Pope Francis has said he is considering going to visit Catholic refugees in Iraq
Would this be an appropriate and ethical thing to do?
This is my first time posting in Great Debates so be nice.
Perhaps I’ve missed some angle, but I don’t see how anyone could complain that it’s unethical for the Pope to visit a group of suffering Catholics.
Now if he was planning to announce a new set of Holy Crusades, sure, but I’m not seeing that in the cards.
My concern would only be safety, not that it would be unethical for some reason.
but, Iraq is an artificial construct. Cobbled together by the English after WW2.
It probably should be divided into 3 countries.
Which is relevant to the question posed in the OP in what way?
Even if true, that’s hardly a reason not to visit it.
Seems like the sort of thing a Pope should do.
Maybe he could even offer some real help, as opposed to the “spiritual” kind.
It’s not unethical and might comfort those Catholic refugees, but otherwise it won’t do much good. Iraqis who care what the Pope thinks are bound to be a small minority.
I agree, it’s not just the pope’s safety I’m worried about, but the safety of those around him.
ISIS will definately step up their attacks on the refugees if they have a chance to kill the biggest infidel in the world.
It would be a ballsy move, and Frankie has the balls for it. I think he should go, but I was raised to admire people who risk death to make a point.
It’s kinda funny that he thinks all his talk talk might accomplish something or even matters to anybody. He’s a threat to edge out John Kerry for the Nobel Prize for just don’t get it.
I think his aim is three-fold: To give the refugees some moral support by showing them they are not alone; to remind the world that the problems in the ME are not limited to the Shias, Sunnis, and Jews and there are Christians getting fucked with, which might get the Christian countries more involved; and to stick a big, “innocent” thumb in the eye of ISIL. Rome and the Caliphates rarely played nicely with each other, and grudges run deep and long. The Pope is still big magic in a lot of places, places that are better armed than ISIL.
Sure, it’s his choice.
That’s practically egging on radical Islamists who are thus far willing to kill Christians who don’t convert. I consider it irresponsible.
Does the pope think he’s going to convince them to stop killing Christians?
I don’t know what he’s thinking beyond showing the Papal flag, plus sunshine, lollipops, and roses. What I do know is that for a lot of people over there the Crusades never ended–note the shitstorm when Bush II described the invasion of Iraq as a “crusade.” I also know is that il Papa is playing a dangerous game, and I assume he knows it and has a plan. It may not be a GOOD plan, but it’s a plan, and I’m willing at this point to back most any plan, 'cuz there aren’t many out there.
If it works he can then help Israel and Palestine work things out because there are still Christians on both sides of the line.
The OP asked if it would be “appropriate”. I think that’s broad enough to cover safety concerns. I don’t really understand why it might be unethical either; my first reaction was “I hope he doesn’t get killed.” Of course, that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t go.
The crusades weren’t really a big deal in the Islamic world until relatively recently. ‘They’ won (thanks in large part to Baibars massacring and enslaving (ETA: obviously not all of, but a huge amount of) the Christians in the area), so why should they have cared?
If the Pope goes, I also have no idea how it will turn out. I doubt he is afraid of the danger but if something happened, I can’t imagine what the aftermath would be.
I think it would be a great thing for him to go.
But he’d be a huge terrorist target.