Go here to read the story. The ignorance that the Pope demonstrates is breathtaking. Compared to World War II bombing, bombing today is highly precise. If the goal is to hold down civilian deaths in a war, non-nuclear aerial attacks are almost always far to be preferred to a ground war.
This ranks with Pope Innocent II in Canon 29 at the Second Lateran Council in 1139 banning the use of crossbows, slingers and bows against Christians. (Presumably they could still be used against Muslims and others not of the Faith.)
I fear these type of statements will cause many Catholics to stop listening to this Pope, as occurred with his predecessor. Francis II indeed. James I of England was known in his time as “the wisest fool in Christendom.” Pope Leo apparently is contending for the same title.
He’s a Democrat first and Pope afterwards.
Embarrassing! Is he decrying the treatment of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Puh-leez. The guy’s from Chicago, educated at Villanova, became a Canon Lawyer and then went to Peru. He knows as much about politics, foreign policy, war and much of the world as one would expect. It’s a shame he doesn’t stick to things he knows. (Aka a fine example of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.)
The purpose of a king’s steward is to act in place of the king, to do as the king would do, until he return.
Yet, the Steward seems to leave our Pharasees unconfronted, and confronts Pilate instead. As far as I can see, our King acted in quite the opposite manner when He was here.
Christ overthrew the table of the moneychangers in the temple and berated the Pharasees, but did not overturn Matthew’s tax station and invited Matthew to follow.
Perhaps it does (and should) come down to
“…that servant who knew the will of his lord, and prepared not himself, and did not according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes…”
The World knows Him not, but the Church that speaks in His name cannot claim not to know Him – at least not without there being a rooster involved!
Doesn’t seem to care very much for his home country. That likely faded away long ago.
So be it.
One of the best pieces of advice that I ever got was to realize that most medieval peasants never once heard a single statement from the Pope of their time, and they were no worse off spiritually for it.
Almost all of them in any case could not read. The Church for them consisted of what they heard at Mass from their local priest, and from wandering friars when the Dominicans and the Franciscans and other mendicant orders came into being.
So aerial attacks are bad? But artillery is just fine? Good to know.
This new pope seems to be an absolute fool. Especially since he takes himself seriously in making such a statement. It is so embarrassing.