So the Pope is resigning
That is a thing that happened. I mostly agree with John Patrick Shanley here (and not just because I like his plays): The Church’s concentration of power among an elite group of white men and its wholesale hostility toward women makes its modern success impossible. That said, I actually think it’s great that the Pope is stepping down, and not just because I think he’s a kind of a bad dude. We need more people in positions of power to know when it’s time to throw in the towel. No doubt the Pope’s stepping down is related to the release of 12,000 pages of internal documents related to child sex abuse in the church, and his role in the cover-up. But stepping down when it’s time to go? I wish more leaders would do that.
...read moreDoes This Mean He Has to Excommunicate Himself?
This is what pro-life looks like. (via). Launching his first papal pilgrimage to the Americas, Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday issued a strong condemnation of abortion and immediately touched off a firestorm by suggesting Catholic politicians who legalize it have excommunicated themselves from the church. The flap began hours before his plane even touched down [...]
...read moreThe Holocaust Was Not Christian
Thank you. When I read Pope Benedict XVI’s words about the Holocaust, I was stunned at his attempt to turn the Holocaust into a Christian tragedy. Not that it wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before from a handful of deeply narcissistic Christians with persecution complexes, but to hear the leader of the Catholic church say [...]
...read moreHide the Beer and the Tampons! The Pope’s Comin’!
From Pam and Twisty, one of the more bizarre examples of the Potemkin Village syndrome I’ve seen: The last Pope, John Paul II, used to have tubs of his favourite flavour, marron glace, delivered to his summer residence. But if his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, wants to see how Polish ice cream compares during a [...]
...read moreYou’d Think This Would Be a No-Brainer
Zuzu wrote about this a few days ago, but I’ll add this article from the NYTimes about the Catholic church and the debate over condoms to further demonstrate the tenuous connection between a professed love for life and an actual demonstration of that belief. The issue is AIDS. Church officials recently confirmed that Pope Benedict [...]
...read moreBenedict XVI
Apologies to Lauren for jumping in, but this is very important. The conclave has chosen Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to be the next pope. He is going to call himself Pope Benedict XVI. I have nothing to say. A woman who was watching with me has gone out of her mind, and I’m about to. _________________________ [...]
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