Sandro Magister, begins his thoughtful and critical essay of Vatican's repeated condemnation of Israel with this Heading and subheading:

IN GAZA, THE VATICAN RAISES THE WHITE FLAG

Hamas denies Israel's right to exist. But for pontifical diplomacy, the Jewish state is wrong to defend itself with force.....

Magister writes, "Of course, the authorities of the Catholic Church do not defend the existence of Israel - which its enemies want to annihilate, and is ultimately at stake in the conflict - with the same explicit, powerful determination with which they raise their voices in defense of the "nonnegotiable" principles concerning human life"

Magister goes on to note that Vatican's voices of condemnation of violence began after Israel started to defend itself, "Not Before. Not when Hamas was tightening its brutal grip on Gaza, massacring the Muslims faithful to President Abu Mazen, humiliating the tiny Christian communities, and launching rockets every day against the Israelis in the surrounding area."

"About Hamas and its vaunted "mission" of wiping the Jewish state from the face of the earth, about Hamas as an outpost for Iran's expansionist aims in the Middle East, about Hamas as an ally of Hezbollah and Syria, the Vatican authorities have never raised the red alert. They have never shown that they see Hamas as a deadly danger to Israel and an obstacle to the birth of a Palestinian state, in addition to its being a nightmare for the Arab regimes in the area, from Egypt to Jordan to Saudi Arabia."

Magister goes on to analyze Vatican's position. He belives Pope Benedict is ignorant of the facts on the ground and that a few Vatican Middle East experts are behind this anti-Israel policy. His essay is enlightening and worth reading.

We want to recommend a brief summary of this matter by Mike Potemra at The Corner.