TOUR IN VATICAN MUSEUM

Vatican Museum : I haven't done all that many travel updates here,  The people say the Vatican City is very small, but there seems to be no limit to the number of tourist buses that can fit inside. 

The Museum is relatively well set up for the crowds, but as you'd expect for any old building there are some kinks. Still, there turned out to be ample places inside where I could escape the press of flesh.

One of the first things you notice upon entering the Vatican Museum is that everybody is there to see the Sistine Chapel, and very few people really want to see anything else. As you enter the giant courtyard, you see that it is lined with ranks of identical information stations, all of them about the Sistine Chapel: 

You can see that most of these stations have a tour group clustered around. The tour guides can't really do their spiel in the Chapel itself-- even though most of them are using wireless comm systems with their groups -- because it's way too crowded. So each guide sets up her group at a station and goes through an introduction to the Chapel, before marching the group down the kilometer of hallways to actually get to the place itself.

It's surreal. There are literally a dozen of these stations waiting for groups to do this. If you're looking for the Sistine Chapel, you've got to be figuring this is an ominous sign.

Not nearly as ominous as this: the other occupant of the courtyard is none other than the Eye of Sauron. 

I have no idea what that is really supposed to be. Very few things in the Museum are labeled. I'm sticking with the hypothesis that Benedict XVI actually became the caretaker of the Eye after the fall of Barad-Dur. I confirmed this as I saw four hobbits having their pictures taken in front of it: 

However, the thing rotates around, and a look at the other side presents a different hypothesis. 

Behold the power of this fully armed and operational battle station!

Ah, yes, fun times.

After not very long, I began to realize that the Vatican Museum is basically the papal version of The House on the Rock. This is the tourist location in southern Wisconsin started by a man who first built an interesting house, and then went wild with collections and folk art. He built warehouses, one giant whale, and a Scaramanga-like old town, complete with giant creepy music devices. Unlike the Vatican, it was featured in Neil Gaiman's book, American Gods.

Quirky as it is, the House on the Rock had the influence of a single designer. The Vatican Museum did not, and it shows. Some parts of the complex seem like afterthoughts, others are just stack after stack of old stuff.

Here's a hall mostly full of old heads, and another camera in the act of flashing:

Some of the popes really had a taste for old Roman statuary, so they collected them. That was a real service, considering that many of them were dug up during the course of building medieval and later Rome, and they might otherwise have been destroyed or lost. On the other hand, some of the stuff here was collected by going around to old monuments and defacing them. For instance, there's a whole hallway, closed to the public, full of inscriptions taken from tombs and buildings. A Vatican bigwig in the sixteenth century arranged them on the wall by subject. I wonder what they would tell us in their original context.

Here's something you don't see every day, a goddess with two dozen breasts: 

I prefer to think of her that way. The label said that some classicists think those are bull testicles drooping off her, which I find roughly 8.3 times more disturbing than two dozen breasts.

I really enjoyed the statuary halls, because they were notably uncrowded. This big gallery didn't have more than 20 or 30 people in it. I even got a shot without anybody in the frame: 

Doesn't Octavian look lonely? Hey, where did everybody go?

Well, the answer to that is clear -- they all went to the Sistine Chapel. Turns out the Vatican has a special route for tour groups to bypass most of the collections and buzz through a few rooms on their way to the Last Judgment.

Just to let you know, I did see the Sistine Chapel. It was miserable. It's a very big room -- now I understand why they make such a big deal about Michaelangelo being up near that ceiling for so long. But boy was it unpleasant. Eight hundred people were crammed inside, half of them sitting around the small step at the edge of the room, because it was the only place on the tourist route where anybody could sit down! The room was darkened, with security guards repeatedly incanting, "NO PHOTO", "NO PHOTO!"

With this mass of humanity, the whole room smelled like armpits. You know, serious B.O.

The ironic thing is that a short walk from the Sistine Chapel are several rooms with frescoes by Raphael. Including the famous "School of Athens":

Here's Aeneas working hard to carry his dad out of burning Troy. 

Did Troy have Dutch windmills?

The tour groups totally bypassed these rooms on their way to Michaelangelo. Well, I did hear one tour guide explaining how on weekdays the Vatican parking lot is usually full. Four or five people appreciatively nodded, hearing him through their little earbuds.

As you can see, there were no restrictions on photos in the rest of the museum. Just the Sistine Chapel. So I got loads of pictures (not yet uploaded) of stuff, including some lesser-known Raphael works. Here are some saracens about to be separated from their heads:

Not what I thought of first when I hear "Italian Renaissance."

One thing I started to realize is that the popes had really good taste in art between 1500 and 1650, and otherwise not so much. The Vatican Museum has a contemporary art section, really with very little memorable and only two pieces I thought were outstanding (one was a haunting assumption-like piece by Salvador Dali and donated by Juan Carlos of Spain). I don't think there is any shortage of 20th-century art with religious themes, but the collection here was tepid.

Here's one of the more colorful pieces: St. Christopher with a flaming baby Dalai Lama on his back:

Then there was this. Not quite sure what it was saying: 

Strangely, the Museum also had Malcolm Forbes' collection of Fabergé on display, including a dozen or so of the famous eggs. It was a traveling exhibit from a private foundation, on loan to the Vatican.

Traffic through the museum goes really only one way, at least during the parts where you're on the Sistine Chapel track. There are two doors out of the Sistine Chapel. One of them goes back to the museum. The other -- the one all the tour groups take -- spits you out into St. Peter's. I found myself intrigued by the cupola, and climbed the seven hundred and some odd steps up to the top. It was quite a view:

If you wonder why I have that look on my face, that tiny white speck next to my right shoulder is a delivery van in the Vatican parking lot. That will give you some idea of how high this really is.

The inner rotunda stop is not nearly so high as the cupola, but it's high enough. Here are some stormtroopers preparing for the arrival of the imperial shuttle: 

This was actually an ordination ceremony. I watched for some time, thinking that anybody might come in for such a special event. It turned out to be a cardinal running the show.

After taking the seven hundred and some odd steps back down, I found myself on the floor of the church, where I saw the light: 

You see, it was at this point I realized that there was no way back into the museum, where I assumed I could continue my tour and collect my backpack from the coat check. It was also here that I realized that the visible employees are all just crowd control, and speak no English. To find this out, I had to make my way past the three hundred people holding their videocameras in the air to capture their special moment fifty yards from the Pietà. What is it with Michaelangelo and tour groups?

Luckily, my broken Italian and my ticket, along with the friendly back door tender, were enough to talk my way back into the Vatican Museum, where I went like a salmon around a dam, up the jumbo exit stairs against the flow of the tour groups. Back into the unpleasantness of the Sistine Chapel ("NO PHOTO, NO PHOTO!") and out the right door. Which turned out to be the left door.

A mere trickle of people were headed back this way, most of them headed straight back the 500 m to the museum entrance. Though the museum was no longer admitting people, two hours of browsing were still left. This notably increased my breathing room, and by 4:30, I often had a room entirely to myself.

I spent most of the time walking around the Old Masters. The collection has a few standouts and many minor works by lesser-known artists before and after the Renaissance.

Here's a cool Garden of Eden I liked: 

What I love about this one is that the elephant -- stage right in the background behind the leopard and ostrich -- is totally posed like a gomphothere. It's just an elephant, but it had me looking all through the painting for possible extinct animals. At lower left, a badger is standing up to a tiger. Go Bucky!

Well, I have to end the story somewhere, so I'll end with this owl eating a pigeon. It was one of the last paintings I saw in the Museum, before I walked the dusty way up to my apartment.

Priest who defied Nazis beatified

The bishop of Wuerzburg, Friedhelm Hofmann, celebrates the beatification of a priest in the Cathedral of Wuerzburg, central Germany Sunday May 15, 2011. Georg Haefner, painting in background, was honored for practicing his Roman Catholic faith in defiance of the Nazis. Haefner died of hunger and disease in Dachau concentration camp in 1942. Friedhelm Hofmann said Haefner represented all members of the Catholic church who perished for their faith during the Nazi-era. (AP Photo/dapd/Timm Schamberger)

Germans in Pope Benedict XVI's home state of Bavaria celebrated Sunday the beatification ceremony of a priest who was honored for practicing his Roman Catholic faith in defiance of the Nazis.

The pope, who grew up in Bavaria, sent Cardinal Angelo Amato from the Vatican to celebrate the beatification Mass for Georg Haefner in Wuerzburg Cathedral, the DAPD news agency reported.

During his traditional Sunday greetings to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square, the pope, who grew up in Bavaria and was forced by the Nazis to serve as a teen in the Hitler Youth, praised Haefner.

"In the confusion of National Socialism, Georg Haefner was willing, as a faithful shepherd, to protect his flock and deliver the sacrament and the water of life to many people, until the end of his life," the pope said, speaking in German.

"He forgave those who wronged him and in a letter to his parents from prison, he wrote, 'We want to be at peace with everyone.'"

Haefner died of hunger and disease in Dachau concentration camp in 1942.

Friedhelm Hofmann, the bishop of Wuerzburg, said Haefner represented all members of the Catholic church who perished for their faith during the Nazi-era

No response to "Saint John Paul II? Just say no."

Pope John Paul II: La-la-la-la-la-la — I can't hear those things you're saying about sex abuse

Today is the 30^th anniversary of the shooting of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. He recovered, of course, and remained Pope for another 24 years until his death in 2005, at which point the new Pope, Benedict XVI, started planning to make JPII a saint. Benedict beatified John Paul — the last step before sainthood — two weeks ago.

I come from a deeply old-school, European “incense, rosaries and miracles” Catholic background. These days, however, I’m a pretty disgruntled Catholic — not really “lapsed,” but not happy about the church hierarchy either — who has a thought or two about the rush to declare JPII a saint. Briefly, I’m against it, for several reasons. Here are some of those reasons:

• JPII started out as a breath of fresh air — at 58, younger than most new Popes,  physically energetic, and a welcome force against totalitarianism. But he also turned out to be a rigid defender of a repressive form of conservative Catholicism and a strong ally of powerful established elements in the Church that would love to overturn the “window-opening” changes wrought by Popes John XXIII and Paul VI during Vatican  II.

• He loved traveling and smiling all over the world, but his thinking on critical Catholic issues — priests’ celibacy, ordination of women, contraception, divorce, etc. — was shallow and deeply disappointing to Catholics who expected JPII to expand the necessary, modern changes of Vatican II.

• He was extraordinarily harsh with theological dissenters, primarily Jesuits, who wanted the Church to do more to help the poor, particularly in Latin America. Instead, he strongly supported serial pedophile Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legion of Christ, in order to bolster conservative orthodoxy in that region. Along with the group Opus Dei, the Legion of Christ became JPII’s pitbulls against the Jesuits and other Church liberals.

• The primary reason, however, that John Paul II should not have been beatified, much less granted sainthood, is his abysmal — truly abysmal — role in the pedophile/sexual-abuse crisis. The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd, in an excellent recent column titled “Hold the Halo,” reports on the many times JPII was told by bishops and cardinals that the sexual-abuse crisis was epidemic and needed strong action on his part. Dowd concludes, “And he was passive to an absolute fault. He failed in mountainous terms.”

Now, neither Maureen Dowd’s griping, nor mine, nor that of Catholic progressives will stop Benedict XVI from making JPII a saint. He also wants to do the same for Pope Pius XII who notably remained silent about the Third Reich’s horrific persecution of Jews, gypsies and gays. Meanwhile, as Dowd and columnist E.J. Dionne point out, neither Pope John XXIII, who launched the Vatican II reforms and was beatified 11 years ago, nor social justice advocate and Catholic Worker movement founder Dorothy Day, who has been “considered” for beatification since 1997, are in Vatican limbo.

1. Petrov Says:
   May 13th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
   I am not so clued up on the other beatifications in the process but as far as that of JohnPaul is concerned you miss the point.
   This man did not only belong to the Roman Catholics but the world. The good he did in his life far outweighs any shortcommings that he as man had. I doubt if you sort out all the mistakes and problems in your life. All of us have one or two issues we wish would go away if we just ignored them. Not right but reality. Secondly you are very narrow sighted. Considering the daily work and international events on the agenda of the Pope, do you really think that a few (yes on a world wide scale it is quite insignificant)bad priests would have warrented that much attention. I feel somewhat for the molested children but this has been going on in ALL churches for as long as churches existed and to this day. He was a leader and had people UNDER him that had to sort out such problems. The president of a country does not involve himself in the activities of a few bad policeman or soldiers. He has a system and generals to handle such matters. You seem to forget that even Mother Theressa was at times very difficult, impatient and sometimes even blatantly rude. She managed her order with an iron fist which in many countries would have been heavily critisized. No good person can do only good. The are after all is said and done PEOPLE and not GODS. 
   
   
   When I was young my father took me to the sea and made me touch the dirty brown foam on the beach and then took me to a rock that was been pounded by the sea. He told me that you cannot tell a blind man that the power of the sea is in the brown foam but you must let him experience the power on the rock. You cannot condense a life of good work and then describe the life according to its failings and shortcommings. As a RC you should also know that some of the changes you expected him to make was OUTSIDE his powers to make considering the finality of the decisions of the previous vatican councils and popes/

Pakistan’s ‘Blasphemy’ Laws Pose Growing Threat

Sajid Emmanuel (pictured) and his brother the Rev. Rashid Emmanuel were shot to death on July 19, 2010, outside the courtroom where they were on trial under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

 

Not even children are exempt from possibility of triggering Islamic rage.
 
ISTANBUL, May 13 (CDN) — Pakistan’s notorious “blasphemy” laws can put even children at risk, and Christians say the days when they could teach their offspring pat answers to protect them from accusations of disparaging Islam or its prophet seem to have passed.

A 30-year-old Pakistani woman who grew up in Lahore said her Christian parents taught her formula answers to keep from falling prey to accusations under the blasphemy statutes, such as “I am a Christian, I can only tell you about Him.” But even then, before radical Islamists began influencing Pakistani society as they have in recent years, schoolchildren were taught not to discuss religion, she said.

“We knew never to get into religious discussions with others,” she said. “We had them at home – our parents would put us through the drill of asking us tough questions to see how we answered. Only now I realize that was practice for school.”

In this way, she was imbued with the fundamentals of the Christian faith and at the same time learned that she should discuss it only with her parents, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Though the Christian faith is inherently evangelistic, the need to remain silent is even more important today, she added.

“Christians constantly face questions like, ‘What do you think of the Quran, do you like it?’ and, ‘What do you think of Muhammad?’” she said. “One answer is, ‘As a Christian I have only read the Bible, I can’t read Arabic.’ These questions used to be easier to answer, we had formulas. But those are not working any more. We just tell children ‘Don’t talk about religion in school.’ This is shaky ground now.”

The blasphemy statutes signal to non-Muslims that they are second-class or “dhimmi” status citizens who must stay within narrow social boundaries, leave or be killed, she said.

“Some parents don’t even tell their children about Jesus, because they are scared they will go to school and say something wrong,” she said. “One street kid did not know anything except about the blasphemy law. When her mother was asked why she did not teach her daughter about Jesus instead of the blasphemy law, she replied, ‘If I tell her too much, she will talk about it on the street, and someone will kill her or charge her with blasphemy.’”

The street child, she said, was afraid to tell her what church she attended.

“She said the mullah in the shop behind us was listening, and as she said that, I saw the man nearly fall off his chair from trying to listen to us,” she said.

An entire generation, Christians fear, is growing up not knowing their faith for fear that it will lead to potentially disastrous schoolyard talk. Moreover, children required to take Islamic studies in school are in danger with a single misstep.

“If they write anything or misspell anything to do with the prophet Muhammad, they can be in serious danger,” the source said. “In fact, the other side of this is that they are made to answer questions saying what a wonderful man he was.”

Christian kids in predominantly Muslim areas don’t have friends to play with, as even a cricket game can be risky, she said. Adults are equally fearful.

“People in offices are silenced into submission,” she said. “The fear is creating aggression.”

Conviction under Section 295-C of the blasphemy law for derogatory comments about Muhammad is punishable by death, though life imprisonment is also possible. Curiously, accusers in blasphemy cases cannot repeat the alleged derogatory comments without risk of being accused of blasphemy themselves. Section 295-B makes willful desecration of the Quran or use of an extract in a derogatory manner punishable with life imprisonment. Section 295-A prohibits injuring or defiling places of worship and “acts intended to outrage religious feelings.” It is punishable by life imprisonment, which in Pakistan is 25 years.

Law Leading to Lawlessness
A district court judge last November stunned the nation and the international community by handing down a death sentence to a Christian mother of five for allegedly speaking ill of Muhammad.

Subsequently three politicians spoke out against the blasphemy law that put Asia Noreen (also called Asia Bibi) in prison. Two of them have been killed for standing up for Noreen and against the blasphemy law. One is in hiding for fear of her life.

Noreen, mother two children and stepmother to three others, has been in prison in solitary confinement since June 2009, accused of having blasphemed against Muhammad, after a verbal disagreement with some women in the village of Ittanwali, near Lahore. If she is released from prison, her life will be at risk. Her husband and children are on the run, receiving constant threats from Muslims who say they will take justice into their own hands.

Thousands of Pakistanis who think and believe differently than mainstream Muslims are at risk of being slandered under the blasphemy law, and those who live in poverty or are illiterate are particularly vulnerable. Personal vendettas from neighbors, co-workers and rivals are the most common reasons blasphemy law cases are filed, according to Paul Marshall of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom.

“Most victims are Muslims, but non-Muslims or minority Muslims suffer disproportionally,” said Marshall. “Ahmadis [an unorthodox Islamic sect] are probably proportionally the greatest victims. There are more victims from mobs and vigilantes than from the government itself, but the government bears responsibility because it does not protect the victims.”

Suspected Islamic extremists in Faisalabad shot dead two Christians about to be acquitted of blasphemy charges on July 19, 2010. The Rev. Rashid Emmanuel, 32, and his 30-year-old brother Sajid Emmanuel were shot days after handwriting experts on July 14 notified police that signatures on papers denigrating Muhammad did not match those of the accused. Expected to be exonerated, the two leaders of United Ministries Pakistan were being led in handcuffs under police custody back to jail when they were shot.

Christian Lawyers’ Foundation President Khalid Gill said the two bodies bore cuts and other signs of having been tortured, including marks on their faces, while the brothers were in police custody.

Most recently, 40-year-old Arif Masih, of a village near Faisalabad, was arrested from his house on April 5 after Muslims accused him of ripping pages of the Quran and writing a threatening letter ordering them to become Christians. His brother claims that a neighbor fabricated the accusations in order to acquire property adjacent to that of Masih’s.  

Though the much-abused blasphemy law is punishable by death, at times vigilantes have taken matters into their own hands. At least eight Christians accused of blasphemy are estimated to have been killed since 1986. The number of Muslims accused of blasphemy and killed extra-judicially may be twice that figure.
 

For secular-educated Pakistanis, the blasphemy law has come to symbolize the measure to which extreme Islam has overtaken society. In the span of three months, radical Islamists murdered two of the nation’s most outspoken leaders against the blasphemy law. On Jan. 4 Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province, was murdered, and on March 2 parliamentarian Shabaz Bhatti, who as federal minister for minority affairs was the only Christian cabinet member, was assassinated in Islamabad.

A third official, Sherry Rehman, a parliamentarian from Karachi, led an effort to reform the blasphemy law after Noreen was sentenced to death last year. Taseer, Bhatti and Rehman were the most vocal about injustices Noreen has suffered and their disapproval of the law. Rehman, in hiding since Taseer’s murder, is said to be next on the Islamic terrorists’ hit list.

Noreen’s case drew little attention before she received the death sentence. One advocate said he believes that had her case not drawn so much attention, she would have been quietly acquitted by a higher court without criticism abroad or at home. Now her release would look like a win for the “Christian” West, he said.

“Hence, we are not going to have any concrete benefit out of whatever decision comes on her,” said Asif Aqeel, leader of the Community Development Initiative. “I don’t see any decision having some fruitful result.”

Aqeel concurred with other Christians that the blasphemy law has led to a steep drop in freedom of expression. Mosques in neighborhoods where blasphemy cases are filed become centers for inciting people to the streets, where destruction ensues. Since Noreen’s death sentence in November, sermons against changing the blasphemy law are commonly broadcast from mosques, especially in neighborhoods where there is a Christian presence.

“People do not talk, and it is proving an embargo on thinking,” Aqeel said. “It has caused vigilante justice, and several incidents have taken place. After that, now whenever this issue arises, people become afraid that it might turn into a demolition of the entire place.”

Victims of the blasphemy law cannot hope for justice from local police, who “do not dare to declare innocent anyone accused of blasphemy,” Aqeel said, and often lower court judges and magistrates do little to give them their rights. “Now the slogan is that the one who sympathizes with the blasphemer is also a blasphemer,” he said, pointing to the deaths of Taseer and Bhatti.

Pakistan is moving increasingly towards a state driven by fear of extremists, where even moderate politicians make conservative choices to appease Islamist threats, according to Sara Taseer Shoaib, daughter of the late Taseer.  

“Pakistan is definitely becoming more right-wing and extremist when it comes to religion,” she said. “Religious parties are gaining a cult following, and even moderate leaders are trying to gain popularity and votes by taking a right-wing position.”

The reasons for this shift to the ultra-right, she said, are many: conservative issues like defense of the blasphemy law serve to deflect attention from the real issues of poverty and lack of hope; there is an increasing trend to blame all woes on the West; and there is a prevailing sense of a need to defend Islam as the perception remains that it is under global attack.

Shoaib said her father spoke about Noreen as a member of Pakistan’s poor, disenfranchised minority. Determined to defend her and the rights of others like her, Taseer had visited Noreen in prison before he died.

“He felt that she was a victim of the ambiguity of this law, and [that] she was unable to defend herself fairly,” she said. “[He felt that] she was the prime candidate where the unfairness of this law could be brought to light. He wanted an amendment to the law which is man-made.”

The source from Lahore said that fear among Christians after Taseer and Bhatti’s death is palpable. Christians feel left alone, not knowing who to trust.

“Everything seems to have snowballed,” she said. “People are really, really scared. Someone who you see as out there defending you and speaking for you has been silenced; someone just goes up to him and shoots him.”

She said Christians feel that the mentality of their Muslim fellows has hardened as the Pakistani Taliban and other extremist elements seem to be holding the government and people’s minds hostage.

“For the extremists, it’s no longer making Pakistan a Muslim country, but how they use Pakistan to promote the cause of Islam across the world,” she said. “It’s not for love of the nation, or national identity, but entirely about religious identity. That completely isolates those who do not subscribe to the same views … you are on the street in terms of identity and your social belonging in the community.”

Growing Issue
Aqeel said blasphemy looms larger in Pakistani minds and anti-Christian sentiment is growing for both socio-economic and global reasons.

In today’s impoverished Pakistan, and after U.S.-led wars in Muslim-majority Iraq and Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, people see even Pakistani Christians as allies of the West threatening their identity, he said. Poverty and a religion that upholds violence as a means to an end only fuel this mob mentality, he said.  

“This has helped create a sense of alienating the Muslim world, and that the ‘blasphemous’ West is trying to snatch the values by movies and technology and globalization and trying to capture areas of the Islamic world,” Aqeel said. “Because of this, their sense of insecurity has made them more religious.”

As a result, blasphemy has become a larger issue, he said.

Pakistan’s law against defaming religion was amended in 1982 to include desecrating the Quran and in 1986 to include disparaging Muhammad. Since then, at least 37 blasphemy law suspects have been killed while in police custody, according to Aqeel.

On March 15, Qamar David, 55, died while serving a life sentence in a prison in Karachi for alleged blasphemy. Prison authorities claimed that David died of a heart attack, but his supporters have called for an investigation, as he had received threats and was subject to beatings and mistreatment from prison authorities. (See “Pakistani Christian Sentenced for ‘Blasphemy’ Dies in Prison,” March 15.)

While the murders of Bhatti and Taseer have helped to remove a “Defamation of Religions” resolution from United Nations consideration – for now – the assassinations have also brought any movement toward amending Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to a standstill.

“Although there is a section of media that is highlighting the issue of blasphemy, the situation hardly allows any movement or legislation on this subject,” said a Pakistani lawyer on condition of anonymity. “In my experience in the past 24 years, I have not seen [such a] stalemate condition, mainly due to the violence and terrorist threat that prevails.”   

Pakistan and Islamization: stoning women to death for Allah

  

If you close your eyes you can imagine part of the land of India which was partitioned and became Pakistan.  If we think about this area before the onset of Islam it is easy to imagine Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Zoroastrians, and many faiths throughout the land which would become Pakistan.  However, countless Islamic invasions and then the partition of India led to the creation of modern day Pakistan.

The creation of East and West Pakistan did not lead to unity or peace but instead led to more religious persecution of non-Muslim minorities, ethnic tensions, language issues, and other important factors. In time Bangladesh and Pakistan would emerge after a bitter and brutal war which erupted in 1971 and during this brutal war the Pakistan army was involved in brutal massacres and the Hindu community was especially targeted.

Therefore, just like past Islamic conquests which enslaved and killed millions of Hindus in past Islamic jihads of India the same also happened during 1971.  The eastern part of Dhaka was dominated by Hindus therefore Pakistan military units were involved in major pogroms of Hindus.  Time magazine reported on 2 August 1971, that “The Hindus, who account for three-fourths of the refugees and a majority of the dead, have borne the brunt of the Pakistani military hatred.”

After the brutal conflict in 1971 it is clear that Pakistan learnt nothing apart from more hatred because General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq would consolidate his power base during 1977 and 1978 and the new President of Pakistan was intent on installing more Islamization. 

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq introduced many draconian laws in which non-Muslims and minority Muslims would suffer alongside women who also bore the brunt of Islamization.  Laws he introduced in the Pakistan Penal Code include the following:

PPC	Description	Penalty
298A	Use of derogatory remarks etc., in respect of holy personages	3 years imprisonment, or with fine, or with both
298B	Misuse of epithets, descriptions and titles etc., reserved for certain holy personages or places, by Ahmadis	3 years imprisonment and fine
298C	Aka Ordinance XX: An Ahmadi, calling himself a Muslim, or preaching or propagating his faith, or outraging the religious feelings of Muslims, or posing himself as a Muslim	3 years imprisonment and fine
295	Injuring or defiling places of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class	Up to 2 years imprisonment or with fine, or with both
295A	Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs	Up to 10 years imprisonment, or with fine, or with both
295B	Defiling, etc., of Quran	Imprisonment for life
295C	Use of derogatory remarks, etc; in respect of Muhammad	Death and fine

Source of information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zia-ul-Haq’s_Islamization

Therefore, modern day Pakistan is a land of Islamic hatred whereby Islamists stone women to death, persecute minorities, and keep women in the shadows in many parts of this land and honour killings are a daily reality.  At the same time you have institutional Islamic hatred whereby the government, police force, judiciary, local government leaders, and other areas of power install or maintain institutional hatred by allowing systematic persecution of minorities and women.

Ahmadiyya Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and other minorities, now reside in fear because of the draconian blasphemy law and other laws which discriminate against non-Muslims and Ahmadiyya Muslims.

The nightmare of what Pakistan is can be seen by the recent murder of another woman which was highlighted in an article written by S Iftikhar Murshed. He states the following:

“The woman’s head was covered with a sack, her hands were tied and she was tethered to the ground – while a group of turbaned, bearded men hurled rocks at her, breaking her bones and then crushing her skull. According to reports in the press, she had been walking unescorted and was presumed guilty of adultery. The barbarity, allegedly perpetrated by the Taliban in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), was shown on Dubai’s Al Aan television. The same footage was televised by a private Pakistani channel on Sept 28 and the story also featured that day in the local print media.” 

“There was no reaction from civil society, no politician demanded that the government bring the criminals to justice, no resolution was passed by parliament expressing concern over the outrage, no statement emanated from the president or the prime minister condemning the incident, and the atrocity faded from public memory because the woman was a nonentity and did not matter.”  (Article http://www.thenews.com.pk/24-10-2010/opinion/11689.htm)

This article highlights the complete brutality of Sunni Islam under the Taliban; the institutions of Pakistan which are enabling hatred to prosper via draconian laws and ineptness when dealing with brutal murders like this; and the utter brutality of Mohammed himself who not only did adultery with female concubines but who then supported the stoning to death of people who did adultery.

The mass media in the West which highlighted an insignificant Christian pastor with a flock which is very small about burning the Koran remains largely silent about daily murders of women and minorities in Pakistan.  Or if information is provided then it is not advertised so much because it would break the “Islamic mantra of peace” which is being sold in many media outlets or by national leaders like President Obama who is following the party line of ex-President Bush.

In truth the brutal murder of this woman shames the appeasers of Islam and shames the multi-religionists who are closing their eyes to the reality of Islamic Sharia law and the tenets of Islam which were espoused by Mohammed.

It should also be remembered that America and the United Kingdom both supported General Zia-ul-Haq and little was said about the draconian Islamic laws which he put in motion, in full accordance with the Koran and the Hadiths.  Therefore, silence is both a Democratic and Republican issue in America and an issue for nations like the United Kingdom who have turned a blind eye to brutal laws and institutional hatred in Pakistan.

The author, S Iftikhar Murshed, continues by stating the adage “justice delayed is justice denied” is not necessarily true. In the case of the unknown woman in Fata, as in other instances, the skewed Taliban concept of Islamic justice was as swift as it was brutal. The stringent Quranic evidentiary requirements for proving adultery were set aside and the accused was condemned for a crime she had never committed.”

This comment clearly shows you that the article by S Iftikhar Murshed does not condemn the Koran and the Hadiths because he states “The stringent Quranic evidentiary requirements for proving adultery were set aside.”  However, why do people deserve to be killed for adultery, apostasy, or have your hands and feet chopped off for minor crimes in accordance with what Mohammed stated?

Returning back to this article it is clear that Pakistan is in crisis and this crisis is based on the religion of Islam. The complicity of nations who continue to prop-up this nation also must be rebuked because General Zia-ul-Haq created an even more vengeful Pakistan and the global Sunni Islamic jihadist movement obtained major funding and backing under his rule.

Ex-President Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski fell into line and supported the motives of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in 1979 after the Siege of Mecca by forces loyal to Juhayman ibn Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Otaibi created mayhem for the House of Saud. 
(http://leejaywalker.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/the-siege-of-mecca-to-pro-islamic-policies-in-bosnia/)

In an earlier article I wrote called “USA, CIA, created Sunni Islamic Terrorism” I comment that “The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) implemented Operation Cyclone and this policy was aimed at supporting the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter and Zbigniew Brzezinski began a new policy whereby America would support radical Islam in the full knowledge that this meant supporting terrorism and a movement which supported killing all apostates from Islam and persecuting women.” 

“Therefore, both political parties in America were involved in the funding of radical Sunni Islam and Michael G. Vickers, a Special Forces NCO, was commissioned by the CIA to support radical Islamic forces. Of major importance was coordination and launching attacks against the Soviet Union which would prove to be successful. Given this, Vickers, and other covert operatives, would train terrorists and in time they would unleash a force that could not be contained.”

The CIA’s regional head, Gustav Avrakotos, alongside people like Charlie Wilson, Gordan Humphrey, Fred Ikle, William Casey, Joanne Herring, and a host of others, were all responsible in spreading radical Islam in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Therefore, the “dark forces” of radical Sunni Islam were being unified via enormous funding and military training…………… the CIA, political leaders, and the people mentioned above, would all play their role in the future destabilization of Afghanistan and Pakistan and in making September 11th happen.

“Of instrumental importance were Pakistan and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) unit which would work hand-in-hand with the CIA and other covert networks. Other nations were also involved, including the British, because MI6 and the SAS, would help to train Islamic terrorists and of course Saudi Arabia would provide ample funds in order to spread radical Sunni Islam.”

However, the mistakes of America and the United Kingdom can’t be exonerated nor can Mohammed who is the prophet of Islam because history tells us the reality of Mohammed and Islamic jihad. 

The defeat of communism was a serious issue during the Cold War but it is clear that Islamic jihad was an instrument of power and control. This began under the founding father of Islam because Mohammed simply sat by and watched the beheadings of the Banu Qurayza who were followers of Judaism.  More than 600 men over puberty were beheaded one after the other in full accordance with the wishes of Mohammed.

The fate that befell the Banu Qurayza clearly shows you the mindset of Mohammed and Islam. Jihad, jizya, dhimmitude, and the destruction of other faiths and systems is part and parcel of Islam and only fools would have ignored the reality of Islam and its bloody past and continuity in the modern world.

Therefore, the stoning to death of this lady may have been done by the Taliban but the “hands which are dripping in blood belong to Prophet Mohammed.”

In America and other nations people are now waking up despite media bias which is trying to distort the reality of Islam.  President Obama may not be on board and his eyes may be closed but forces within America are gradually waking up.

If only America, the UK, and others, had turned to India and the history of this nation because Islamic jihad, enslavement, brute force, dhimmitude, and so forth, was not only a past tragedy but is also a living tragedy.  After all, Hindus and other minorities still continue to suffer in the House of Islam in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and within Kashmir.

Also, the teachings of the Koran and the Hadiths clearly support Islamization via stealth jihad and jihad. In time this leads to dhimmitude and the destruction of the host culture and traditions.

Therefore, while Islamists were shouting “Allah Akbar” while killing a woman in such a brutal method let us not forget that the evil they did was in the name of Allah because Mohammed supported stoning to death.

Western nations have no excuse for their ignorance and if Islam is allowed to grow at any cost or if Western nations keep on supporting nations like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan without any modernization strings; then the “final Rome” called “world civilization” will be faced by an Islamic monoculture which devours the non-Muslims first and then like in Pakistan they turn on each other and backwardness becomes the norm.

http://global-security-news.com

Saint Boniface of Tarsus

Boniface of Tarsus
Born	Third century Rome
Died	May 14, 307 Tarsus, Cilicia
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church
Feast	May 14 (pre-1969 General Roman Calendar); December 19 (Eastern Orthodox Churc
Attributes	Martyr

Boniface of Tarsus was, according to legend, executed for being a Christian in the year 307 at Tarsus, where he had gone from Rome in order to bring back to his mistress Aglaida (also written Aglaia) relics of the martyrs.

Aglaida and Boniface (painting by Alexandre Cabanel)

Boniface was one of Aglaida's slaves. The name Aglaida is sometimes given as Aglae. Both were pagans and lived in debauchery together, some legends say they were even lover. Tiring of their way of life, both discover Christianity as a meaningful way. Aglaida decides to sent him on an errand to collect holy relics. Finding upon arrival at Tarsus that the authorities were torturing Christians, he openly declared himself to be a Christian. His own body constituted the relics that were brought back to Aglaida, who in turn became a Christian.

In his memory she constructed a church, which today is the Church of Santi Bonifacio e Alessio. She distributed her wealth to the poor and lived in a monastery for 18 years. She apparently received the divine gift to exorcise evil spirits.

St. Boniface Cathedral: Past & Present

The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates both of them on December 19 as the "Martyr Boniface at Tarsus in Cilicia and Righteous Aglaida of Rome." In the twelfth century the name of Boniface (without Aglaida) was included in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, with the lowest rank of feast ("Simple"). His celebration, on May 14, was reduced by Pope Pius XII to a commemoration within the ferial Mass in 1955 (see General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII), and was omitted completely from the General Roman Calendar in 1969 because of the totally fabulous character of his "Passio".

Fire in 1968

The original cathedral, built in 1908, was destroyed by fire in 1968.
photo: www.winnipegfiremuseum.ca

Twenty-three Muslims Charged With Terrorism in Egypt

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The Supreme State Security Prosecution has started legal proceedings against 23 Salafis allegedly involved in the sectarian violence in Imbaba on Saturday, charging them with terrorism, premeditated murder, vandalism of public and private property and intimidating citizens.

The charges were made as part of the prosecutions' investigation into the sectarian clashes, which lead to the deaths of at least 15 people and the injury of several hundred more.

Prosecutors presented the defendants with photographs of them throwing stones and destroying private property in the area during the incident.

Meanwhile, scores of Coptic Christians staged demonstrations before the Supreme Court, requesting a fast trial for the perpetrators of the violence in Imbaba.

Police intensified their presence in the Imbaba neighborhood in order to avoid any further clashes.

Prosecutors also started questioning a Coptic Christian, the owner of a cafe in the area, who fired the first shot in the clashes.

They are putting questions to Abeer Talaat, the Coptic woman who is said to have sparked the clashes when she converted to Islam.

Collected from http://www.almasryalyoum.com

Obama Should Condemn Anti-Christian Violence in Egypt

Even as he renews his outreach to Muslims, President Obama should seek to stem the growing tide of violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt by condemning last weekend's attacks that left a dozen people dead and scores injured.

The attacks, about which Obama has been silent, also resulted in the burning of Coptic Orthodox churches and the destruction of Christian homes and businesses.

The president needs to say more to stem religious violence that creates opportunities for Islamic extremists who want to seize power in Egypt, our most important Arab ally.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Monday "strongly" condemned the violence, saying, "We stand behind the Coptic Christian community and their right to practice their faith in safety and security, free of persecution."

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Obama is preparing to try to reengage Muslims with a speech, possibly next week, that will make the case that Muslims should "reject Islamic militancy in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death and embrace a new era of relations with the U.S."

Whether Obama views condemning Muslim violence against Christians as inopportune during the lead up to a renewed outreach to Muslims is unclear. But it's worth noting that after Obama seemed inexplicably slow off the mark supporting the masses of Iranian protestors two years ago, there was widespread belief that he was concerned about compromising his outreach to the Iranian government.

Obama, though a Christian, seems to view his background, which includes a Muslim grandfather and several years living as a child in Muslim Indonesia, as giving him a special conduit into the Muslim world. But I doubt this type of personal outreach by one man changes the way people view the United States. And it shouldn't interfere with other aspects of U.S. policy.

Obama commendably condemned a New Year's Eve church bombing in Alexandria, Egypt that killed 21. But he has said little -- actually nothing that I could find -- about the religious killings and tensions since then, which included the deaths of 12 people Jan. 30 during a raid of Christian homes in Upper Egypt.

Obama also should speak about about the growing violence against Christians in Iraq, a country where we have some real sway. Four were killed and 171 injured in attacks over the weekend, prompting a reaction from Pope Benedict XVI.

News collected from Keith Koffler

The Christian Predicament in Syria and Egypt

The last few months have seen an historical earthquake, or volcano if you will, in the Middle East. Islamic countries, some with sizeable Christian minorities are witnessing revolutions which on the surface seem to display a desire by the peoples of the these countries for genuine democracy, something only to be found outside of the Middle East, except for Israel.

The story begins with an economic trigger of $147 a barrel for oil in 2008, leading to the near collapse of the world economy. With this near collapse of the world economy, the barrel of oil dropped back to $30, even if for only a few days, and then slowly began to climb back, hovering now around the $100 dollar mark.

Whether or not the world economy recovers or not, we all know that food prices have gone through the roof as a result of this greed. Higher oil prices mean higher food prices. Food prices will continue to spiral upwards and starvation will increase in many more places.

When a Tunisian fruit and vegetable vendor self-immolated himself after a humiliating arrest that included being slapped in the face by a female officer and having his produce confiscated, ostensibly for not having a license (or paying a bribe), the word got out quickly thanks to mass online media like Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and massive riots ensued. The corruption, the lack of employment, the lack of freedom and democracy led these people in the Middle East to want and demand more, primarily what is to be found in the West where there is work, democracy and food.

These revolutions spread to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain and other countries, and threaten to spread elsewhere as well, such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and perhaps even Iran.

The Egyptian Revolution is a case in point. Christians and Moslems demonstrated together in Tahrir Square and other places calling for the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in hope of a better future. The Mubarak regime suffered from the same corruption and elitist domination of the economy by certain chosen groups. US President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the "democratic revolution" in Egypt as they are now doing in Libya.

When the US Administration was warned of the dangers of the Moslem Brotherhood, Secretary Clinton's response was: "They are only a 30% minority."

The problem is that throughout the Middle East, the governments are usually controlled by the minority, not the majority. By the way, Hitler came to power in Germany in January of 1933 with only 30% of the German democratic vote. Khomeini in Iran came to power in 1979 leading a wall-to-wall coalition of democratic forces, but in the end it was his fanatic group of fundamentalist Shi'ites that eliminated all the other groups leaving only Khomeini's group in power.

So today, the Egyptian Army in partnership with the Moslem Brotherhood are now the ruling forces. And there should be no doubt that the agenda in Egypt has never been for democracy, nor is it now. On the contrary, the Islamic motto is: We kill the Jews on Saturday, and we kill the Christians on Sunday.

Now that there are no more Jews in Egypt (Saturday people), the Moslems say: "We will go for the Sunday people" (the Christians).

There is no doubt that the condition of the Coptic Egyptian minority is indeed dire. Woman are being kidnapped, raped and forced to marry Moslem men who can anyway have multiple wives. When Christians protest about this, the Moslems riot and kill the Christians. Churches are being burned down and Christians gunned down. My fear is that the Egyptian Coptic community faces imminent and massive ethnic cleansing if not outright Holocaust at the hands of the Moslems.

When the Egyptian Christian community is terminated, the economy will completely collapse and Egypt will become a desolation with tens of millions of Egyptian Christians and Moslems fleeing to the West were the grass is greener and there is food, employment and freedom, at least for now.

In Syria, another country ruled by a minority, this time a pro-Iranian 10% Alawite minority, another volcano is about to explode.

The Sunni population of 80% is seeking "democracy" or rule of the majority of the people. The Christian population is about 10%, and until now has been protected by the Alawites. But if Bashar Assad and his regime fall from power, the Sunnis, led by the same Moslem Brotherhood as in Egypt, will decimate both the Alawites and the Christians, thus terminating the Christian presence in Syria, and by extension the Christians in Lebanon as well.

We already have seen how the Sunni/Shi'ite struggle in Iraq killed Christians and forced them to flee to Syria. Now this is about to happen in Syria and, by extension, in Lebanon.

Unfortunately, the Christian world in the West is silent about this as are most of the churches and denominational leadership. No one in the Christian world is saying or doing anything about the slaughter of Christians in Africa. And, of course, as the fundamentalist Moslem Brotherhood takes over in Egypt and Syria as it already has in Turkey and Gaza, I believe we are witnessing the creation of a Sunni Caliphate that will soon be surrounding Israel as well.

Could this be a Gog and Magog scenario in the making? Will the world do anything about the Christians of Egypt and Syria? Will the world do anything to stand by Israel at that time?

It is time for Jews and Christians to awaken and unite in an alliance for the defense of Christians, Jews, and all of Western Civilization threatened by this rising tide of Sunni Moslem Brotherhood fundamentalism.

Muslims Attack Christians in Egypt, 12 Killed, 232 Injured

(AINA) -- Christians Copts in the area of Embaba were attacked Saturday evening by Muslim Salafis. The attacks lasted for 14 hours. The Muslims fired guns and rifles and hurled Molotov cocktails at Coptic churches, houses and businesses. 12 Copts were killed and 232 wounded.The church of Saint Mina was the first to be attacked. According to its pastor Fr. Abanoub the attack started at 5.30 PM on Saturday May 7, when church parishioners noticed a large number of Salafis, estimated at 3000 men, congregating near the church. Anticipating trouble, the army was called. The Salafis went to the church and asked to search it because they believed a Christian girl named called Abir, who had converted to Islam, married a Salafi and wanted to revert back to Christianity, was hiding inside the church. The Muslims circulated a rumor that the husband of Abir received a call from her asking him to save her as she was being "tortured" inside the church.

The governor of Giza said that there are no girls hiding in St. Mina Church. He falsely claimed that things were under control and a "reconciliation" meeting will be arranged for tomorrow. The army later cordoned off the entire district of Embaba.

Father Yohanna Mansour from Giza Bishopric confirmed that no one knows this alleged girl called Abir. He said the congregation was meeting at church and the Salafis wanted to break into the church and force a search to look for this alleged convert, he said in an interview with the Egyptian State TV. "Muslims always come invited to church, but this would have set a precedent that Muslims would use to search our churches." He refused the "reconciliation" meeting and insisted on the application of the law.

According to Fr. Abanoub the Salafis started shooting at 5:30 but the army arrived at 10 PM. "I called everyone, but no one bothered to come." He said six policemen came and left when they saw the shooting. There were also snipers shooting the parishioners from rooftops. "I mourn all those young people who died. We now must ask for international protection."

The second church attacked by Salafis was St. Mary and St Abanob, also in Embaba. Muslims prevented the fire brigade from reaching it. Copts were also shot. This video shows the wounded brought inside the church.

The third church attacked was St. Mary Church in Wehda Street in Embaba, the ground floor of which was completely torched.

An apartment complex inhabited by Copts, near St. Mina Church, was set on fire after being looted. Another two houses were torched (video).

Youssef Edward, a deacon at St. Mina Church, said the army and security forces stood watching while Muslims threw Molotov cocktail at homes. He said the Muslims who attacked the church came from outside, as Muslims from the area live peacefully with them. "The army was not able to control the situation, and the mob was chanting 'Islamic', 'Islamic'" (video showing wounded Copts and a dead Copt named Medhat in St. Mina).

As soon as Copts heard of the Salafi attacks, they rushed to protect their churches. There were contradictory reports of Copts using guns to defend themselves.

Witnesses reported the Salafis were wearing Taliban style clothes. "I believe they are of the 3000 Jihadis who returned lately from Afghanistan," Saber Loutfi, one of the Embaba residents told Coptic Free Voice.

Renowned Muslim liberal writer Nabil Sharaf el Din said on the Coptic Hope Sat Channel "The army is either incapable or is an accomplice to the Salafis." He believes that what took place today exceeds anything else that had previously happened to the Copts. "If the army does not takes a stern position with the Salafis they will look real bad." He said that all moderate Muslims and Copts should stick together to overcome the Salafis. In his opinion the Salafis, who were encouraged and nurtured by the old State Security, are like the genie who has come out of the lamp and now cannot be restrained or controlled.

The Bishop of Giza, Anba Theodosius, said "These things are planned. We have no law or security, we are in a jungle. We are in a state of chaos. One rumor burns the whole area. Everyday we have a catastrophe." Addressing the Salafis he said "We will never leave our country".

Most witnesses interviewed asked for international protection of the Copts, as the army does nothing when it comes to attacks on Copts. Others accused the army of complicity.

Camelia Shehata, who the Muslims claim had converted to Islam and was held by the church against her will, appeared today on Hayat Christian TV and said Muslim claims are groundless and that she is 100% Christian. She denied that she had met any of the Salafi sheikhs who claimed they went with her to Al-Azhar to convert to Islam.

A large number of Copts are presently staging a sit-in in front of the US Embassy in Cairo, asking for International Protection for the Copts.
Coptic groups have called for a "million-man" protest in Cairo and Alexandria on Sunday to protest the Embaba attacks. The march will start at the High Court and end in Maspero, in front of the State TV Building.
The funeral of the Coptic victims will take place on Sunday at St. George's Church in Giza.

What Divides Catholics and Protestants?

As Pope Benedict XVI continues with his highly publicized visit to the United States, some may wonder what the major differences are between Catholicism and Protestantism – the two main Christian bodies in the world.

(Photo: AP Images / Gerald Herbert)

President Bush and Pope Benedict XVI walk down the Colonnade of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, April 16, 2008, following an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn.

Perhaps the biggest difference is their views on the sufficiency and authority of Scripture. Traditionally, Protestants believe that the Bible alone is sufficient in teaching man all that is necessary for salvation from sin, and contains the standard in which Christians should measure their behavior.

Catholics, however, do not believe that the Bible alone is enough, and instead hold that the Bible and sacred Roman Catholic traditions are equal in authority, as noted by Got Questions Ministries, which provides biblically-based answers on spiritually-related questions in its Web site, GotQuestions.org.

Roman Catholic doctrines, such as purgatory, praying to the saints, veneration of Mary, have little or no basis in the Scripture, but are based on Roman Catholic traditions.

Another major difference is the office and authority of the pope. There is no equivalent position to the pope in Protestantism because of the belief that no human being is infallible and that Christ alone is the head of the church. Protestants believe that the spiritual authority of the church is based on the Word rather than apostolic succession, and that all believers through the Holy Spirit can understand the Word.

For Roman Catholics, on the other hand, the pope is the “Vicar of Christ,” and stands in the place of Jesus as the visible head of the Church. Therefore, his teachings are considered infallible and effective over all Christians.

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Because of the emphasis on the authority of the Church over the individual believer, Catholics believe that only the Roman Catholic Church can interpret the Bible. Protestants, on the other hand, believe that all Christians have the authority to interpret the Bible through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The issue of salvation is also a point of contention between the two Christian bodies. Protestants traditionally believe that a person is justified and saved only by faith in Jesus Christ alone. However, Roman Catholics believe it is faith in Christ plus good works that man can be saved. Part of the Catholic salvation process is the seven sacraments: baptism at birth, confirmation, the Eucharist, holy orders, anointing of the sick, matrimony and penance.

"To get access to the grace of God, Catholics have to go through the Catholic Church and the sacraments,” pointed out Tal Davis, interfaith coordinator in the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board (NAMB)’s evangelization group, according to Baptist Press.

“We Southern Baptists think that's unnecessary and, in fact, is a hindrance to God,” Davis said. “We go straight to Jesus Christ for salvation by faith alone. No works are involved. You can't save yourself and you can't add anything to God's plan of salvation."

To Catholics, faith in Christ is only the beginning of salvation, and the individual must engage in good works for eternal salvation. Purgatory, for example, is where man goes after death if he did not sufficiently pay for his sins.

While Protestants recognize the importance of good works, they believe good works is the fruit of their salvation and not part of the process to be saved.

“Simply put, the Roman Catholic viewpoint on salvation implies that Christ’s atonement on the cross was not sufficient payment for the sins of those who believe in Him, and that even a believer must atone or pay for his own sins, either through acts of penance, or time in purgatory,” wrote Got Questions Ministries in its Web site.

Differences aside, Protestants and Catholics do share several core beliefs including the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, and the fact that he was sinless, that he died on the cross for man’s sin and rose from the dead and ascended to heaven.

"When you're talking to Catholics, you don't have to convince them to believe in God, Jesus Christ or the Bible," noted NAMB’s Davis.

Still, the divide between Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church is clear, as respected theologian Dr. R. Albert Mohler recently reiterated.

“I am convinced that he (the pope) is not right – not right on the papacy, not right on the sacraments, not right on the priesthood, not right on the Gospel, not right in understanding the Church,” the seminary president wrote recently in a special column for The Washington Post and Newsweek.

“The Roman Catholic Church believes that evangelicals are in spiritual danger for obstinately and disobediently excluding ourselves from submission to its universal claims and its papacy. Evangelicals are concerned that Catholics are in spiritual danger for their submission to these very claims,” he added.

“We both understand what is at stake.”

According to the CIA World Factbook, Christians make up one-third of the world’s population, with Roman Catholics making up 17 percent, Protestants 5.8 percent, Orthodox 3.5 percent, and Anglicans 1.3 percent. By comparison, Muslims make up 21 percent, Hindus 13.3 percent and Buddhists 5.8 percent.