What are we going to do with this pope? We all know he is conservative to the marrow of his Germanic bones. We all know that he speaks 98 languages and has more degrees than Carter has liver pills--now that there phrase really dates me!--and is tops on the hit parade of every reactionary Catholic in the universe. But, why oh why must he feel impelled to just say the stupidest things where people can hear him? Stupid things that can be attributed to him instantly in 98 languages across the world? He seems to feel compelled. The latest is his pronouncement on the plane winging its way to Africa, the world capital continent of the AIDS pandemic, that the distribution of condoms was not going to resolve the AIDS problem, AND, if that were not enough, distributing condoms is going to make the situation worse. I forbear trying to speculate on what universe exists where this makes any sense.
I mean what are we going to do with this guy? At a time when Jesus needs all the help he can get, we have his so-called Vicar on Earth sounding like he's been tippling way too much German schnapps. And he's not doing Jesus a bit of good in the process.
Jon Stewart puts it all in the right light. He reports what the pontiff had to say about condoms, and added that the pope also announced that "Smoking cures cancer" and "For a quick morning pick-me-up, try heroin." Actually he could have been rougher on him, but he just concluded: "Now if there's anybody who knows about sex . . . " Har! Har! Really. Christianity doesn't need this.
There was a time when I'd really cringe to see the Pope or the Catholic church held up to ridicule. But that seems like a long time ago now. The fact is if the the Church and its most visible representatives didn't make themselves so publicly and abundantly ridiculous, they wouldn't be ridiculed.
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