Well, folks, now I am mad as, I was going to say heck, because this is a family blog, but no, I am mad as HELL! If we thought what America was doing in the Middle East was sufficient fodder for the Islamic extremists to feed off, it is nothing compared to what Pope Benedict XVI has managed to provide them with via his statement delivered last week.
It seems the Pope's remarks have already resulted in the death of one innocent bystander, Sister Leonella and her bodyguard.
Sad, isn't it that she needed a bodyguard.
It doesn't matter how much good you do in this world someone will always be out to get you.
Anyway, the good sister and her guardian angel were gunned down at the entrance to the hospital she worked at in "big surprise" Mogadishu, Somalia.
The nun, in her 60's, had been at the hospital since 2002.
Fluent in the language, she taught there and looked after the children, I was told that "no good deed will ever go unpunished.
" That is certainly the case with Sister Leonella.
God rest her and her bodyguard's soul.
And, since Sister Leonella is now a Catholic martyr, the least Pope Benedict XVI, who statement apparently caused her demise, can do is beatify her immediately so that her path to sainthood will be as swift as Pope John Paul II's.
I know in my heart that the good Pope John Paul II would agree.
Though I was raised a Catholic, and as a child relished being one and attending services, singing in the choir, and all that went with being part of a religious organization, as I have grown older I have more and more distanced myself from organized religion.
It is not my faith in God that has been shaken, to the contrary, my faith in God has grown.
It is my faith in the wisdom of man, that leads me to believe the best way to pursue my love and service to God is in my heart and in my personal actions.
No matter what ones' beliefs are there are basic tenants that allow civilization to remain civilized.
High among those is to respect the rights of other to their beliefs.
To tolerate those who may wittingly or unwittingly say things against our beliefs, because to do otherwise lowers us to their level and demeans us all.
I am not saying that we should not defend our beliefs, but we should recognize the difference between what is a threat to our way of life and what is simply "stupidly" put.
To go about lobbing off people's heads or shooting innocents because they disagree with your perspective on God cheapens, no, negates that belief.
And for all the boasting about defending God through these actions, if those individuals "really" believed in God, then I say God will have the last word as to the validity of your actions, and though he be a loving God, his wrath will be upon you.
The only way for this world to survive is for the civilized majority, and it is the majority, and now, most especially, the Muslim majority, to take responsibility and put an end to this kind of rabble rousing.
I guess that is easier said than done given that it seems the ways of the world are ruled less by the civilized and those concerned for the welfare of their fellow man, and more by those for whom God signifies the bottom line.
Otherwise, these, misguided cretins would not have the weapons, money or the means to commit these heinous acts against their fellow man.
Whew! I guess I got that off my chest, and for a moment I feel better to have said it.
But, sadly, mine are just words that will fall on deaf ears.
Tomorrow, maybe even later today, there will be more reports of innocents who have met their God at the hands of those who claim to be defending him.