When John Paul II died in 2005, millions of us liberal and/or Cafeteria Catholics were also saddened by the election of his right-wing, right-hand man, Joseph Ratzinger, to succeed him. In many ways John Paul was not an enlightened man, especially when it came to women, but he was a master of geopolitics, an ecumenist and a man of genuine compassion.
Benedict, just shy of his 82nd birthday, has proved to be the relic we dreaded, a head-in-the-sand hard liner as adept at separating people as John Paul was in bringing them together. In AIDS-ravaged Africa this week the pope said, “One cannot overcome the problem with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, they increase the problem.” It was his first explicit statement on condom use and has divided even some clergy who work with AIDS patients. He’s drawn so much criticism the Vatican has altered the transcript to call it a risk of increasing.
Too little, too late and too disingenuous by half. I’m glad editorial cartooninsts around the world are holding his feet to the fire.
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Chan Lowe
Sun-Sentinel Mar 20, 2009 |
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Mind boggling, isn’t it? When I first heard I wasn’t paying attention that closely, peeling ginger in the kitchen. I thought I had heard wrong.
“The road to hell . . . ” G-d bless him for trying.
Word Bandit’s last blog post..Misplaced Sympathies?
Well, he’s got several bricks in that road. And the Church wonders why the only countries where it remains vibrant and growing are in the Third World?
“Cafeteria Catholics” —now that’s food for thought. I actually hadn’t heard that expression before, but I like it; it’s tasty.
As for the Pope—I dunno. It’s just hard for me to conceive of one human, no matter how enlightened or endowed or anointed, being the one conduit, but that’s me. The cartoon, of course, is wickedly funny.
MusEditions’s last blog post..Free Cell, Cheating, and Philosophy
Hi, Muse – The cartoon is clever! I was spoiled for choice.
I thought most people had heard the term Cafeteria Catholics; it’s a pretty common expression, but maybe not as common as I thought. We’ll put basic Church tenets, such as the beliefs we recite in the Creed, on our trays but pick and choose among modern teachings, such as contraception. JPII was exasperated no end.
This is a copy of a comment left on another post by Chan Lowe, the artist of this cartoon.
Ella,
As an editorial cartoonist and foodie, I’m so glad to have found your site, which indulges two of my greatest passions: politics and stuffing my face. I’d like to invite your readers to visit my blog, to which I post every day with my cartoons and commentary. The link to the Papal cartoon that you have been running is: http://blogs.trb.com/news/opinion/chanlowe/blog/2009/03/the_pope_condoms_and_hivaids.html
Today’s is about a courageous local U.S. Rep who beat breast cancer.
Best of luck to you for your continued success!
Chan Lowe
Chan Lowe’s last blog post..Debbie Wasserman Schultz…one tough character
As a foodie who appreciates editorial art, I am delighted you found From Scratch and like it – I think your work is first-rate and I encourage everyone who appreciates smart cartooning to visit your blog and bookmark it.
Now that I know you have a blog, I’m going to pop it into the blogroll.
Thanks for your comment and, especially, your pen and ink.
I’m looking forward to visiting Chan Lowe’s blog; thanks for posting the comments here.
Word Bandit’s last blog post..Quadrillions!
Hi, Word! His blog’s very enjoyable and a good read to boot.
Oh, off-topic, I think you’ll like what I’m about to post…