FuelFools

It was the Pope!

I mighta known! We (my wife and I) watched the SouthPark cartoon last night, and, as I expected, rumours of the rampant slaughter of Catholicism and women-kind were highly exaggerated.

Jesus and various other religious figures have appeared on the show before, only to be ridiculed completely. I don't recall such a fuss about those episodes.

As seems common nowdays, a lot of people have been making a fuss about something they have never seen. There's an irony about religious faith in there somewhere.

For a start, alcoholics would have far more reason to be "offended", especially Alcoholics Anonymous. It was a very funny piss-take of the whole "Hi I'm Fred, and I'm an alcoholic", the 12 steps thing, and convincing people they have a "disease" that can be cured.

For the benefit of those who didn't watch it, Stan's Dad is convinced by AA that he is an alcoholic, and hears that a statue of Mary has a stigmata - yep, that's right. The bleeding was a stigmata. And it was, quote, "from her arse" not from the front of the statue, which is where we expected to see it based on all the hype in the media. Stuff coming out of people's bottoms is a standard SouthPark joke, and yes it is juvenile, but if you don't like it, don't tune in.

Stan is not convinced his Dad is an alcoholic and tells him it is just a matter of willpower and all he needs to do is reduce his drinking a little. His Dad is brain-washed by the AA, and believing only a miracle will cure him, visits the statue and is blessed by a priest with the stigmata blood.

He is instantly cured, but it all turns to custard when the Pope arrives to check out the new miracle. He examines the arse blood and promptly declares, "Chicks don't bleed from the arse, it is menstrual blood, and therefore IS NOT A MIRACLE!" The fact it was still coming from the back of a statue escaped him.

So, it was a stigmata until the Pope declared it wasn't. And no-one thought it was menstrual blood, except him.

I mighta known!

Actually, what angers me the most about all this is Catholics making a fuss about something like this, when they should be out there helping the downtrodden and the poor, as Jesus told them to! If South Park was just ignored, as most people do, this would hardly have registered a glimer on the media rainbow. And yes I know one can't ignore everything supposedly bad or evil in the world, but SouthPark has pretty much had a full-on tilt at many things racial, sexual, and cultural in the world since it started, and the world would appear to be unharmed.

Most "church-going" Catholics I've met wouldn't know a poor person if they passed them in the street, but then most middle-class Catholics wouldn't be on that street. In my 41 years, I've only met a few who actually lived the message of Jesus, and show it through their actions, not their words. In fact, from my observations, most Christians do not get the message of Christ at all. If they did, there would be a whole lot less misery in the world.

One person told me recently that the Muslim cartoon thing has just raised the goal posts for every interest group now, and Catholics want their right to be offended too. Just what we need; another group of people out looking for a windmill to tilt at, instead of doing what their founding members would be doing if they were here - working to help the person in trouble next to them and improve the world for everyone.

What this all tells me is that the desire of Catholicism Inc. to control the way we think and express ourselves is really not a thing of the past century, and is only just beneath the rather thin skin of the Church.

I've got a message for all Catholics: stop being offended by stuff and go OUT THERE and HELP PEOPLE. That is the message of Christ.

posted by About Greg Comfort @ 9:19 am