the bishop brings peace, again

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Sep 28, 2006

Bishop Tom, like most of us, has spent his life confronted with no threat more serious than overcooked pasta or a parking ticket. Yet he feels justified in upbraiding Pope Benedict for failing to see the mote in his own eye in his criticism of Islamic jihad. We Christians, you see, spread our faith through violence also, gleefully abetted by the Popes:

The whole so-called conquest of the Americas was a violent spreading of the faith. Latin America especially. It was so terrible there that back in the 16th century the bishop who founded the diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Mexico down around Chiapas, Bartolomé de las Casas, was condemned by the pope because he condemned those who were killing the natives. He said, "This is no way to spread the Christian faith." He was condemned and removed as a missionary from Mexico. Our history is filled with that kind of violence.

"... because he condemned those who were killing the natives." The Catholic Encyclopedia gives a somewhat different picture.