Can The Pope Stop Terrorism

If there is one person in the world today that has the ability to face down Muslim extremism it is Pope Benedict. Unfortunately the manuever I have in mind could lead to his untimely death.

What Benedict needs to do is physically wade into a crowd of protesting Turkish Muslims with a translator in tow and talk to the people. By facing the angriest people we will see what exactly the Muslim faith creates. Either murders or people willing to listen and speak with someone who is a man of God.

If he can walk through the crowd and calm it down it would be a sign that he could be a bridge to the Muslim world. If the opposite happens and he is set upon by the crowd and injured or killed then all the world will finally see what we are dealing with. Madmen who cannot ever be reasoned with. He would become a martyr.

I'm surprised the Catholic Church has not done more to help bring about some kind of solution to the terrorist problem. Unlike other world leaders or the UN, the Pope represents the pinnancle in religious belief. How could those who proclaim to follow the same God ignore the Pope if he offered to broker a settlement of some type.

What would happen if Benedict offered to talk with Iran's president, the Saudi's or the Palestinians, or Hamas or Hezbollah? How about bin Laden? All of these men could refuse citing any poor excuse they want, but that would show them to be nothing but your basic, secular, power hungry dictators. It would remove religion from the equation making it harder to convince the average Muslim to hate everyone else.

Or maybe not, but the Pope has a great deal of power at his disposal and now is the time to use it.