Archbishop and Turks
I am struck not so much by the flagrantly racist rantings of Archbishop Christodoulos (by now, I kind of expect this from him), but rather by the low-volume response to him by Greek media and officials. It strikes me as hypocritical because these same folks are always so up in arms at statements by anyone who dare offend the Greek sensibility (witness the recent attacks on US Ambassador Thomas Miller for his opinions about Mikis Theodorakis and anti-Semitism). When that happens, our editorialists, TV anchors, and government spokesmen such as Mr Protopapas fall over themselves to scream bloody murder, to scold, to claim sinister plots and conspiracies, and to demand apologies and retractions. And here, we have the leader of the Greek Church who truly offended what SHOULD be our sensibility by saying things that are blatantly non-religious and polar opposite from the spirit of good will and brotherly love that a religion is supposed to represent. The statements are a true embarrassment to all Greeks, and all Mr Protopapas can utter is a meek «Everyone has the right to his opinion.» Well, I’m sorry. Mr Christodoulos is not just any anyone. He is a leader of the Greek Orthodox faith, and professes divine inspiration and a direct line of communication with God. That he would abuse this position to spew such lowly, cheap and un-God-like bile is just scandalous. It’s time for our government, media, and people to speak up strongly against such unacceptable behavior. DIMITRI ZARBOULAS, New York City, NY.
