As If The Pope Doesn't Have Enough Trouble
"Benedict XVI, like many of his predecessors, is often called on to confront very difficult situations…. The way in which he responds is remarkably efficient, at least for all those who are not guided by totally hostile sentiments, and it is efficient both for its humility and sincerity and for the sound reasoning of the pope. The pastoral letter to the Irish is only the most recent example of his great charisma…. Our people know how to differentiate between human error, and history is full of this, and the huge fruits of goodness which have come and continue to come from our Christian roots."
-As the growing outrage in Europe over past sexual molestation of children by Catholic clergy threatens to consume the papacy of Benedict XVI, the Holy Father-who penned a letter this weekend expressing regret to the Church's Irish victims-can take comfort in the fact that he has the strong support of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Because that's the guy you want by your side during a sex scandal.
As a man of Italian ancestry, I can't help but take a perverse glee in the knowledge that no country's political drama is quite as fucked up as Italy's.
I'm not religious, but I too can differentiate between human error and huge fruits of goodness.
He said "fruits", heh, heh, heh.
/end Beavis-mode
Fruits from the roots! (Prolly doesn't rhyme in Italian.)
Did you know Silvio Berlusconi is the godfather of my son? He shows up at the church in his golf pants, caked in mud. Well, ol' Sconi pushes the priest aside and says, "I'll baptize that piece of calamari!" Then he pours Scotch all over my baby son and says, "There! You're baptized!"
Are there ANY priests who DON'T molest little children?
How is this… GAH!
I mean… GAH!
Can't we stop this!? GAH!
Some of them molest BIG children. Does that count?
I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THERE IS NOT MORE ACCOUNTABILITY HERE!? HOW HAS THIS PARTICULAR INSTITUTION NOT BEEN BROUGHT TO ITS KNEES!? JUST THINK OF IT AS A REALLY RICH DAYCARE*!
*(oversimplifying, yes I know, but this seriously appalls and disgusts me)
my wife and i visited the Vatican. it was lovely…aside from almost being run-over by nelson mandela's motorcade (thank god it wasn't winnie).
so lovely. and so full of priceless art. so many many pieces of priceless art. the whole place was…priceless.
frankly, it was just as creepy as our forced visit to the crystal cathedral. yes, the vatican was much prettier and old and neato and what-not, but the display of wealth was kind of troubling.
I second your rage. I'll never understand how the church gets away with saying "we'll take care of it ourselves, sorry all!" when this is such high grade felony level conspiracy and obfuscation before you even get to the molestation shit that every government and authority in the world should have every church door chained and locked down.
The first and last time I ever went to confession was with a priest who gave me the serious creeps and did in fact, turn out to be molesting altar boys. As a girl, I was safe from his interests. How can the non molesty priests tolerate any association with the ones that are?
You're absolutely right. And in Ireland it was especially bad as the church was often paid by the state to look after kids. So, you know, taxpayer-subsidized child-rape…
And you can't buy booze on Good Friday.
"I've got your back, Pontiff."
Efficiency, that's what you get with a Nazi pope.
Ha!