Topic started by Bharat (@ tnt1-208-38-6-66-cgy.nucleus.com) on Thu Mar 13 14:24:09 .
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http://www.bharatvani.org/reviews/rev-pap.html
BOOK REVIEW
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PAPACY
Its Doctrine and History: Sita Ram Goel
New Delhi,Voice Of India, 1986
120 pgs, Rs.25(HB)
Reviewed by Sita Ram Goel
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The list of appellations with which "His Holiness the Pope" loves to adorn himself is quite long.
1.We are told that he is the 'Bishop of Rome and Vicar of Jesus Christ,
2. Successor of St. Peter,
3. Prince of Apostles,
4. Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church,
5. Patriarch of the West,
6. Primate of Italy,
7. Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province,
8. Sovereign of the State of Vatican City.'
That is quite a mouthful and reminds us of the erstwhile Nizam of Hyderabad who also had adorned himself with an array of equally high-sounding appellations. Most people had felt amused at his pretensions till the time when he started invoking some of his appellations for claiming powers and privileges which, he felt convinced, they conferred upon him.
He did succeed in becoming a headache for us before Sardar Patel called his bluff and consigned him to the dustbin of history.
Of course, we need not bother about the Pope being the bishop of Rome, archbishop and metropolitan of the Roman province, primate of Italy and patriarch of the West.
These are appellations which concern Italy and other countries of Europe and America. They have dealt with the Pope in the past and should know best how to handle him in the future.
But his strutting around as the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Successor of St. Peter and the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church can cause mischief for us in this country (India).
These are appellations which were evolved and appropriated by the Pope in his continuous conflicts with kings and emperors ruling over sovereign states in medieval and modern Europe. They embody a whole theology and a long history.
The theology has been thriving in this country for quite some time without being seriously questioned. For all we know, some of the history may get repeated.
Let us keep in mind that the Pope has already collected in his fold nearly 12 million Indian citizens. He will continue to collect many more in years to come unless we understand clearly what he stands for and stop him in his tracks. Why does the West continue to maintian a museum piece like the Pope for whose sanctimonious postures the West itself finds it difficult to contain its contempt?
Why does the West spend such staggering sums of money on propagating in Asia and Africa, a creed for which the West itself has no use?
Why does the West let loose on the poor and unsuspecting peoples of Asia and Africa, whole platoons of priests and monks and nuns whom the West itself views as worse than a plague?
Why does the West proliferate in Asia and Africa a monolith like the Catholic Church which the West knows from its own experience as the worst repository of superstitions and totalitarian tyrannies?
These are some weighty questions to which the people of Asia and Africa have to find adequate answers.
The countries of Asia and Africa have repelled the overt Western imperialism which rode roughshod over them for many years. They have to wake up to the covert Western imperialism which continues to creep in through various channels.
Christianity was for a long time a vehicle of Western imperialism. It continues to play the same role when that imprialism has become covert.
The Catholic Church had a monopoly of crusading for Western imperialism before the Protestant missions appeared on the scene in the 18th century. It still retains its lead particularly because of its cohorts passing as monks and nuns.
The Pope symbolises Western imperialism from A to Z when he claims to be the Successor of St. Peter, the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church and the Vicar of Jesus Christ.
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www.Bharatvani.org (Voice of India)
The Author:
SITA RAM GOEL: Eminent thinker of modern India, author of many books and publisher of many more. The books, written or published by him are now the single important source of inspiration to the people of India and that in spite of successive Congress governments' attempt to suppress his endeavors. And today, it is the Government of India which is weaker and the Indian masses much stronger.
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Voice OF India: Hindu intellectual think-tank
(http://www.bharatvani.org):
Humanity faces difficult times. Its deeper spiritual vision and values enshrined in various indigenous religions and cultures of the peoples of Asia, Europe, Africa and the two Americas have been under the attack of monolatrous creeds claiming to be the only true religions. Hinduism along with other members belonging to its family too has been under their attack, physical and ideological. Bharatvani Institute aims at providing an ideological defence of Hindu religion and culture through a series of publications.
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