[wishful thinking] the pope and the muslims

This business of the Pope praying with the Muslims - wonder if they’re praying to the same G-d? For what expected result?

1] to convert the Muslims to Christianity or vice versa?
2] to reach understanding so all that nasty terrorism will stop?
3] to prevent the mistreatment of the Christian minority by establishing dialogue and therefore some sort of negotiating position?

Pope Benedict XVI stood Thursday in silent prayer, facing Mecca, beside Mustafa Cagrici, the chief of religious affairs for Istanbul — under the ornate domes of the Blue Mosque. He stated his desire to reconcile Christians and Muslims and then referred to the “Christian roots of Europe” and then, in a joint declaration with Bartholomew, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, referred to the Christian roots of Turkey — the Byzantine church based there for more than a millennium.

He must fail on N1 for obvious reasons, he’ll fail on N2 for a less obvious reason – namely that the unrest and killing is done by crazies funded by the 4th player and so reason N3 appears to be the one he’s running with.

On Thursday he endorsed Turkey’s entry to the European Union but linked it to specific progress in respecting the rights of minorities e.g. the officially harrassed Orthodox Christians. Finally, he repeated a theme from that speech in Regensburg, Germany, about violence in the cause of religion, though this time without mentioning any religion by name.

The Pope’s real purpose, though, was to heal the rift with the Orthodox Church. How? There are several doctrinal differences and the East will never accept the pontiff as anything more than first among equals so this blog asks, yet again, for what expected result?

UPDATE: Melanie Phillips' take on this.