Popehood is a political institution — from the inside out. Hundreds of books have been written on the conspiracies, the immense intrigue and the maneuvering by various powers and players involved in the selection/election of the pope. It is little wonder then, that most popes have shown great aptitude for promoting the long-term agenda of the Western powers. No wonder Pope Benedict’s recent remarks are in line with the Bush-Blair doctrine of the war of civilizations. However, the Muslim reaction has served only to strengthen their hand.

During the Cold War, Pope John Paul II was in the forefront of efforts to bring down the socialist system all over the world, particularly in East Europe. Directly or indirectly, he boosted the cause of anti-socialist outfits like the Solidarity Union of Poland. He was also instrumental in igniting anti-Soviet fires in other places. It was clear that he was working as a cohort of Washington and other Western powers. The tradition has continued with his successor, Pope Benedict VI.

Pope Benedict’s quote from a medieval Christian emperor reflects not only his archaic mindset but also the intent to promote the Bush-Blair agenda. There may not be an Israeli-US conspiracy behind this — as suggested by the Iranian press — to detract world attention from the Israeli defeat in Lebanon, but the Pope’s statement has certainly strengthened the intolerant religious forces round the world. This, probably, was the latent quality for which he was elected to head the Catholic Church.

As a matter of fact the process of electing the pope designed to promote a certain agenda. The cardinals from various countries — all representing powerful political forces in their own right — are lobbied and manipulated by all kinds of interests. There is volume upon volume of literature, from the Da Vinci Code to the Last Pope by John Hogue on alleged Vatican conspiracies.

There was a lot of speculation, by many commentators, ahead of the last pope’s demise about the kind of person his successor was likely to be. John Allen Jr, in his column in the Boston Globe on December 14, 2003, enumerated the qualities he thought would be deemed essential for the new pope. He included “ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, especially the relationship with Islam” among the qualities the cardinals would be looking for. When the present pope was elected, the war on terror and jihad were on every westerner’s mind. Therefore, his views about Israel and Islam were scrutinized before putting forth his candidacy. They had to be in line with those of the neo-cons and ‘neo-warriors’.

Secrecy and conspiracy are no strangers to the Catholic papacy — even to religious establishments in general. Nonetheless, the Church of Rome has the longest history of involvement in state politics. In medieval times, it was the biggest feudal lord and rent collector of Europe. At its zenith, it was so powerful that most feudal states were directed from Rome. It resisted every innovation and scientific discovery: Galileo was barely spared execution at its hand.

Martin Luther (1483-1546), the great Christian reformist too came close to being hanged by Rome — escaping that fate only because of the German princes who resisted it so resolutely. Luther’s innocent effort to translate the word of God into the local language (German) was denounced by the church establishment as heresy. His preaching of a direct relationship between man and God — eliminating the church as the unavoidable link — was considered an unforgivable sin. The pope’s current trouble with Muslims is a reflection of the church’s medieval legacy of always playing an extremely reactionary role.

Nonetheless, the statement by one Christian leader does not reflect the attitude of the entire Christian world. Mohammed Mahdi Akef of Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt put it very appropriately: “While he is the head of the Catholic Church in the world, many Europeans do not follow (that church) so what he [has] said won’t influence them. Our relations with Christians should remain good, civilized and cooperative.”

However, many other Muslim religious groups have used the pope’s statement to demonstrate their political power to intimidate local rivals. Inadvertently, they have acted the way the Bush-Blair doctrine would have them act: to strengthen the basis of its war of civilizations. They have provided the basis to the war-of-civilizations doctrinaires to unite Europe and other Christian-dominated countries for pre-emptive wars against the emerging progressive forces round the world.

Uma Bharti, an outspoken advocate of Hindutva causes, is hardly an appropriate person to preach tolerance to other religions but her remarks made sense when she said that every religion should expect a rejection by other religions. Therefore, Muslims — she asked the same from Hindus — should learn to tolerate such criticism. Otherwise, the world will revert back to the reign of religious crusaders.

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