Tuesday, April 19

Oy. Is it too late to move to...

The Catholic church has a new Captain Infallible. German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI today. I can't quite remember where I heard that name... Wasn't he an apologist for child molesting priests? Wasn't he the yahoo that said "homosexuality is an intrinsic evil that will destroy our world society?" Wasn't he the Cardinal that sent a letter to US bishops clarifying "principles of worthiness" for people about to receive communion? Wasn't he the guy that specified that pro-choice Catholics should be denied the sacrament?

AP - He specifically mentioned "the case of a Catholic politician consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws," a reference widely understood to mean Democratic candidate Kerry, a Catholic who has defended abortion rights.

As a non-practicing, liberal Catholic, I get testy when abortion is the sole issue upon which people make their political decisions. It's so fucking ridiculous. Though I used to be a regular church attendee, I can't think of one, single time when any of my priests injected politics into the mass. This was an extraordinary opportunity for the Church to turn around and head in a more positive direction, yet they opted for the hard-line mirror of John Paul II. He was instrumental in the recent, mobilized Catholic movement to put an end to capital punishment, but seriously.... I get this feeling he wont be anything like Pope JP2, who constantly questioned both the left and the right, challenging world leaders from a consistent moral point of view. Let's hope B16 doesn't spent the rest of his days condemning women's issues and homos. I smite thee!

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