Et Tu, Daniel? Campus Priest Stabs Pope in Back

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This Issue...

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Feature Article by: Vanessa Durante on October 23rd, 2006 at 1:59 PM

"Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." —Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus, quoted by Pope Benedict XVI.

Cornell Priest Quick to Sell Out Church

The Cornell Catholic Community’s bulletin e-mailed to students on September 20, 2006 was appalling in its lack of humility, and horrifying in its blatant disregard for papal authority. The bulletin criticized the lecture delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg in Germany on September 12. According to the CCC, the Pope’s speech was “outrageous in its limited characterization of Mohammed.” The CCC’s outrage and criticism of the Pope’s “polarizing comment” is not only a display of arrogance and disrespect for their superiors in the Church, but also an indication of the CCC’s—and many of today’s Catholics’—fundamental misunderstanding of the global role of Christianity.

The naming of Cardinal Ratzinger as successor to Pope John Paul II offered hope to many that the Universal Church was returning to the basis of its purpose on earth—bringing people closer to the Lord and saving their souls. The emphasis on ecumenism during John Paul II’s papacy, while not an evil in and of itself, drew the Catholic Church away from its central purpose: to “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all Creation”(Mark 16:15).

In today’s world where moral relativism, political correctness, and blaming Christians have formed a new “unholy trinity,” the Church has forgotten that this is its mission. When Pope Benedict XVI dared to imply that Islam is, in fact, not a holy faith, it is understandable that “devout” Muslims would be offended. What is not understandable, however, is for the clergy in our own Church to take their side. We are Christians for a reason. If one believes that Islam, or any other religion, is “as good” or merely another path to the same destination, that person is not a Christian. It is horrifying to realize that these relativists have not only entered our congregations—they are now leading Mass on Cornell’s campus.

Furthermore, the remarks Pope Benedict XVI made regarding Islam were not the wild distortion of the Islamic faith the CCC tried to portray them as. A reading of the Koran will quickly dispel the myth that Islam is a “religion of peace.” The Koran clearly states that it is the objective of Islam to either convert or kill all those of other faiths. Mohammed, believed by Muslims to have received messages from God, commanded his followers to take up the sword and slaughter those who had not accepted his message. This “prophet” urged his followers to “cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers!” With similar calls to arms and commands that Muslims continue fighting until all unbelievers have been eliminated, the CCC could only have rushed to the defense of Islam out of ignorance, or out of a characteristic Leftist “blame Christianity first” mentality.

The Cornell Catholic Community’s bulletin emphasized the need for Christians and Muslims to make “a sincere effort” to “achieve mutual understanding. For the benefit of all, let [us] together preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice, and moral values.” However, the “mutual understanding” the CCC has in mind seems to consist only of Christians accommodating Muslims’ mandate “from God” to slaughter people of all other religions. Once again, the Church has misunderstood its role as Christ’s body on earth and has instead become an institution of political correctness, leading the world in the path of denying one’s true beliefs for the sake of avoiding stepping on toes. The CCC would do well to remember that the Pope is not running for office. He does not need to sugar-coat the truth about non-Christian religions in order to win votes and avoid alienating anyone. Rather, he is a shepherd whose job it is to spread the Gospel and expand Christ’s following on earth.

The CCC apparently finds the New York Times to be more authoritative than the pope, quoting Times writer John Allen, who pointed out the differences between Benedict XVI and his predecessor, who had “met with Muslims more than 60 times, and during a 2001 trip to Syria became the first pope to enter a mosque.” However, as Christians who have been sent forth by Christ Himself to spread His love and salvation to the ends of the earth, we must applaud Benedict XVI for not following in the path of John Paul II in behavior more befitting a foreign diplomat than one who has been entrusted with leading the world towards eternal salvation in Christ.

Benedict XVI had the strength to stand up against the plague of moral relativism to point out the inherent violence and cruelty of Islam. The Cornell Catholic Community ought to be reminded of its place within the Catholic Church, subordinate to the vicar of Rome. That a campus priest would refer to the pope’s statements as “self-serving” is an arrogant and disrespectful attempt to undermine Church hierarchy.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in explaining how one is incorporated into the earthly body of Christ—His Church—explains that, “Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who—by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion—are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops” (837). The CCC’s blatant disrespect for papal authority is a clear indication that they are not “together with [the Church’s] entire organization,” an essential aspect of which is the leadership of the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI.

The refusal to acknowledge the authority of the Pope is, however, much more dangerous than merely insubordination to the CCC’s superiors. It is, in effect, the subversion of the order established on earth by Christ and is, in that regard, a disagreement with the ultimate founder and leader of our Church. The Catechism instructs Catholics that “Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when… they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the faithful ‘are to adhere to it with religious assent’ which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it” (892).

There is a name given to those who, while seeking to follow Christ, nevertheless do not recognize this unique guidance granted through the Holy Spirit to the Supreme Pontiff and the rest of the Magisterium. These people are called Protestants. There are numerous Protestant organizations on Cornell’s campus—the CCC should not become another. If the CCC is serious about its duty to lead the flock of Catholics at Cornell and to help them achieve a state of grace through administering the Holy Sacraments, they must recant their criticisms of the Pope and return to fellowship with the bishop of Rome.

An individual priest who has a disagreement with statements made by the pope ought to pray for greater understanding of God’s will acting through the Church, and submit to papal authority, not send e-mail bulletins to hundreds of students suggesting that his superior apologize for pointing out an inescapable truth about Islam. The CCC’s bulletin may, however, be correct in one regard—the Church does owe Muslims an apology. For too long we have engaged in ecumenism with other faiths that runs the risk of giving the impression that these faiths are an acceptable way to reach eternal salvation and union with God. We ought to apologize for delaying our mission from God in order to avoid giving offense, for failing to spread the Truth merely because it was inconvenient, and for displaying gross negligence with regard to the souls of mankind.

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