Christ was betrayed, mocked, made fun of, even crucified. But never once did he criticize the people for doing thise things to him, and he certainly did not grab the closest NRA approved semi-automatic weapon to seek vengeance in his own name.
So yes, I was more than a little shocked and confused when the Pope apparently sided with the Islamic extremist terrorists who murdered 12 people at Charlie Hebdo for expressing their freedom of speech. It is the Pope’s opinion that freedom of speech does not apply to religion.
Francis spoke about the Paris terror attacks while en route to the Philippines, defending free speech as not only a fundamental human right but a duty to speak one’s mind for the sake of the common good.
But he said there were limits.
By way of example, he referred to Alberto Gasparri, who organizes papal trips and was standing by his side aboard the papal plane.
“If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,” Francis said, throwing a pretend punch his way. “It’s normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.”
Many people around the world have defended the right of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to publish inflammatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed in the wake of the massacre by Islamic extremists at its Paris offices and subsequent attack on a kosher supermarket in which three gunmen killed 17 people.
But recently the Vatican and four prominent French imams issued a joint declaration that denounced the attacks but also urged the media to treat religions with respect.
