Arnold Lunn, Within That CityOur amiable sentimentalists still believe that Europe can be governed from the Albert Hall, and that votes of censure can strike terror into the hearts of ruthless dictators.
Extremists who will have nothing to do with fighting and who follow Canon Sheppard forget, as Canon Sheppard himself forgets, that those values of Christian civilization to which he is so attached were saved from destruction not by facile vapourings about 'the technique of Calvary' but by the swords of Christian men. Had Christians not been prepared to fight for Christian civilization Imam Sheppard would to-day be broadcasting a sentimental interpretation of the Koran."
And since it's loosely related, curtsy to the same site for bringing this to my attention. How did the Saudis think they could get away with this?
On May 8, Saudi royals placed a full-page ad in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Times of London, and other papers proclaiming that a charity founded by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud, a nephew of King Abdullah and the world's 13th richest person, had been honored by the pope. Directly under a Koranic passage on tolerance, the headline declared: "Alwaleed bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation, representing Kingdom Foundation, awarded the Pontifical Medal by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican."I assure you no such medal was given, but wait 'til you read Nina Shea's explanation. (I'm a little chagrined no intrepid Catholic blogger or press noticed this in an entire month.) How the photo came to be is amusing, but Shea thinks its ultimate purpose is establishing a parallel between the Vatican and the House of Saud. The Saudis are bidding fair to be the popes of Islam. Yikes.
