[ April 26, 2024 ]
Why we should be concerned about the attack on Bab Touma?
Because the area attacked symbolises the very foundations of Christianity, and the incident was a reminder of how mistaken the government’s Syria policy is.
The facts are these: On 22nd January, the Damascus Christian district of Bab Touma was attacked, yet again, by “moderate” Syrian rebels.
Story continues below advertisement
Not much notice was taken by the world media, because it seemed it was just another scenario of the seven-year Syrian conflict.
Outsiders would not even know it was a Christian district, or very importantly, its Biblical significance, either.
But because of these factors, the attack is a wake-up call for all on what is wrong with the government’s Syria policy.
The area targeted, Bab Touma, is the Syrian name for the Gate of St. Thomas, which obtained its name because one of the key twelve disciples of Jesus lived there, St. Thomas.
Not only that, but one of the major other Christian saints, St. Paul, of the road to Damascus fame, lived there too.
When Bab Touma was shelled, the number of Christians killed was nine, and the number injured was twenty-one.
They included children and young students leaving their schools, with their lives ahead of them.
There was no condemnation from western leaders and silence from Donald Trump. One wonders if they are so poorly advised that they do not know these facts. It wouldn’t be the first time they had made grave errors in the Middle East.
Assuming that our leaders know as little about Bab Touma as the rest of the population, it is time they were made aware that this district has been bombed by the rebel opposition solely because they are Christians, and because Christians support their President and their government.
If we in the Christian West cannot stand up for our fellow Christians in the Middle East, if we turn our eyes away from the persecution of Christians and the defence of historic Biblical sites, have we any right to call ourselves Christians?
Those who attend church will be used to regular prayers for the people of Syria. Do our prayers for Syria now call on us to do more than pray? To put prayers into doing something positive to resolve the situation, rather than stand by and do nothing?
Or for those who are of other faiths or of none, is it right to ignore what is going on?
The Bab Touma district is in fact regularly targeted by the “rebels,” because it is Christian.
The last attack was reported on 9th January, when St. George’s Cathedral was damaged and one person was seriously injured.
Should we not be concerned? St. George, after all, is the Patron Saint of England and well recognised by Christians in the USA and throughout the world. George is a common name because of this. The future King of the United Kingdom is called George.
Only a few months ago, a friend of mine in Damascus told me that one of her closest friends, who had returned to Syria after being in France, was killed when a mortar bomb hit the flat below.
(Shereen Touma, pictured here.) Paris was becoming no more safe than Damascus, it seemed.
My friend, who is both a teacher at an International School and a manager of a Christian charity that helps women and children affected by the violence of the conflict, is in despair about what has been happening.
She cannot comprehend why Western governments are continuing to give political and other support to people who hate Christians. (Elena Nana is pictured here). These same people hate Jews, too.
It is not just in Damascus where Christians in particular are targeted by rebel groups. It has been in any area of Syria that has seen conflict. In Aleppo and Deir Ezzor, both recently liberated cities, the churches are being rebuilt, but where is the help on this from the Christian West? Why have other nations’ Churches offered to help, yet not ours ? Why are not the British and USA Church authorities offering to partner with Syrian Christians and help them rebuild their churches?
Our British and Western Churches are all too ready to offer sanctuary to Syrian refugees (who consist of virtually no Christians), yet ignore the Christians in Syria. There are some laudable exceptions, such as the Open Doors Christian charity that does good work in Syria, but even they could be doing so much more. There is no direct Overseas Aid to Syrians inside Syria by the British government, except that which reaches the “moderate” opposition. The same applies to the USA and other Western governments.
There is now a situation where Syrian Christians see the UK and the USA as on the side of the rebels. They see us as supporting the Islamic fundamentalists, both ISIS (Daesh) and the various other groups. They see no logic in our government saying they want to defeat ISIS but not offering to help the Syrian Army defeat them. They believe that we have lost the basic understanding of what Christianity is all about, and lost the will to stand up for it. In fact, even for those without religious faith, should we not be supporting secular states that are defending their values ? It is difficult to argue with that point of view.
The rebels who attack Bab Touma are the “opposition” FSA (Free Syrian Army) and Jaysh al Islam, yet there is no condemnation of them by the West. They are based in Eastern Ghouta of the Damascus region, and the Syrian Army is slowly but surely defeating them. But let us remember who is in the Syrian Army: many Christian soldiers, male and female, who are fully integrated in the multi-faith secular structure.
When we hear of the Syrian Army and civilian casualties, let us also remember that proportionately about ten percent of them will be Christians. The Syrians themselves do not believe in giving casualty figures according to religious orientation. “We are all Syrians” — that is their firm belief. In many respects, that is an example many other countries could follow. However, the opponents of the Syrian Army believe in an Islamic state ruled under Sharia law (which is banned in Syria), so should our government be giving them any support at all? It makes no sense to have what is called a “Prevent extremism” programme in the UK and then actually encourage extremism in Syria. It is baffling.
We must never forget the mistakes of our policy in Iraq, the results of which saw the Christian population there being reduced from 1.5 million prior to the war to approximately 500,000 now. One positive about prewar Iraq was that religious toleration was the accepted norm. Jewish people were in a better position, too.
Did we really go to war to weaken Christianity in the Middle East, the birthplace of the Christian religion? Did we go to war to increase religious intolerance? Did we go to war to undermine Judaism in the Middle East, because that could have been one of the unintended consequences?
We often are defensive about the value of Christianity. In the Middle East, it has been a balance for good. Any further depletion of the benefit of Christian love and tolerance will serve no useful purpose except more religious strife and violence.
Fortunately in Syria, the Christian population has held fairly firm at 11%, and they are a minute proportion of the Syrian refugees who have left the country. They certainly stand up for Jesus, there is no denying that.
But who has the credit for protecting the Syrian Christians? Not us, but Syrians themselves, with help of the Russians!
Just how logical is it for us to help the Afghans against the Taliban and ISIS, but not the Syrians, who have the same problems?
The Afghans, unlike the Syrians, do not have a secular society, do not give women equality, do not have religious toleration, and do exercise Sharia law. They are very intolerant towards the Jews. At least in Syria, the oldest synagogue in the world is protected in a museum.
What the UK and US governments need to do now is put right the awful image Syrian Christians have of the UK, which a few years ago was a positive one. It is also turning against Israel, or more to the point, the current government there. That cannot be a good thing at all.
There must be an immediate disassociation from any acts of terrorism against innocent Christian civilians in Syria, and indeed, terrorism against those of all faiths who disagree with the rebels.
There needs to be a recognition that the rebels have lost the war, and any continued support for them of any kind simply prolongs the misery and suffering which the Syrian people have had to put up with for seven years.
Christians in Syria are calling for an end to sanctions against their country and for a change of policy by the UK and US governments.
They have much support for the views of Peter Ford, the former British Ambassador to Damascus (2003-2006), who said that we had the wrong policy for Syria and had only made the situation there worse.
If he is right, then Britain and indeed other Western governments need to make amends.
There needs to be an apology to the Syrian people, the vast majority of whom have been loyal to their government.
There needs to be the restoring of full diplomatic relations, an end to any form of help to the “opposition” groups, and the offer of a massive aid programme to help with the restructuring of that shattered country. Part of that aid programme could be the resettling in their homeland of the nearly 20,000 Syrian refugees who were given sanctuary in the UK, and the many thousands more who have gone to the US, Canada and Western Europe. Ironically, the Israeli government is the one that has not taken “refugees” from Syria, because it has a regard for its internal security, something other countries have been very lax about.
We also need to ask for Syrian government help in identifying the Islamic jihadists who have entered the UK and other Western countries — they are the people who know who they are, but we put our national security at risk by never asking them.
Only these types of actions will restore the faith of the Syrian people in our governments, and indeed, the credibility of British and other Western countries’ foreign policy.
That failed policy has seen us support the Wahhabi Islamic fundamentalist policy of Saudi Arabia, which has been arming and supporting Jaysh al-Islam, and that policy needs to change. If the UK and US lose arms contracts, then that has to be the sacrifice we make for peace. It is too risky to arm Saudi Arabia with modern weapons technology, as they could turn against the West and Israel.
After all, should we be arming those who are trying to destroy Christianity, Judaism, or indeed, secularism and multi-faith tolerance?
Is it not more honourable to restore our Judeo-Christian moral strength, or indeed a humaneness, and put people before profit? Should not our prayers, or our sense of humanity, be reflected in our actions?
Very importantly, would a change of policy help restore safety and security in the area?
It might send a key signal to countries such as Turkey, which has illegally invaded Syria to attack the YPG Kurds, to withdraw and rethink. It might make the USA review whether they should be in Syria illegally, too. It might stop Middle Eastern countries turning to Russia as an ally rather than the UK and USA.
It might just persuade all parties involved that further conflict will be pointless, especially if there will be no more outside assistance for it.
Would a copying of the Syrian government’s successful reconciliation programme help bring about stability in the whole region?
Could a spirit of toleration roll back the carpet of distrust and hate between Middle Eastern countries?
Could such a policy help Israel to feel more safe and prepared to work more closely with its Arab neighbours?
It has to be worth a try to change US and British policy, because no one would argue that whatever the current policy is, it is definitely not working.
Anthony Webber is a political analyst and commentator.
The Truth Must be Told
Your contribution supports independent journalism
Please take a moment to consider this. Now, more than ever, people are reading Geller Report for news they won't get anywhere else. But advertising revenues have all but disappeared. Google Adsense is the online advertising monopoly and they have banned us. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have blocked and shadow-banned our accounts. But we won't put up a paywall. Because never has the free world needed independent journalism more.
Everyone who reads our reporting knows the Geller Report covers the news the media won't. We cannot do our ground-breaking report without your support. We must continue to report on the global jihad and the left's war on freedom. Our readers’ contributions make that possible.
Geller Report's independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our work is critical in the fight for freedom and because it is your fight, too.
Please contribute here.
or
Make a monthly commitment to support The Geller Report – choose the option that suits you best.
Quick note: We cannot do this without your support. Fact. Our work is made possible by you and only you. We receive no grants, government handouts, or major funding.Tech giants are shutting us down. You know this. Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Adsense, Pinterest permanently banned us. Facebook, Google search et al have shadow-banned, suspended and deleted us from your news feeds. They are disappearing us. But we are here.
Subscribe to Geller Report newsletter here— it’s free and it’s essential NOW when informed decision making and opinion is essential to America's survival. Share our posts on your social channels and with your email contacts. Fight the great fight.
Follow Pamela Geller on Gettr. I am there. click here.
Follow Pamela Geller on Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. It's open and free.
Remember, YOU make the work possible. If you can, please contribute to Geller Report.
Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spammy or unhelpful, click the - symbol under the comment to let us know. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
If you would like to join the conversation, but don't have an account, you can sign up for one right here.
If you are having problems leaving a comment, it's likely because you are using an ad blocker, something that break ads, of course, but also breaks the comments section of our site. If you are using an ad blocker, and would like to share your thoughts, please disable your ad blocker. We look forward to seeing your comments below.
34 Comments
6 years ago
Christians will just sit on their thumbs and take it, as it has never occurred to them that they were given brains to figure out solutions to problems.
6 years ago
Reply to
Mahou Shoujo
I disagree with that. If they are NOT aware of the problem, the problem will fester. I would bet you didn’t know about this….They don’t TEACH any of this to our kids in K-12 in either a private Christian school or a public school. If you take a Western Civilization college course, if they still offer it, all they do is BASH west culture and Christianity and don’t cover it. I know that for a fact. So how are people supposed to KNOW this?
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
It has been known, widespread, that the Christians, in Syria, have overwhelmingly been backers of Assad and his regime. I, and many others that I know, have been aware of this for years.
6 years ago
Reply to
Achmed Mohammedan
Yes, we know they are there but backing Assad hardly makes sense when he slaughters them too. If they want to back Assad who slaughters them, well that is a choice…
The vast majority of people in the U.S. do not know that Bab Touma is so meaningful. We don’t speak or read Syrian. I’d LIKE to see more press on THIS. Have people you know speak up. Get on FOX. Get on talk shows. Call Rush or Savage. Why keep it a secret?
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
Actually, Assad has been exceedingly protective of Syria’s Christian population. Read up on it. You won’t find anything in the Western news, but it’s there.
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
Assad slaughters mostly Sunni Muslims, I think he has little reason to spend energy targeting Christians, who are already hated by most Sunnis.
6 years ago
Reply to
R. Arandas
Assad is interested in keeping his power, in his (for the most part) secular rule. If sunni moslems didn’t wage war on his government, I don’t think that they’d even cross his mind.
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
felix1999 … speak up where … and to whom ???
Heck, Lefties were destroying folks for ‘speaking up’ for decades – it goes all the way back to the 18th century when the ‘enlightened’ discovered they were superior to the rest of us.
The first time a Leftist shut me down was in ’69, and it just continued. They would not listen in ’70, or ’80, or ’90 … why should they listen now.
So let’s see – when Fascist Book gave me my 5th or 6th jail time – and my ‘last’ warning – how was I supposed to use FB to reach the eyeballs of the drones who are filling their brains with the FB sewage? Twitter – banned me three years ago.
And I have many other tales.
I think most conservatives know their input is not welcome – and would lead to discrimination and abuse.
They know total personal destruction is not worth giving a hateful, racist, bigoted Lietard a few seconds of what the Lietards dish out.
And I know this to be the case – b/c I’ve been around for a few decades and I have seen many folks destroyed just for being white, Christian, American, military, or some other intersection with the Left’s targets.
And the proof in the pudding are all the exceptions – such as one of my Gay friends who was totally destroyed for questioning the extreme lying about the Exxon Valdez spill. For daring to question the extraordinary difference between the biological data in Prince William Sound to the hyperventilating Leftist rhetoric in the Anchorage Daily Worker, my friend was FIRED, tossed out of his Gay Network, and blackballed in Anchorage. It was so bad, he finally decided to go back to Utah and go ‘straight.’ When he made this admission to me, it was all I could do to be sympathetic – and not LMAO to his face – b/c I knew the community well, and I knew he would be destroyed as soon as he opened his mouth. (I was involved in Democratic politics at the time – and trying to make a difference by identifying Lefties and encouraging ‘Adults’ – which is how I knew this guy.)
Why you see so few folks ‘fighting’ – is b/c fighters are generally destroyed. Often they do not even know how or why they are destroyed. They have no idea that the Leftist network has been operating in the background, ‘doxing’ folks, and making their lives ‘h.e.l.l.’ in many cities for decades.
In Anchorage, for example, if you ‘speak out’ anywhere outside the walls of your bedroom or a right-wing Church group or paramilitary group – the Network will try to terminate your employment. And since they control virtually the whole government, the schools, and the Big Oil companies, that does not leave a person much choice.
Just sayin’
6 years ago
Reply to
Achmed Mohammedan
Yes, my Syrian Christian friend (whose family still lives in the country) is certainly very pro-Assad.
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
True, I did not know about this problem specifically, but there are countless others that are very apparent, talked about, then absolutely no action taken.
6 years ago
Reply to
Mahou Shoujo
Name one other than Ms. Geller who went to another country to study this.
Why aren’t CHURCHES talking about this?
Pastors, Priests? Reverends?
Why keep it a secret if it is so well known?
Who are those “countless others”?
Why aren’t they speaking up and out?
BTW we DO take in SYRIAN refuges and so do other countries. I also understand their reluctance to leave and want to stay.
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
There is a lot of money being made by organizations pretending to be Christian, much like the slave trade, they get cash per colonist, after they get these invaders in, they switch over to the welfare system so everyone can pay for them.
6 years ago
Reply to
Mahou Shoujo
Do agree that there is a lot of money made by those pretending to be Christians, and you could surely name them. From my own experience, though, many Christians are also blinded by ignorance, not being fully aware that some of those whom they support are biting the hand that feeds them. Jesus said to His disciples to be innocent as doves AND wise as serpents. That is includes being aware where the money is going, and making sure that those in need are legit.
6 years ago
Reply to
VoiceInDesert
Absolutely. There is no commandment that says “Thou shalt be stupid” nor is slavery condoned by Christianity, taking money for refugees is selling people, it is slavery for a profit. Shame on lame stream religions.
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
The Syrian “refugees” are, almost always, moslem males, between the ages of seventeen and forty. The reason that Christians stay, is the Western nations want military age males, NOT human beings.
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
I remember this about Syrian refugees in the cointry I lived in, they were on transit to go forward looking for asylum in Australia. They were coming along with Syrian muslim families, Syrian Christian families, small groups of them. Now what being akcnowledged as Christians here only Roman Catholics and Protestants, and very little Orthodox community which only known as Catholic, since muslims couldn’t and wouldn’t bother to know the difference, for them it is all Christians. Now even Christians are only knows about history of Churches but they never really pay attention to that, this due to what more important of course theologies of the churches and especially their denominations’ theology. No Christians here even aware that some of these refugees are Christians and from the oldest place known to Christian Church History, Syria. So these Christian refugees made national shock news when they were caughy praying in Syrian Christian fashion, and they even called is Salah which actually the muslim term salah was adopted from Syrian word which simply means praying. And that’s what these people do, women with headscarfs praying and they do bent on their knees and also bow down heads touching the ground in worship, and people went crazy everywhere claiming these people who already suffered so much as being heretic muslims who combined Islam and Chrostian because they were quoting verses from Bible and Christians who are so attached to their ways of praying,also condemned these people as heretic. Foolish ignorant Christians. They forgot that these people praying in the fashion they learned from Bible, they way Jesus prayed in Getsemane before He was caught, and also the way they learned from their traditions being passed dpwn since the time of the apostles themselves. But these people instead having warm and loving and caring embraces from Christians, or even smallest gesture of sympathy and emphaty, Christians are back down on reluctance to show Christian love and mercy, in fear of muslims backlash. So much of Christianity today that they would rather engaging in theological debate of all sorts and doing charity only to people they want to win over to Christ, and forgot about their fellow Christians who suffered under all horrific persecutions. Only small numbers who really do something, and smaller even them who recognise these Chriatian refugees as they are. We Christians should be ashamed and repent when we do keep silent and do nothing for the real people in need. That is not what Jesus taught us to be.
6 years ago
I think there is allot of ignorance and lack of communication on both sides. and this is the tragic result. As a Bible based, Christian, I was not aware of “Bab Touma, being the Syrian name for the Gate of St. Thomas, which obtained its name because one of the key twelve disciples of Jesus lived there, St. Thomas.” I am not familiar with the Syrian language and never heard of that location. I would bet if you asked ministers, they probably wouldn’t know either!
Better communication is desperately needed. Till rump, Obama wanted Christians dead. I know Trump doesn’t. Is there any way these people could get Nikki Halley’s ear?
Perhaps she could be of use in facilitating some communication. Frankly I want NO MUSLIM country funded by us or any Muslim terrorists, ahem, “refugees”!
6 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
I don’t really know about Assad using chemical weapons, no matter what has been stated. Many of the rebel groups, have been found to have chemical weapon stockpiles. Where have they used them? It wouldn’t be in the areas that the moslem loving, islamophiliac left claims that it was Assad’s troops, could it? I do know, of the Christian groups, in Syria, when polled … they are in favor of Assad staying in power …. any of the other “groups” just kill, torture, and rape the Christian population. I, for one, believe that we should back what the Christians are backing. Had the US government not been so gung ho on backing the Christian killers, it is doubtful that Iran would have ever been let into the area.
6 years ago
There are many problems with this article. Assad, who is head of Syria has been using chemical weapons on his own people! Yet this guy suggests we work with him. Eye roll!
Indeed I agree these Christians need our help but I don’t believe Assad is trustworthy.
Even the LIBERAL NYT has been critical of Assad:
Assad’s History of Chemical Attacks, and Other Atrocities
By RUSSELL GOLDMANAPRIL 5, 2017
…
The United States put the blame for the attack on the Syrian government and its patrons, Russia and Iran, and suggested that the salvo was a war crime. While the attack was among the deadliest uses of chemical weapons in Syria in years, it was far from an isolated case.
…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/world/middleeast/syria-bashar-al-assad-atrocities-civilian-deaths-gas-attack.html
Trump Administration to Assad & Moscow: You’re Not Winning
Dec 5, 2017 – The Trump administration wants you to know that Syria’s Bashar Assad isn’t doing as well as he, or his Russian and Iranian allies want you to think.
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/trump-administration-assad-moscow-youre-not-winning
As mentioned in this article casualities are not broken down by religion so that could also be handicapping the message that needs to get out.
6 years ago
An excellent article of Syria and its Christian population.
An Al Jazeera journalist (arabic) in the picture.
6 years ago
Reply to
Ari
Hi, Ari. Nothing against you, but what is it with you and that butt-ugly sow? It’s becoming tiresome to fight the urge to gouge out my eyes.
6 years ago
If you studied ancient history, you’d know that Christianity was flourishing and steadily spreading throughout the Arabian Peninsula around the time of Muhammad’s birth, contributing to many centers of rich learning and cultural advancement, such as Hira.
If he had not started a “new religion”, then it is likely that most Arabs would have eventually embraced Christianity. If only history had gone differently. 🙁
6 years ago
Reply to
R. Arandas
Yes, and if the Persian and Byzantine Empires had not been attempting to annihilate each other for eons, they might have been able to effectively combine to extirpate the emerging threat from Arabia. History is replete with Ifs and buts.
6 years ago
Reply to
Duchess of Pork
Yes, the two ancient empires even tried to coordinate a counter-attack, aided by their Arab Christian allies at the time, but it ultimately failed. 🙁
“After Khalid left Iraq for Syria, Suwad, the fertile area between the Euphrates and the Tigris, remained unstable. Sometimes it was occupied by the Persians and sometimes by the Muslims. This “tit-for-tat” struggle continued until emperor Yazdegerd III consolidated his power and sought alliance with Heraclius in 635 in an effort to prepare for a massive counterattack. Heraclius married his daughter to Yazdegerd III, in accordance with Roman tradition to seal an alliance. Heraclius then prepared for a major offensive in the Levant. Meanwhile, Yazdegerd ordered a concentration of massive armies to reclaim Iraq for good. This was supposed to be a well-coordinated attack by both emperors to annihilate the power of their common enemy, Caliph Umar.
When Heraclius launched his offensive in May 636, Yazdegerd could not coordinate on time, so the plan was not carried out as planned. Meanwhile, Umar allegedly had knowledge of this alliance and devised his own plan to counteract it. He wanted to finish the Byzantines first, and later deal with the Persians separately. Accordingly he sent 6000 soldiers as reinforcements to his army in Yarmouk who were facing off the Byzantine army. Simultaneously, Umar engaged Yazdegerd III, ordering Saad ibn Abi Waqqas to enter in peace negotiations with him by inviting him to convert to Islam. Heraclius, fearing the abovementioned scenario had instructed his general Vahan not to engage in battle with Muslims and await his orders. “
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_al-Qādisiyyah
6 years ago
Reply to
R. Arandas
Thks, was vaguely aware of a failed alliance but not the finer details. Probably the prior hostility between the two empires had engendered a lack of trust. Think I also read at one time that many of the Levantine Christians despised Byzantine rule and, initially at least, were empathetic to Islam.
6 years ago
Yeah, how come we ain’t defending the Christians there? Too much Jews in Washington?
6 years ago
The MARXISTS LEFTISTS & the CANADIAN TRUDEAU who has expressed hatred for Christianity will never report this!
They want CHRISTIANITY GONE TOTALLY & ISLAM IN including SHARIA!
YET CANADIANS are being well conned by their so called PRIME MINISTER in his CLEVER PUBLIC MOOD fact finding TOWN HALL cons where ABDUL WAHEED RAMADAN TRUDEAU TROTS out his VIRTUE SIGNALLING FEMINIST ROUTINE!
VERY DANGEROUS CON MAN well connected to SOROS & THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD!
6 years ago
Christians are trained to ‘turn the other cheek’.
How smart is that turning out to be?
Demand a ‘solution for safety’ from the Pope!
6 years ago
Reply to
B. Prescott
Dorrie – Let us suppose that you are right. That puts you in the minority. And how many times does the minority wind up winning?
Not a lot.
That throws it back into the lap of the Pope and the Church.
6 years ago
Reply to
B. Prescott
The pope may speak for the church of rome …. but that’s about as far as it gets, or at least should get.
