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I
knew I was in trouble that fateful Saturday when my friend Bernie literally
kicked my door open and charged in -- arms bristling with snack food, pizza
boxes rammed under his armpits -- a bulging sack from Mickey-D's gripped in
each fist.
“Bernie”, I cried, “What are you doing here?” I recoiled from the frizzy,
dripping paper cup Bernie thrust at me, groaned as he gandy-danced through
cascading boxes of cookies, cupcakes and bags of potato chips, and sighed as
he plopped down in my favorite chair in front of the television.
“Go home, Bernie,” I groaned. “I'm not hungry. CNN just announced that the
Pope has died, and I don't want to miss the coverage.”
“Miss
the coverage?” Bernie howled, “Miss the coverage! Before this week is
over, both you and the Pope will be begging for mercy. CNN has been circling
the Vatican like buzzards in search of fresh road kill since Easter!” He
nodded at the TV, “Look at 'em -- swooping down, shoving everybody out of
the way, lickin’ their chops. Verily,” Bernie said, rolling his eyes
wearily, “It's big time showtime...”
I am not Catholic. Yet, it's difficult not to feel the sorrow of millions of
devotees at the loss of Pope John Paul II. I cringe at calling anyone whose
name isn't Jesus “Holy Father,” but there's no doubt that John Paul II was
indeed a great man, a shepherd worthy of the outpouring of love and grief
that blanketed the world, or at least the world's news outlets. According to
Bernie, if we're to believe CNN, “the most trusted name in news,” nothing
has occurred in the history of the world -- of the entire universe -- as
important as this one event.
“Well”, I said, diving for the last piece of pizza, “if CNN is going to dig
into John Paul II's background and take us through every day of his life, at
least we'll hear that he disapproved of the war and thought Bush's attack on
Iraq was immoral. If CNN talks about his legacy, how can they not address
the legions of pedophile bishops and priests who sexually abused thousands
of young boys and girls on his watch?”
“Culture of life,” Bernie said. “All that stuff will fall under the general
heading of the Culture of Life, and how famously the Pope connected with
young people. There will be no mention of how infamously the Pope's priests
connected -- are still connecting -- with young people. When Bush boards Air
Force One to go home,” Bernie continued, “CNN will have elevated him to the
spiritual level of John Paul. They will be locked at the hip -- two holy men
on a ‘culture of life’ mission to spread freedom and rid the world of . . .
”
“Oh come on, Bernie,” I interrupted. “Everyone knows how John Paul disagreed
with Bush on the death penalty. We've all heard the Pope's speeches on the
evils of galloping corporatism -- his pleas to Bush to be merciful to the
poor. CNN won't -- can't -- cover that up, even if they want to.” I looked
at Bernie, who stared back at me, silently chewing. “Bernie? You think?”
“Yeah,”
Bernie said, ramming a cookie into his mouth, “that's the difference between
you and me. I think. I think the Pope fought everything Bush stands
for with all his might -- he publicly called on world leaders, especially
those on the UN Security Council, to thwart Bush's resolution on Iraq and to
ward off the destruction he knew the Bush administration was planning. He
even sent Cardinal Pio Laghi, a friend of Poppy's, as his special envoy to
plead with Bush not to invade Iraq, but Bush told him it would all be over
in the wink of an eye. Just trust me, Bush says. I think,” Bernie continued,
“as does
investigative journalist Wayne Madsen, that the Pope, if not convinced,
was at least fearful that Bush was the anti-Christ warned about in The
Revelation.”
“Madsen pointed out that Pope John Paul, who grew up facing the evils of
Hitler and Stalin, knows evil when he sees it,” Bernie said. “And, although
he appeared to be blind about the evil actions of leaders of his own flock,
I think the Pope battled Bush until his strength gave out and he became the
whispering, robotically waving man in the window.”
“You
know what else I think?” Bernie asked as he stood up and strode toward the
door – “I think CNN will report the truth about the Pope's relationship with
Bush at the exact moment a pack of spasmic demons fly over the Vatican in
perfect formation, hissing out hate-filled bile while spewing off-color
versions of The Star Spangled Banner...”
What a nightmare. CNN tirelessly soldiered on toward the funeral, passing
the John Paul II baton from anchor to anchor, from pundit to panel, with
testimonies of pilgrims from Poland to Paduka. Bernie was right. I don't
know about the Pope, but when the “big day” arrived, I was begging for
mercy.
The sheer obscenity of a dozen pallbearers bearing a haggard, un-embalmed
Pope on their shoulders, staggering up and down stairs and lurching through
narrow church halls, was soul-withering. Flanked by clownish Swiss Guard
troops resplendent in ghoulish Halloween orange and yellow knickers with
bright red feathers bobbing on their helmets, and preceded by a group of
stately religious figures decked out in lace dresses and bright red capes,
they lugged poor John Paul inside, outside, through every nook, cranny and
chamber of the Vatican, in and out of St. Peter's Square -- hours and hours,
miles and miles, round and round, up and down.
A suffocating, pornographic celebration of death.
Scribes heralded the rapid ascension of John Paul to a saintly throne, while
the gang of international Pharisees, led by George Bush, sat
shoulder-to-shoulder in ringside seats beside those whom they planned to
kill as soon as the show was over. As I watched them preening and praying
before the cameras, I was reminded of the
righteous anger of Jesus in Luke 11:43-44 – “Woe to you Pharisees!
For how you love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the respectful
greetings from everyone as you walk through the markets! Yes, awesome
judgment is awaiting you. For you are like hidden graves in a field. Men go
by you with no knowledge of the corruption they are passing...”
Unfortunately, when religion is infused with politics, power and advantage
will ultimately top reason and prayer. Aristotle says the highest of the
intellectual virtues is prudence. Jesus says the highest of Christian
virtues is love. When these two virtues are cast aside, politics and
religion become strange bedfellows. When, as Madsen contends, dangerous
right-wing ideologues couple political fanaticism with a neo-Christian blood
cult, they become eerie same-sex partners.
Because of the Pope's open criticism of Bush, wherein he pointed out on more
than one occasion the obvious fact that Bush's behavior and attitude were
anything but Christian, it would seem that Bush could not get away with
co-opting John Paul's considerable legacy. Yeah. It would seem. When asked
about the Pope's legacy by the press corps on the way to Rome, former
president Bill Clinton remarked that the pontiff “may have had a mixed
legacy, but he had a great feel for human dignity. He did what he thought
was right,” Clinton said. “That's about all you can ask of anybody.”
Bush was quick to dispute Clinton. He said the Pope “was a witness to the
dignity of human life,” the first pontiff in history who “launched a
democratic revolution that swept Eastern Europe and changed the course of
history.” Sound familiar? Bush heralded John Paul as a passionate advocate
for the sanctity of life. “He was a moral leader -- someone who I shared
values with, particularly when you talk about that kind of culture of life,
the social issues that he talked about.”
Well, looks like Bernie was right again. When Air Force One cleared the
tarmac and headed toward Prairie Chapel, Texas, it was carrying history's
remaining self-appointed moral leader, still enamored by the “majesty” of
the funeral mass, committed to his own opposite version of the co-opted
“culture of life,” and surrounded by adoring media.
Bush didn't look back. The Pope is dead. Long live the Pope.
Bill Clinton hopped a ride back to the states in a backup Air Force
airplane.
Sheila Samples
is an Oklahoma freelance writer and a former civilian US Army Public
Information Officer. She is a regular contributor for a variety of Internet
sites. Contact her at:
rsamples@sirinet.net. © 2005 Sheila Samples
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