Papal Daze

In the Pope's recent, controversial speech, he said, inter alia:

A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures.

I think that's flying in the face of experience.

We have a global, rationalist, humanist culture that includes science that is not riven by violent misunderstanding. People might disagree about why the dinosaurs died out, or whether string theory is science - and these can be serious disputes about the work of lifetimes - but nobody beheads, and nobody has ever burned, anyone because they disagreed about such issues.

The dialogue of rational, sceptical people transcends all boundaries and unites us all. Through that unification, we explore each other's cultures with interest and enthusiasm.