Monday, March 17, 2008

The Pope Said...

What the Pope actually said:

"At the end of this solemn celebration in which we have meditated on Christ's Passion, I would like to recall the late Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Monsignor Paulos Faraj Rahho, who tragically died a few days ago."

"His beautiful witness of fidelity to Christ, to the Church and his people, whom he did not want to abandon despite numerous threats, moves me to cry out forcefully and with distress: Enough with the bloodshed, enough with the violence, enough with the hatred in Iraq! "

more:

"And at the same time I make an appeal to the Iraqi people, who for five years have endured the consequences of a war that has provoked upheaval in its civil and social life: Beloved Iraqi people, lift up your heads and let it be you yourselves who, in the first place, rebuild your national life!"

"May reconciliation, forgiveness, justice and respect for the civil coexistence of tribes, ethnic groups and religious groups be the solidary way to peace in the name of God!"

What Nicole Winfield of the AP said he said:

"The pope also denounced the 5-year-long Iraq war, saying it had provoked the complete breakup of Iraqi civilian life."

Note the differences in the differences in the linked articles. Comparing them side by side, the ZENIT article pretty much let the Pope's own words stand verbatim with only transitional and a background information to put the Pope's words in context. The AP article by Nicole Winfield, in contrast, broke Pope Benedict's speech up into sentance fragments, removing them from context and adding editorial commentary unsupported by the actual speech.