I weren't such a good Catholic even when I was one as a child. I have to say I'm very, very... unmoved by the whole death of the Pope thing. I get it, important poobah and all, spiritual father to a massively hierarchical denomination, blah blah, woof woof. I mean, look in the dictionary under the word patriarchy and blammo! There's the Catholic Church. You can't much beat it for epitomizing a male pyramid structure with the Pope at the top and only the big ole Sky Dad above him. Who made him Pope? (The red college of Cardinals, I think.)

I'm sorry, was I being offensive? Derogatory? I still haven't quite forgiven the Church for that whole killing and torturing "heretics" phase. They haven't been too keen on "liberation theology" either, if I remember correctly. And the hits just keep on coming. I liked this bit from Shakespeare's Sister:

Today, President Bush called the Pope a “champion of human dignity,” and if you were poor, suffering under Soviet tyranny in Eastern Europe, or facing the death penalty, you’d probably agree. But if you were gay, or a victim of a priest who sexually assaulted you, or a woman who wanted to be a good Catholic and leave an unhappy marriage or have a career that wasn’t interrupted repeatedly by childbirth, or a priest wrestling with celibacy, or a pregnant victim of rape or incest, you’d probably disagree, because the Pope didn’t particularly care about your dignity, your needs, or the realities of your life. The same, of course, can be said for Bush—and then some—so it’s no wonder he views the Pope that way.