Everything is aboveboard. Have no fear.

As cardinals move to elect a new pope, the Vatican has seemed intent on getting people to forget the last one.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi said that Benedict won't be getting any inside information about the conclave — and that he would probably follow the proceedings on TV and by reading newspapers. That's a shift from the line taken just two days earlier, when Lombardi said Benedict is receiving regular briefings on cardinals' meetings from [his wildly attractive secretary] Gaenswein. (Snip.)

Shortly before announcing his retirement, Benedict gave Gaenswein the additional title of prefect of the papal household, meaning he would work with the new pope during the day and stay with Benedict in the evening. 

That has raised speculation about possible secret messages being shuttled between the two popes. Heightening the intrigue over Benedict's possible influence: Gaenswein will be inside the Sistine Chapel for part of the conclave in his new role as prefect. 

Move along. Nothing to see here except sweet, precious holiness. Why, it's as if the Holy Ghost is in charge of the conclave.

Interesting opinion piece on the pope

I missed this yesterday. It's an opinion piece by a theologian named Hans Kung -- a man who knows Ratzinger well. Here are a few excerpts. 

To this day the Curia, which in its current form is likewise a product of the 11th century, is the chief obstacle to any thorough reform of the Catholic Church, to any honest ecumenical understanding with the other Christian churches and world religions, and to any critical, constructive attitude toward the modern world.

Under the two most recent popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, there has been a fatal return to the church’s old monarchical habits. 

(snip)

One shouldn’t be misled by the media hype of grandly staged papal mass events or by the wild applause of conservative Catholic youth groups. Behind the facade, the whole house is crumbling.

While Kung is critical, it seems he wants better for the church. With an eye toward the future, he states his hope that the next pope will be open-minded. Fat chance of that. Made interesting reading, though. (Note that Kung ignores the church's position on gays, though he champions the ordination of women. Perhaps he axed gays from the op-ed in hopes of reaching more bigots with his arguments. Or maybe he's just another anti-gay Christian git. I have no idea.)

The popeyguy emeritus

You know, it has a ring to it!

So red, so royal, so popely!

This, from an AP article at the NYT:

In the latest disclosure, Turin's La Stampa newspaper reported Thursday that Benedict hit his head on a sink and bled profusely when he got up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar bedroom in Leon, Mexico. The report said papal blood stained Benedict's hair, his pillow and the floor. 

Heavens! I wonder what color the blood was.

Popey guy says new dumb thing

In a story headlined "Pope Hits Out at Radical Secularism", we find this uninspired remark:

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI says Roman Catholics in the U.S. need to understand the "grave threats" to their faith posed by radical secularism in the political and cultural arenas. 

Indeed. You know what's "radical" about our "secularism"? The fact that it has no place of honor for the imaginary baby jeebus. If you don't believe in jeebus, you're "radical". And of course, it's all about the gays:

Benedict did not explicitly mention it, but the bishops have complained their religious freedom is eroding in the face of growing acceptance of gay marriage and attempts to marginalize faith.

The pope said many bishops believe that new laws make it difficult for them to object to what they consider "intrinsically evil practices." 

You have to love the popey guy's obtuseness. Awww, the poor Catholics can't hit on the gays all the time for their "intrinsically evil practices." Gee, those poor bishops and priests and popey guys sure are having their "religious freedom" hampered by these new laws, huh? The nasty old bastards can't be as hateful as they like. What a tragedy! That must be so tough on them.

These people are pigs, from the pope on down to the parishioners who fail to speak out about the church's hateful practices. That's some religion they've got there, huh? Very holy. Ugh.