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Terror Networks
Cardinal: Terrorism is the fourth world war
2004-09-07
A leading Vatican cardinal said on Tuesday that terrorism was a new world war and fighting it may involve the loss of some civil liberties. "We have entered the Fourth World War," said Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace, saying he believed that the Cold War was World War 3. "I believe that we are in the midst of another world war," he said in comments published in Italian newspapers on Tuesday. "And it involves absolutely everyone because we don't know what will happen when we leave a hotel, when we get on a bus, when we go into a coffee bar. War itself is sitting down right next to each and every one of us," he said. "Every state has to put in place the best possible policing method and this, naturally, might affect some personal freedoms. States have to carry out a defensive policy." Martino, who served for many years as Pope John Paul's ambassador to the United Nations, was opposed to the war in Iraq and last year criticised the United States treatment of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein after his capture. Martino said at the time that US forces had treated Saddam "like a cow".
Fired up about the dead kiddies in Beslan, yer excellency? How about Sammy's kiddy prison? Or shouldn't that count?
Posted by:Anonymous5089

#12  Regarding the Pope - yes it was his OPINION, not a definite ruling, nor a teaching - there was plenty of room left for disagreement over the just nature of the Iraq war.

Secondly, Cardinal Martino is simply the most recent in a long line of euro-trash that wants to return to the "go-along, get-along" way the Vatican ran before JP-II took over and sided decisively with "conservative" values, especially on women clergy, homosexuality, abortion and political freedom. The latter helped liberate the Warsaw Pact, with Thatcher and Reagan providing the "battalions" that the Pope lacked.

Seems he and his cronies in the Holy See maybe are getting a rather rude awakening that those of us over on the hard edge of Catholicism were right - and the Pope was right when he reiterated that objective Evil exists and is working in the world against the Church and its mission. They privately chisded Pope JP-II for being "too black and white", and "old fashioned".

They were "European Sophisticates" and didnt like this rough man from Eastern Europe shaping the Church into a more conservative and word-based, evangelical Church, one more oriented in the members and laity who really compose the Church and less in the power structure of the Vatican.

So they have been relegated to the spiritually unimortant parts of the Holy See - where, unfortunately they are doing damage by being reflexively anti-US.

But time has a way of "wounding all heels", and thier time has come.
Posted by: OldSpook   2004-09-07 10:36:47 PM  

#11  As Bruce Willis said in "Die Hard," 'Welcome to the party, pal!'
Posted by: GreatestJeneration   2004-09-07 6:32:06 PM  

#10  Damn good Shep.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-09-07 6:12:36 PM  

#9  eyes have been opened wide with shock over the last week, it;ll grow even more horrifing once people see the video the inhuman bastards in the school took,utterly sick stuff,fear etched on everyones faces,simply awful. I think after 9-11 some people were determined to hold on too thier indoctrinated values of pollitical correctness and utopian view of the world that the media has enforced upon us, eyes are opening and even now the church - an organisation normally determined to try and put a good face on everything and tell not to worry, an essentially pacifist group that didnt want to recognise the war on terror as anything legitimate, i think they now know its here and weve gotta win - which means there backing from there point of view, i'm not a fan of the church at all but i see this as an awakaning to Islamic nutters.
Posted by: Shep UK   2004-09-07 4:44:16 PM  

#8  Dumbass Vatican.

Dude, you just earned yourself a verbal slapping courtesy of OldSpook in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ...

Btw, didn't you notice his portfolio, "Justice and Peace"? That concept itself should be screaming LLL; there's probably more right-thinking (not just orthodox) clergy around there if you dig deep enough.

P.S. I believe it was OldSpook who explained that the pope's opposition was a "prudential judgement"; he thought that it didn't fit the definition of a just war in Catholic doctrine but left other Catholics free to disagree and support it or fight in it.
Posted by: Edward Yee   2004-09-07 4:04:46 PM  

#7   Day late and a dollar short. Dumbass Vatican. Even Helen Keller saw that 3 years ago.
Posted by: 98zulu   2004-09-07 3:32:58 PM  

#6  It took Europe 300 years between the battle of Tours, where the invasion of Europe by the Muslims was turned back, and the First Crusade, where they took the battle to the Muslims. Wonder how long it'll take them THIS time around...
Posted by: Ptah   2004-09-07 3:31:58 PM  

#5  Wotta big surprise. A religion that stands to lose the most if Islam predominates finally gets a bee in their bonnet about terrorism. Cassock or no cassock, this sorely belated turn around in opinion still reeks of preinstalled UN weenieism.

Can you say; s e l f - i n t e r e s t ? Very good, I knew you could.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-09-07 1:34:48 PM  

#4  Every state has to put in place the best possible policing method and this, naturally, might affect some personal freedoms. States have to carry out a defensive policy," he said...

Yes. Funny how he is silent about Iraq in this, though. Guess it was wrong then but is somehow right now? Could we assume he was forced to come to his conclusion after having confronted the monstrousness that is the soul of terrorism and the options available to a saner world?
Posted by: jules 187   2004-09-07 1:16:40 PM  

#3  Slowly the awakening continues.
Posted by: Cheaderhead   2004-09-07 1:01:53 PM  

#2  Udderly ridiculous.
Posted by: jules 187   2004-09-07 1:00:04 PM  

#1  
Martino said at the time that US forces had treated Saddam "like a cow".


Iew.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-09-07 12:54:43 PM  

00:00