Pope Benedict

Ok, the Pope recently said some disparaging things about Muslims. So what? I understand the "Two wrongs don't make a right" mentality, but jeez! Muslim clerics have been disparaging Christianity like nobody's business and you find us demonstrating, burning down mosques, or getting all bent out of shape.

What the Pope said was not his own words, but those of 14th century Arabic scholars. He has since made it clear that he absolutely does not believe those words. But no, that's not good enough for Muslim fanatics, who want the Pope to not only apologize, but to say that he was wrong.

I'm not a Catholic, but I happen to know that it's a tenet of Catholic dogma that the Pope is the infallible prince of Heaven. Asking the pope to admit he was wrong would be like asking the highest of the high Muslim clerics to admit that Muhammed was wrong. It is against the principles of Catholicism.

From everything I've seen, Benedict's speech was an outreach to the Muslim world. It's as if he reached out his hand to a pack of dogs: Some dogs are willing to be petted, others will bite your hand off. One that bites your hand off makes up for a whole lot of petting.