For Ailing Pope, Many Projects Remain Unfinished (washingtonpost.com)

This is an interesting article, but there are more than a few questionable points raised:

"...his focus on the cult of the Virgin Mary..." ("Cult"??)

"...the pope has found his preaching for peace largely eclipsed by events, especially the United States' war on terror..." (Umm, hte Holy Father actually acknowledged the US' right to act in Afghanistan)

"Persistent talk of a war of civilizations -- Muslim and Western -- undermines one of his other pet projects: the effort to bridge centuries of misunderstanding among Christians, Muslims and Jews..." (Whose persistent talk exactly? I have never heard a US government official say that, and I have heard only extremists of left and right categorize it in those terms. Such talk hardly counts as "persistent." Further, what the hell do you mean by "pet projects"? Pet projects are little ideas that are most likely a waste of time and that only their proponent can see being a good idea. Are you suggesting that it's a BAD idea to facilitate understanding between the three great monotheistic religions of the world? I thought there was "persistent talk" of "a clash of civilizations" so I would have thought any effort to defuse that would be treated as a good thing, not dismissed as a "pet project.")

"...For any pope, such a usurpation of papal privileges is unacceptable..." (Right. It's just a "papal privilege" to appoint a FREAKIN BISHOP OF THE FREAKIN CHURCH, and the conflict over whether or not the ATHEIST COMMUNIST CHINESE GOVERNMENT can appoint a BISHOP OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH is just a "rift" in need of "healing.")

Note to Washington Post: please don't assign any more articles on the Pope to someone who doesn't understand him, the Roman Catholic Church, or religion in general.