This is slowly changing, however. John Paul II spent his later years getting the Jesuits away from revolution and back to religion. One sign was the beatification of Marco d'Aviano:
Marco d'Aviano, known as a fiery orator, persuaded European Christian monarchs to lift [i.e. repel] the Ottoman siege in Vienna in 1683. A biography records that during the fighting, d'Aviano brandished a crucifix at the Turks, shouting, "Behold the cross of the Lord: Flee, enemy bands!"
[...]
John Paul, however, proposed d'Aviano not as a model of resistance to Islam, but as an apostle of Europe's Christian identity. The European Union is currently preparing a constitutional document, and the Vatican has insisted that the document must include a reference to the Christian roots of the continent.
Now, after having criticized the Danish cartoons, the Vatican in their "Studi Cattolici" has published a Cartoon of Muhammad in hell:
Rome - An Italian magazine close to the influential Catholic conservative Opus Dei group has published a cartoon showing the Prophet Mohammed in hell, sparking outrage among Muslim associations in Italy.
The drawing is published in the March issue of Studi Cattolici.
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, the cartoon shows the Italian poets Dante Alighieri and Virgil on the edge of a circle of flames looking down on Mohammed, whose body is cut in half.
Mohammed in Hell, by Gustave Doré
"he's cut in two because he has brought division to society"
"Isn't that Mohammed?" Virgil is shown asking Dante.
"Yes, and he's cut in two because he has brought division to society," replies Dante.
Cartoons by 12 artists, first published in a Danish newspaper in September and later reprinted in a number of other mainly European dailies, sparked Muslim protests worldwide.
Studi Cattolici editor Cesare Cavalleri said: "I hope the publication of this drawing won't lead to attacks, because if that happened it would only prove the idiotic positions of Islamic extremists.
"Sometimes a politically incorrect satirical cartoon can do some good. It's only a reference to a passage in (Dante's) Divine Comedy.
"In any case, Mohammed was sent to hell by Dante."
The cartoon drew immediate fire from Italy's Muslim community.
Roberto Piccardo, an official of the union of Italian Muslim communities, said: "With all the efforts made in the Christian and Muslim world for inter-faith dialogue, there are nevertheless always minorities that inflame things and cause provocations."
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| Mohammed in Hell, Church of San Petronio, Bologna |
I have been unable to find the new cartoon so the above is taken from the Mohammed Image Archive.
This is far from the first time the Catholic Church has angered Islamists by showing Mohammed in Hell. The picture to the left is a fresco from the Church of San Petronio, Bologna - and in 2002 Al-Qaida plotted to blow up the Bologna church fresco.
Added:
As Marta Salazar points in the comments section, Opus Dei now distance themselves from the cartoon. In the mean time, I found the cartoon on the Danish Blog Polemiken.
Dante: "Isn't that Muhammad?"
Virgil: "Yes, and he's cut in two because he has brought division to society,"
"But the women there, with her trousers down, is the Italian politician in charge of Islam."
So the two first lines of the text are simply the original ones by Dante Alighieri - and Mohammed is not drawn - with or without his entrails hanging out. Compared to the old illustrations on the Divine Comedy this Catholic cartoon is positively tame.
The joke - ha ha - lies in the mentioning of the Italian politician with her trousers down - whoever she may be. She is only person who could feel insulted.
*sigh* They don't make blasphemy like they used to.
Added: It would appear the translation was wrong - it's "Italian policy", not "Italian politician". I'll make a new post and start over.
