The Pope may have his own good reason...

[fpb]

,,,but however difficult it might have been, I disagree with his decision to reform rather than close down the Legion of Christ. Catholic orders depend on the charism of their founders, and there has never been - so far as anyone knows - an order whose founder was a proven, all-around villain who is rumoured to have rejected the Sacraments and cursed God before he died. The order is rotten from its premise, which is to be dependent on donations from some of the most corrupt financial aristocracies on the planet - those of Mexico and Chile. It should have been dissolved, its assets used to compensate Maciel's victims, and whee that was not necessary simply sold for charity (the Church should not keep assets so obviously tainted), its priests placed in the secular priesthood, and its lay members encouraged to joined other lay movements. Now, alas, we shall keep this unhappy innovation - an order founded by a villain of the basest order.

Comments

[fpb.livejournal.com]

The trouble is that I would be tempted to inform them as to their parentage, moral qualities, and physical consistency, rather than just delete them. And there are limits to what you can say on Telegraph space without damaging yourself.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

No, no, they're complete cretins, with just the necessary amount of tweeness - you won't even be tempted. I mean, it may be worth it to lay into a Nick Griffin wannabe, but some ghastly expat Hyacinth Bucket in a ranch house in Martinique, nit-picking whatever obscure fact she acquired somewhere in a redbrick polytechnic next to which the University of East Anglia towers higher than Christ Church? Naaaah.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I hadn't read this. I have to say that it is a shining demonstration of why invective at its best is a minor but genuine artform. I am grinning from ear to ear and almost wishing I had thought of it.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

*bows to this encomium from The Master*

... of course I am describing one particular woman of especial, unrelieved ghastliness there. She does exist, down to the house in Martinique. I had to ban her, she was leaving literally dozens of comments on my posts.

That being said, the Torygraph have just changed the whole layout of their blogs, and I loathe the new one, so I may give up on them. That, or ask for a blog on the pro journos side.