'We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases."
Speaking of the Pope, it seems that in
September, 2001, the pontiff performed an exorcism on a
20-year-old woman. According to father Gabriele Amorth, the
girl is still undergoing treatment. The pope later said in
an address, ìThe devil, the ëprince of this worldí, even
today continues his insidious actions.î Who can argue with
that?
At this point I really donít feel that any commentary
is our should be necessary. What is there to say? I hope the
young woman in question at some point in these festivities
falls out of the hands of the devil and into the hands of
someone with an M.D. behind their name. But of course in the
end itís really not about the young woman anyway. Itís about
the hundreds of millions of followers who from time to time
need to be reminded just how important it is to be good
contributing members of the church, lest these types of
vexing vicissitudes be visited upon your first born.
For anyone that happens to be relatively sane, the knowledge that this man is performing exorcisms, is more than enough to expose the Pope for what he is. Ah but on and on it goes.
A species(humans) that had beautiful, wondrous lives waiting for them here, lives that they were never promised, lives that had essentially beaten the cold sterile universe, but the humans would have none of it. They immediately began inventing all manner of shackles and chains for themselves.
March the Marionettes
Inventing strings gladly
Chains of paper bound
Eyes pleading madly
chris
at February 29, 2004 8:04 AM
Chris, this was wonderfully said. You're a teriffic writer.
Roger
at February 29, 2004 9:45 AM
Hi Chris --
That was really great. Obsessive-compulsive wench that I am, here's a comment:
"in the end itís really not about the young woman anyway."
I think that it absolutely is about the young woman and anyone else who is being specifically targeted for psychological or physical violence by religious zealots. I feel amused by and slightly sorry for robotic religious followers; but the situation of that young woman is a dire emergency. Isn't there anything that anyone can do to help her?
I used to be one of the Catholic church's hundreds of millions of followers, before I grew up and learned a thing or two about critical thinking. Many of us fallen Catholics were far more fortunate and free to grow than the young woman with mental illness getting holy water and incantations instead of psychiatric care -- or the child sodomized by the priest who had just taken him out for an ice cream cone.
I could go on and on about this, but it would only make me desperately angry. It's Sunday, and it's a beautiful, sunny day. I'm going to go ride my bike.
Lena, the angry transvestite
Lena
at February 29, 2004 11:00 AM
To you and I it would be about the girl. To the catholic corporation it is, from their viewpoint, about sending messages to the followers.
However, I'm also sure that they are not acting disingenuously, they actually believe in devil possessions and all manner of lunacy.
What can be done for the girl? Nothing. Can you imagine, the honor, the rapture, of having the pope called in to actually perform the ritual on YOUR DAUGHTER. Wow, that's big big big. Kind of like having Jerry Lewis perform at your bat mitzvah, but not as dangerous.
The parents will keep her under the care of these princes of darkness forever. She will continue to be mentally ill. It's interesting actually. Just exactly who are the mentally ill parties here? The girl, or the one billion catholics who believe this kind of mumbo-jumbo voodoo nonsense works. You tell me?
chris
at February 29, 2004 12:45 PM
And by they way, since we're on these subjects, a couple of other things, briefly..
In medieval times the Catholic Church banned women from the
stage in order to protect their morals. But the church still
coveted those glorious high voices.
So the church solved the problem by castrating young boys so
their voices wouldnít change(the castratos). This practice
continued into the 19th century. Gee, in the interest of
fairness and balance and good old-fashioned safety, couldnít and shouldnít we begin
turning many of the present-day priests into castratos?
Okay ready...did you know jesus had a brother who was Chinese? Would I lie to you?
In the 1850ís Hung Hsiu-Chíuan of China figured out that he
was the younger brother of Jesus.(Mary apparently believed
in waiting a while before having another child.) He
organized the God Worship Society. Hung declared war against
Chinaís rulers. It lasted 14 years and cost 20 million
lives. In the end Hung and 100,000 of his followers all
committed suicide.(Jim Jones and David Koresh? small potatoes.) The Chinese government, to this day, still hasnít fully
recovered from this episode. Of course few Americans are aware of this because we are woefully uneducated about virtually every subject.
And the difference between Hung and jesus?....well, at least Hung was a real person.
Speaking of the Pope, it seems that in
September, 2001, the pontiff performed an exorcism on a
20-year-old woman. According to father Gabriele Amorth, the
girl is still undergoing treatment. The pope later said in
an address, ìThe devil, the ëprince of this worldí, even
today continues his insidious actions.î Who can argue with
that?
At this point I really donít feel that any commentary
is our should be necessary. What is there to say? I hope the
young woman in question at some point in these festivities
falls out of the hands of the devil and into the hands of
someone with an M.D. behind their name. But of course in the
end itís really not about the young woman anyway. Itís about
the hundreds of millions of followers who from time to time
need to be reminded just how important it is to be good
contributing members of the church, lest these types of
vexing vicissitudes be visited upon your first born.
For anyone that happens to be relatively sane, the knowledge that this man is performing exorcisms, is more than enough to expose the Pope for what he is. Ah but on and on it goes.
A species(humans) that had beautiful, wondrous lives waiting for them here, lives that they were never promised, lives that had essentially beaten the cold sterile universe, but the humans would have none of it. They immediately began inventing all manner of shackles and chains for themselves.
March the Marionettes
Inventing strings gladly
Chains of paper bound
Eyes pleading madly
chris at February 29, 2004 8:04 AM
Chris, this was wonderfully said. You're a teriffic writer.
Roger at February 29, 2004 9:45 AM
Hi Chris --
That was really great. Obsessive-compulsive wench that I am, here's a comment:
"in the end itís really not about the young woman anyway."
I think that it absolutely is about the young woman and anyone else who is being specifically targeted for psychological or physical violence by religious zealots. I feel amused by and slightly sorry for robotic religious followers; but the situation of that young woman is a dire emergency. Isn't there anything that anyone can do to help her?
I used to be one of the Catholic church's hundreds of millions of followers, before I grew up and learned a thing or two about critical thinking. Many of us fallen Catholics were far more fortunate and free to grow than the young woman with mental illness getting holy water and incantations instead of psychiatric care -- or the child sodomized by the priest who had just taken him out for an ice cream cone.
I could go on and on about this, but it would only make me desperately angry. It's Sunday, and it's a beautiful, sunny day. I'm going to go ride my bike.
Lena, the angry transvestite
Lena at February 29, 2004 11:00 AM
To you and I it would be about the girl. To the catholic corporation it is, from their viewpoint, about sending messages to the followers.
However, I'm also sure that they are not acting disingenuously, they actually believe in devil possessions and all manner of lunacy.
What can be done for the girl? Nothing. Can you imagine, the honor, the rapture, of having the pope called in to actually perform the ritual on YOUR DAUGHTER. Wow, that's big big big. Kind of like having Jerry Lewis perform at your bat mitzvah, but not as dangerous.
The parents will keep her under the care of these princes of darkness forever. She will continue to be mentally ill. It's interesting actually. Just exactly who are the mentally ill parties here? The girl, or the one billion catholics who believe this kind of mumbo-jumbo voodoo nonsense works. You tell me?
chris at February 29, 2004 12:45 PM
And by they way, since we're on these subjects, a couple of other things, briefly..
In medieval times the Catholic Church banned women from the
stage in order to protect their morals. But the church still
coveted those glorious high voices.
So the church solved the problem by castrating young boys so
their voices wouldnít change(the castratos). This practice
continued into the 19th century. Gee, in the interest of
fairness and balance and good old-fashioned safety, couldnít and shouldnít we begin
turning many of the present-day priests into castratos?
Okay ready...did you know jesus had a brother who was Chinese? Would I lie to you?
In the 1850ís Hung Hsiu-Chíuan of China figured out that he
was the younger brother of Jesus.(Mary apparently believed
in waiting a while before having another child.) He
organized the God Worship Society. Hung declared war against
Chinaís rulers. It lasted 14 years and cost 20 million
lives. In the end Hung and 100,000 of his followers all
committed suicide.(Jim Jones and David Koresh? small potatoes.) The Chinese government, to this day, still hasnít fully
recovered from this episode. Of course few Americans are aware of this because we are woefully uneducated about virtually every subject.
And the difference between Hung and jesus?....well, at least Hung was a real person.
chris at February 29, 2004 5:10 PM