Monday, July 23, 2007

"The Pope's Got A Point?" This guy has a point on the top of his head

In the current Jewish Press, Rabbi Yerachmiel Seplowitz regurgitates some of the familiar arguments about the Pope and the Latin Mass. In short, he's proud of the pope and his little heart is all aflutter at the sight of a religious leader standing up for faith. Money quote:
I have one thing to say to the pope: “Here, here!” [snip] What the pope is saying – and I agree 100 percent – is that there are irreconcilable differences, and we can’t pretend those differences don’t exist. [Snip] If you believe in something, if you really believe in something, you need to have the courage of your convictions and stand up for what you believe. I can respect the pope for making an unambiguous statement of what he believes
To which I say: Of course.

Of course, a Pope ought to imagine his own religion is the best and most true.

Of course.

But why doesn't the fool understand that Jews in particular and humanity in general are better off when a spirit of tolerance clouds the Pope's thinking? I agree the Vatican was confounded these last forty-odd years. I agree that they didn't act in their own best interest or with any consistency when they made ecumenical noises, and deleted offensive words from their prayers and offensive thoughts from their theology. But SFW? Where in the sky is it written that we must pray for a clear-thinking, perfectly consistent, ultra-orthodox pope?

How does a Pope like that advance our interests?

Jews aren't best served when a Pope speaks with the fervor and strength and certainty that this Rabbi Yerachmiel seems to cherish. Jews are best served when the Pope, indeed when any non-Jewish leader, commits himself to diluting his dogmas, especially those dogmas that have hurt us in the past.

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