Used in a sentence: "I don't mean to offend anyone (and I'm NOT affiliated with any particular 24 hour news networks [you know who you are]) ... but now that it's over, I have to admit that I really don't get all the darn Pope and Circumstance of late."
Of course, I wasn't raised Catholic (for the most part, not counting a diversion into some independent churchery run by my father's wife's boyfriend [ex-boyfriend {allegedly}], I grew up with a Methodist influence). I think I only may have attended regular mass once or twice ... and a Catholic wedding a few times ... and Catholic Christmas Eve services when it was in vogue as a holiday tradition for a few years in a row during the naughts. I'm so decidedly un-Catholic that I used to genuflect in the style of Zorro, unaware that God wanted me to move my hand to make a cross instead.
Here's my problem. I fear that institutionalized religion in general gets it wrong much more than it gets it right. And that's the current version. I'm pretty convinced that historic versions of institutionalized religion got it wrong 100% of the time. I don't think that God mandates that folks dress up in robes ... or that God hates women so much as the rules of religion appear to dictate ... or that God wouldn't endorse a brand of condoms if birth control *literally* might be the only way to keep his creations alive in a few generations.
To be clear, I am impressed with many of the ways that Francis is being the most bad-ass pope ever. But I tend to think he could accomplish those goals (God's goals, right?) without all of the additional expenditures ... the bureaucracy ... the money trail that corrupts. I also don't think that he's the ONLY one that can execute this vision.
So I'm glad it's over ... and I wish him well ... but I also wish that it didn't have to go down exactly as it did ... or as it continues to do ... over and over again ... distracting from what should be the real mission of religion ...
THIS WORDPLAY WAS WAY TOO EASY SO I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE TO USE IT:
https://twitter.com/newseum/status/646331497029480448
THERE IS A RIGHT WAY TO DO IT AND A WRONG WAY TO DO IT:
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/catholic-gestures-explained.html
JUST SAYIN':
http://www.alternet.org/story/155828/8_ugly_sins_of_the_catholic_church
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