Coming to America

Pope Benedict XVI (a.k.a. Joey Ratz) is making his first visit to the U.S. this week, and there's a clear spin in the media's coverage. For one thing, they love pointing out how Ratzo's Emperor Palpatine-like visage and Antarctic warmth contrasts with his predecessor's made-for-TV cuteness. How much of John Paul II's appeal came from the willingness of the world to project their own rosy image on his blank, dementia-ridden stares is another issue. There's also a lot of talk about how different American Catholics are from the hard-line standard Ratzo tries to set. The majority want to expand gay rights, allow abortions, use condoms, and only go to church when there's nothing better on TV. But this article from Yahoo! News really sticks in my giblets. When speaking of the massive amount of child rape uncovered in the church these last few centuries, the writer claims that Ratzo has "confronted" the issue "head on". If by "confronted" she means "harbored Cardinal Bernard Law, the man who relocated and facilitated known rapists in his parishes", then I suppose this statement is entirely true. More details here.