Wayne Besen - Author, Activist, Columnist, Public Speaker

Sunday, September 10, 2006

In Germany, Pope Benedict XVI engaged in his now tired and familiar routine of rebuking his fellow countrymen by saying they often shut their ears to his intolerant message. He also lambasted modern civilization for embracing science and technology in the fight against AIDS and other social issues.

What the Pope does not understand is that he and his predecessor are not part of the solution - they are often the problem. Since they have taken a hard right turn, it has offended much of Europe and the United States. There is also the feeling that the Pope is hustling to increase church membership by continued opposition to birth control, which leads to poverty and misery, particularly in developing countries.

"Put simply, we are no longer able to hear God, there are too many different frequencies filling our ears," Benedict whined to the crowd, which stood quietly shoulder-to-shoulder on a field on the outskirts of Munich, where he served as archbishop from 1977 to 1982.

No, actually people are hearing God more than ever (too much sometimes, such as President Bush). However, as the Vatican looks more like the 700 Club, the Pope is increasingly on the wrong frequency to reach modern humanity, which hungers for more inspiration and less fear-mongering.

17 Comments:

Anyone interested in a progressive, evolving form of Christianity that is compatible with modernity and embrasses gay people; I recommend any books written by Marcus Borg. The pope's moribund form of Christianity from yestercentury is the reason most of the cathedrals and churches in western Europe are turning into little more than museums.
posted by Anonymous, at 9/10/2006 2:30 PM

Ratzi looks like a perverted old Santa Claus in that picture.
posted by Anonymous, at 9/11/2006 9:04 AM

A face that would give anyone nightmares--SCARY!!
posted by Anonymous, at 9/11/2006 12:18 PM

I agree. Ratzinger's eyes seem to radiate evil! His appointment to office was by no means divinely inspired. It was political and ideological. I suppose I'm not one to criticize; I'm terribly biased against Catholicism! I find the whole Catholic hierarchical setup akin to idolatry.
posted by DC HAMPTON JACOBS, at 9/11/2006 12:40 PM

He's blessing little Cindy Lou Who for not eating the roast beast.
posted by Anonymous, at 9/11/2006 1:17 PM

I personally do not know the pope and have only seen the worst pictures of him on this blog. I don't think the whole pictutre is represented here or anywhere for that matter. No comment. (It looks to me like he has high blood pressure or some other health condition that causes his eyes to look unhealthy)
posted by Anonymous, at 9/11/2006 3:22 PM

"He's blessing little Cindy Lou Who for not eating the roast beast."

I guess I wasn't the only one who thought he looks like the Grinch in this picture.
posted by Anonymous, at 9/11/2006 3:41 PM

"It looks to me like he has...[a] health condition that causes his eyes to look unhealthy"

--"But I think that the likeliest reason of all, is that his heart is three sizes too small"--from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

Papa Ratzi's becomming Pope reminds me of when the cold-eyed KGB chief Yuri Andropov took over as Soviet leader after the slack-jawed, doddering Leonid Brezhnev finally died in 1982. Andropov's old job was to stamp out dissent too.
posted by Anonymous, at 9/12/2006 3:52 PM

From the AP dispatch linked to in the original post:

'"Hearts must be converted if progress is to be made on social issues and reconciliation is to begin, and if — for example, AIDS is to be combatted by realistically facing its deeper causes," Benedict said."'

You silly old fool! It's "deeper cause" is a nasty virus. (By the way, how do you square the existance of an all-loving, all-powerful god with the existance of such a hideous virus? Answer in twenty words or less, please. And none of the usual theological balderdash that essntially boils down to 'Trust God; everything's for the best.' Best for who?

While they don't say it out loud quite so much anymore; plenty of Christians (including the late John Cardinal Troll, uh, Krol--then Archbishop of Philadelphia--practically hailed the appearance of AIDS with shrill cries of delight.

You might mention this to the next Catholic who tells you (with much self-satisfied purring) how much the Church does for people with AIDS.
posted by Anonymous, at 9/12/2006 4:20 PM

Yeah - but why if we know how to avoid AIDS, people are still getting it??? Most are IV users, gays, prostitues ( at least in this country) It's because there is a deeper issue at play. Why would someone put themselves in harms ways - and yet they do???
posted by Anonymous, at 9/12/2006 4:58 PM

I dunno. Why do people smoke cigarettes, eat too much, and do extreme sports? Why do middle-class people vote Republican?

Except for middle- or upper-class "thrill-seekers", most IV drug abusers live in poverty and misery. Perhaps, just perhaps, something might be done about that. But seeing how everyone's already forgotten New Orleans and how deep in the hole the country is, I'm not expecting anything. Meanwhile, needle-exchange programs have been proven to work whenever they've been studied. Perhaps conservatives should stop fighting them tooth and nail.

Young gay men (who form the bulk of new AIDS infections) need to reached with prevention messages BEFORE they start having sex. Whoops! Sorry, can't do that. Mustn't do or say anything that might "encourage" homosexuality or premarital sex (as though anyone needs to). Seeing how syphilis ran riot through 16th century Europe ("the Age of Faith"), not to mention the U.S. (scholarly estimates place the number of infected at around ten percent of the population during the 19th century), perhaps Christians could refrain from tongue-clucks about those "irreponsible, decadant" gays.

As for prostitution, you should read the estimates of the number of prostitutes praticing in Rome when the Popes still ruled most of Italy. The world's oldest profession has been and continues to be practiced in every city in every country on Earth, syphilis or no, AIDS or no. Possibly some kind of 'decriminalization', combined with monthly testing could help here. But it will never happen in the U.S. of A. Moralism--America's biggest product--appears to be the biggest factor in helping HIV to spread. (Compare Thailand, where incidence of seroconversion has dropped to nil from high levels in the mid-80's.) Trying to explain this to the Pope is like trying to teach science to an orangutan.
posted by Anonymous, at 9/12/2006 6:43 PM

I'm not saying that it is any different where the opoe is - I'm just yeah - why do people smoke cigarettes, eat hamburgers, do dangerous things to their bodies - it is because there is a much deeper issue. Why else would you have unprotected sex with anyone in a high risk group???
posted by Anonymous, at 9/12/2006 7:38 PM

I really think, and this is just my opinion, that with the onset of new AIDS treatments many young people feel that AIDs is no longer a death sentence and that they can be more careless againg. it's a false sense of security and they need to be better educated. the rest just don't feel that their life is worth it. just my opinion.
posted by jekelhyde, at 9/12/2006 8:14 PM

personally, I smoke cigarettes and eat hamburgers because I enjoy it, but I've never been addicted to anything. I smoke perhaps a pack a week. Anything in moderation is fine. But unprotected sex is a no no. You are right, it is a preventable disease, it should be prevented.
posted by jekelhyde, at 9/12/2006 8:17 PM

oh yeah - I have my vices as well - hamburgers being one of them. But why do people do unsafe things?? And yes, I do believe (not fact here) but think younger people beleive AIDS does not really exist or it is totally manageable - eek. Oh - shame on you for your smoking!! Didn't your mother tell you not to smoke?
posted by Anonymous, at 9/12/2006 9:11 PM

No, actually, she told me I could do anything in moderation.
posted by jekelhyde, at 9/14/2006 8:14 PM