Pope Benny the Too Many has released a new book entitled Jesus of Nazareth in which he criticizes capitalism and excessive wealth in the world today. Yes, you read that right - the Holy See who dons red Prada loafers to officiate mass in Rome is condemning excessive wealth. Just when you thought Rome could not possibly be more hypocritical they open a new front. You have to give 'em credit, the good ole boys in Vatican City never rest - when it comes to rank hypocrisy.
Apparently, the Pontiff was jealous of the charlatan Reverends Sharpton and Jackson getting all the attention this week. In this tome he writes that wealthy people "are empty despite the abundance of their material goods." He must have felt a little of that emptiness while 'summering' in the Italian Alps. It couldn't possibly have been during his regular days of living in a palace and having his gourmet meals served to him. He goes on to decry wealthy nations for exploiting "Third World" nations (apparently he didn't get the memo in his gold-plated mailbox - there are no more Third World nations; the politically correct term is "developmentally disabled nations" or, oh wait, maybe it's "developing nations" - heck, I didn't get the memo either). Yet, methinks the theologian formerly known as Joey Ratzinger should skuff those Prada shoes up gettin down on his infallible knees to thank God for the wealthy nations. It is the wealthy nations' Catholics whose coffers were raided to pay:
1.) a $100 million dollar settlement in Boston
2.) $153.4 million in settlements and jury awards in Dallas
3.) $25.7 million dollar settlement in Louisville
And those are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church's payouts for their half century systematic cover up of child sexual abuse. Where on Earth would Pope Benny have found the money to paper over the child rape committed at the hands of literally thousands of priests in his and his predecessors employ, if it were not for the wealthy nations he now decries? Imagine how many vestements he could pair with matching Prada shoes had he and his unimpeachable forerunners had the same zeal for ridding the church of pedophiles as they do (and did) for criticizing the United States, global wealth, Israel, and/or the Global War on Terror!
Now, he does clarify that he started writing the new book back when he was just a Cardinal and had not yet been cloaked in his Papal infallibility (and his poor feet were probably still being relegated to Gucci shoes - the horror!). "Everyone is free, then, to contradict me," he says. Sounds good to me your Holiness.
I would just think that someone who was installed as a (then) 78 year old placesitter Pope, a man who rose from Hitler Youth to his perch on top of the world, and someone who continues to harbor fugitive Bernard Law in the Roman Curia would do himself (and the rest of us) a favor and just shut up and enjoy those summers in the Italian Alps.
BORU