Just how brave is Pope Benedict? Much more than his critics will give him credit for. In his interview with journalists on the plane bringing him to Britain, when asked how he would cope with the anti-Catholic feeling, he responded in that simple way of his that he was confident of a positive welcome by Catholics, and if there were expressions of anti-Catholicism, he would go forward with courage and joy. I remember during his visit to Brazil in 2007 he took on the drug cartels. Then, just a couple of days ago, during his apostolic visit to Palermo, Sicily, he took on the mafia, not only honouring those murdered by the mob, but denouncing the organisation by name in his homily telling the young people not to give in to the lure of the mafia which is the path of death and incompatible with the Gospel. In Italy, that sort of talk is nothing short of heroic. This is the way Christians should be speaking up in the modern world, not cowering in fear of being branded intolerant.
Of course the usual suspects peddle their lies. The LA Times try to undermine his condemnation by saying he did not go far enough and in doing so, offended anti-mafia campaigners. But it is to our own Irish Independent that great stupidity award must go. In their article they say the Pope never mentioned the word mafia at all. One has wonder where the reporter was. Is he deaf, or took a ciggie break, or, perhaps, was propping himself up at a local bar during the Pope' speech, missing his words of condemnation? And then, at the end of the article, a sly attack on the "inconsistency" of the Holy Father, saying the Pope can condemn homosexuality, Islam and condoms, but not the mafia. But then, what else can we expect from the Irish media. Ironic, though, the press tend to cower in fear of Islam.
Pope condemns the mafia, by name.
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