To think this pope business is hilarious

[TwatthewWright]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7628752/Ministers-apologise-for-insult-to-Pope.html

He's just a bloke in a dress with some odd and outdated ideas for gods sake!

[StrictlyKatty]

Oh and maybe just for a 'laugh' maybe Catholics can start making Frankfurters with the image of Mohammad on, see how funny everyone finds that... Not very?

Right, so why should the Pope on a condom be any funnier?

[yama]

Good point made by journo on Andrew Marr this morning.

Britain is apologising to the Pope when we are awaiting his apology for something far worse.

[SoupDragon]

"I find it pretty disrespectful to have the Pope talked about like this."

You have to earn respect and, quite frankly, he hasn't.

[CUNextTuesday]

Religious belief, per se, is not the issue here. It is organised religion, its hypocrisy, arrogance and bullshit, and its impact on vulnerable members of society.

Believe what you like, but don't pretend that organised religion doesn't have its malign entities who dress up tenets from its imaginary chum in the sky as absolutes in life.

[EricPicklesFatNeck]

loved teh doing forward rolls with children bit. and duet with teh queen, i am thinking 'islands in teh stream'

[maresedotes]

I didn't find this particularly funny. It just shows that we need to cut the number of staff working for the civil service - the bloke was obviously not busy enough.

I wanted the pope to come here and apologise for the child abuse scandal. Now, unfortunately, as others have said, these 'jokes' will detract from the real issues.

I'm not a catholic and I do have a good sense of humour (honest!) but this didn't make me laugh.

[Pennies]

"I wanted the pope to come here and apologise for the child abuse scandal"

In. Your. Dreams.

[Marjoriew]

The Pope will come here and he will apologise - but only because it's on his agenda and he is expected to.
Myself and other survivors of decades of abuse do not give a toss about the Pope or anything he has to say to us. They are too little too late. He will then scuttle back to his summer palace in Castelgandolfo to recover from his ordeal here. But we will still be left with our pain and the trauma of what we have suffered.
I just wish I could be there to confront him when he does arrive with a few choice words + a few rotten eggs. I'd give him a reception he wouldn't forget in a hurry.
Unfortunately, my pension doesn't stretch to it.

[TwatthewWright]

for you Marjoriew and also very angry on your behalf.

[Pennies]

Do people think the pope will seriously do a big apology - "Oh! Mea Culpa" - when he gets here? I just don't think it will ever happen. There's too much scope for embarrassment on both sides for it to be risked.

Surely he'll just turn up, then not do any forward rolls, wave a bit, visit a few churches, talk around every subject but the one we're all desperate to hear his views on and then scuttle back to his posh gaff in Rome? Leaving the elephant still stuck in the room but a load of UK bureaucrats patting themselves on the back and wiping the panic induced sweat from their brows.

[TwatthewWright]

...and for those of you that mentioned the mohammed/muslim cartoon - I never saw them so I cannot comment.

[Pennies]

Marjoriew - I'm sorry you've been a victim of this. I feel very deeply for you indeed.

[maresedotes]

You're right Pennies it may not happen but now the focus will be on this 'leaked' document and we'll have to watch our government squirm and fawn over him.

[AnnieLobeseder]

Well, not being Danish, I never saw the Mohammed cartoon, but would probably have laughed. Unless it was in Danish, because then I wouldn't have understood it.

But I ROLFd at this Pope thing!

I'm all for having sense of humour; we need to be able to laugh at ourselves and each other. The world is suffering from a serious sense of humour shortage.

PC can be taken too far.

[UnquietDad]

Of course we should mock religion and its adherents. If religion is to be exempt from mockery, this doesn't say very much about how strong it considers itself to be. If God existed he'd surely have a sense of humour.

Even Canon Ann Easter on R2 today (the one with the horrible screechy Kenneth Williams voice) agreed we should be allowed to have a laugh about these things...

[CarGirl]

As I posted above I really giggled at it and I'm a full believer/practiser Christian (though not catholic I admit).

It is just funny that someone said these things and then they clearly got passed along and up where they shouldn't have been either in ignorance, stupidity or purposeful mockery.

I agree though we are permitted to have a sense of humour - Jesus certainly did!

[giveitago]

I thought the Danish cartoon was about the decpiction of Mohammed? This was taking the piss out of a real live person coming to the UK.

I thought it was pathetic, yet very funny.

And at the least the FCO were super quick to apologise and squirm. Church hasn't been so quick to sort out its own issues and accept responsibility for their crimes (which are not funny at all).

Sure the person who wrote this will be mortified at how famous his words have become.

[TwatthewWright]

Its a pity the thread was started to complain about this thread now has mre post than this one.

This one is funny and much more interesting!

[TwatthewWright]

sorry, the thread THAT was started to complain about this thread....

[TiggyD]

Clothing manufacturers are making overly sexual clothes for children in Britain.

The Pope arranges a visit to Britain.

Hmmm.

[Itsthawooluff]

Apropos of nothing really - the Pope looks exactly like my FIL. Really freaked me out the first time I saw the Pope I can tell you, sent me off into a "Boys from Brazil" daydream.

Do you think the Pope knows his doppelganger is a small, Jewish ex taxi driver?

[SixtyFootDoll]

Well said babybarrister.
The Catholic Church have no right to be offended at a stupid remark.
WE have every right to be offended that they bow down to a nazi sympathiser who allowed children to be abused.

[abride]

'if they really believe that this email is more damaging to their reputation than the abuse.'

We don't.

[Ivykaty44]

I thought this was a tolerant country and that people had a right to free religious belief?

You do and I also have that right and if I want to laugh then i can.