Tag Archive: Pope


BUÑUEL AND THE ART OF BLASPHEMY

Filed under: Atheism, Italy, Movies — Leave a comment
July 5, 2012

VIRIDIANA directed by Luis Buñuel (Mexico/Spain, 1961)

Perhaps I should temporarily rename this blog ‘Buñuel My Soul’ as I’m currently immersed in the movie back catalogue of the great Spanish director.

Some of these I am watching for a second time but Viridiana is a new discovery.

As with many of his movies it has been widely branded as obscene and sacrilegious; accusations which Buñuel  would have regarded as compliments.

When it was first shown in Milan, the public prosecutor closed the cinema, impounded the reels and Buñuel was sentenced in absentia to one year in jail if he ever set foot in Italy.

Buñuel claimed disingenuously that he didn’t know what the fuss was about; wryly conceding that the Pope probably knew more about blasphemy than he did. Continue reading →

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NO CROSSES TO BEAR

Filed under: Italy, Parenting — Leave a comment
November 3, 2009

God is watching!

I applaud The European court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for ruling against the use of crucifixes in Italian schools. In their judgement they stated that: “The compulsory display of a symbol of a given confession in premises used by the public authorities… restricted the right of parents to educate their children in conformity with their convictions.” Continue reading →

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AVANTI E INDIETRO

Filed under: Italy — Leave a comment
March 20, 2009

AVANTI

Indietro
INDIETRO

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THE QUOTE UNQUOTE HOLOCAUST

Filed under: Music — 1 Comment
January 25, 2009

It is an absolute outrage that Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunications on Bishop Richard Williamson who says that there were no gas chambers in what he calls the “quote unquote holocaust”.

In other words he believes there was no holocaust.

Here is the interview he gave on Swedish TV:

It is noteworthy that he says that “historical truth goes by evidence and not by emotion”  –  not something which millions apply to religious belief where evidence is somewhat lacking for the existence of ‘quote unquote God’.

To embrace a man who denies the scale of the genocide conducted by the Nazis shows the true face of the Vatican and should give cause to all rational people  to question what  the Catholic Church stands for.

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A DEVIATION, AN IRREGULARITY, A WOUND

Filed under: Gender — Leave a comment
December 24, 2008

For the Vatican City the season of goodwill clearly does not extend to the Gay community.

Homosexuals are ,according to Pope Benedict (aka  ‘the rat’),  “a deviation. an irregularity and a wound” .  Apparently it’s OK if they are celibate i.e. if they follow the holy catholic priesthood in denying sexually fulfilling loving relationships.   Presumably they are meant to redirect their desire into worship.

Bizarrely, he regards practising gays as a threat to the stability of the planet akin to the destruction of the rain forests.  Quite apart from the fact that equating issues of sexuality with those of environmentalism defies logic, the Catholic church is also guilty of inciting a fresh wave of homophobia at a time when the need for tolerance and understanding is more important than ever.

I always pray (I’m not sure to whom!) that such reactionary bullshit will turn more people away from Catholicism and other brands of  religious fanaticism but I realise that this is a faint hope. In these troubled times people are desperately seeking  scapegoats and bigots like Ratzinger are more than happy to provide them.

Personally, I’m counting on deviancy and irregularily triumphing in 2009

Photo (The Priest, 2005) by Sarah Saudek

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