Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Pope Francis: You Cannot Impose Democracy On Cultures That Have No History Of Democracy

Pope Francis celebrates a mass of Pentecost in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 15, 2016. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Reuters: Pope criticises West for trying to export own brand of democracy to Iraq, Libya

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis criticised Western powers for trying to export their own brand of democracy to countries such as Iraq and Libya without respecting indigenous political cultures, according to an interview published on Monday.

Speaking to France's Roman Catholic newspaper, La Croix, Francis also said Europe should better integrate migrants and praised the election of the new Muslim mayor of London as an example of where this had been successful.

"Faced with current Islamist terrorism, we should question the way a model of democracy that was too Western was exported to countries where there was a strong power, as in Iraq, or Libya, where there was a tribal structure," he said.

"We cannot advance without taking these cultures into account," the pope said.

Read more ....

WNU Editor: He is right on the "imposing democracy part" .... that has to come within a society and culture if it has any hopes of succeeding. He is wrong on the Muslim immigration part .... Europe is not a melting pot and many Muslims are not integrating into the societies that they are immigrating to. Muslim ghettos are becoming the norm in many European capitals .... and all the social and cultural problems associated from this "clash of civilizations" are only going to get worse. Sharia law, treatment of women, the importance of Islam in solving legal disputes and conflicts .... this is not the secularism that Europe is use to .... far from it.

5 comments:

Bob Huntley said...

Being unable to impose you way on others works both ways.

Anonymous said...

He is wrong about one thing..... The West doesn't really have democracy but an oligarchy that says its a democracy. Us cretans are led to believe we have a democracy!!

Unknown said...

Any culture that has had tribal elders or such meeting council has a history of democracy.

That would mean all of humanity.

Now some of that history is more remote in some societies than others, but it is there.

Unknown said...

Republican politicians in the U.S. talk border control on even years and amnesty on odd years.

So it is kabuki theater. There is something to be said we are ruled by a oligarchy.

Young Communist said...

Radical left have said the same years ago, at the time of 2003 Iraq invasion by U.S. and no one in charge listen.

The real revolution in a country is made through culture, but it takes time.
A little community or local tribe may have some degree of democracy inside, even the Soviets was originally democratic, but when things become big as a nation, often people search a strong leader with an unified vision. More in trouble time.

And today ours country cannot impose either than the dictatorship of liberist free market, and that means leaves the trans-national oligarchy erode our democracy year by year.
This October, in Italy we have the last civic battle to save our constitution.