Alfred Gauci (February 17) objected to the Pope’s comment on a violent Muslim reaction to the weekly Paris paper Charlie Hebdo’s repeatedly provocative caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. Something similar happened in Copenhagen a few days ago, after a Swede or Dane made similar caricatures belittling Muhammad.

Westerners and northern Europeans cannot appreciate that Muslims never portray Muhammad and find his ridiculing portrayal by outsiders very offensive and gravely provocative. Hence, their extremely distasteful and tragic murderous reaction.

If 200 years ago, under the Spanish Inquisition, one were to portray Jesus Christ in a comic style, one could expect retribution, possibly by hanging, drawing and quartering.

With civil authorities too, forgiveness has its limits, let alone with religious ones.

Europeans do not understand this or they disregard it at their peril, rightly or wrongly.

The Pope’s comment is to be seen in this context. His gist is: do not offend or provoke people of other cultures because then, naturally, you could expect a backlash.

His meaning is plain. His style is one we are not normally used to from a pope.

But he is probably right. His unorthodox style does not imply that he is wrong.

On the contrary, he speaks in plain modern language, which anyone can understand, if he is so inclined.

Would Gauci forgive Hitler for starting World War II, during which 60 million people died? Or would he forgive Himmler for organising the deaths of six million Jews? Sometimes there is no room for forgiveness but for retribution, a natural and deliberate human reaction.

The Pope warns us against promoting any provocative actions the results of which we cannot handle. Even spiritually, let alone humanly, he is begging us to grow up.