Christian Attitudes

Well, did he or didn’t he apologise? Mel Gibson is a ‘traditionalist’ Catholic stuck in a 1950’s time warp, before the Church began to change its attitude to Jews. Observing his behaviour can be like examining a religious fossil, to discover what life… more »

An update on the post below. You would think, while two BBC reporters are in Lebanon, that one or other could find the time to do a bit of research and discover what is happening. I mentioned Fergal Keane, who was a Catholic before he pupated and beca… more »

I've criticised Vatican reactions to events in Lebanon, but two people make me appreciate how much the Catholic Church is moving away from its earlier anti-Semitism - even if it does sometimes seem to be at the same creeping speed as continental drift.… more »

Another rogues' gallery, this time wearing clerical collars. Dexter Van Zile provides a summary of Mainline Christian Churches Respond to Hamas and Hezbollah Aggression In the past few weeks, mainline Christian churches and their umbrella organizatio… more »

A rogues’ gallery of Israel-haters, some familiar to those who read NGO-Monitor, has gone into action. The letter is signed by Amnesty International UK, BASIC, CAFOD, Care International UK, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Medact, the Muslim… more »

Against the Grain, which is part of the Ratzinger Fan Club is another of those Catholic blogs which support Israel, simply because the writer has a well developed moral sense and is able to distinguish between good and evil. Currently, Against the G… more »

Ynet has an article entitled Doctor Nasrallah treats rocket injuries. No, it’s not the evil Islamist terrorist Nasrallah. It’s a nice one instead. Soldiers and patients who encounter the name tag on the young doctor for the first time glance at it… more »

Pope Benedict XVI has been a better friend of Israel than some Protestant leaders. There have been no Vatican calls for divestment. In spite of decades of gradually improving Catholic attitudes to Jews, however, there are still flaws. Any cracks in th… more »

Did you know that the Pope asked Carmelite nuns to pray for terrorists? “He asked to pray also for the terrorists, because they don’t know that they’re hurting not only their neighbors, but above all themselves,” she said. Well, as they say – is… more »

Are the right people running the Churches? Those in charge sometimes seem so clueless, while the ordinary people-in-the-pew can see and understand what is going on in the world. I mentioned the Catholic educators visiting Israel a few days ago. Now here… more »

We had a special collection in my parish church this morning, and Church agencies are falling over themselves to collect money and send aid to the people of Lebanon - or as Catholic News puts it: The following are Catholic aid agencies appealing for… more »

The 'spiral of violence' which so alarms the Archbishop of Canterbury must have sent him spinning round and made him dizzy. Perhaps that's why he isn't really talking sense. Tony Blair has responded to his calls for an immediate cease-fire with a genoci… more »

The Archbishop of Canterbury primly wrings his hands. His spectacles have become so steamed up with emotion that he cannot see clearly enough to distinguish between genocidal terrorists and those trying to prevent them. Let’s turn the clock back ove… more »

(Cue music from “Jaws”). Just when you thought it was safe to go in the Vatican again... Israel is attacked, and the figure of a Cardinal emerges from the shadows and moves with sinister ruthlessness towards his word processor (or perhaps his quill p… more »

It’s easy to bandy the word “disproportionate” around, isn’t it? Easier than thinking, and may even give the false impression that one does indeed think, because one uses long words like, well, “disproportionate”. Do those who complain that Israel… more »

The Vatican newspaper is showing its bias again, and also its ignorance. It objects to Israel defending itself and wants the largely anti-Israel UN to bring about peace, love and joy protect Hezbollah. Roman L'Osservatore Romano has denounced at th… more »

On 16 July, which is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel for Catholics, Hezbollah missiles hit Haifa, in the area of the Carmelite Shrine, killing innocent Israelis. The Pope made comments about this which suggests that he has no idea what is goin… more »

Should Jews be allowed to defend themselves as other peoples do? This is always a good litmus test for hypocrisy. For those observing the reactions of Christian leaders to Israel's efforts to defend herself from attacks by Hezbollah, there is already… more »

Are Middle East Church leaders and ordinary Christian Arabs on the same planet as one another? Looking at two different responses to the Israeli incursion into Lebanon, one might wonder. First from the Christian Arab leadership. Either news site E… more »

Dr Irene Lancaster plans to leave England to live in Israel. Next month she intends to move to Haifa. If you pray, do remember her and her husband in your prayers. One item from her account caught my eye. She points out that the Hezbollah missil… more »

Like a gathering of vultures and other scavengers around a carcase, the Catholic media is darting in and seizing bits of rotting food from the current heap of lies about Gaza and the West Bank. Independent Catholic News swoops down first, then the Uni… more »

In spite of efforts to prevent it, Revd Stephen Sizer, so beloved of the more extreme anti-Semites, got into Chester Cathedral, to spread a little more of what he usually produces. Rabbi Zvi Solomons, who attended the meeting, describes Sizer as “… more »

Independent Catholic News is uncritically relaying more hate-driven propaganda against the Jewish State, this time from War on Want. A little journalistic research by Independent Catholic News might have revealed that War on Want is currently under… more »

It’s not quite up to ‘Massacre of Jenin’ standards, but the propagandists are working on it. The pretence that there is a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, where some have to struggle without their fridges and televisions, continues. There may be genuin… more »

Caritas (Latin) is a term in Christian theology (one of the three theological virtues), meaning loving kindness towards others Caritas International fails dismally to live up to this. It has joined the angry cries of those who object to Jews defendi… more »

Oh dear. Just let the Jews defend themselves from attack, and refuse to accept the role of helpless victim, and the anti-semites start to scream. Unfortunately, this particular scream – long, irrational and full of wild accusations – is picked up an… more »

Did you know that the Archbishop of Canterbury is a Christian Zionist? I expect that came as a surprise to him, too. The extremists in Sabeel will condemn someone merely for pointing out that terrorism is wrong. A Christian Zionist – a Christian who… more »

Students from a New York Catholic university paid their own way to travel to Belarus in order to restore long-abandoned graves of a Jewish community massacred by Nazis during World War II. Some 160 gravestones with Hebrew writing had been set uprig… more »

Can anyone think of any differences between Mother Teresa’s nuns and the Hamas government? I’m sure you can think of a few. One strange difference is that the nuns, whose life is based on principles of love, appear to be valued less by some fellow Ch… more »