Cardinal Pell Ticks-Off Muslims and Environmentalists in U.S. Speech

The story that I blogged on earlier*, concerning Cardinal Pell's comments delivered in February (while he was visiting here in the U.S.) on the subjects of Islam and the enviroment, is generating a sharp backlash. First up, the Muslims:

"The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, has angered Australian Muslims with his description of their holy book as an incitement to violence.

In a speech delivered to a group of Catholic business leaders at the Legatus summit in the United States, the Archbishop also took aim at what he claimed were hysterical and extreme claims about global warming.

Dr Pell's central argument is that an understanding of Islam is vital for the future of western democracies.

September 11, according to the Cardinal, was a wake-up call that prompted him to dust off a copy of the Koran.

"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," he said.

Cardinal Pell says the Koran is riddled with so many invocations to violence that after about 50 or 60 or 70 pages, he stopped taking notes of them.

He also says that considered strictly on its own terms, Islam is not a tolerant religion and its capacity for far-reaching renovation is severely limited.

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." [source]

Cardinal Pell also spoke about the environment, in response to recent worries expressed about global warming:

Cardinal Pell's speech also described concerns about global warming as "hysteric and extreme".

He says these worries are a symptom of pagan emptiness.

Cardinal Pell says in the past, pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate the gods but today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. [source]

You can read the complete text of his address here.

[tags: Cardinal, George, Pell, Archbishop, Sydney, Catholic]

*Thanks to reader Salome for the news tip.