The Pope in Wonderland

[DFW]

Ratzinger is SUPPOSED to be a learned, educated man, and one
who left the Hitler Youth after having seen the light.

So WHY, pray tell, does he go to Latin America, a continent
whose history of brutal subjugation by the invaders from
Spain and Portugal is so well documented, and make statements
like this:

"In effect, the proclamation of Jesus and of his Gospel did not
at any point involve an alienation of the pre-Columbus cultures,
nor was it the imposition of a foreign culture."

Right, the European invasion was the result of a formal invitation
of a group of indigenous American populations, dissatisfied with
their existing culture, asking to be colonized, enslaved, their
languages and religions either suppressed or outright eradicated,
and it at no time involved any alienation whatsoever, as evidenced
by the open-armed welcome of the local populations to Cortez, Pizarro
and Valdivia.

If the guy wants to travel around spreading his message, well, that's
in part what he does, and I certainly have no beef with his preaching to
the choir. But to deny history is to arouse the ire of those that remember
it, as well as insulting the memory of those who were slaughtered because
they dissented against that "non-imposition" of a foreign culture.

The Pope may have gotten an enthusiastic reaction from Catholics he
encountered en route, but with language like that, he is unlikely to
win any converts, or bring back to the fold those that had lost interest.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Because his whole life is

a big fucking lie, that's why.

[Selatius]

2. The problem with the Church and the hierarchy is it's becoming ever more irrelevant

As each decade dawns, more and more people simply don't see a need for such a decadent structure as that of the Catholic Church. They turn inward for spiritual guidance or comfort, or they turn elsewhere. For others, they were forced to look elsewhere, after citing the hypocrisy of the Church on issues such as child molestation or the current fiasco the Pope is currently in.

These are certainly good develops for reason's sake. The individual must realize that no other person except himself is the best arbiter in deciding the spiritual path. No person is subordinate to any other person, not even the Pope.

[Vexatious Ape]

4. You're right, but please someone tell the freaking msm.

He makes front page news every time he opens his foul mouth.

[demoleft]

8. not for my government...

...unfortunately!

They weigh on us in Italy at every political step. And threaten crisis for the government.

[newyawker99]

11. Hi demoleft!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[demoleft]

12. thank you so much, newyawker99!

:toast:

It's really really a pleasure to be here with you!

[NanceGreggs]

3. K & R!!! n/t

[malaise]

5. One more

sick fuck.

[leftofthedial]

6. as leader of the world's biggest cult,

he is by definition either one of the most delusional people on the planet, one of the most profoundly cynical, or both

[demoleft]

7. you're right!

When you open an italian newspaper with Pope's or Bishops declarations these days you must haste to see the date and check you're in modern age, not in middle age.
The latest imagery from yesterday papers, here http://journals.democraticunderground.com/demoleft/1

It it wasn't politically effective in our democracies, it would be simply so funny...

[Canuckistanian]

9. Too much time spent in Vatican libraries

When you belong to a cult, your reading options are limited, ideologically speaking.

[DFW]

10. It might be a bit un-PC to call the Catholic Church a cult,

But at the end of the day, I don't see why size or age should
disqualify them. They certainly have more elaborate rituals than
the captors of Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom, and they certainly
value their secret little inner sanctum groups, such as Opus Dei. As
one who lived in Spain, I heard what they were up to during the Spanish
Civil War.

The Pope doesn't HAVE to mire his mentality in the thirteenth century.
Pope John XXIII comes to mind as one who really understood what it meant to
be a man of the people rather than a man of the Papal.

(I stole that line from the next Freedom Toast album liner notes, I confess)

I just can't fathom what kind of mindset permits him to think that the
violent imposition of European language and relgion was welcomed by
the American peoples that got subjugated and killed by the invaders from
Europe.

As the Italians say: dio lo sa. As I say: il Papa non sa niente.

By the way, Nance, thanks for the vote of confidence! It beats getting
burned at the stake (although--the day ain't over yet--3:45 PM here in
Paris, on my way to Washington again for a few days).

[Sapere aude]

13. There are two California missions about 50 miles apart. One is Santa Ynez and the other is

La Purisima Concepcion (The Immaculate Concepción of Mary the Most Pure). Both have plaques telling of their histories. Santa Ynez tells us that the missionaries brought Christianity to the Indians and improved their lives. Santa Ynez is still a Catholic Church.

La Purisima is now a state park and was restored during the depression. It's plaques tell us that when the mission was established there were 30,000 Chumash Indians and in about 10 years their number was down to 3,000. The Indians were enslaved to produce the goods that Spain stopped shipping to the missions.

[MisterP]

14. I remember the shocked reaction of the crowd in the Square in 2005

a lot of them started leaving...