The Pope Has An iPad

And a Twitter account. Almost 1300 tweets in the first couple of days.

The Beautification Of Bin Laden

(Via JMG reader Brett)

SMOKING GUN: Vatican Warned Irish Bishops Not To Report Pedophile Priests

In a just-revealed 1997 letter, a Vatican representative for the soon to be sainted Pope John Paul II warned Ireland's bishops not to report pedophile priests to the police.

The letter, obtained by Irish broadcasters RTE and provided to The Associated Press, documents the Vatican's rejection of a 1996 Irish church initiative to begin helping police identify pedophile priests following Ireland's first wave of publicly disclosed lawsuits. The letter undermines persistent Vatican claims, particularly when seeking to defend itself in U.S. lawsuits, that the church in Rome never instructed local bishops to withhold evidence or suspicion of crimes from police. It instead emphasizes the church's right to handle all child-abuse allegations, and determine punishments, in house rather than hand that power to civil authorities. Signed by the late Archbishop Luciano Storero, Pope John Paul II's diplomat to Ireland, the letter instructs Irish bishops that their new policy of making the reporting of suspected crimes mandatory "gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and canonical nature."

The Vatican is refusing to comment on the letter.

Caption This

Pope Ratzi: Christians Are The Most Persecuted People In The Entire World

Emperor Palpatine says that Christians are persecuted more than any group of people in the world. Gays? Nah. Jews? Huh-uh. Christians.

"At present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith," the pontiff asserted, and cited Christian communities suffering from violence and intolerance particularly in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Holy Land. "This situation is intolerable, since it represents an insult to God and to human dignity" as well as "a threat to security and peace," Benedict wrote in one of the 17-page-long message's strongest passages. He appealed to authorities to "act promptly to end every injustice" against Christians. Benedict didn't cite countries, but in past years church officials have lamented that Christians — most of them migrant workers — are forbidden to worship in Saudi Arabia. He blasted what he called "more sophisticated forms of hostility to religion, which, in Western countries, occasionally find expression in a denial of history and the rejection of religious symbols which reflect the identity and the culture of the majority of its citizens."

(Tipped by JMG reader Mark)

Ill Papa Enjoys Stripping Acrobats

Innnnteresting, innit?

(Via - Andrew Sullivan)

Pope OKs Condom Use For Male Hookers

In a bizarre interview with a German journalist, Emperor Palpatine has decreed for the first time that the usage of condoms is now sanctioned by the Catholic Church in "certain circumstances." The "for example" he uses? Male hookers!

To illustrate his apparent shift in position, Benedict offered the example of a male prostitute using a condom. "There may be justified individual cases, for example when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be ... a first bit of responsibility, to re-develop the understanding that not everything is permitted and that one may not do everything one wishes," Benedict was quoted as saying. "But it is not the proper way to deal with the horror of HIV infection." Benedict reiterated that condom use alone would not solve the problem of HIV/AIDS. "More must happen," he said. Becoming simply fixated on the issue of condoms makes sexuality more banal and exactly this is the reason why so many people no longer find sexuality to be an expression of their love, but a type of self-administered drug."

The interview will be published in book form and will be translated into 18 languages.

Photo Of The Day - Barcelona Pope Kiss-In

Hundreds of homos staged a protest kiss-in as the Pope-Mobile passed in Barcelona today.


(Tipped by JMG reader Jimmy)

BRITAIN: 20,000 Protest The Pope

Over 20,000 people attended this weekend's "Protest The Pope" rally in London, where noted atheist Richard Dawkins slammed the the pontiff for blaming Hitler on atheism. More great photos from the rally are here.

HomoQuotable - Andrew Sullivan

"It seems pretty obvious to me...that the current Pope is a gay man (just as it was blindingly clear that John Paul II was straight). I am not claiming that Benedict is someone who has explored his sexuality, or has violated his own strictures on the matter. There is absolutely no evidence of that, or of hypocrisy of any sort. But that does not mean that he isn't gay.

"In fact, Ratzinger's command that gay priests should actively lie about their orientation makes any public statement about this on its face lacking in credibility. But when you look at the Pope's mental architecture (I've read a great deal of his writing over the last two decades) you do see that strong internal repression does make sense of his life and beliefs. At times, it seems to me, his gayness is almost wince-inducing. The prissy fastidiousness, the effeminate voice, the fixation on liturgy and ritual, and the over-the-top clothing accessories are one thing.

"But what resonates with me the most is a theology that seems crafted from solitary introspection into a perfect, abstract unity of belief. It is so perfect it reflects a life of withdrawal from the world of human relationship, rather than an interaction with it. Of course, this kind of work is not inherently homosexual; but I have known so many repressed gay men who can only live without severe pain in the world if they create a perfect abstraction of what it is, and what their role is in it." - Andrew Sullivan.

BRITAIN: Gay Activist Peter Tatchell To Host Show About Papal Visit

UK television network Channel 4 has hired famed gay activist Peter Tatchell to host an hour-long documentary examing the Pope's upcoming visit to Britain. And the nation's Catholics are very displeased.

Ann Widdecombe, the Tory politician who famously converted to Catholicism, said: “I think this will confirm the view that there probably already is in the Vatican that this is a profoundly anti-Catholic country. I wouldn’t call this the right thing for any serious broadcaster to do, but they’re doing it for the publicity, they’re doing it to stir up controversy. Mr Tatchell certainly won’t be sympathetic to his subject, so what’s the point of doing it? It won’t be skeptical, it will be hostile.” Christina Odone, the Catholic writer, said: “Peter himself would be the first to admit that he is no authority on the subject. And perhaps it would be good, rather than have some polemical, knee-jerk reaction to the Pope if Channel 4 would be interested in actually shedding light on a figure who is so important, and so often misinterpreted and misunderstood - and of whom more needs to be known. I don’t think the founding father of [gay rights pressure group] Outrage! is the right person for this.” “It’s really awful,” said Jack Valero, a prominent member of Opus Dei. “Any idea that Mr Tatchell can be impartial in presenting a programme about the Pope coming here - it’s just amazing that anybody could think that.”

Tatchell says: "This will be a robustly factual programme that explores the Pope’s personal, religious and political journey since the 1930s, as well as the motives and effects of his controversial policies." He has previously denounced the Vatican as virulently homophobic and "morally bankrupt."

Stand By Sinead O'Connor

JMG reader Andrew sends us the below moving clip of a man angrily recounting his abuse at the hands of an Irish priest. The clip is being publicized by a group demanding a public apology to Sinead O'Connor, who has suffered 20 years of ostracizing after denouncing the abuses of the Catholic Church.

The Pope Song

This fucking wins the internet for all motherfucking time. The lyrics are fucking here. I'm am going to be fucking singing this all fucking month.

(Via - Dan Savage)

Caption This

Richard Dawkins: I Will Have The Pope Arrested For Crimes Against Humanity

Famed British atheist Richard Dawkins says he plans to have the Pope arrested and charged with crimes against humanity when Ill Papa visits England in September.

Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. The pair believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998. The Pope was embroiled in new controversy this weekend over a letter he signed arguing that the “good of the universal church” should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. It was dated 1985, when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases. Benedict will be in Britain between September 16 and 19, visiting London, Glasgow and Coventry, where he will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian. Dawkins and Hitchens believe the Pope would be unable to claim diplomatic immunity from arrest because, although his tour is categorised as a state visit, he is not the head of a state recognised by the United Nations.

(Tipped by JMG reader Robert)

Photo Of The Day - Papal Proof

The above is Pope Ratzinger's signature on a 1985 letter blocking the defrocking of a California priest convicted of child molestation. The letter, written in Latin, expresses concern "for the universal good of the Church." The Vatican has confirmed the authenticity of the letter.