Starting at the Beginning
Muslims should reciprocate the respect that Christians show for religious freedom, the Vatican Secretary of State argues.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, speaking to reporters at a reception in Rome on Monday evening, avoided any specific reference to the Danish cartoons which have been a focal point of anger in the Islamic world. But the implications of his statements were evident.
Christians should not claim a "freedom to offend," the cardinal said. But others should not claim "the freedom to destroy us."
Great insight, that. What next piece of illumination will we receive? Witches shouldn't be burned at the stake? It's not right to lynch a black man for dating a white woman? It's not proper to raze a man's house and sprinkle salt on the remains because he leered at your wife?
It's not the good cardinal's fault, of course. It's just frustrating that we're going back to Western Civilization 101 for the barbarians in our midst. The cardinal's words shouldn't be necessary anymore, unless he's addressing the backwaters and fetid holes of a society, like a KKK meeting or a group of convicts. But addressing them to a large segment of the population? That's discouraging.
