Abandoned_Altars

Sometimes the best gifts are those you never ask for, but are given anyway.

For instance, I would never, ever have thought of writing to Saint Nick,

“Dear Santa,

“This year, could you somehow have the pope tackled during a procession? I don’t want anybody really hurt, but it would sure brighten up my Christmas.”

But guess what? It happened anyway! Well, although an elderly cardinal broke his leg, the pope himself wasn’t hurt in the commotion, and that’s just fine with me. (Seriously, the last thing I’d want is Ratzi to become a martyr — and the incident wouldn’t have been at all funny, either.)

But having him taken down with a flying tackle by a woman in red? Priceless.

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Behind the mask

I had a rather peculiar feeling when reading how shocked and dismayed Pope Benedict XVI said he was over the report on Irish abuse.  I was reminded in fact of a scene from the classic film Casablanca (1942). You know the one — the refugees in the bar beat the Germans in the “Battle of the Anthems” and so the head Nazi, the evil Maj. Strasser, orders the corrupt French cop Capt. Renault to shut the place down.

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Capt. Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Capt. Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
[aloud]
Capt. Renault: Everybody out at once!

Yes, caught between admitting that abuse was due in large part to the Vatican’s culture of secrecy and cover-up which he himself has restored and having to do something about it, the Supreme Pontiff’s response of “outrage, betrayal, and shame” is predictable. Since, however, as the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , Ratzinger is more likely outraged by the revelations of abuse rather than its actual happening.

For if anybody knew what was going on it was him. And if the Grand Inquisitor didn’t know, that in itself is a major scandal!

But rather than confess any faults of God’s Holy Church, he places the blame squarely on the perpetrators and the bishops who enabled them. Like Capt. Renault, the Holy See profits from the cover-up and also by the abuse.

Let’s face it: Abuse, or even homosexual acting out with their peers keeps some of the remaining clergy — mainly men who cannot survive in the “real world”, content.  The cover-up is necessary to keep a lid on things and the papal hands as white and unblemished as his robes. And the corruption in the sacred premises is every bit as seedy and degenerate as that in a refugee hellhole.

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Incorruptible

Being pretty much a hermit, it takes a lot to pry me out of my cave. Last night, I was dragged by my sister to see her husband in the opening night of a play, called “Incorruptible“, written by Michael Hollinger, put on by a local company. I went largely out of politeness, but they thought it was right up my alley, and yowie wowie, they could not have been more right.

Incorruptible is a comedy about a monastery in 13th Century France that’s about to go under. The bones of their patroness saint have stopped working miracles and so the pilgrims have stopped coming; desperate measures are called for. Very funny as well as surprisingly historically accurate about the trafficking of fraudulent holy relics.

I had a great time. I’d forgotten how much fun local live theatre can be; actually enjoyable to be with other humans for once! All the actors are excellent, and the dialog is fast-paced and witty. Scariest nun I’ve ever seen too, and that’s saying something! (And yet it was written by a Quaker.) For me, though, not a bad start to the holiday season. In any case, it sure beat the hell out of yet another production of The Nutcracker.

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