Random Thoughts

So much for the notion that the new pope was going to change things.

No, seriously. I had high hopes that Pope Francis I would be an improvement on his predecessor but apparently I was wrong.

As sick as it sounds, I'm glad none of my Catholic relatives live in Pennsylvania. And I can't help feeling sorry for those people who do live there.

If I worked for the Vatican right now, I'd worry less about bad press and more about Judgment Day.

Movie Quote of the Week

Are we not to find the Vatican guilty?
--Maximilian Schell, Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Random Thoughts

I don't know if I care for the fact that my niece and nephew are more likely to learn in their history books about some foreigner like John Calvin than they are about a real American like Thomas Jefferson.

Let's teach Texas schoolchildren about the Tejanos who fought against Santa Ana because they are part of the history that actually happened, not because we wish to do local Hispanic politicians a favor. After all, some people are going to hate Mexicans no matter what kind of history book they read. So let's stop worrying about those people and concentrate on the truth.

There are many reasons I remain a Catholic but agreement with the Vatican's latest speeches is not one of them.

If I worked for the Vatican right now, I would worry less about The New York Times and more about lightning bolts.

Many of the people who have been most critical of the Vatican's handling of the clerical abuse scandal are Catholic. And it is precisely because they have respect for the odd notion that a Catholic priest should be held to the same moral standard as a Catholic layperson -- if not higher -- that they are so critical. After all, if we cannot expect high morals from a Catholic priest, then what is the point of having Catholic priests?

People may be willing to shrug off any differences they have with the Vatican about birth control, abortion or gay rights but they do tend to take it seriously when it involves the possibility of their children getting hurt. And calling them names is not going to change that.