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The Vatican's Vow (of papal poverty?)

Kerry's picture
Fri, 2008-04-18 13:22 - Kerry

Big news in the U.S. is the Holy-Rolling Visit from The Vatican, a-la The Pope.

My personal belief is no one human is better than anyone else -- we are ALL responsible and accountable for our actions and decisions.  Therefore, The Pope holds no real special place in my heart.  (It's not like he's related to me, or anything...)

I don't see how one man's judgement is better than others, when we ALL make mistakes.  I'd like to think Judgement should be for peace-sake, not punishment.... but we live in a world where the love for money can make some serious mistakes.

This leads me to my latest finding in terms of finding those willing to transport the messages of peaceful living and the happiness that can be found when we turn from misery-making ways.  How does it get done when materialism is at an all time high?

What first rolled into my mind?  Yep, that crazy-fun Pope-Mobile, and all the man-made contradictions it represents. 

I googled it's origins and meanings, and wanted to get a glimpse of what Pope-Man is riding these days in the USA.  The pimped-up version can be found here:  http://www.newsweek.com/id/132074&GT1=43001

Indeed, it's not your father's Mercedes. 

Victor Caivano / AP (left); Dan Stone
The popemobile in Brazil (left) and Maryland
By Daniel Stone | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Apr 14, 2008 | Updated: 7:13  p.m. ET Apr 14, 2008

But I thought the following gave better details.

What kind of car is the Pope Mobile?
Steph
Spokane, Washington
http://ask.yahoo.com/20040123.html
Dear Steph:
Your question proved more difficult to answer than we had anticipated. Many of the vehicles used to carry Pope John Paul II, including a number of papal limousines, are called Pope Mobiles, but we figured you meant the distinctive-looking vehicle with the bulletproof booth from which the pontiff stands to wave and greet the throngs. This type of vehicle made its debut in 1981, after an assassination attempt left the pope wounded.

According to a number of sources, the original Pope Mobile was a modified Range Rover. But after conducting a number of searches and uncovering images of a variety of vehicles, including a Mercedes Benz and a six-wheel drive Leyland T 45 used to transport the pope, we concluded that there is no single papal vehicle these days. It appears his Holiness uses different cars in different countries.

References to various types of Pope Mobiles turned up all over the Web. From a Russian news site, we learned that the "third model," whatever it is, was produced by a Polish company and is powered by a noiseless electric engine. While a post on UrbanDictionary.com informed us that at least one model of the Pope Mobile was made in Letchworth, England.

Whatever the ride, driving the pope can be an unforgettable experience. Read about it in this firsthand account by Indian chauffeur Chet Ram.

 

Comments

Fri, 2008-04-18 15:24 — neophyte

That's one helluva travel

That's one helluva travel expense.

Who foots the bill on that one?  The Catholics, or the country the pope is visiting?

Fri, 2008-05-30 03:20 — Kerry

Another View from the Vatican

It seems the Catholic Church is really into punishing women... at least that's what's being fed through the grape-vine at the Vatican:

Explicit decree punishes women, bishops who ordain them
Reuters
updated 3:48 p.m. ET, Thurs., May. 29, 2008

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican issued its most explicit decree so far against the ordination of female priests on Thursday, punishing them and the bishops who try to ordain them with automatic excommunication.

The decree was written by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and published in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, giving it immediate effect.

A Vatican spokesman said the decree made the church's existing ban on female priests more explicit by clarifying that excommunication would follow all such ordinations.

Excommunication forbids those affected from receiving the sacraments or sharing in acts of public worship.

Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, said he thought the decree was meant to send a warning to the growing number of Catholics who favor admitting women to the priesthood.

"I think the reason they're doing this is that they've realized there is more and more support among Catholics for ordaining women, and they want to make clear that this is a no-no," Reese said.

The church said it cannot change the rules banning women from the priesthood because Christ chose only men as his apostles. Church law states that only a baptized male can be made a priest.

Proponents of women's ordination said Christ was only acting according to the social norms of his time.

They cite the letters of Saint Paul, some of the earliest texts of Christianity, to show that women played important roles in the early church.

 

Copyright 2008 Reuters. URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24878944/?GT1=43001

So let's get this straight... according to the Pope, and Pals, The Church can accept and protect men like Bunko with his conviction for molesting men, women and children and O'Grady with his  special-interest in pedophilia... (not to mention the entire list of names behind the lawsuits filed against the Catholic Church) but  they can't accept a woman's help serving the public?

I'm glad I got out of that church when I did... I'd hate to have to sit down and explain to my daughters why priests/fathers don't want women next to them, unless it's for a secret sexual service.  I bet, before we know it, priests are going to calling all the unwed mothers in their following crowd to donate those babies to the church so the men-of-the-cloth can convert those bodies into something far more usefull.  Oh wait, that's already been done... so it looks like all is running well in this religious-powerd machine, (lets give thanks to the Vatican, for keeping to their books, of course..!)  .

I'm sure God must be proud, knowing how well the men in so many churches are taking care of their women and their communities.