Monday, November 17, 2008

"Obama Signals End-times," Claims Respected Kook in Hat



This kook in a hat said some real crazy shit recently, reports The Tower, some goofy Catholic university newspaper. They lead with this gem

His Eminence James Francis Cardinal Stafford criticized President-elect Barack Obama as “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,“ and said he campaigned on an “extremist anti-life platform,” Thursday night in Keane Auditorium during his lecture “Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: Being True in Body and Soul.“

Yes, he signals end-times. To be fair to the paper, their story isn't as crazy as Cardinal Stafford is, and looking through a few months of old editorials I didn't find anything you wouldn't expect at any college paper. Add to that that most of the comments on the story are surprisingly cogent, and I say, "Good job Catholics!" But lest ye forget how wacky religious figures in hats can be, the kook continues,

“For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden,” Stafford said, comparing America’s future with Obama as president to Jesus’ agony in the garden. “On November 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake.”

Cardinal Stafford said Catholics must deal with the “hot, angry tears of betrayal” by beginning a new sentiment where one is “with Jesus, sick because of love.”

The lecture, hosted by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, pertained to Humanae Vitae, a papal encyclical written by Pope Paul VI in 1968 and celebrating its 40 anniversary this year.

A few things. Cardinal Stafford is not a marginal figure in the Catholic church. According to Wikipedia,

"In 2003 Cardinal Stafford was appointed Major Penitentiary, in which position [sic] he oversees matters pertaining to indulgences and the internal forum of the Church. He is one of the highest ranking members of the Roman Curia from the United States"

And since most people reading this blog aren't experts on the Catholic heirarchy, "The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church, together with the Pope." So, that seems pretty important.

The whole shindig centered around the 40th anniversary of the Humanae Vitae, some stupid regressive policy wherein birth control and gay sex were rendered UNCLEAN! Pope Paul VI promulgated (hell of a verb, that is) it on July 25th, 1968, a year when the forces of good were trying to create a better world for everybody, but the Catholic Church was like, "Woa, woa, woa, get your dick outta there you rascal. Now you're damned."

We'll probably see a little bit of this stuff continuing on, but we're not at a point in our culture right now where this stuff actually scares us at ComedyandPolitics anymore. It's easier to enjoy hypocrites when they have less power than they used to.

1 comment:

Tempy said...

Well you know how I feel about the church