| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Thomas Keske" |
| Date: |
03 Apr 2005 06:28:59 PM |
| Object: |
Legacy of John Paul II |
What did Pope John Paul actually do, to make him
a "visionary" and "hero"? He boarded airplanes.
He waved to crowds. He spouted sanctimonious
trivialities.
If he was inflexible, he is praised as "resolute"
and "unwavering". If he indulged in ancient
prejudices, he is praised as "traditional". There
is a positive spin to every flaw.
The urge to pay respect to a world leader is probably
being exploited for the sake of advancing a political
agenda. Making a ridiculously overblown, larger-than-life
mythical figure out of a mediocre personage is just another
game with which the corporate media will play along.
Pope John Paul II went out of his way to rally support
of Muslim nations, to block the UN from making a statement
that would have condemned human rights abuses against
gays.
Not promoted gay marriage, or even supported civil
rights, but simply condemned human rights abuses,
like arbitrary arrrest and torture.
No matter. The press did not even mention that this
happened. Instead, they fawn over the Pope as
a champion of "social justice and human rights".
The Pope had plenty to say to Netherlands, for
being too gay-friendly. What did he ever say to
the Muslim nations, who put gays to death? What
did he ever say to Zimbabwe, where gays were treated
as "less than pigs and dogs"?
No matter. In this upside-down world, the Pope
is hailed as a protector of the vulnerable.
If John Paul II was such a great leader, where was
this during the decades of rampant child abuse?
For something this massive to have escaped his
attention would hardly be an example of great
leadership.
If he was aware of it, and was party to covering
it up for decades, that we even worse.
When the Pope lent credibility to something as
absurd as "exorcism", this simply received no
significant press, and attracted little criticism.
Of course the Pope had a good reputation- every
ugly or absurd detail would be conveniently
overlooked.
The Pope always spoke for peace, but did he, really?
When voting time came, Catholics were always instructed
to vote for the party that was pro-war. In the Pope's
book, warfare and killing took a back seat to his
bigotry against a sexual minority. If he had ever
really meant what he said about peace, and backed
it up, he would have lost the backing of the American
press propaganda machine, which would have stopped
lionizing him.
Respect for the dead is not an excuse for the obscene
turning of reality on its head. Everyone alive will
be old and frail, and will die, someday. That doesn't
make anyone a saint, above criticism.
Pope John Paul I would have been a Pope truly
worthy of respect. Odds are significant that he was
murdered, because he was too liberal.
"Murder in the Vatican", by Lucien Gregoire, is
a clumsy book, yet written with the sincere passion
of a good-hearted man, and painting a portrait of a
bottom-line truth that is difficult to miss. The Vatican
was a corrupt, crime-ridden, murderous environment.
Pope John Paul II was a reflection of that environment.
Old men always seem gentle and harmless, just
as any baby, even Hitler, would have seemed
harmless and cute at some age. In the book, however,
is a picture of the younger Karol Wojtyla that shows
something of his real character- eyes looking like the cold eyes
of a rattlesnake.
If you want the truth, take a deep look in the
eyes, the window to the soul.
In a way, he was the perfect Pope for these times- a phony
politician, soft-peddaling hatred as an obsession,
presiding over an unfathomably corrupt, murderous,
institution. The Vatican was a perfect counterpart
to the corrupt U.S. government. The kind of Pope that
one would expect to be adored by a human race that is not
uncoincidentally looming on the brink of its own
self-destruction.
Tom Keske
.
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| User: "The Arch Atheist" |
|
| Title: Re: Legacy of John Paul II |
05 Apr 2005 12:16:22 PM |
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On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 14:28:59 -0400, "Thomas Keske" <TKeske@Comcast.net>
wrote:
What did Pope John Paul actually do, to make him
a "visionary" and "hero"? He boarded airplanes.
He waved to crowds. He spouted sanctimonious
trivialities.
Just wanted to say, well written and summarized. I've repeated this
message elsewhere to people who think he was a saint, and hopefully,
to make them think twice.
.
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