Honest to God

New Pope, new Word Of God. Now it seems that He is not a homophobe at all, or even a conservative. Now He’s a more sensitive, forgiving type.

About time too. It wasn’t that long ago that if you denied that the world was flat you would be met with a very, very warm welcome and whisked off to the realms of the Devil.

But now we know (thanks, Benedict)  that there is no Hell as such, and Purgatory is under revision too.

He’s a bit of a mess, this God character, as moody as the weather and totally unpredictable. Do the Faithful not find it odd that the Word Of God should be so open to interpretation after so many years?

Priests like to be called ‘Father’. I’m not surprised; you need to have a mind of a child to swallow such theological guff.

Before the stones start flying a quick word of advice: stick to your faith, if you feel you need it, but feed your Religion to the pigs.

Dirty Rascal

The other day somebody pointed out that I had left one monarchy, the UK, for another, Spain, and wondered if I was a secret admirer of such regimes. So let me set the record straight.

The kindest word that springs to mind is ‘anachronism’. Monarchies are out-dated remnants of a medieval past, a historical hangover. That anyone should be endowed with the birthright to rule and/or represent a nation is clearly outrageous. That a person should be born with privilege, influence, wealth and inherited respect simply because they belong to a certain family, a certain lineage, is an affront to our intelligence.

Some try to justify their continuation with claims that they hold the nation together or bring in revenue from tourism, but the truth is they are surplus fat. Take a look at the successful nations – U.S.A., China, Russia, Germany, France. Or the emerging ones like India and Brazil. Not a King or Queen in sight.

But the rulers are not to blame. It is the ruled who have allowed this parasitic abuse to continue. It is not the King, but he who kneels before him who is ultimately responsible.

So, no knighthood for me!