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ABC Online
The World Today - Pell sparks outrage over Koran comments
[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1631512.htm]
The World Today - Friday, 5 May , 2006 12:35:00
Reporter: Edmond Roy
ELEANOR HALL: Australia's Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell has sparked furious reaction today with his description of the Muslim holy book as an incitement to violence.
In a speech delivered to a group of Catholic business leaders in the United States, the archbishop also took aim at what he claimed were hysterical and extreme claims about global warming, saying the west's obsession with climate change is a symptom of pagan emptiness.
And he said a crisis confidence in the west was manifesting itself in a decline in fertility rates, as Edmond Roy reports.
EDMOND ROY: At eight pages and with 24 footnotes, the Cardinal's central argument was that an understanding of Islam was vital for the future of western democracies.
September 11, according to the Cardinal, was his wakeup call. And a copy of the Koran, which had in his possession for nearly 30 years, was dusted off and digested.
Indeed, as he puts it: "I recommend that you, too, read this sacred text of the Muslims, because the challenge of Islam will be with us for the remainder of our lives."
Having read the sacred text, Cardinal Pell then sets out what he discovered.
The Koran, he says, is riddled with invocations to violence.
There are so many of these, he says, that after about 50, or 60, or 70 pages, he stopped taking notes.
He goes on to say that considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited.
And he points to the difficulty that scholars and commentators face when analysing the Koran, such as receiving death threats and violence when questioning the divine origin of the holy book.
George Pell's speech to the Legatus Summit in Naples, Florida may have been received with some sympathy inside, but outside the reaction has been furious.
Keysar Trad is the founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, and he points out that this is not the first time Cardinal Pell has made what he calls "ill-informed comments."
KEYSAR TRAD: Well, look, I've already had one meeting with him after he made some uninformed comments about Islam in the past.
And my door is open to have further meetings with him and explain to him in more detail. And if he was to approach this with an objective mind then he would find this to be a very spiritually rewarding experience.
But these comments seem to be totally subjective and seem to be off-the-cuff dismissal of the teachings of one of the world's great religions, certainly undermining the importance of his office.
These comments do discredit to his office more than anything else, and I think there'll be many Catholics out there who'll be cringing when they hear these comments. And they will be saying, "What happened to the legacy of Pope John Paul II, the Catholic Church is being changed from the top and not necessarily for the better."
EDMOND ROY: But it's not only the Muslims who are angry about the Cardinal's speech.
Green groups are bitter with the way he's described their concerns of global warming as "hysteric and extreme".
In his speech, Cardinal Pell describes these worries as a symptom of pagan emptiness. And he says that in the past pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate the gods, but that today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
For Greens Senator Christine Milne, the Cardinal's comments are unhelpful and insulting.
CHRISTINE MILNE: I think it's unfortunate that Cardinal Pell refers to a pagan emptiness and western fears about global warming as being hysteric and extreme.
Cardinal Pell surely must be aware of the late Pope John Paul's comments about the need for ecological conversion.
He must also be aware that there's a very strong view in the Catholic faith across the world that we need to recognise we are stewards of God's earth and therefore have a responsibility to maintaining it in its pristine form.
I think that Cardinal Pell's comments are extremely unhelpful and insulting to Catholics everywhere who are working very hard to address global warming.
ELEANOR HALL: And that's Greens Senator Christine Milne, ending that report from Edmond Roy.
© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm
Privacy information: http://abc.net.au/privacy.htm
(Thanks to 7 fish Dave of Beerblog.)
ABC Online
The World Today - Pell sparks outrage over Koran comments
[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1631512.htm]
The World Today - Friday, 5 May , 2006 12:35:00
Reporter: Edmond Roy
ELEANOR HALL: Australia's Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell has sparked furious reaction today with his description of the Muslim holy book as an incitement to violence.
In a speech delivered to a group of Catholic business leaders in the United States, the archbishop also took aim at what he claimed were hysterical and extreme claims about global warming, saying the west's obsession with climate change is a symptom of pagan emptiness.
And he said a crisis confidence in the west was manifesting itself in a decline in fertility rates, as Edmond Roy reports.
EDMOND ROY: At eight pages and with 24 footnotes, the Cardinal's central argument was that an understanding of Islam was vital for the future of western democracies.
September 11, according to the Cardinal, was his wakeup call. And a copy of the Koran, which had in his possession for nearly 30 years, was dusted off and digested.
Indeed, as he puts it: "I recommend that you, too, read this sacred text of the Muslims, because the challenge of Islam will be with us for the remainder of our lives."
Having read the sacred text, Cardinal Pell then sets out what he discovered.
The Koran, he says, is riddled with invocations to violence.
There are so many of these, he says, that after about 50, or 60, or 70 pages, he stopped taking notes.
He goes on to say that considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited.
And he points to the difficulty that scholars and commentators face when analysing the Koran, such as receiving death threats and violence when questioning the divine origin of the holy book.
George Pell's speech to the Legatus Summit in Naples, Florida may have been received with some sympathy inside, but outside the reaction has been furious.
Keysar Trad is the founder of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, and he points out that this is not the first time Cardinal Pell has made what he calls "ill-informed comments."
KEYSAR TRAD: Well, look, I've already had one meeting with him after he made some uninformed comments about Islam in the past.
And my door is open to have further meetings with him and explain to him in more detail. And if he was to approach this with an objective mind then he would find this to be a very spiritually rewarding experience.
But these comments seem to be totally subjective and seem to be off-the-cuff dismissal of the teachings of one of the world's great religions, certainly undermining the importance of his office.
These comments do discredit to his office more than anything else, and I think there'll be many Catholics out there who'll be cringing when they hear these comments. And they will be saying, "What happened to the legacy of Pope John Paul II, the Catholic Church is being changed from the top and not necessarily for the better."
EDMOND ROY: But it's not only the Muslims who are angry about the Cardinal's speech.
Green groups are bitter with the way he's described their concerns of global warming as "hysteric and extreme".
In his speech, Cardinal Pell describes these worries as a symptom of pagan emptiness. And he says that in the past pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate the gods, but that today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
For Greens Senator Christine Milne, the Cardinal's comments are unhelpful and insulting.
CHRISTINE MILNE: I think it's unfortunate that Cardinal Pell refers to a pagan emptiness and western fears about global warming as being hysteric and extreme.
Cardinal Pell surely must be aware of the late Pope John Paul's comments about the need for ecological conversion.
He must also be aware that there's a very strong view in the Catholic faith across the world that we need to recognise we are stewards of God's earth and therefore have a responsibility to maintaining it in its pristine form.
I think that Cardinal Pell's comments are extremely unhelpful and insulting to Catholics everywhere who are working very hard to address global warming.
ELEANOR HALL: And that's Greens Senator Christine Milne, ending that report from Edmond Roy.
© 2006 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Copyright information: http://abc.net.au/common/copyrigh.htm
Privacy information: http://abc.net.au/privacy.htm
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