ALSO FOR "LATECOMERS": read the posts that speak about what this Cardinal actually said and not the diverson some here want you to take. Nobody quoted the Cardinal as saying, "Israel is a 'baby-killer'". Instead what he DID say is:
"I think - said the cardinal - the cry of the mothers in the massacre of the innocents, and that 'a cry perennial, perpetual and' a universal cry that still resonates today. ... Children die in Gaza and the cries of the mothers' continual cry. You see, the story is not 'finished', in that historical context." http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://it.notizie.yahoo.com/papa-card-ravasi-grido-strage-innocenti-risuona-vittime-150800913.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgrido__strage_innocenti__risuona_in_vittime_Gaza%26hl%3Den%26tbo%3Dd%26biw%3D1107%26bih%3D490&sa=X&ei=G-iuUJaZN4369gSXjoGwAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDAQ7gEwAA
I find it curious that the Cardinal made NO mention of the dead children and crying mothers in Israel. What could be the reason for that? This statement in the OP article was accompanied by additional anti-semitic actions and statements from a few Eastern Orthodox leaders. My feeling is that it doesn't matter what religion the person represents. If what they say is blatantly unfair against Israel, I reject it as would ANY genuine Christian.
Cardinal Ravisi was making a statement about a book about the life of Jesus. In his remarks he mentioned the world into which Jesus was born and that those human conditions are still present and His message is still relevant. He was not making a political speech and frankly, to suggest that he should have tip-toed through every aggrieved demographic or risk ridicule and condemnation from those who already hate him is ridiculous. Had he not mentioned the Gaza at all I'm sure you would have found reason to "criticize" just the same. He failed to mention Catholic children killed when their Churches are bombed in Nigeria, he failed to mention children killed by narco-terrorists in Mexico and central America. He failed to mention those killed in the Sudan He failed to mention the millions killed in abortions every year, he failed to mention children killed in wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan at the hands of Jihadists and Americans, and the victims of human trafficking in Southeast Asia and in this country. He even failed to mention that the Jews still mourn the deaths of the first born of the Egyptians in every Passover. Do you think all of these slights mean both he and the Church hate all and blame all?