Pope Benedict knew that he was visiting a minefield. There is so much hatred there. Please pay less attention to hotheaded people discussing words and more to the small steps towards peace... or at least coexistence.

Anybody with good faith can perceive the effort of BXVI to heal old and open wounds, even when some are stubbornly pouring pounds of salt into them.

If any durable progress can be made it is the religious field. At the end of the day all the followers of the three religions are children of Abraham... and ultimately of the same God.

B16's advisors also noted the Baha'ists have some "angelic" issues:

see http://knol.google.com/k/david-gray/a-bahai-perspective-of-the-term-angel/2cobdudsrjajv/3#

And that was another reason the pope skipped the Baha'ists' UHJ in Haifa, Israel i.e. the Muslim version of Gabriel would be displeased.

I feel like the pope should have been more upfront about stating what he believes should be done. Even though, him being there is a step in the right direction, hopefully.

“Given all the interests tugging at him, we can't expect radical statements. Benedict XVI will be busy enough avoiding pitfalls and not putting noses out of joint. As the great Jewish comedian Woody Allen once said: 90 percent of success is just showing up."

http://www.newsy.com/videos/perspectives_on_the_pope/

He showed up, so I will give him credit. He definitely could have done more, though.

Why other visitors to Israel skip a visit to the Baha'ist center:

Problems with the Baha'i cult--

Besides being too Mormon-like:

10. No nooky!! No way, no how!

9: No booze! No, you might be having fun and you wouldn't
want that.

8: No politics. No, you wouldn't want to involve yourself
in a good, healthy way that might actually improve the lives
of the people in your community.

7: Suffering. Yes, suffering. No Baha'i gathering is complete without the friends recounting how they have suffered for their faith.

6: Silly Christians go to church. There, through outmoded
'rituals' usually led by a 'clergymen' which Baha'is don't
have, they often find themselves enriched and revitalized.
Some even think they have communed with their God. If only
they knew that if they were Baha'is they could go to a 19 day
Feasts, a dreary, boring business meeting usually punctuated
by some personal arguments. Some go on all night.

5: Ridvan meetings: YES THEY DO GO ON ALL NIGHT. WE WILL
GET SOMEONE TO BECOME THE TREASURER WHETHER THEY LIKE OR NOT, DAMNIT!

4: You get to do all sorts of things you don't want to do,
like be the treasurer and spend the next year haranging the
friends for money.

3: LSA Meetings. They are held at least once a week, they
last for several hours.

2: You get hit up for money, you get hit up for money. The
new world order needs money, your money, it's an honor to
bankrupt yourself for the Faith.

1: You'll never have to bother your silly little brain by
thinking again! All that hard brainwork had been done for you by the great "Babs".

http://www.geocities.com/baahith/Topten.html

B16 visited many religious sites during his visit to the Middle East. He did not visit the Baha'ist center in Haifa, Israel. The reason could be due to the following:

http://www.uhj.net/- a bit of weirdness???

"Singled out as Authentic – as the only Institution in the world that has the living descendant of King David as its president, the great grandson of 'Abdu'l-Baha seated upon the throne of King David which is to last forever (Psalm 89) – this House alone, the true UHJ (United House of Justice), has the Divine Power and God given Knowledge through the “KEY of DAVID” to heal the world of all its ills and guide a wayward and forlorn humanity back out of the gloom of the darkness of war into the light of real fellowship, truth, felicity and brotherly love in the shade of the divine and holy Tree of Life – man reunited with God in the garden of God as this earth was meant to be – in fulfillment of this sacred verse."

For those interested in more information about the Tanakh, see the following books:

Life After Death: A Study of the Afterlife in World Religions by Farnaz Masumian - might be hard to find since only two libraries in all of Pennsylvania have copies.

Apparently it is a rewrite of the following-Sheikhzadeh-Zavareh, Farnaz. 'Afterlife in World Religions: an Overview of Major Concepts and a Baha'i Perspective', M.A. thesis, University of Texas at Austin, 1985, v, 108

And "Divine Educators" by Farnaz and Bijan Masumian - equally hard to find.

The funny thing about these Christians in the middle east is that they hate one another so much when conflicts arise over control of the Christian holy places. Armenians vs. Greeks. Catholics vs. Orthodox, etc. The Muslims and Jews treat them better than that.

Since announcing the trip in 2005-2006, the Holy Father has always spoken of this trip as he has in the last week: as personal pilgrimage and as a pastoral visit to the Christians living under difficult circumstance, whether they live in Jewish or Islamic controlled areas. "All else is sound and fury, signifying nothing."

The high profile of the Pope's visit was used by oppotunists to get their extremist agendas some media coverage.

It's a pity that Israel/Palestine has degraded itself to this level, but at least it was only words.

There's no story here.

Benedict has again and again shoved his foot in his mouth. The reason? Hubris. How can you bring people of diverse faiths together when you start from the premise that your faith is superior to others? How can you talk about justice and peace when you yourself oppress others: gays, victims of priests sexual abuse, etc? I find the term"Holy Father" an oxymoron in this case since Benedict neither behaves like a father nor is he clearly a holy person.

Poor Benedict XVI. He is sincere in wanting to please Jews and Muslims, but his Church has always held that Muslims do not understand religious truth (especially about Jesus) and his Church, along with other Christian bodies, has invented the anti-semitism which is the ultimate cause of the Holocaust. What is this poor man to do? Commit suicide?

Isn't it ironic that by scrutinizing every word used by the pope and using his presence as a stage for political 2 cent salvos Muslim and Jews attribute the pope god like power.

justadadsc,

I agree that human nature, not religion or any other artifact of our nature, is the ultimate cause of human "nastiness". I just want to nitpick a little with your assignment of various monstrosities to "cold rationalism". There's nothing rational about the insane hatred and jealousy of Jews, Slavs, and other non-Germans that drove the Holocaust, or the short-sided greed that motivates most environmental destruction. Particularly with regard to the environment, a little rationalism would be a great boon.

Likewise, I really doubt a serious study of the World Wars or the wars in Vietnam and Iraq would discover any purely rational causes.

You may have an argument for the Soviet gulags. Even there, however, fear, paranoia, and a lust for power were certainly motivating factors.

When will everyone understand - religious fervor and nationalism are THE problem.
Give up all the gods and think rationally.
Posted by: hartman_john

With all due respect John, humans beings have a tendency to get nasty about pretty much everything they feel passionate about (...lovers, family honor, property lines, food, labor unions, water rights...SEC football!). To say religion is the culprit is just misplacing the the blame. And I would wager that cold rationalism, as a driver of human behavior, can take credit for its share of human death, mayhem and disasters as well (Nazi death camps, Gulags, raping the planets natural resources, both World Wars, Vietnam, Iraq, etc., etc. etc)

Pity the poor pope. Damned, strong word for a Pope, whatever he does. I'm not proud of some of the Israeli actions in Gaza, not Palestine, Gaza. The first Palestinians were Jewish settlers around 1895. However, to compare Israel to Islam's warped murderers is quite a stretch. The Pope wanted to avoid this argument but, like all do gooders, he gets it from both dysfunctional sides.

The pope has a rough go in the Middle East.
The Mullahs have a rough go almost everywhere.
The evangelicals get beat up at the polls.
The Jews get thrashed after trashing Gaza.

When will everyone understand - religious fervor and nationalism are THE problem.

Give up all the gods and think rationally.

This jewish community needs to close the door on this matter. They need to take the last sip from their cup of sorrow, find their inner-children and give them hugs, and realize that to the rest of the world the window has long since closed on this matter. In other words; get over it.

BRAD HIRSCHFIELD

When you see the Pope, tell him that I said Hi.

Lots of people are really going to be surprised when they find out that God is not only a Being of Pure Love but that He is not the egomaniac that some that know His Name think that He Is.

There are many that do not know God's Name and there are many that do not believe that God is Real that are closer to God in the right way than some of the most "religious" people on the planet.

Doesn't it seem much easier for lots of people to see the "wrong" in others rather than the "wrong" in themself?

Our Brother, Jesus, said something to this effect also, if anyone remembers, it is written down.

Reading over different postings on this site and other sites sure does point out to me that I am glad that I will be judged by God rather than my fellow humans.

One day, All will know that God is not even remotely like what some that know His Name think that He Is.

See you and the rest of humanity in the Kingdom, don't forget tell the Pope that I said Hi.

Take care, be ready.

Sincerely, Thomas Paul Moses Baum.

Even if the cause seems hopless, the Pope should be crediteds and praised for his pilgrimage of peace. He wouldn't agree to it, of course, however I feel his shrill critics should be treated to a dose of "Koranic Justice."

Paris1969,

It is very clear by your statements that you are an ex-catholic for a reason, though I myself doubt you ever were a catholic. I say this because you talk of your disgust for the Pope talking against condoms. The church has always been opposed to birth control (other than natural family planning). That being said, I am aware that some of the church's teaching are not getting out to people, especially in the USA, where I have personally been to several churches that seem more protestant than catholic. That being said, it is ridiculous for you to claim that this Pope is a Tyrant (a statement which you conveniently gave no support for). I happily await your (hopefully) logical and tempered response.

The pope needs to mind his own business, of which there is none in the Middle East. Of course while we're on the subject, it's really funny how Jews want all the pity for the Holocaust, but will justify Gaza and countless other acts of genocide. I'm sorry, but the Holocaust is the Jewish 9/11. Anytime Jews want to justify something is "have you forgotten the holocaust?" "Darn those Muslims and their Jihad." Oh, but it's perfectly OK to shoot innocent Palestinians and treat them like 2nd class citizens. "Oh, but that's different. That's 'self-defence.'" No one dare attack Israel, but no one will say anything when they attack Iran. Tamimi had every reason and right to do what he did. It's too bad that even the pope is on Israel's leash. It IS true. What Israel says, goes.

Mr. Hirschfield attacks Tamimi on the basis no one checked the facts. Instead Hirschfield should have recognized one mans statement of great human rights violations. "The Holocaust is Over; We Must Rise From Its Ashes Holds More Truth." read and understand. The real peace makers will rise from within Israel despite every attempt by the Zionists to crush them. In the US please join me in speaking through the thejewishvoiceforpeace.org. We need your help to end the current holocaust.

This Pope is a tyrant himself as he seeks to align himself with Muslims to oppose the civil rights of gay and lesbians and abortion rights. As an ex-Catholic I am disgusted with this Pope going to Africa and talking against condoms. He is lucky that Israel allowed him into their country!

The pope stated in the Hall of Remembrance:
"These (deceased] are indelibly etched in the hearts of their loved ones, their surviving fellow prisoners, and all those determined to never allow such an atrocity to disgrace mankind again."

It seems to me this language conveys the meaning "murder"