[apologies to Chuck D for stealing the line, and maybe to Elvis too...]
OK, I'm officially over it, and I get the sense some others are as well--or at least they're over the seemingly monolithic media meme that the Pope a) was a universally beloved figure, b) was uniformly a positive influence on the planet, and c) either represented or was somehow important to everyone on the planet. I hinted at this a bit when I noted the NY Times' 24/7 Popeathon for a couple of days, churning out story after story on the papacy, the man, and his wide reaching impact. For instance, did you know the Pope invented--but then refused to bless--Pop Tarts?*
In this vein, I present three viewpoints of varying length, focus and conclusion on the reign of Pope John II. First we have Marc Fisher of WaPo, who writes in Slate that while he may have been an ardent preacher of freedom and anti-Communism, the idea that he prodded Eastern Europe into the abyss of democracy is rather absurd. Shorter Fisher: "Only if he was offering to sell the Polish CD players and Audi sedans."
Next up we have Christopher Hitchens, who--I'm sure few will be suprised--fairly vomits in prose over the idea of either the man or his legacy as "great." Shorter Hitchens, self-supplying the Shorter Would-be Canonizers: "Popes may have been wrong on everything, but they were right in general." I can't resist; here's a Slightly Longer Hitchens:
Unbelievers are more merciful and understanding than believers, as well as more rational. We do not believe that the pope will face judgment or eternal punishment for the millions who will die needlessly from AIDS, or for his excusing and sheltering of those who committed the unpardonable sin of raping and torturing children, or for the countless people whose sex lives have been ruined by guilt and shame and who are taught to respect the body only when it is a lifeless cadaver like that of Terri Schiavo. For us, this day is only the interment of an elderly and querulous celibate, who came too late and who stayed too long, and whose primitive ideology did not permit him the true self-criticism that could have saved him, and others less innocent, from so many errors and crimes.
Ouch.
Finally, from the Vatican itself we have the seemingly mild comments of former President Clinton:
"He's like all of us. He may have a mixed legacy. He was a man of God, he was a consistent person, he did what he thought was right. That's about all you can ask from anybody. And I think he clearly was a figure of historic importance," Clinton said.
You know conservatives won't stand for that kind of slander! The Natty Review didn't take long to get something up in rebuttal, and I'm sure more energized screeds are to follow from their lessers.
--TJ
*I may not have my sources completely firmed up on this, but I'll go ahead and post it anyway. I'm sure it's probably right.
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