "struggle and rights" during his visit.Once upon a time, Bethlehem was overwhelmingly Christian. Not any more. I think he's off his rocker to do this.
Labels: Bethlehem, Christians in Israel, Palestinian Christians, Pope Francis I
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:00 AM
2 Comments:
Once upon a time the Catholic Church understood the challenge of the atheistic, authoritanian (read dictatorship) of the Communists. More recently, Pope John worked actively with President Reagan to bring down the Communist dictatorships of Eastern Europe. Now, this Pope identifies himself and the Church with Che Guevera!! Che was one of the most brutal and savage destroyers of human life and Western humanitarian values in the World! Many a Pope must be turning over in their graves over this, as well as all the Catholic victems of Communist brutality.
If we are lucky someone will blow his head off.
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