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November 20, 2007
Better Than Religious School
November 20, 2007 | Permalink
Comments
When I first read that, I wondered whether those guys tried to keep their violence and sexual behavior under wraps, or whether the Papacy was understood at the time in a way where that was acceptable.
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | Nov 20, 2007 2:48:43 PM
Hilarious. You realize, though, that if you ever get a job on a presidential campaign Donohue is going to come gunning for you.
Posted by: Tom Hilton | Nov 20, 2007 2:56:48 PM
I'm not sure how useful it is to link to a Cracked.com feature making fun of papal history, but if your intent was to offend Catholics, you probably succeeded.
Posted by: Jim | Nov 20, 2007 3:19:12 PM
Neil, The Straight Dope has your answer:
...Murder gave way to bribery as a route to the papacy in later centuries; some 40 popes are believed to have bought their jobs. But the lax attitude toward celibacy remained unchanged. In large part this was because the Church was an important route to wealth and power. Sons of influential families were pushed into Church careers much as we might send a kid to MBA school, apparently with similar expectations regarding morals. Noblemen with mistresses saw no reason to adjust their life-styles just because they had taken vows.
Posted by: Daniel Munz | Nov 20, 2007 3:33:31 PM
Pope Leo I actually went out, in person, and talked Attila the Hun out of sacking Rome.
Posted by: Mac | Nov 20, 2007 3:45:51 PM
Jim, how could that possibly offend Catholics? I'm Catholic, and I don't see how just mentioning that there were some really crazy popes would offend anyone.
Posted by: mad6798j | Nov 20, 2007 4:44:29 PM
One man's comedy is another's slur -- and yes, I do think this would be perceived as a slur by a lot of Catholics.
I hate to give ammo to 'wingers like Bill Donohue of the self-styled Catholic League.
Posted by: Jim | Nov 20, 2007 5:37:40 PM
Mac, well... yes. But it's doubtful Atilla really wanted to sac rome to being with. His army was tired, and very far from home. When Leo offered him more gold, salt, and pepper than he could have carried he no longer really saw much purpose in sacking Rome.
Still, props to Leo for having balls of fucking steel and acting like a real leader.
Posted by: Soullite | Nov 20, 2007 5:46:47 PM
Thanks, Daniel... neat stuff.
Posted by: Neil the Ethical Werewolf | Nov 20, 2007 5:52:12 PM
Well, even if some Catholics would perceive it as a slur, that wouldn't make it a slur. It's a slur if it isn't true, and Alexander VI was actually an upstanding guy. If it's true, then it's just history, and pointing out that someone's religion has a tumultuous history is not the same as slurring their religion.
Posted by: LittleMac | Nov 20, 2007 6:59:49 PM
I'm not sure how useful it is to link to a Cracked.com feature making fun of papal history, but if your intent was to offend Catholics, you probably succeeded.
So the comment immediately after my snarky one is somebody fretting about this 'offending Catholics'. Good lord...
Look, it doesn't offend 'Catholics'; it probably offends some Catholics, and it certainly 'offends' outrage pimps like Donohue--but so what? Should we really censor ourselves based on what a Republican hack like Donohue claims to think?
Posted by: Tom Hilton | Nov 20, 2007 8:21:42 PM
Next up: The six members of the Quorum of the Twelve who have killed people with their bare hands.
Followed By: ten rabbis who hate gentiles and are hoarding all the pastrami
Posted by: Divine Comedy | Nov 20, 2007 10:50:50 PM
"Mustached Wallachian Turnip Farmers" would be an awesome name for a band.
Posted by: Fnor | Nov 20, 2007 10:57:37 PM
I'm not sure how useful it is to link to a Cracked.com feature making fun of papal history, but if your intent was to offend Catholics, you probably succeeded.
Unlikely. I don't think many Brits would be offended by "Five Most Brutal Kings", nor many Americans by "The Fattest Presidents Ever" (William Howard Taft for the win! Three hundred pounds of pure Republican!)
Posted by: ajay | Nov 21, 2007 5:23:59 AM
No love for Boniface VIII, so badass a pontiff that freaking DANTE immortalized him?
Sad, really.
Posted by: charles pierce | Nov 21, 2007 9:21:27 AM
Speaking as a man from a Catholic family, I'm offended that my mom won't stop dragging me off to fuckin' Mass.
Posted by: Glenn Fayard | Nov 23, 2007 1:53:04 AM
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