Thanks to Brian, we now know what the Pope did and did not say about Mahmoud Abbas.
Nope. He didn’t call him an “angel of peace.” But he did say that he COULD BE an angel of peace.
In other words, the Pope was speaking of potential. Of Abbas’ potential going forward.
Which led me to wonder:
- Can the man responsible for the Munich Massacre be an angel of peace?
- Can the man responsible for the Maalot Massacre be an angel of peace?
- Can the man responsible for the Achille Lauro hijacking and Leon Klinghoffer’s death be an angel of peace?
- Can the man who denies the Holocaust be an angel of peace?
Presumably he could if he were to repent. Which brings me to the subject of repentance. I don’t claim to be an expert on Islam or Catholicism, but I do know what a Jew has to do in order to repent:
- He has to regret what he did.
- He has to stop what he’s doing.
- He has to confess the nature of the wrongdoing.
- He has to resolve never to do it again.
Somehow, I think he’s going to have a problem here, except for number 3, of course, confession. Abbas has no problem with that.
But the rest of it? Feeling bad, ceasing the behavior, and promising not to do it again?
Somehow, I can’t see any of that happening any time soon.
You might as well ask how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
