God's Rottwiller: Pope Ratzinger

[Itsthetruth]

CounterPunch
April 22, 2005

God's Rottweiller
Pope Ratzinger's Pie-in-the Sky for the Masses
By MIKE WHITNEY

His inflexible views should merge seamlessly with the chauvinism of Bush, Sharon and al Zarqawi. During his tenure at the Vatican he personally spearheaded the effort to elevate the Nazi-collaborating Pious XII to sainthood and led the charge to publicly humiliate candidates (like John Kerry) whose views on abortion and birth control were not consistent with his own. (by threatening to bar them from the sacraments) He also “publicly praised the fascist movement in the Church known as Opus Dei and supported the canonization of Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, an open fascist who served in the government of Spain’s dictator Franco, and who publicly praised Hitler.” (quote from Rabbi Michael Lerner.)

Ratzinger’s critics have dubbed him “God’s rottweiller”; a sobriquet that captures his combative and polarizing style. He’s lived up to that title by taking the most stridently conservative positions on nearly every social issue. He summarized the women’s liberation movement by saying that “women should “follow the roles inscribed by her biology”; a comment that suggests women that should accept their traditional function as domesticated breeding-machines. It’s the same as saying that, “A woman’s place is in the home.” Not much changes in Rome in 2000 years.

On homosexuality, Ratzinger’s views are even more odious. He is quoted as saying that gays are inherently disposed “to intrinsic moral evil” and that their rights can be “legitimately limited”.
“Intrinsic moral evil”?

What unbelievable gall. This is the type of statement we would expect from a gay-bashing, white-supremacist, not the pope. No wonder America’s right-wing punditocracy is all a-twitter over his appointment; they know they’ve got a friend in Rome who shares their same world view. (And, by the way, it was an appointment. Despite the universal belief that some form of democratic process took place, the reality is that “John Paul appointed all but 2 of the men who elected the new pope” (al Jazeera) That’s as close to a sure thing as an Ohio optical scanner.)

http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney04222005.html

[Warpy]

1. He's 78

so his reign is likely to be acrimonious and short.

Whether or not he leaves much of a church for the next guy to lead is anybody's guess.

[flordehinojos]

2. what i heard from the lips of cardinale ratzinger, POPE BENNY, today

were the words of a man opening himself up to personal, philosophical and theological growth.

I also heard the words of a man who knows he cannot do all this growing by himself and kindly asks for Spirit and people's prayers to guide him in the task of doing so.

I also heard the words of a man who said that the papacy is not about promulgating his own ideas, but about seeking truth and added that truth without love is false, or meaningless and that LOVE without truth is empty.

I also heard the words of a man who addressed the evil of POWER without truth which is willing to corrupt and kill and lie just so as to have power AND I WONDERED WHAT JEB BUSH WHO WAS SITTING IN THAT AUDIENCE MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT BECAUSE THE WORDS TO ME FELT LIKE POPE BENNY MIGHT HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING, AMONG OTHERS, BUT VERY DIRECTLY THE DOINGS OF GEORGE W. BUSH AND OF HIS LYING, CHEATING GOVERNMENT...not to mention JEB'S OWN LYING, CHEATING, STATE GOVERNMENT.

I heard the words too of a man who sees and says that there are many empties in men's, women's and children's lives today. The empties of poverty, of broken love and broken promises, the emptiness of wars, the emptiness of a people without hope ...

I heard the words of a man who knows the pulse of the people and who did not miss a beat...

and yes, granted, POPE'S BENNY views of human sexuality are of the antiquated theological kind, "PRETEND SEXUALITY DOES NOT EXIST" ...
but then ... in his search for truth and growth and guidance from the SPIRIT and with the help of PEOPLE'S PRAYERS ... pope benny might open himself up to further grownt on this matter.

(and just as i was typing this and for whatever the symbolism of it might be worth to anyone... one of the local neighborhood doves keeps fluttering outside my window trying to come inside) ...

may the SPIRIT take POPE BENNY BY THE HAND AND GUIDE HIM IN THIS JOURNEY OF PHILOSOPHICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND PERSONAL GROWTH.

[Bellamia]

3. Such a lovely essay...............

may I just say, May Spirit guide all of us in our journey of philosophical and personal growth. I'll leave Theology to the Theists.
I am a Deist.