** Crusades
**
[Times 20 Mar 06] The Crusades are seen by many
Muslims as barbarous acts of European aggression against the Arab world.
This aggressive outlook has continued till the
present day.
The late Pope John Paul II
sought reconciliation with Muslims by asking 'pardon' for the Crusades during
the Millennium 2000 celebrations for the past errors of the Church (including
the Inquisition and anti-Semitism).
Now the new pope,
Benedict XVI, and
fellow conservatives have sought to rehabilitate the Crusades. At a
Vatican-sponsored conference held at the Pontifical University at the weekend,
historian Roberto de Mattei defended the Crusades as "a response to the Muslim
invasion of Christian lands and devastation of the Holy Places." He said that
it was the Muslim desecration of the Holy Sepulchre in 1009 that had provoked
the first Crusade - even though Pope Urban II had called for a Crusade only in
1095!
Here is a summary of the Crusades. (Historians count 8 crusades and the dates
are disputed.)
Urban II launches the first crusade (1095-1101)
For hundreds of years, pious Christians made
pilgrimages to the Holy Land. In 638, the Muslims took over the region but
allowed the pilgrims’ visits. Then in 1071, the Seljuk Turks took control of
Asia Minor and reversed this policy.
Pope Urban II called upon Christian Europe to wage
a holy war and recapture the Holy Land. In a famous sermon preached in 1095,
Urban asked: “Can
anyone tolerate that we do not even share the inhabited earth equally with the
Muslims? They have made Asia their homeland…They have forcibly held Africa for
over 200 years. There remains Europe, the third continent. How small a part of
it is inhabited by us Christians.”
500 years before, Mohamed had
promised paradise to those slain in battle. Urban now promised forgiveness of
sins to all those who joined to free the Holy Land.
The First Crusade lasted 1096-99. The first batch
to respond was a fanatical mob from central Europe. Many were slaughtered on
the way by the Hungarians and the rest by the Turks. Another group took Nicea
and Antioch. In 1099, a better organised band of knights stormed into Asia
Minor, massacred Muslims and Jews, and taking control of a part of Jerusalem.
Eugene III & the second crusade
(1147-49). [The Times article above uses
1145-47]
Eugene was noted for launching the Second Crusade after the
fall of Edessa, a bastion of the crusader kingdom. The Crusade was backed by
Louis VII of France and Emperor Conrad III of Germany. Unfortunately, the
crusade ended in dismal failure. Both the Germans and French were slaughtered.
Louis and Conrad did reach Jerusalem but as pilgrims and not victors. Pope
Eugene was deeply disillusioned and left for France. He returned in 1149 to a
city in disorder which he was unable to control. He died in 1153.
Clement III & the third crusade
(1188-92)
The
next pope, Clement III, was the first Roman for some years. His chief
interest was to rescue Jerusalem from the Muslims and it is his efforts that
launched the Third Crusade in 1188-89. Emperor Frederick led a large army into
Asia Minor. He won two victories there but was drowned in a river in 1190.
England’s Richard the Lion-hearted and France’s Philip also started for
Palestine. The Crusade failed to take Jerusalem but Clement died before he
came hear of it. Saladin decreed that Christians could have access to the Holy
Sepulchre.
Innocent III & the fourth crusade
(1201-04)
The Fourth Crusade was launched around 1201 and got bogged down in the more
profitable venture of sacking the Eastern capital, Constantinople. The tombs
of old emperors at St Sophia cathedral were desecrated, relics stolen and
women including nuns raped. (Edward Said in his
Culture & Imperialism reminded that the Crusader chronicles openly
refer to the cannibalism practised by the Frankish knights -
incidents that 19th century historians suppressed as they
re-constructed the roots of European civilisation).
The Pope could do little as a Roman uprising had forced him to flee to
Palestrina. He only returned to Rome in 1205, a year after the Crusade ended.
Children’s Crusade
Meanwhile in 1212 thousands of French boys and girls, inspired by a shepherd
boy, Stephen, defied their parents and left home without guides or food for
Marseilles, saying they were heading for Jerusalem. Many were invited on boats
to make the trip but ended up as slaves of the Saracens. In Germany, another
20,000 children were enlisted by a boy called Nicholas. They started for the
Holy Land via the Alps. Many dropped dead on the way while a few returned to
tell the tale - becoming the basis for the legend of the Pied Piper of
Hamelin.
Fifth to ninth Crusades
The fifth and longest crusade (1217-21) under Honorius III advanced on
Cairo, were trapped in the Nile Valley and had to surrender. The Sixth
Crusade (1228-29) eschewed arms. It was led by the Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II who managed to negotiate a degree of Christian control over the
holy sites.
France's Louis IX led the next two crusades, the seventh (1248-51) and
eight (1270) with no noticeable gains. Louis died in North Africa and
the 8th was called off.
Less certain is the Ninth Crusade (1271-72) launched by the English under Prince Edward with no success.
** Backing colonialism & territorial
grab **
The only English Pope gives away Ireland
Adrian IV is noteworthy as the only English pope. Born Nicholas, Adrian
studied at the abbey of St Albans and rose to be abbot of St Rufus monastery
near Avignon, France. He was next made bishop of Albano, then cardinal and
finally pope.
In 1155, he crowned Frederick Holy Roman Emperor. The latter believed in
absolute power and in 1158, he captured Milan and forced the Romans to expel
the pope. In the prevailing strife, Adrian died in 1159. It was Adrian
who offered Ireland to English King Henry II.
The popes claimed the 'islands of the sea' by virtue of the Donation of
Constantine. Adrian permitted Henry to occupy the island as papal
territory and not as an absolute possession.
Pope
Nicholas V backs colonial conquest
Pope Nicholas V decided to
give Portugal full backing for imperial conquest. A Papal Bull (decree)
issued about 1454 declared (in extract): “Our
joy is immense to know that our dear son, Henry, Prince of Portugal,
inspired with a zeal for souls has brought into the Catholic fold the
perfidious enemies of God and Christ like the Saracens and Infidels…After
careful deliberation, we have conceded to King Affonso the right, total
and absolute, to invade, conquer and subdue all the countries under the rule
of the enemies of Christ, Saracen or pagan. We wish the said King
Alfonso, the Prince and their successors to occupy and possess
exclusively the said islands, ports and seas and all faithful Christians
are prohibited to encroach on their sovereignty…”
Alexander
VI divides the New World between Spain & Portugal
It was the dissolute Alexander
VI whose Bull of 1493 gave Spain and Portugal the right
for “barbarous nations (to) be invaded and
brought to the faith”. He took it upon himself to divide the New World
between Spain and Portugal. (To the church, it seems the peoples inhabiting
these lands were no better than animals.)
Pope Alexander reportedly used the first gold
brought from the Americas to decorate the ceiling of Santa Maria Maggiore. The
Catholic Encyclopedia says: "To Alexander,
we owe the decoration of the beautiful ceiling of Santa Maria Maggiore, for
which tradition says he used the first gold brought from America by Columbus."
“Bound by papal edicts, bishops & missionaries
found themselves to be an integral part of a political project of conquest and
exploitation.”
It is worth noting that the Vatican document on 'Church
and Racism' (CTS 1989) makes no mention of the the above two bulls but
only refers to the concern of Pope Paul III (1537) over the condition of the
Indians.
Julius II
grants Spain all New World taxes
Julius II, resorted to massive bribery to become pope. He was not even
religious, his Lenten fare consisting of prawn, tunny, lampreys and the best
caviar. He had sired three daughters as a cardinal and his sexual exploits had
left him syphilitic. By 1508 his foot had become too ulcerous to be kissed by
the faithful.
In this very year, Julius had issued a bull granting the Spanish Crown in
perpetuity all tithes (taxes) collected in the Americas.
Pope Leo X
backs colonial exploits
Portugal had landed in India in 1498 and
seized Goa in 1510. Pope Leo X, in approval of King Manuel’s
expeditions presented him with a sword in 1515 with the words:
“Receive
this warlike sword in your victorious hands. With this, you will wage wars
under the most happy auspices…May
you use your force and power against the fury of the infidels… having received
through this gift the help of heaven, you may bring back abundant spoils and
triumphs.”
Commentary [by Vimal Tirimanna in Vidyajyoti Journal,
vol 61, April 1997]
By early 16th century, many prominent
theologians like Jean Gerson and John Mair, declared that the Pope, as
universal Vicar of Christ, had all the juridical powers over humankind,
including non-believers. If any pagan nation resisted the work of
missionaries, it can be conquered by force.
It was views like these that justified Alexander
VI's bull of 1493 to conquer non-Christian territory. Rights over conquered
territory was linked with preaching the Gospel to the pagans. Her lies the
notorious link between the conversion of the pagans and the
imposition of European culture by the colonisers - the tasks of missionary
and coloniser were complementary, rooted in racial and religious superiority.
"Bound to the Crown by papal edicts covering the
New World, bishops and missionaries found themselves to be an integral part of
a political project of conquest and exploitation. As the white God's men were
of the same race and religion as the colonial oppressors and many had Indian
slaves, evangelical credibility suffered."
The Bible and the Sword joined hands in
destroying what were called "anti-Christian cultures and religious
practices." The natives could be punished for their sins and 'immoral'
acts that violated 'Natural Law' and their territory was no more than a gift
of God which could be taken from them. Just crude justification for grabbing
of land and resources.
It was in the encyclical
Pacem in Terris that Pope John XXVIII appropriated the European doctrine
of Human Rights and asserted that intrinsic dignity of every human person.
"... All States are by nature equal in dignity; each has the right to exist
and develop in its own way. Each is entitled to respect..."
Commentary [Third World Resurgence,
issue 53, Feb 1995 on WCC panel report on widespread racism in the US]
Steven Newcomb, Director of the Indigenus
Law Institute, testified before the WCC panel that "the two papal bulls of
the 15th century are the basis for ongoing patterns of discrimiination that
have been incorporated into Indian Laws... The bulls morally and legally
sanctioned the subjugation of non-Christian peoples."
As a result, the Supreme Court decision made a
distinction between Christians and heathens. Newcomb said: "On that
bais, the US continues to deny Native Americans a true right to property in
their own ancestral homelands and right to full sovereignty as independent
nations." He called on Pope John Paul II to issue a ruling to repudiate the
papal bulls of 1453 and 1493, paving the way to abolishing the Christian
Nation Theory from contemporary US law.
In the early years, the US government,
recognising the Native Americans as separate nations, had entered into about
371 treaties with them, embodying the US Constitution as the supreme law of
the land. However, the US government has over 200 years consistently violated
these treaties and stole 99% of Native American land, and destroyed their
religion, language and culture.