Pope: Free Expression Has Limits And Must Only Be Used for The Common Good; If You Insult Someone's Faith, You Can Expect a "Punch"

Well. Clarifying.

I know this pope has been misread by ardent leftists hoping to claim his authority for their cause before. But it seems like the translation would be hard to screw up, given the context.

His "cannot make fun of religion" could easily be a "should not" more than a "must not," and I suppose that would be expected from a Pope; it is his statement that a Blasphemer should "expect a punch" that bothers me.

This after 17 people were "punched" in Paris.

And he was specifically answering a question about the Charlie Hebdo murders. He wasn't offering an abstract opinion on blasphemy against Islam as a general matter.

"One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people's faith, one cannot make fun of faith," he said. "There is a limit. Every religion has its dignity ... in freedom of expression there are limits."

...

The right to liberty of expression comes with the "obligation" to speak for "the common good," Pope Francis said, cautioning against provocation.

To illustrate his point, he joked about Vatican aide Alberto Gasparri who was standing nearby on the plane.

"It's true that we can't react violently, but, for example if Dr. Gasbarri here, a great friend of mine, says a curse word against my mother, then a punch awaits him," the pontiff said.

Wonderful.

Our current crop of institution-controlling "elites" sure is hitting it out of the park lately.

posted by Ace at 10:13 AM

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