The slogan, currently popular in British politics ‘They just don’t get it, do they?’, seems at the moment particularly apposite to the Roman Catholic Church.
Consider this. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, pronouncing on the recent crisis, has said that paedophilia is not the result of clerical celibacy but of homosexuality. He may be right that it is nothing to do with celibacy but the rest of the statement is of such unparalleled stupidity it takes the breath away. Never mind the lack of any scientific backing for the statement, it seems to imply that a male priest interfering with a female child would be normal.
I find it hard to believe that someone at such an exalted level could believe this, but even harder to see why, even if he believed it, he thought it sensible to mouth off on the subject. What can this do except heap further opprobrium on an organisation many of whose supporters believe needs reforming, as well as keeping this surely unwelcome subject on the front page of the newspapers?
I say ‘unparalleled stupidity’ but Bertone’s diatribe is unquestionably matched by that of Giacomo Babini, the retired Bishop of Grosseto, who believes the entire scandal is part of a Zionist conspiracy against the Church. Good grief.
I think the best we can hope for is that both men were drunk.
I have argued for some time that the Holy See urgently needs a competent spin doctor, to design and teach the agreed line to take, and to stop these idiots opening their mouths in public. Peter Mandelson, the best, looks as if he will have a bit of time on his hands after 6th May, although I don’t know how the Vatican would react to employing someone whose nickname is ‘The Prince of Darkness’ and who is a Jewish homosexual. A good idea, perhaps, and it certainly wouldn't worry Mandelson, but surely there is a Vatican employee versed in these (dark) arts?
Consider this. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, pronouncing on the recent crisis, has said that paedophilia is not the result of clerical celibacy but of homosexuality. He may be right that it is nothing to do with celibacy but the rest of the statement is of such unparalleled stupidity it takes the breath away. Never mind the lack of any scientific backing for the statement, it seems to imply that a male priest interfering with a female child would be normal.
I find it hard to believe that someone at such an exalted level could believe this, but even harder to see why, even if he believed it, he thought it sensible to mouth off on the subject. What can this do except heap further opprobrium on an organisation many of whose supporters believe needs reforming, as well as keeping this surely unwelcome subject on the front page of the newspapers?
I say ‘unparalleled stupidity’ but Bertone’s diatribe is unquestionably matched by that of Giacomo Babini, the retired Bishop of Grosseto, who believes the entire scandal is part of a Zionist conspiracy against the Church. Good grief.
I think the best we can hope for is that both men were drunk.
I have argued for some time that the Holy See urgently needs a competent spin doctor, to design and teach the agreed line to take, and to stop these idiots opening their mouths in public. Peter Mandelson, the best, looks as if he will have a bit of time on his hands after 6th May, although I don’t know how the Vatican would react to employing someone whose nickname is ‘The Prince of Darkness’ and who is a Jewish homosexual. A good idea, perhaps, and it certainly wouldn't worry Mandelson, but surely there is a Vatican employee versed in these (dark) arts?
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