Old World Swine

Pope Benedict XVI is 82 Today

Thanks for the tip, Sean!

Papa Ratzi sez; "Das Leben ist gut!"

Life is Good. That's God's opinion, and - in a nutshell - that's what the Church has been trying to get across for 2000 years.

Angolans Fail to Protest Pope - Press Baffled

Huge crowds of Angolans angrily demand condoms rejoice and hope to catch a glimpse of Pope Benedict XVI (AP Photo).

Though media centers worldwide have stretched the truth to the point of rupture, Angolan Catholics demonstrated today that they will allow no artificial barrier between them and their Pope.

B16 on Authentic Culture

I came across this over at the blog Ars Catholica;

"What gave Europe’s culture its foundation – the search for God and the readiness to listen to him – remains today the basis of any genuine culture." - Pope Benedict XVI, from a recent address during his Apostolic Journey to France

Read the entire address at the Vatican Radio website.

Media Strive to Escape the Point of B16's Visit

MSNBC - Benedict Strives to Escape John Paul's Shadow

...and the always reliable NPR - Pope's Softer Approach Surprises Many Theologians

The latter story came on the radio as I pulled in to work, so I sat in my car for a few minutes to hear it. I needn't have bothered. It fit the MSM template so unwaveringly that I could have nearly written it myself... " 'God's Rottweiler', blah blah... 'Panzer Pope', blah, blah... 'many pleasantly surprised', blah... 'more nuanced than expected', blah, blah" - but still with a little room for complaints from lefty theologians about "soft intimidation", which is a way of whining that the Pontiff expects Catholic teachers to believe in, like, Catholic teaching (little matters like the divinity of Christ and the inerrancy of scripture would be a nice start).

I have to admit, I've been kind of excited all day just to have our beloved Papa on the same continent. Throngs on the east coast are expressing similar sentiments. I love how it confounds the secular intelligentsia.

Aussies Create Superhero Cops to Protect Pope

Well, at least that's what I gathered from this headline from Catholic World News;

Australian police given special powers for World Youth Day

I'm thinking levitation and super strength would be a good start. Also some kind of acoustic stun blast would be cool (but non-lethal) for subduing out-of-control Pope fans.

You can read the REAL story here.