Why would he go there? Well, to recruit unhappy Anglicans it seems.
The pope also has a delicate path to tread during his four-day-trip to England and Scotland in relations with the Church of England after his offer last October making it easier for disaffected Anglicans, unhappy over women ordination and gay bishops, to convert.The leader of the world's best known group of pedophiles has other problems: Cardinals who think Brits are barbarians.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, who retired last summer as the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, caused a stir this week when he told the German magazine Focus that landing at Heathrow Airport was like landing “in a third world country.” He also criticized the “aggressive atheism” of Britain.Funny how any time a mission from Rome, as far back as the Emperor Claudius, arrives and finds the British just seem to have their own religious thing. Some don't have any at all.
Maybe the Brits are barbarians. Gawds know, I spent enough time trying to eat the compost they call composite rations. In any case, at least some of them behaved in an "appalling" manner in the lead up to Benny's visit and to be honest, I can only applaud. Back in April a Foreign Office memo appeared with many brilliant suggestions.
The paper was attached as one of three "background documents" to a memo dated 5 March 2010 inviting officials in Whitehall and Downing Street to attend a meeting to discuss themes for the papal visit.Themes! Acers stuff.
It suggested Benedict XVI could show his hard line on the sensitive issue of child abuse allegations against Roman Catholic priests by "sacking dodgy bishops" and launching a helpline for abused children.All good ideas. Although I have to admit that I was not aware that the Vatican had not yet apologized for the Spanish Armada. Given that the Pope is supposedly just a continuing line of one person then it would be proper to arrest him and toss him into The Tower... wouldn't it?The document went on to propose the Pope could apologise for the Spanish Armada or sing a song with the Queen for charity.
It listed "positive" public figures who could be made part of the Pope's visit, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair and 2009 Britain's Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle, and those considered "negative", such as Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and prominent atheist Richard Dawkins.
Back then even the bishops were speaking.
Bishop McMahon said he hoped it was meant to be "light hearted".But they gain no more momentum than memos from Vatican cardinals (who go on to become Pope) attempting to cover up the criminal behaviour of Catholic priests.But he added: "That in itself can be dangerous if these memos move around the departments, they tend to gain momentum."
I prefer your memos. Much more fun !
ReplyDeleteTo say that the Church of England is 'low hanging fruit' for recruitment sure doesn't take into account what Rome does or doesn't have to offer : starting with an employee benefits package ! Nor should the British, liberated from the package of 'Divinity' and Papal Infallibility with attendant political intrigue and brainwashing of youth, be quite as naive as the Vatican might suppose...even though the Brits have a green CEO.
I was just checking the leaderboard at Care2 and saw this wonderful bit of political comeuppance. It seems traditional roles really are played out on the world stage. Too funny.
ReplyDeleteQueen tells Pope in Scotland all are accountable for their sins,including Popes and Queens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lah2qFsv4QU
You may be a little hard on Cardinal Kaspar. He is known to Anglicans as "Kaspar the Friendly Cardinal," because over the last couple of decades he was one of the few people in the Vatican who seemed willing to engage with non-Roman Catholics on a basis of mutual respect.
ReplyDelete"Aggressive atheism?" How else do you fairly describe Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens? Sometimes I think they must be unaware of how disrespectful they are to believers of any stripe; at other times it seems to me that the disrespect is the point.
As for Heathrow: I've landed there and it seems to me to be somewhat worse than most of the third-world airports I've been through. Terminal 5 in particular (unless you are travelling first class and using the special services reserved for such people) seems to me to combine the less attractive features of a stockyard and a prison camp. The overall impression is that "common" people are annoying the staff by polluting the place with their sordid presence. Kaspar has it just about registered, as the gunners would say.
mmmmmmmmm..... Compo rations.
ReplyDeleteBacon grill fried in it's own jelly for breakfast.
Steak and kidney pudding followed by fruit salad, chased down with some jungle juice.
Guaranteed not to require a crap for a week.
Cannae beat it
The canned chicken was the piece de resistance.
ReplyDeleteI always went into the field with curry powder. Jeez you could eat anything if it was cooked in Madras.
ReplyDeleteOf course it carried on the air for about half a mile downwind, But hey.
Sniff! We weren't ever allowed to carry that good stuff. Hell! We weren't allowed to cook anything most of the time. Boiling water for a cuppa was a near mortal sin.
ReplyDeleteNow I feel really deprived. Think I'll see if I can find a nice beetle to eat.
Opit, great video. Saw something similar in the G&M last night too.
ReplyDelete