Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

He's in Les Combes, an Italian alpine resort in the northern region of Val d'Aosta, for his summer holidays. Unfortunately, he left the wrong man in charge of the shop in Rome. Here's what Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, said on Vatican Radio ten days ago: "As it has done in the past, the Holy See condemns the terrorist attacks of one side as well as the military reprisals of the other. In fact, the right to defense of a state is not exempt from respect for the norms of international law, especially as regards the safeguarding of civilian populations. In particular, the Holy See now deplores the attack on Lebanon, a free and sovereign nation."

In a sharp critique of this tortuous statement, Sandro Magister outed Sodano: "The anti-Israeli party that is active in the curia has always had him as one of their leading proponents." Proof of the damage done by Sodana was provided, says Magister, "in the enthusiasm with which the official Hezbollah radio and television outlet, 'Al Manar,' greeted the July 14 declaration from Sodano, taking it as the position of pope Benedict XVI, 'a defender of human rights and a model of sanctity.' " Joseph Bottum got in on the act as well and used Sodano's assertion to hammer the Vatican's musty Middle East policy in "The Sodano Code":

In another sense, however, Sodano's remarks on Vatican Radio — and similar statements by other Catholic figures, from the custodians of the holy places in Israel to the editorialists in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano — are most disturbing precisely because of their datedness. The situation in the Middle East is no longer simply a battle between Israelis and Palestinians. With the increasing role of the Iranians, and the refusal of the Arab League to involve itself, the fight doesn't even really center around the Arabs.

It is, rather, a war between the Islamists and the West — a proxy fight, in which the totalitarian governments of Syria and Iran have aimed the weapon of terrorism at modern democracies. And, for the Catholic Church, the answer cannot remain the old, ritual statements about the Middle East, dusted off one more time. John Paul II had a vision for confronting totalitarianism — a way of refusing government by the lie and naming things for what they are. It is time for the Vatican to apply that vision to the Middle East."

This is the kind of thing that can kick up a lot of dust among the faithful, as you will see by browsing the comments on Amy Welborn's blog, Open Book. The participation is passionate: "If you were to argue conceptually against Bush's war against TERROR (a euphemism), or against the justice of the initial decision to go to war against Iraq as part of a strategy against jihad, I'd probably agree with you. But there IS a war in progress against Jihadism and Islamism (and Jihadists and Islamists use terror as a tactic). Do you know any other way of countering this, other than a MEASURED use of force, always distinguishing combatants and non-combatants?" People are taking positions. Hope Benedict is listening.