Pope John Paul Talk

The Pope's Perfume

The Pope's Heavenly Scent

Is the Pope a “Dandy” or is he simply a person who appreciates nice clothes, shoes and headgear—and who now wishes to wear cologne that actually appeals to his personal taste. I say; what the heck! If you’re president of the United States or the Grand Dragon of the KKK—or simply the schmuck from down the block—if you want to indulge yourself a bit and can afford it, roll with it. And the sooner the better, life nowadays is kind of like dessert, you better have it now than later because you don’t know what’s going to happen in the meantime.

Silvana Casoli is the person to make it happen for you. She is the Italian perfume maestro for celebrities all over the world. I’m sure she would also work for you, even though you’re not a celebrity, if you have buckets of lira to pay her.

Signora Casoli received the heaven sent (or as close as you can get to it) request from the Popes people and took three months of research in her lab to produce a heavenly scent tailor made for Pope Benedict.

The Pope’s love of nature inspired Casoli’s creation which relied on lime-wood, verbena and grass to form the underlying base of the scent which is pure, clean and smacking of the idea of peace. She reportedly said that she visualized the smells the Pope would experience when praying at the Grotto of Lourdes. The Pope’s love of music, animals and green Bavarian forests fleshed out the formula for his proprietary perfume.

Signora Casoli stated that she is devoted to the Pope and would never sell the scent to anyone else.

Is It Time for a New Pope?

Time for a New Pope?

When Pope John Benedict XVI was elected pope at 78 years of age, he was already the oldest elected pope in almost 300 years. As far back as 1991, well before he was Pope, he was afflicted with a hemorrhagic stroke creating issues with his eyesight. In 1992, the pope-to-be fainted and fell in his bathroom. The fall resulted in head injuries requiring stitches and hospitalization. After becoming pope, John Benedict lost his balance and nearly fell face-first onto the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica. On vacation in 2009, the pope fell and broke his wrist and again in 2009 he was tackled by a deranged woman seriously shaking him up.

The pope is now 84 years of age, which is the same age Pope John Paul II died from a host of agonizing afflictions.

Pope Benedict is clearly in weakened and feeble health as illustrated by his use of the rolling platform to negotiate the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Pope Benedict XVI attempted to retire twice “due to poor health” when he headed the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith. He has previously stated that he saw nothing wrong with the pope retiring from the papacy as well. When unable to carry out the duties of the office he reportedly said the pope has a right and an obligation to retire. For a host of reasons, it is difficult to imagine the pope would retire.

In any event, the world is gearing up for the exercise of “naming the papabili”, or guessing the identity of the next pope.

Naming the Papabili

Time for a New Pope?

The pope is now 84 years of age, which is the same age Pope John Paul II died from a host of agonizing afflictions.

Pope Benedict is clearly in weakened and feeble health as illustrated by his use of the rolling platform to negotiate the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.

In any event, the world is gearing up for the exercise of “naming the papabili”, or guessing the identity of the next pope.

Is the Pope Derelic in His Duty?

Why Isn't Something Done?

I addressed this issue in a previous blog and am having trouble getting it out of my mine. I want to talk more about predator priests and try to make sense of it. I am not catholic nor am I religious in the traditional sense. I state this up front to so you realize I know very little about the Church. I have friends who are Catholic and from them, I have as much understanding as it is possible for me to have, of the depth of their faith and commitment.

I am reluctant to discuss Catholicism with them because religion is a tricky area, somewhat like politics, you have to be prepared to argue your own viewpoint or risk your friend trying to convert you to his.

I read the sensational stories in the newspapers and hear about them on television regarding the sexual crimes of priests against children. However, it seems to require a truly horrific scandal—involving numerous victims—for these stories to make headlines. Occasionally, I hear or read reports of victims coming forward or going to trial, but the other shoe seems always poised to drop regarding another sexual predator priest.

Since these stories die out quickly, my conclusion is that the victims, who are kids from practicing families, are counseled by the Church to be forgiving to the predator while being paid off in the amount necessary to make the charges disappear.

What other conclusions am I to draw? I suppose it’s probable that the Church trusts in its religious influence on its members to the point where it won’t lose too many due to disgust with the child abuse perpetrated by priests. I also suppose it’s probable that the Church simply doesn’t care what non-Catholics think about the church.

I draw these conclusions and have these thoughts because only seldom, once in my memory, has the Pope apologized for the behavior of the predator priest and that was lukewarm, at best.

I believe the Church has no plan to prevent this travesty from occurring in the future and is simply managing the results in the present.

The Pope is the Head of the Catholic Church and, no disrespect intended, but Popes always seem to be too old to really care about this issue or have enough gas left in the tank to address it head on.

Catholic Church Responsibility for Sexual Abuse

Church Priests Wreak Lives

Pope John Paul the Second is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Hundreds of priests have been charged, tried and convicted of abusing thousands of young boys. The Church—from the priests to the Holy Father himself—have not contained, much less eradicated the unbelievably unholy practice of child abuse.

According to most accounts, when a priest is found to demonstrate a continuing pattern of abuse, he is simply transferred to a new parish to quiet the community fervor. The bishop who transferred the priest lies to the Cardinal as to why the transfer occurred. The Cardinal recognizes the lie and in turn lies to the Vatican about rumors of sex abuse in the parish.

Some say the problem lies with Pope John Paul the Second who micromanaged the bishops, relieving them of much of their authority. Regulated to their role of middle-managers, the bishops either hid or lied about the problem, allowing it to fester and grow. There is little evidence to suggest that John Paul the Second confronted the problem head-on in any meaningful way. Certainly, since the explosion of scandals surfaced, no improvement or abatement of the problem is evident.

Finding the solution to this problem seems impossible. The Roman Catholic Church has well over a billion members requiring churches and an ecclesiastical governing body that is literally spread into every geographical nook and cranny all over the world. This huge unwieldy bureaucracy is simply too big to manage. Additionally, the Church is ancient and has operated on the same inbred mindset for over 2,000 years. Hoping for change, much less attempting to initiate it; has little chance of success. Couple these factors with the position of priests that they are servants of the Lord—and whatever they do is forgivable—and the recipe for continued abuse is complete.

I am not a scholar of the Catholic Church and this fact alone qualifies me as a spokesman for many others who simply see the effects of this reprehensible problem. We can only surmise what is going on because the Church provides so little information.

And, God knows, we don’t see any diminishment in the number of wreaked lives.

An American Pope?

His Excellency Timothy M. Dolan

The appointment of a Polish Pope after a 400 year string of Italian Popes has given fuel to the hope within the American Catholic Church that an American Pope may be elected in the future. The Great American Hope is New York Cardinal and Archbishop Timothy Dolan.

His Excellency was born in 1950 and is young at 62 years of age. He is charismatic, gregarious and very outgoing as well as outspoken. Cardinal Dolan is media savvy and uses social media regularly and effectively. Currently President of the United States Conference of Bishops the Cardinal is fluent in Italian and has an instinct for being a good listener without becoming contentious.

Cardinal Dolan is very conservative and is not averse to using the pulpit to advocate doctrinal views on abortion. He has been quoted as publically stating that it is the Church’s mission to protect the dignity and the sanctity of every human life, from the tiny baby in the womb to the last minute of natural passing into eternal life.

Cardinal Dolan believes in perpetuating clerical celibacy, end of story.

He has signed a statement known as the Manhattan Declaration that states that evangelicals, Roman Catholics and Orthodox to not comple with rules and laws permitting same-sex marriage and abortion.

Dolan believes in the Vatican instruction that says men who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support gay culture are incompatible with Holy Orders. The Cardinal has stated that homosexuals who do not exhibit or practice these criteria and is vocation driven should become a seminarian. He also believes that the Church should be ever vigilant in ensuring that homosexual priests live up to these expectations.

Papal Soldiers: Swiss Guard

The Pope's Army

The Swiss, to the average American, are a peaceful and neutral people who are a danger to no one. The average American does not have a true sense of world history. The Swiss have been extraordinarily disciplined and fearsome mercenaries for centuries, selling the martial services to the Europe’s highest bidders.

In fact, most Americans are probably ignorant of the fact the smallest country in the world—population under 900—is protected by approximately 110 Swiss mercenaries every hour of the day and night.

The country in question is Vatican City, home of the Pope, and the Swiss Guards are tasked to protect the priests, nuns and the Pope himself from harm. The Swiss Guards, with their families, lives in Vatican City.

The soldiers of the Swiss Guards are dressed in a uniform that is recognizable from a mile away in the darkness of night. The uniform was designed in 1914 and is made of 154 pieces of cloth, custom tailored for each guard.

The uniforms are highly colorful and reminiscent of something between a court jester’s outfit and what you might see on the kid “that asks you if you fries with that, sir” at the local hamburger joint.

Make no mistake, though, the Swiss are in top physical condition, adept with weapons dating back hundreds of years and extending up to those of modern day. The guards are also thoroughly trained in unarmed combat, which they rely upon for most situations.

The guard’s traditional weapon is the halberd, an axe-like weapon on a long pole, used in ages past to hook and drag an attacking opponent from his horse. It is used today primarily for its intimidating presence.

The soldiers guard all four entrances to the Vatican on a 24 hour basis.