WikiLeaks cables: Pope wanted Muslim Turkey kept out of EU

[CHIMO]

Source: guardian.co.uk

The pope is responsible for the Vatican's growing hostility towards Turkey joining the EU, previously secret cables sent from the US embassy to the Holy See in Rome claim.

In 2004 Cardinal Ratzinger, the future pope, spoke out against letting a Muslim state join, although at the time the Vatican was formally neutral on the question.

The Vatican's acting foreign minister, Monsignor Pietro Parolin, responded by telling US diplomats that Ratzinger's comments were his own rather than the official Vatican position.

The cable released by WikiLeaks shows that Ratzinger was the leading voice behind the Holy See's unsuccessful drive to secure a reference to Europe's "Christian roots" in the EU constitution. The US diplomat noted that Ratzinger "clearly understands that allowing a Muslim country into the EU would further weaken his case for Europe's Christian foundations".



Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/wikileaks-pope-turkey-eu-muslim

[bloomington-lib]

1. European roots are Pagan not Christian

They were tortured and/or killed for not converting.

[FarCenter]

12. Christianity = Jewish mysticism + neoPlatonic philosophy

Only think worse is Islam = Jewish mysticism + Arab paganism

Middle East is the font of disastrous religions.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. nice.

[boppers]

3. In Rome..... ROME. A city founded by twin sons raised by a she-wolf.

Crap, these people are stupid.

[pitchforksandtorches]

4. but ...but... .. we are all God's children...n/t

[daleo]

5. False smiles and nice words

Wikileaks is calling out a lot of this stuff.

[snagglepuss]

6. OTOH there are cables stating that Turkey"s PM is much more sympathetic

to Islamists then he admits. Perhaps he and the pope need to come clean.

[Hardrada]

7. Good point!

[Arrowhead2k1]

8. If the EU keeps pushing Turkey away, then sure, it's not hard to imagine

that at some point they'll start looking east...

[snagglepuss]

10. Do China, Russia or India want to get in bed with Islamists?

[Arrowhead2k1]

11. No, why would they?

That's not what I was implying. Turkey is inbetween Europe and the Middle-East while obviously being a very secular Muslim country already. Secular thanks mainly to their ties to Europe. If those ties are to be broken as they are discouraged from participating in the EU, then it should be no surprise that a country like Turkey would move further to the Middle-East, economically, politically, and in turn culturally.

Drawing Turkey closer to the west is important strategically, and is exactly why the US has been lobbying the EU to get Turkey to join for so long.

[Ghost Dog]

9. One suspects that the pope is a radical christianist.

I would propose that the vatican micro-state should remain outside the EU, and be ringed around with lots of security fencing and visa and other paperwork requirements. Oh, and let high taxes and tariffs be placed on all goods, such as food and water, and members of the christianist hierarchy going into that place.