The Pope defending the nativity - in Italy? Sounds a little strange but in these politically oppressive times almost anything might happen. The heart of the matter:
Recently, several teachers in northern Italy announced their decision not to set up Nativity scenes in their schools this year, ostensibly out of respect for religious pluralism and to avoid offending non-Christians.
Hmm. Yes. Shall we expect the Saudi Arabians to put a veil over the mosque at Mecca to avoid offending non-Muslims? Or the Thais to put away their gold Buddhas to avoid offending non-Buddhists? On that topic, we know what hppened when the Taliban took a dislike to other culture's religious symbols - witness what happened to the Bamiyan Buddha. But then of course, iconoclasts will always be with us, so it might be better to be safe than sorry.
No comments:
Post a Comment