The Pope's Postmodern Death

[e_dog]

His breathing is shallow
but his mind is lucid
and his soul is deep.

The Holy See
whose life support
is T.V.

Behold! the failing organs
of the papacy!
arrayed in news headlines
like the jars of a pharaoh.

Behold! the chilling monster
of death embodied in the mix
of biomedical discourse
and charismatic authority.

He has given a thousand bishops
courage to face the end
and a million weeping women
a reason to weep.

Think of the flocks
that owe their existence
to the opposition to contraception!
As first taught in India,
a holy man must love
all living creatures,
including the organisms
of sexually transmitted diseases.

Think of Jesus on the way
to crucifixion.
The exposure of suffering flesh
needed a holy spirit
in lieu of a telecommunications
network.
There is an age of resurrection;
an age of reproduction;
and an age of repetition.

(To paraphrase McLuhan,)
The media is the messiah.

Set your TiVo now
to record next week's episode
of Extreme Makeover
Catholic Church edition.

[mnaz]

Yes.... the late John Paul....

I kinda liked him. I liked the way he blasted both the human rights abuses of Communism and the excesses of runaway capitalism and "supermarket culture"...... they both diminish the human spirit, as he saw it. I also liked how he reached out to Islam and other faiths and recognized their common ground, instead of emphasizing doctrinal differences.

However, there were (and continue to be) the usual sticking points.... contraception, homosexuality, abortion..... I don't know if "The Church" will ever get past these things....

[ZyzxzxzyZ]

John Paul II does seem to have been a very decent, ethical, and erudite man. He spoke numerous languages, and was, as the obituary writers say, "an avid sportsman." He combatted the nazis and later the stalinists: and having read some wartime journals of poles, it is quite apparent that the catholic poles did not have an easy existence from about 1938 to 1945. Many died at both nazi and stalinist hands; the atrocity of Katyn, where thousands of polish officers were slaughtered at the hands of Stalin's NKVD , may be one of the most brutal acts of the 20th century.

Yet Catholicism was and is not the answer. In fact it's quite absurd--absurd in both ordinary and philosophical sense-- that someone would, after surviving the terror of nazis and stalinists, decide to join a church that proclaims that a "God" exists who would allow such horrendous brutality. Not only is the concept of God itself quite indefensible ( and more so after WWII), the catholic tradition is rife with irrational, unscientific and anti-humanist doctrines. The mass itself is ludicrous, as are the attitudes toward birth control: for the real implications of Catholic family planning spend a few days in one of the massive slums of any Central or South American city. And yet the Catholics keep marching on. Recently a monumental cathedral was finished in LA, courtesy of Roger O Mahoney, the Cardinal who has refused to turn over names in the priest sex scandals. And the cathedral, however beautiful (featuring works of art from leading LA artistes, such as Grahams' massive, plebian Maria) is another Temple to Irrationality which does little to nothing to help solve real social and economic problems.

[Doreen Peri]

Thank you.

[e_dog]

an interesting response, but am i remembering falsely when i recall that you (in the guise of an avatar other than XZZetc.) defended the the existence of god?

[ZyzxzxzyZ]

I don't recall that. I have read some decent arguments from "intelligent design," but I don't think a design argument, even if were plausible, leads to any particular religion. Scripture or religious texts are not infallible. Moreover I do not think, e-canis, there are good grounds for a soul or immateriality--do you?

And any Designer obviously would be such a Being who enjoys or at least creates willingly tsunamis (not to say war, plague, famine, etc.) . The Christian and catholic "ethical" tradition might do some good (some churches objected to slavery, and are fighting against poverty) , but on the whole it does more harm then good. Fundamentalism of all types--islamic or Christian--is on the whole dangerous. The Catholic insistence on miracles is harmful, and again I think the Mass itself is some strange ritual of aristocratic obedience that should be outlawed.

[hester_prynne]

This whole thing, about the Pope terrifies me.

He was indeed an interesting, strong man. But, he's just a man, a person, like you and me.
All this pomp and ritual and adulation is hard for me to take.
Especially when the Catholic church is so rife with crimes against children and so anti-abortion.

I can think of better, more constructive things to believe in, that's for sure. It's like a step back in time, to the dark ages, and I'm sure that George Bush and his bosses are very happy with this latest sheep brigade, fundamentalist or not!


H

[e_dog]

well, the Cardinals have spoken -- or chirped, or what have you -- it involved some sort of pyrotechnics i gather from the news reports of black and white smoke -- speaking of the colors of authority: the Catholic Church proved itself to be well beyond the times and in keeping with tradition by electing to retain the Eurocentric head of its religion. not the wisest move perhaps
(in terms of that blend of real politik and political correctness which defines much of public discourse in our age) considering the trends of globalization and the real and perceived worldwide war for human religious faith.