Pomp and Pope

I've been to a Catholic church exactly once. It was embarrassing. Stand, kneel, confusedly try to follow everybody's lead, fuck up royally by trying to follow them up for Communion (a grubby non-Catholic such as myself doesn't get to participate in cannibalism). It seemed like a lot of work. And people I knew as total bastards five days a week at school suddenly transformed into altar boys? Puh-leeze. But at least that last bit was fun. It's always cute when your classmates are mortally embarrassed in white dresses.

So that's it. The sum of my direct experience with Catholicism. I've known Catholics, of course. Read up on Church history. Seen the art. Heard about the scandals. I remember seeing Pope John Paul II on television, and liked him. He seemed decent enough, not batshit insane per se, remarkably down-to-earth for a dude in a funny hat and a robe. And at least he didn't wear bright red shoes. He wore brown ones.

Needless to say, I've not been keeping close tabs on the current Pope's visit. But it's been nibbling at the edges of my consciousness. Hard to avoid, especially when PZ Myers bends him over a knee for a sound spanking.

And I'm catching up on the week's Daily Show and Colbert Report, and there's quite a bit of bright white robe shining out from my television. So I started doing some digging.

Here's the first thing I came across:

"Official merchandiser of the 2008 U.S. Papal Visit."

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

And this man is going to come lecture us on materialism? This is rich.

The man who's said this:

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday criticized “materialistic” ways of celebrating Christmas, pressing the Vatican’s campaign against unbridled consumerism.

and this:

“People continue to die of hunger and thirst, disease and poverty, in this age of plenty and of unbridled consumerism.”

has an official merchandizer. And has a personal cobbler. And a fucking papal helicopter that he flies between the Vatican and his summer residence. Summer residence? Oh, yes, he's got a summer house, too, did I forget to mention that?

But this is the man who wants us to believe. He wants us to believe that "reason without faith leads to materialism and selfishness." Somehow, it's okay for him to preach to us about the evils of our culture and our belief - and most particularly the non-believers among us. He speaks of living a life in Christ. What was it he said to our Catholic leaders? Oh, yes:

"Indeed a clearer focus upon the imitation of Christ in holiness of life is exactly what is needed in order for us to move forward. We need to rediscover the joy of living a Christ-centred life, cultivating the virtues, and immersing ourselves in prayer. When the faithful know that their pastor is a man who prays and who dedicates his life to serving them, they respond with warmth and affection which nourishes and sustains the life of the whole community.”

And I'm sure that Christ would agree that expensive red shoes, clothes with plenty of gold embellishments, a helicopter, and a summer house are all vital accessories to a life in Him. What better way to preach peace, love and charity, to convincingly argue for a life in faith instead of materialism and consumerism, than to do it while imitating Christ's love for the trappings of power and glory?

Let's see what Jesus has to say:

Heh heh heh whoops.

“Democracy can only flourish, as your founding fathers realized, when political leaders and those whom they represent are guided by truth,” you said. Well, you'll forgive me if I take your meaning of "truth" with a huge block of salt, and turn to truth guided by evidence instead. I prefer my truth without hypocrisy, as did the man you claim to serve.