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madrobinsAfter yesterday's astonishing pulpit whine from "a senior Vatican priest," in which he compared the impact of the reaction from the media and from members of the Catholic clergy to the persecution suffered by the Jews* there has been a not-particularly-surprising blowback. Poor you? Poor you? Pope Benedict needs better advisors. Or he needs the advice of my elementary teacher who told me "the very best way to get out of trouble when you've done something wrong is to take responsibility, apologize wholeheartedly, and move in fast with a way to deal with the problem." I no longer remember what dreadful thing I had done (spilled paint on the floor, maybe?) but I remembered the lesson, and in fact, it has stood me in good stead, personally and professionally, in many situations.
Did the Pope mishandle things years ago before he was Pope? That's pretty clear. Significant damage was done. But he wasn't the Pope, he wasn't the Holy Father at that time, couldn't claim papal inerrancy (note: I am totally out of my league here, having been, for religious purposes, raised by wolves). Benedict, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, was a fallible man who failed. So say that, say sorry, and come up with a firm, sweeping, impressive way to deal with the current problem. It might just work.
Cause the current program is not working at all, far as I can see.
*As if. Seriously, guys, you're not in the running until you go back about 1800 years. Those early Christians (back before they rebranded as Catholicism) knew something about persecution.
Did the Pope mishandle things years ago before he was Pope? That's pretty clear. Significant damage was done. But he wasn't the Pope, he wasn't the Holy Father at that time, couldn't claim papal inerrancy (note: I am totally out of my league here, having been, for religious purposes, raised by wolves). Benedict, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, was a fallible man who failed. So say that, say sorry, and come up with a firm, sweeping, impressive way to deal with the current problem. It might just work.
Cause the current program is not working at all, far as I can see.
*As if. Seriously, guys, you're not in the running until you go back about 1800 years. Those early Christians (back before they rebranded as Catholicism) knew something about persecution.