McLaughlin: 'Should the Pope Abdicate?'; Clift Asserts Pope 'Needlessly Provocative'

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On the McLaughlin Group this weekend, host John McLaughlin, a former Catholic priest, set up a segment on how the Pope's supposedly “incendiary words” had “flamed across the Muslim firmament.” He then cued up his panelists with this inflammatory proposition: “Should the Pope abdicate?” Washington Times editorial page editor Tony Blankley retorted: “No, that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard...” When Mort Zuckerman, owner of U.S. News and the New York Daily News, didn't answer the question, McLaughlin demanded: “Would you address my point: Should he resign?” Zuckerman replied “absolutely not” as Pat Buchanan mocked the premise: “Oh, don't be absurd!”

In between Blankley and Zuckerman, Newsweek's Eleanor Clift denounced the Pope's perspective in which he had quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor on how Mohammad brought “things only evil and inhuman.” Clift argued: “If he's going to go back and quote somebody from 500 years ago, let's get the rest of the context. He's talking about violent religions -- Christendom has some violence in its past as well.” She soon charged: “This was needlessly provocative when the former Pope did so much for peace and justice in the world.”

Setting up the segment, McLaughlin displayed the quotes from 14th century Byzantine Emperor Manuel Paleologos II: “Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.” After asserting that when cited by the Pope “these incendiary words flamed across the Muslim firmament” and showing scenes of the violence, McLaughlin noted how the Pope issued a statement about how he's “deeply sorry for the reactions.” McLaughlin then asked:

“Question: Should the Pope abdicate?”

Tony Blankley, over even laughter from Eleanor Clift: “No, that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard...”

Following more from Blankley and Pat Buchanan defending the Pope, Clift chimed in:

“First of all, the thrust of his speech is that Christianity is in danger of being wiped out in Europe by secularism and by the rising tide of Islam. And if he's going to go back and quote somebody from 500 years ago, let's get the rest of the context. He's talking about violent religions -- Christendom has some violence in its past as well.”

Blankley: “That wasn't his point.”

Clift: “This was needlessly-”

Blankley: “He was talking about today.”

Clift: “Excuse me! This was needlessly provocative when the former Pope did so much for peace and justice in the world.”

Blankley: “It was necessarily provocative.”

Clift: “No, unnecessarily.”

McLaughlin: “Mort, let's go.”

Mort Zuckerman: “I do not agree that it was necessarily provocative. After all, he is still a world figure and has to be very careful in the words that he uses, especially in these times, and I think he could have made his point without, in fact, using those particular quotes. But his point is a valid point, it's the one that Pat made.”

McLaughlin: “Would you address my point: Should he resign?”

Zuckerman: “Absolutely not. Absolutely not.”

McLaughlin: “Why not?”

Pat Buchanan: “Oh, don't be absurd!”

Zuckerman: “That is absurd.”

McLaughlin: “There are a billion Muslims out there.”

Buchanan: “So what?”

McLaughlin: “Have you found a Muslim who's forgiving toward the Pope in this regard?”

Zuckerman: “The Muslims have not been exactly been forgiving toward their own sins..."