Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Tell it how it is.....
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said that the new Pope, Benny Hill the XVI, would be "following in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II," and that "he is also likely to reach out to people across faiths, around the world."

Chief Primate of Australia, Cardinal Pell, believes the new Pope's approach could help increase church attendance in Western countries.

He continues on to say that Ratzinger's reputation as a hardline ideological enforcer is "undeserved and he has the ability to build bridges within the church and with other faiths."

George Bush said: "He's a man of great wisdom and knowledge."

German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, said that Ratzinger was a renowned theologian and that his election was an honour for Germany.

Philippine President, Gloria Arroyo, has led the nation in jubilation, declaring that the succession "served to unify not only the Catholic faithful but also those who believe in peace, brotherhood and harmony with other nations and faiths".

It sounds like it is the week of sycophancy and template-produced platitudes. Every public figure seems to have something good to say about the newly elected Pope: same as the old one, just older, apparently.

That is until Archbishop Desmond Tutu decided to tell like it is. Maybe it was his days manning anti-apartheid barricades or battling for justice. Or maybe it his experience at the sharp end of life in Africa under the long shadow of poverty, AIDs, environmental destruction and a potential Malthusian disaster.

Blame for these massive social failures cannot be directly apportioned to the Catholic Church, but much of its doctrine has been a contributory factor.

Perhaps what the Catholic Church needed was a pragmatist - and an African or Latin American one at that - rather than a rigid dogmatist who considers doctrinal responses to these crises should be just more of the same.

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