Bush Should Actually Listen To The Pope

The Nation: President Should Stop The Posing, Start Listening To Benedict's Call For Peace

(The Nation)  This column was written by John Nichols.

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George Bush is certainly not the first American president to try and take advantage of a timely papal meeting to advance himself and his agenda.

Pope Benedict XVI, who arrives today for a high-profile visit to the United States, took his name from Pope Benedict XV, who consulted with Woodrow Wilson when the 28th president was touring Europe with the purpose of promoting a League of Nations.

Bush has no such grand design.

The current president is merely hoping that -- by greeting the current Pope Benedict at Andrews Air Force Base, inviting 12,000 people to an outdoor reception with the pontiff and then hosting a Bavarian dinner for the visitor from the Vatican -- his own dismal approval ratings might be improved by association with a reasonably popular religious leader.

The initiative has been somewhat complicated by the fact that Pope Benedict will not attend the dinner.

But that won't stop Bush by attempting to bask in the papal glow.

Perhaps the president should try a different approach.

Instead of posing with the pontiff he might want to listen to what this particular pope has to say about global warming, fighting poverty and, above all, promoting peace.

No one is going to confuse Pope Benedict with the caricature of a liberal.

But the pontiff has made the Vatican a leader in seeking to address climate change. Under this pope's leadership, the Vatican announced that it would become the world's first carbon-neutral state.

He has said that the leaders of the world must do much more to feed the poor, fight disease and support the interests of workers rather than the bottom lines of corporations.

And he has bluntly said that Bush's preemptive attack on Iraq and the subsequent occupation of that country does not follow the Catholic doctrine of a "just war."

Before the invasion, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was asked whether the attack might be considered morally justified under the just-war standard. "Certainly not," he replied, explaining that "the damage would be greater than the values one hopes to save."

After the war began, Cardinal Ratzinger said of the global protest movement to prevent the attack: "it was right to resist the war and its threats of destruction."

Rejecting arguments made by the president and many of his supporters that the United States needed to take the lead, this pope argued, "It should never be the responsibility of just one nation to make decisions for the world."

It is not secret that George Bush has trouble taking the counsel of those who do not tell him what he wants to hear.

But if this president wants to associate himself with the pope, he should begin by listening to the man who has said, "There were not sufficient reasons to unleash a war against Iraq. To say nothing of the fact that, given the new weapons that make possible destructions that go beyond the combatant groups, today we should be asking ourselves if it is still licit to admit the very existence of a 'just war.'"

Of course, no rational observer is going to think that George Bush will be led by Pope Benedict XVI to pacifism. But Bush cannot claim to be taking this papal visit seriously if he will not even entertain a discussion of just and unjust wars.

[it_oldtimer]

The Presidential administration of GW Bush has proved itself to be nothing less than an outright abomination, and a deep and enduring embarrassment to this entire country.

Bush has made us all look like a nation of violent, paranoid criminals in the eyes of the world.

It''s time for the Republican party to just go away. They represent everything that''s wrong with this country right now, and we''d all be much better off without them.

[noloyalisti]

JoeCoolSwat, in jail for lying us into war, even a moron knew they were lying to the UN. Bushoccio lied and said they need a court order at the SAME TIME he was spying on Americans. He had his partner in crime Rice saying we don''t torture WHILE THEY WERE planning graphic details of doing it.

How many people have they killed through torture? How many Americans and others were locked up without charges? How many international treaties have the neo con men violated? They also violated their oaths as servant of the people to defend the Constitution. It is not whether they should go to jail, the whole stinking lot of them, but for how long.

Everytime a clueless righty asks questions like this, it exposes them for exactly the ignorant and I have to say Anti-American people they are. So keep asking!!!!!

[tawpdawg11]

Why should he "actually listen to" merely the Pope when he says he can converse with God Almighty Himself?

this pope argued, "It should never be the responsibility of just one nation to make decisions for the world." ============

But it''s okay for one pope to do it. Maybe that''s Bush''s calling? From Dope to Pope!

[joecoolswat]

noloyalisti, in Jail for what? Excuse us for defending our country. We don''t need permission from anyone,including the UN, to pre-emptively destroy any enemy who IS or MAY BE a threat to our country. Remember...Saddam Hussein did not abide by the cease fire/surrender agreements of the Gulf-War-1.

[noloyalisti]

Why should he listen to someone who espouses peace and love? Bush and his clone McBush want endless war and occupation to control Middle Eastern Oil. Bush and his puppetmasters Cheney and Rove are war criminals that should be in jail RIGHT NOW.

[steve668702]

Interesting that people say that the President should listen to the Pope. When they say that, they mean about 1 narrow topic. Because if you are advocating for Bush to listen to the pope in the totality of his moral stands then he would have to outlaw abortion and contraception and divorce. Ahhhhh.....so we cherry pick one particular stance on one issue that the pope agrees with you on and laud him. But you will attack him on a multitude of other issues as too "preachy" and trying to impose his morals on you.

[middleman8]

If this present day pope had wanted to send a message about the war in Iraq and similar problems, the pope should have refused to visit the U S until a new president is appointed. Bush will twist this visit to suit his own agenda.

[brianbwb-2009]

"Blair was one of the least likely men to do so given his strong intellect, yet he did." Posted by razzl

You call the guy who provided Bush with intel on Iraq that was plagiarized from a 10-year-old thesis from an Indian college student studying at Berkley University, a man of "strong intellect"?

A pretty far stretch of the definition there.

At any rate, it is ironic that the grandson of the man who sold fuel to the Nazis during WW2, would be entertaining the son of one of the "Hitler Youth", who recently posited that his was "the only true church".

[messiahx4eve]

I read that the exact moment the pope put holy water on bush, he started complaining that it burned and begged the pope to stop. I could actually believe that one. I think that since catholocism is considered a cult, NOT a religion, these two probably are both sides of the same song. Come on everybody, lets play stupid is as stupid does.

[idnnsg]

Someone said, "I found the article elsewhere about the issue of whether Bush is/is becoming a closet Catholic intriguing."

Actually, if true, it would be just one more clue that Bush plans to hide out in South America when he gets out of office. For Bush, religion has ALWAYS been a political sham, not something he actually believes.

[jcr103]

He doesn''t listen to the American people...why would he listen to anything the Pope has to say?

[ranger1948]

Bush should listen to someone. oBVIOULSY ALL HIS DECISIONS IN OFFICE HAVE BEEN A CATASTROPHE.

[bluestardad]

YOU KNOW THEY DONT HAVE A POPE IN CRAWFORD TEXAS!...

JUST ROVIAN PRODUCTION CENTERS THAT RUN OUT TAPES OF BIN LADEN AND HIS BUDDIES ONCE EVERY TWO MONTHS!

START WAR CRIMES TRIALS NOW!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[aaabee-2009]

Bush is an unanchored man both spiritually and emotionally. His religion is the Church of Power/Wealth/Privilage and that is where he worships, no matter who ministers it.

[Razzl]

I found the article elsewhere about the issue of whether Bush is/is becoming a closet Catholic intriguing. Though it''s doubtful he would ever change his policies to satisfy critics before his term ends, it would be a sign of at least some recognition of public humiliation if he should turn to Catholicism after his term ends. Blair was one of the least likely men to do so given his strong intellect, yet he did. What could they have in common in this regard? Catholicism''s emphasis on forgiveness (clearly not a trait shared by Rove''s evangelical protestant electorate) is a place such men can turn to salve their consciences with the least public pain...

[afmca]

Bush is not smart enough to listen to the ideas of the Pope. To much interaction would just prove how christian-lite Bush and his administration is. I saw where Bush threw a bone to his pro-fetus backers; but doesn''t he find it embarrassing to talk about the sanctity of life when his administration is responsibile for thousands of deaths in Iraq, supports the death penalty, and has basically eliminated the safety net for the poor. This does not increase his pro-humanity credentials just his self-absorbed hypocrisy.

[noloyalisti]

Bush is not going to listen to a lowly pope. He gets his instruction from a higher source. After all the pope is against invasion and occupation and murder even by Christians.