Pope Francis Abandons Christ’s Cross to Appease Muslims

 Raymond Ibrahim  "Pope Francis is at it again. Although it is traditional for papal podiums to depict the crucifix, during his recent visit to the island of Malta, Pope Francis ditched the cross lest he offend Muslim migrants.  As the archdiocese of Malta openly admitted, “The podium will not be adorned with a crucifix, given that the majority of migrants are Muslim.”

"Instead, the podium backdrop used by Francis consisted of recycled plastic bottles with red blobs meant to highlight the two primary reasons Francis was visiting Malta -- to defend migrants and the environment: “When you look deeper, you will see that the sea is made of recycled plastic bottles, because there is more plastic than fish in our sea,” artistic director Carlo Schembri explained. “And the red blobs are life jackets -- the lives of people lost at sea.”

"While this was meant to highlight the hazards illegal Muslim migrants experience crossing the Mediterranean, one wonders but doubts if Francis remembered the dozens of Christians who were intentionally thrown overboard and drowned in the Mediterranean by their Muslim counterparts for their faith.

"Meanwhile, Dr. Philip Beattie, an economist at the University of Malta, explained the reality of his island’s migrant situation: “The majority of the illegal immigrants trafficked to Malta on rickety boats leaving the Libyan coastline are not genuine refugees, but economic migrants -- and are mainly Muslim young men aged between 18 and 28.”

"Beattie also got to the heart of the matter:

Saint Paul preached “Christ crucified -- a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles” [1 Cor. 1:23] when he brought the gospel to Malta. The Apostle boasted in the scandal of the Cross. Why is the pope ashamed of the Cross before Muslims, especially during Lent?

"Perhaps it’s not just shame; perhaps Francis, whose Maltese mission was to support the many Muslim migrants who have flooded the tiny island, removed the cross as a precaution, lest irate Muslims cause a scene and thus compromise his presentation of them as poor victims in need of more state aid and concessions.  After all, and as is well documented in this article, past and present, Muslims have engaged in an unwavering pattern of desecrating and destroying the cross, including in Christian cemeteries.

"The fact that this shameful spectacle took place in Malta is especially ironic, . . ."