On behalf of a number of humanists, we wish to express

the following concerns about the visit of the head 'of the
Catholic hierarchy, Karol Wojtyla, now Pope John Paul II.
We do not oppose this visit to Australia but feel that the
cost of the visit, which is very considerable, should be
more limited in its burden on the taxpayer. The cost should
be almost entirely borne by the Vatican itself and the
Catholic Church in Australia.
It is recognised that the Pope is a titular head of state
and entitled to diplomatic courtesies but transport costs
within Australia should not be at government expense. This
applies particularly to the 'Popemobiles' and the great costs
of transporting these vehicles. Security for the Pope is im-
portant and should be Australia's responsibility but not at
the overall cost of millions of dollars. Twelve million dollars
at least has been quoted; four million may be raised by the
Church. Where will the rest come from if not from the tax-
payer? Why is the government so silent, particularly in pre-
sent economic circumstances?
Of the greatest concern however is the expected propaga-
tion during the Pope's visit through his speeches, of doctri-
naire, intolerant, repressive views which are not even shared
by a great proportion of Catholics. These are the reactionary
views on divorce, contraception, abortion, censorship and
sexual behavior; fertility control and personal freedom and
tolerance generally. During the Pope's visit to Africa state-
ments were repeatedly made against contraception and
effective family planning. "Be fruitful and multiply" was
the message in a continent beset by severe economic diffi-
culties, by hostilities, by food shortages and starvation, by
population pressures in many regions and by high child and
maternal mortality.
There are such high birth rates in a number of African
countries that economic and- social infrastructures cannot
keep pace. The pressure on the environment has already
had disastrous effects.
The statements were pure hypocrisy based on doctrinaire
blindness.
It needs to be pointed out that the Vatican has not been
free from moral and financial corruption, with recent finan-
cial scandals well documented. It has been morally corrupt
in its dealings with dictatorships, in support of totalitarian
regimes, of oppression, of censorship and of intolerance.
The Papacy's advocacy for peace and development must be
regarded as hypocricy in view of the hierarchy's above divis-
ive positions and pronouncements.
This is in marked contrast to the attitudes of a number
of progressive and liberal Catholics who are then condem-
ned by the Vatican. We respect some Church leaders such as
those in Central America and the Philippines who are active
in social reform, who would wish to influence the Vatican's
regressive stance but who in turn are slated and disparaged
by Rome. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace
also does admirable work .often against hierarchy
opposition.
Decent Catholics do not wish to impose their beliefs on
others but the Papacy does. Very many Catholics do not
evert share the official intolerance on divorce and fertility
issues. Reform is needed in the hierarchy if there is to be
any credibility. There is no sign of reformist attitudes in
this Pope. Perhaps this visit, if all the issues are brought out
in the open and constructive criticism is encouraged, may,
after all, do some good.
A t-shirt souvenir of this visit, for commercial sale,
asks "Is the Pope a Catholic?" Is he, in a real, responsible,
human sense? Or is he merely a front man and propagandist
for an oppressive, intolerant and often corrupt Vatican,
concerned mainly with wealth, power and opulence.
Many Catholic Church leaders, particularly in the de-
veloping world have credibility; social responsibility and
compassion. We believe that the credibility of Pope John
Paul II and the Vatican in these areas are more than suspect
- they are of a very low order.
A group of concerned Australian humanists.
"NOT THE OFFICIAL PAPAL SOUVENIR"
was produced by The Holy Ghost Busters, c/o P.O. Box 1555 P, Melbourne 3001
in honour of the visit by our Holy Father John Paul II, in November 1986.
It was edited by Rolf Heimann. Typesetting was by "Access".

Many thanks to the contributors

PhUlip Adams; Thomas, Richard and Harriett Anon; Lofo; Madalyn O'Hair; Neill Overton;
Keith Rex; John Shakespeare; Michael Sharkey; lain Stock; Peter Viska and others who
gave encouragement and inspiration, or whose ideas we borrowed when it was impossible to ask permission.

Australians are extremely fortunate this year to have been chosen

as hosts to Our Holy Father John Raul II, son of a humble Polish
Army man and now no less than the earthly representative of God
Almighty, the creator of almost everything.
The importance of the Holy Visitation cannot be underestimated,
for it comes at a time . when three quarters of Roman Cathollcs
(not to mention others) consider Our Holy Father's attitude on
matters like birth control as out of step with today's world. Organ-
isers hope that the event will help Australians to understand that the
Papacy is as allve and concerned about its world as it ever was.
Just what are these concerns? HoJJ did the Holy Office become
such a colourful institution? How can you personally contribute to a
revitalisation of the values that are dear to the heart of Our Holy
Father? Is it worth the trouble? Are you a Christian at all?
We hope that this little booklet will help you to open your eyes.

Brother Lofus
Order of the Immaculate Contraception
WELCOME TO THE PAP AIl KING Hark! the herald-admen sing
Welcome to the papal king,
Pomp on earth, with manner mild,
God and Mammon reconciled.
Joyful, mental cripples, rise,
Join castrati in the skies;
To the media host's refrain,
John Paul's on the road again.
Hark! the herald admen sing
Welcome to the papal king.
Pope, by trinket firms adored,
Pope, the eversmiling fraud,
Centre-screen behold Him beam,
Offspring of a Curia scheme!
Veiled in white the Mafia see;
Hail the New Right conspiracy!
Pleased as man with men to dwell,
John Paul, the inscrutable.
Hark! the herald-admen sing
Welcome to the papal king.
Mild, he lets Marcinkus swank
In the vaults of Vatican Bank;
Born,to bless each neo-Nazi
And. delight in paparazzi.
Hail the Hun-born prince of Rome!
Hail the Sun of Harvest Home:
Peter's Pence from all he wrings,
Billions to the Church he brings.
Hark! the herald admen sing
Welcome to the papal king .

. A Lutheran Satire
on Papal Reform, 1538.
("Ratschlag van den Kirchen ")
The organisers of Pope John Paul II's'
Australian visit have asked South Aus-
tralians to help find a slogan for the
tour.
The South Australian director of the
Papal visit, Father Anthony Kain, is
"hoping people will come up with a
20th century-type phrase which will
be a popular motto".
. .. ow let me run a few ideas up the
steeple to just see who salutes them.
"Why mope? Go POPE!" has possi-
bilities. Perhaps this could be
backed with country and western:
If you're feeling sad and blue
There's one thing you gotta do
Tell the Devil that he's through
You're signing up with John Paul II.
An alternative approach would be:
"Out of hope? Choose the Pope!" Or
perhaps "Can't Cope? Try Pope!"
Then again" something more collo-
quial might go better in Australia, parti-
cularly in the western suburbs. Some-
thing with a touch of the Paul Hogans,
like ... "Don't be a dope, blast off with
the Pope".
I saw a montage here, superimposing
His Holiness over a launch shot at Cape
Canaveral. But since the shuttle disaster
that's probably not such a great idea.
But perhaps we could blend all these
approaches, these different psycho-
graphic appeals and demographic targets
into a great spiritual surge, with Molly
Meldrum conducting a sort of Count-
down Choral in the biggest musical get-
together since Band-Aid:
Out of hope?
Can't cope?
Why mope?
Don't be a dope
HERE COME DE POPEl"
It's Time
for
Tarmac Kissing
My eyes brim with tears just imagin-
ing the sight as everyone from Jon Eng-
lish to Little Patti cavorts to the Meld-
rum baton ...
Well, that covers the kids. But given
the greying of Australia, you'd need a
more mature approach for their ageing
rellos. So I'd have Khamal cut some-
thing more balladic.
You burn the candle at both ends
It willnot last the hour'
And you're on your way to Hades
to writhe in Satan's power.
But it's not too late to graduate
to where the saints go marching in
All you need's a change of heart
Just turn your back to sin.
Swap horrid fates for pearly gates,
We pray you hear our call.
say, "no, no, no" to Satan
and "yes, yes, yes" to John Paul.
And then there's a big finish, a sort of
reprise:
If you want to book for heaven
For eternity's long haul,
Say "no, no" to temptation
and "yes, yes" to John Paul.
It's no use waitin', Sa.tan,
It's "yes, yes" to John Paul.
Another tack would be to take the
multicultural track. Since Solidarity and
Lech Walensa, Poles nave been very
much in fashion. And John is, after all,
the first Pope of Polack persuasion.
Hence the following approach which is
rather more in your punk rock idiom:
If your life is down the gurgler
And you're on the devil's dole
Up a creek withou I' a paddle
You'd better be Up the Pole.
And you'd put Up the Pole on your
badges, bumper stickers and t-shirts. Ad-
mittedly it's a little oblique but with the
right sort of promotion, PR and reach
and frequency on telly, Up the Pole
would soon be the catch phrase of the
80s.
Which brings us to the Come on
Aussie tactic.
Got a problem with your sinning?
Don't worry - you can lick itl
You can skittle Satan
Hit his middle wicket.
He's on his way back to the stands,
You're on your way to heaven.
There's real esteem on God's team
In the Good Lord's First Eleven.
Say "Come on Lord, come on, come on ",
You don't want to be a sinner.
Say, "Come on Lord, come on, come on"
Instead of "Come in Spinner".
Say, "Come on Lord, come on, come on"
Say "no" to bodgie gods,
Say: "Come on Lord, come on, come on"
The Pope pays full tote odds.'
Say "Come on Lord, come on, come on"
Yo~ don't know what you're missin '. "
Say, "Come on Lord, come on, come on
It's time for tarmac kissin'.
'1"l1i8 is a shortC'lled uersion orPhillip
Adarn's collunll frolH The Bulletin,
Apf'il 1, 1986, reproduced by pe1'11liSS;OIl.
 Brother Lofus gives a brief outline of papal history to help us find the pious times
that we shouId try to retu rn to

Karol Wojtyla, now Pope John Paul II, In 379 Theodosius re-established right to -worship images; he ordered
has often thundered against the dark Christianity with a vengeance as state re- church pictures destroyed and decora-
forces of humanism and atheism and has ligion. Anybody who performed pagan ted walls white-washed. Many Christians
spoken of "The urgency of the task of rites or Christian rites different from were very fond of their eXPensive pict-
evangelizing, or rather re-evangelizing those proscribed, risked being put ures and they rebelled. The Western,
the old continent" (from a papal letter to death. The property of executed Roman branch of the church, refused to
in L'Osservatore Romano, Jan '86)_ He heretics fell to the "proper" Christian comply, and this was the start of the
marvelled at "the wonderful blossom- Church. This set the pattern for almost "Iconoclastic War". People felt so
ing" of Christianity before it was split two millenia of persecution. strongly about the matter that they
by (and I quote his choice of words) He instituted something like a were willing to kill and be killed. When
by "what goes under the name of the Cultural Revolution, with disaffected Leo IV died in 780, he was succeeded by
'Protestant Reformation' ". rabble storming the bastions of pagan his wife Irene who happened to favour
He did not elaborate into what age he and Jewish learning. Christian mobs the worshipping of pictures. As she
places the "wonderful blossoming" of went on rampages to stamp out pagan- could not agree with her own son about
Christianity, so let us search for it by ism in Egypt; Alexandria's famous lib- the whole thing she ordered his eyes put
examining the history of the church. rary of 70,000 volumes was destroyed out. Such measures were not isolated in
When Christianity was a new sect, an by the Christian mob and Jews were the pious East; when Basil II, a strong
underground cult almost, it was under- once more driven·out. Among the mur- champion of Christianity and beloved
standably unwelcome with the estab- dered was the famous and respected by the clergy, successfully fought the
lished religions. Religions are usually philosopher teacher Hypatia who was Bulgarians, he had the eyes of his pris-
supported by the ruling classes, and vice stripped naked before the Christians put oners of war hacked out - of all 15 000
versa, and newcomers tend to upset the her to death. Although Christianity was men. Not the sort of blossoming of
status quo. Early Christians were definitely on the up, one can hardly Christianity one would wish for.
laughed at and even persecuted as speak of a "blossoming" in these times. Under Pope Gregory most Western
trouble makers until emperor Constant- In 410 the Gothic King Alaric attacked Christians, including the "Aryan"
ine gave them legal protection. He is Rome. As a Christian (of sorts) he was . churches of the Goths, consolidated as
therefore something of a hero in Christ- devout enough to protect the churches the "Catholic" Church, with the bishop
ian lore. and church property while his troops of Rome pre-eminent. When the Patri-
He saw a fiery cross in the sky, with . pillaged the city for fully 5 days. By arch of Constantinople demanded to re-
the message "with this, conquer", and the way, when Alaric died, his tomb was main recognised as head of Christianity,
Jesus appeared to him in person to give made in the bed of a diverted river, and Rome was slow in agreeing, and a fleet
him instructions. the entire army of slaves who worked was sent from Constantinople to bring
But let us not forget that this good on this massive task were put to death, the Romans back into the fold. This
man Constantine kept an army of lest they'd reveal the locality of the rich fleet was wrecked in a storm, and the
10 000 spies to ferret out undesirables, tomb. We may admire the stark majestic hitherto inferior bishopry of Rome grew
and among the people he murdered was splendour of Gothic Christianity, but as stronger and self-assertive. Roman bish-
his own son who at the age of 17 had it involved such deeds we can hardly be ops assumed temporal powers, as did
become so popular with the people that expected to wish back those times. other bishopries; like kings they amass-
his old man couldn't stand it. ed territory, played politics, raised
In these early centuries the seat of armies and established military affilia-
In 361 Julian became emperor. Since empire and centre of Christianity was of tions. They ruled over an exploited
all his family had been murdered by the course not Rome, but the distant Con- peasantry who lived in abject poverty or
Christians he was leaning towards "pag- stantinople. Inevitably, differences of
even slavery. They demanded the help
anism"; he was very popular and com- opinion developed. These came to a
of kings in return for bestowing upon
paratively tolerant, he even allowed the head when Leo II was on the throne in
them divine sanction, or, in effect, pro-
Jews back into Jerusalem to rebuild Constantinople. He decreed that accord- vided moral justification for any of their
their temple. ing to the Holy Scriptures it was not deeds.
4
 Pepin, King of the Franks, was the
first major King to serve the Pope (754)
and his son Charlemagne became
famous for enlarging the Christian em-
pire.
He did so by giving the conquered
barbarians the choice: become Christ-
ians or die. To show he meant business
he put 4,500 captured Saxons to death.
Pope Leo III was so hated that he had
to flee Rome into Charlemagne's arms,
and the latter put him back onto the
papal seat. A successor, pope Leo IV
made the Vatican a military fortress and
called it after himself: the "Leonine
City".
The following centuries saw a bloss-
oming of Christian power, militarily and
economically. But if our present pope
plans a return to these times, he'd better
lay by a supply of condoms; most of the
popes were fornicators and gluttons,
many died of syphilis, others of poison
administered by their "friends" and
relatives. Many kept mistresses, and on
occasions the mistresses ruled. Suspi-
cious circumstances surrounded many
deaths: Benedict XI died after eating iOJj~
from a basket of figs offered to him by h';~-<"~
a nun. Pope Alexander VI died when
drinking of wine which his son had pre-
pared to kill one of the cardinals (Car-
dinal of Cometo). On occasions the suc-
~;L~{~
"'XA ''1:;::;~""VtAJ;IJ
cession of Popes was a matter for violent
dispute between rival supporters, and so ,~:~f~~Z"
lucrative was the papacy that arms were ALEXANDER VI (Roderigo Borgia): He bought his election at the
taken up to fight for it. Once there were college ot cardinals and used his otl"ice to advance the schemes at his
even three popes, at other times, rival children Caesar and Lucretia Borgia. Kept a harem at the Vatican and
popes ruled from different cities. had nude courtesans dancing tor him at (easts. Invited sultan Bajazet to
A "blossoming"? Hardly. enter Europe to fight his rivals. Died in 1503 when his son attemptrd to
If the Holy Crusades seem a romantic poison a cardinal, but the cook had been bribrd and the Holy Father
era today we should recall the immense himself tell victim to thr scheme.
cruelties perpetrated, not only by It was important to maintain the The fight against heresy became an
knights engaged in valiant battle; there superstition and ignorance of the masses. all-consuming passion and obsession
was wholesale slaughter of innocents. Then as now it was desirable to keep with some churchmen. Ignatius Loyola,
Although the object of the exercise was to them in mortal fear of offending God a young Spanish soldier wounded by the
liberate the Holy Land from Non-Christ- and risking eternal damnation. Popular French, decided to devote his life to
ians, the knights did by no means al- fiction paints churches of the time as stamping out heresy. As soon as he got
ways fight shoulder to shoulder; their sanctuaries, and the clergy as men of better, he founded the Society of Jesus,
rivalry was often so that they formed peace. Yet it is impossible to think of an Order that swore absolute obedience
alliances with the saracens to fight rival any war where the church did not ren- to the Pope. Members voluntarily ab-
Christians. In the "Children's Crusades" der active encouragement, and churches rogated their right to make any judge-
which began with small children singing were never places of sanctuary. ment or to maintain their own con-
along the road, 15 000 youngsters Enemies, and be they women and small science. They obeyed, unhesitatingly,
perished before they reached the 'Holy' children, were dragged from under the blindly, uninquiring. The Jesuits ("The
Land. Many were sold into slavery. very altars to be killed, for civilised rules Lord's Rednecks") "set about to undo
The Church takes pride in having con- did not apply to heretics. the work of the Reformation, not only
trolled scholastic and juridical life Heretics were pursued mercilessly, killing anybody critical of Holy Rome,
in these centuries. But the monasteries, nothing could protect them. Not even but torturing them, believing that the
which were the seats of learning and the solemn .promises of men of God. more horrible the torture, the 'more'
where monks· laboured over the copies Jan Huss, the early church reformer, God would be pleased with them. This
of manuscripts; stifled all enquiring was invited to Constance to talk it over; band of criminals was outlawed in many
minds. It was the kind of learning which and having been given a promise that he countries, and for a time even by the
did not tolerate new ideas. And extreme would not be harmep, he turned up. His Pope himself. They later surfaced again
means were employed to keep it that trust into Papal ethics cost him dearly: to continue their activities in a more
way. When scholars started to find out he was burnt. cerebral manner. They are still legal in
the true nature of the universe, they Up to 12 million people were burnt most countries.
were burnt for their troubles. or otherwise tortured to death during Prior to the Reformation the Church
Justice was administered mainly for the blossoming of the Church in the had devised a variety of ingenious
the purpose of maintaining the' status Dark Ages. At no other time was the schemes to part fools with their money.
quo which was beneficial to papal power of the church so supreme, and The pope's agents travelled through the
power. the suffering of the people so great. land selling "indulgences". For this
scheme to work it was necessary for
people to believe in sin and in hell -
Catholic education paid off. Viith every
bit of money one gave to the Pope one
could buy a little respite from the
flames of hell. The sale of relics was an-
other thriving business. Virtually hund-
reds of tons of the true cross were sold,
as well as hundreds of Saint Magdalene's
genuine gall stones. All these things
worked miracles, and the belief in this
bric-a-brac is encouraged even today,
where the shroud of Tourin is still
touted as having covered Jesus.
The reformation took place because
the church was so corrupt that it had
lost any semblance to what it claimed to
be. "If only the pope knew", people
said (even Martin Luther said it), "he
would Pl;l t a stop to it. .. "
The pope was of course utterly unre-
sponsive to the demands of reformers.
He was on to a good thing. When the Re-
formation took place, the church struck
back hard, with massacres and a revival
of the notorious inquisition.
The Peace of Augsburg, which ended The stifling atmosphere of religious ordered that no book whatsoever could
the Reformation in Germany, allowed dogmatism had never completely ex- be printed without papal permission.
Kings and Princes to chose between Pro- tinguished man',s curiosity about the He rightly feared the light of reason.
testantism and Catholicism, unfortuna- universe. Christopher Columbus had Books produced abroad were danger-
tely in included the proviso that once a reached the West Indies in 1492, believ- ous contraband, drawing severe punish.
Prince had chosen, all his subject had to ing he was circumnavigating a globular ment to anyone found reading them.
chose the same. And no other religions earth. Magellan sailed around "the Even touching them was declated a sin.
were allowed either. world" in 1519. Although the pope was Such books did not only include all Rro-
At least there was, for a while, relig- ready to divide the globe (by "'The testant works, but even (at th_e time)
ious peace. Pope's Line") to share the heathens be- any translation of the New Testament,
This was broken some sixty years tween the rival colonising powers, he since it was sacrilege to remove it from
later when Rudolph II succeeded his was not ready to endorse - or even to the Latin language. The books of Eras-
more tolerant father to the throne. Ru- consider - newly -discovered evidence mus were banned as well ! The list of
dolph had been brought up in Spain, about the nature of the world. The bible dangerous books was enlarged through
and when he returned to Germany he had the answers, nothing else was the centuries until modern times, and
decided to do the right thing and stamp needed. Even a hundred years after Mag- included some of the greatest authors.
out protestantism, beginning with Bo- ellan, Galileos's writings were banned as To become banned by the Pope be-
hemia. This started the Thirty Years heretical and the astronomer was forced came a sign of quality.
War which devastated Central Europe. - by pain of death - to recant. The "New World" being conquered
Each side claimed to have God on their by Spain and Portugal was seen, firstly,
side and believed that any of their own In 1543 the murderous Inquisitor as potential source of wealth, secondly
atrocities was therefore excusable. General Caraffa (later Pope Paul IV) as souls to be converted to Catholicism.

GUARDIAN
ANG EL.

There was no mercy

for those who did not toe
the Catholic line.
Uncounted millions
were cruelly murdered
in the name of God.
South America, even now a stronghold Jews were systematically exterminated Franco and all the other tyrants into
of Catholicism, was converted by the the Church did more than stand idly by, discredit.
force of the sword. The natives were they considered it a welcome bonus to Catholic countries in the Americas
asked to convert voluntarily, or be put Christianity and God's work. America's are groaning under the weight of the
to death. ative kings were executed to war in Vietnam ("Cardinal Spellman's newly added millions each year:
make an example and to show which War") enjoyed the wholehearted sup· millions who are born to be landless
side God was on. Religion became a tool port of the established Churches, peasants or jobless city dwellers - and
to keep the masses superstitious, ignor- Catholic and Protestant alike, who saw still the Pope calls for more children. He
ant and exploitable by the land owners it as a confrontation between the good knows that without such population
who were the natural patrons of this Christian West and the evil Atheist East. growth in Catholic countries, Catholi-
type of religion. Similar conditions were Active dissenters, although vocal, were a cism would be in the decline. Preaching
created, or attempted, in African minority. against family planning in over-crowded
colonies, the Philippines and Pacific Is· The papacy believes in nuclear arms. countries is not exactly a blossoming of
lands. While speaking, as usual, for a need for Christian wisdom.
The power of the church waned in peace, it has not supported disarma- In years to come it will be seen as a
modern times, but it has not been ment. Far from "turning the other crime equalling those commited in the
broken. There has been no war where cheek", the Pope says we need nuclear Middle Ages.
the official churches have not partici- arms as deterrent*. The Pope criticises In retrospect there can be only one
pated in some way. German Christians Catholic dissenters who preach non- €ra where the Christian spirit
were made to pray for a German vic- cooperation with the nuclear.-aJms race, "blossomed": the early days of
tory and told that God was on their and who preach freedom for Central Christianity, when it was a minority reo
side, while French and English Christ· America. ligion, withou t multi· billion assets,
ians believed God was with them. The The great Catholic statesmen of without the power of arms at their beck
Catholic Church identified with today can be found in the poorest and call, without a powerful caste of
Franco's fight against the legal Spanish countries. Ferdinand Marcos and Gen. priests. Yes, these are the days the
government, and the Christian parties in eral Pinochet spring to mind, though Catholic church should return to ...
Germany supported Hitler. When the both are about to follow Somoza and The world would breath a sigh of relief.
* The Pope in a speech 10 the UN, June 1982.-
"In current conditions, deterrence ... may still be judged morally acceptable. "

. '-.
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i '\ - -.

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~- - .~-~_~,.:- - :.f-' ~-
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=~ ~_- ..- ... ~~~~~ .... ~~.-~=.---~. -~c-.--~- --

_.- - -tii'E'~~ftirl:7ccR:ll~~AN\-·R:"i¥~~
Detail from a cartoon by Thomas Nast (1840·1902). Nast was a life-long campaigner against the intrusion of
religion into schools and politics.
HOEY SINNERS
THE PAPACY TODAY OWES MUCH TO THE COLOURFUL CHARACTER OF PREVIOUS
POPES WHO HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO MAKE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH INTO WHAT
IT IS TODAY.
St.DAMASUS (reigning pope between
366-84), murdered 160 of his oppon-
ents (who had objected to his com-
mittingadultery) in a church where
they had taken refuge. Catholic claims
that this was only a "faction fight"
cannot explain why not a single one of
Damasus' party was killed. This "saint"
is still invoked by believers in cases of
I'"" ,~.
~<
SIXTUS III (432-40) Accused of "de-
bauching a virgin" he was acquitted, by
a council not because of innocence,
but "because the judge of all ought to
be judged by none. "
BONIFACE II (530-32),; bought his
office, accused his rival of having tried
to do the same. He solemnly excom-
municated this rival (Dioscorus) and
persecuted his supporters. A later pope
removed the excommunication.
VIGILUS (537-55); killed his own sec-
retary in a rage, had his sister's son
whipped to death. When banished by
the emperor, he repented to save his
skin.
I didn't know
fhe whip
/ wen loaded ...
PELAGiV::," (555-60); accused of hav-
ing poisoned his predecessor. " BENEDICT'IX
St.GREGORY (the Great, 590-604); an
enemy of education, forbade the study
of classic authors, said to have burned
the Palatine Library founded by Aug-
ustus Caesar; promoted a belief in
superstitions and miracles.
SABINIAN (604-6); accused St. Greg-
ory of having bought his office, and
according to church history the latter
appeared to him in four separate vis-
ions. After the forth apparition the
ghostly saint had enough of trying to
convince Sabinian of his innocence and
hit him over the head so that he died
soon after!
THEODORUS (642-49), commenced
the custom of dipping his pen into
consecrated wine (the "blood of
Christ") when signing death orders.
St.SERGIUS I (687-701); like so many
popes was accused of adultery. But in
this case, according to church history,
his innocence was proved. The child he
was accused of fathering~ when it was
only 8 days old, cried out: "The pon-
tiff Sergius is not my father!" (The
baby not only talked at a rather early
age but could even remember whose
sperm he started with!)
And ~op cqlfiY/9
me "/lofy fqfhei~1
CONSTANTINE (708-15) , to please
him, they cut out the tongue and eyes
of the Archbishop of Ravenna for
heresy.
STEPHEN III (768-72); upon his elect-
ion, he punished his predecessor and
his supporters by blinding their eyes.
EUGENIUS II (824-27); pioneered
many sadistic practices:, such as the
"ordeal by cold water" to help confes-
sions along.
toY
,~\.?
did n'f wani
-fer He WOllfcln'f
to (jJe
CIS
-&4
(o\d vl~vented
h(J.ve (1'\
if. "'"
n\
[j
JOHN VIII (872-82); ordered the
bishop of Naples to bring him the
chief men of the Sarazens, and when
they were delivered, had their throats
cut. Died ot poison administered by a
relative of a married lady he had "se-
duced".
STEPHEN VI (869-7); had the body
of a former pope disinterred, dressed
in episcopal robes and placed on the
pontificial chair; he then asked him:
"Why didst thou, being bishop of
Porto prompted by ambition, usurp
the universal see of Rome?" When the
dead ex-pope did not offer a satisfact-
ory explanation, he was stripped of his
vestments, and three fingers (those
used in blessing) were cut off.
~(?f<:Vf
6:l 8
JOHN XI (931-36); son of pope Sergius
III and Marozia who was the concub-
ine "of several popes. "Elected" as pope
at the agf! of 18. A half brother by the
same mother expelled him and impris-
oned their mother.
JOHN XIII (956-64); nominated him-
self pope when he was 17; cohabited
with his father's concubines, guilty of
numerous sexual perversions; cruel in
punishing objectors to his debauchery:
deprived one deacon of his ritJht hands
and his balls, put out the eyes of an-
other, cut otf the nose of the keeper
of archives etc. etc. Died from a blow
on the head while in bed with a
married woman.
BONIFACE VII (974); murdered his
predecessor, robbed the Basilica and
fled with the plunder, but returned
later to murder John XIV, then on the
papal throne.
GREGORY V (996-99); punished his
opponent by depriving him or his
sight, cutting off his nose and tearing
his tongue out; then had the victim pa-
raded through the streets sitting back-
wards on a donkey.
BENEDICT VIII (1012-24); when
Rome was being damaged by a storm
he saved it - by having the Jews arres-
ted and execu ted!!!
J°et '{({I, sit, JOme
ae neQI
v are 5fl.( (Cl /'lVe-.(
Je.I\I5) 'II pe
E"O? fht~:r~or~lfJ
\ ( '5" a{\o V<,.
~
~ ~Jij
(1033-46); a nephew
of previous popes; grasped the chair at
age of 12 or 18 (depending on which
records are correct); committed adult-
ery, murder etc.. Lusting after the
body and the goods of a female cousin
he sold the papacy to a certain John
Gratianus, whom he consecrated as
Gregory VI. Receiving a golden hand-
shake, he retired from his career of
murder and mayhem to live in his own
territories.
ADRIAN IV (1154-59); only English-
man who ever became pope. gave qway
Ireland to Henry n "receiving· an
annual tribute for it. "Had his oppon-
ents burned at the stake.
INNOCENT III (1198-1216); claimed
a universal empire and used the inqui-
sition to enforce that claim, Butchered
tens of thousands of his opponents.
GREGORY IX (1227-41); built his
power on the inquisition, raised taxes
everywhere, excommunicated kings
and incited nations to revolt. Was fin-
ally ignominiously driven from Rome.
BONIFACE VIII (1294-1303); called MARTIN V (1417-31); under his rule PAUL III (1534-49); he acknowledged
himself King of Kings, enriched his Jan Huss was burnt alive after having an illegitimate son and daughter. When
estate by instituting the sale of indul- been promised safe conduct if he came the emperor criticised him for promo-
gences; excommunicated all who dis- to discuss his grievances. ting two of his young grandchildren as
puted his claim of being supreme ruler EUGENIUS IV (1431-47); his first act cardinals, the pope pointed out that
of the universe. Lived in concubinage was yo put to torture the treasurer of this was his right - predecessors had
with his two nieces, guilty of several his predecessor and hanging 200 even made infants in the cradle into
treacherous assassinations. friends of the previous pope. Was de- cardinals. I

CLEME '1 V (1305-1314); burnt alive posed by the Council of Basle, but
',.,0'" ey) Y Ol,(rt preJJrrs /
the granc. master of the Templars and waged a civil war. 0'" \..e* me Qepoinf hiw,
his supporters under false charges. Ur- PAUL II (1464-71); corrupt and mer- a curdll1Q! ((
ged new crusades, announcing that ciless, amassed immense treasures; tor- ri9ht qwo.y . .(
every crusader gained the right to free tured the chief members of the Roman
four souls of his choice from purgat- Academy on the rack, tearing some of
ory. them to pieces.
URBA_ VI (1378-89); a vicious des-
pot, he ordered 6 cardinals brutally SIXTUS IV (1471-84); claimed that he
tortured. He and a rival pope excom- found the papal treasury empty when
municated each other, and the schism he ascended the chair, but nevertheless
between the two papacies cost thous- lavished immense wealth (rom it on his
ands of lives. His rival John XXII was relatives. By seizing grain'. and selling it
found guilty of murder and incest, had abroad he created famines
also been accused of having seduced which he exploited to enrich himself.
200 nuns. ( INNOCENT VII (1484-92); establish-
'< . ca~"i
L1 be p6pe. ( ed a bank in Rome for the sale of par-
o ~muV\iCqfed yol./ . 1 dons. Each sin had a price. Needed
enormous sums to maintain a lifestyle
\ ~c.O ) ({\vnlcqled of vice and waste. Once pledged the The crimes of the popes did not cease
papal tiara as security. su ddenly , bu t certainly became less
1e~L!~~1
~
yOU I t.r ALEXANDER VI (1492-1503); one of spectacular after the Reformation.
While the papacy today embraces
the most brutal and criminal of popes,
died accidentally by poison which had some humanist ideas it is still so blin-
,( . Cfi' ~ " .~ , been intended for a disliked cardinal. ded by self-interest that it opposes
measures (like birth control) that are
now vital for the continuation of
civilisation and indeed life on this
{" "!~\ planet. It is incredible that there is
still a number of Catholics . who place
unquestioning trust into a leadership
which history shows to have been con-
sistently opposed to universal human
ideals and so-called "Christian" ones.
 From the Papal Tour 1979:
Left: from an article by James Reston,
(New York Times), reprinted in "The
r Age", (4/10/79)
-- _ hunge , " he Below: About the same Papal tour,
ausesa litY, 'n depend, "on described by Hugh Mulligan, who
inequ yth1ng vn NatlOns, nd accompanied the Pope on his plane.
"E'1e~e Dnitedd:fferences at' e (AAP, "The Age", 5/10/79)
told these 1 re of t\ '1iE'
whet 'her t. n the sphe \l\ be sys- .t. e, Pope.~
contras~s 1 of goods %
throUgh. fap"tam QUigleY'hI
osse~Slon reduce anS, on 0 stee~age.is f
~ernatlca\lY'ecti'1e rn~f bung~r, fter his 2~-da re.sh . as '.
trulY eft'the belts derde'1eloPl-l e"t.and eating Y
whether. ' un. ra cy Wl pe lte.
sh P~gIJi~.
a ll~earty
wfih
alnutntlon, and Uhte nomic cCordin '
~ent, disea~~om t~e eco .ss relea~est~ha~h~ faIlout, ot
disapPfa~he world. . the turn- ng Wordsmiths i::nmerse the
rna? eOdid not ~:R~~~f srnr::k~dH~l~~1inesshas o~ ~fu:~
POPE of, the
'" r
," lObster therrni3 and eel, caviar,
Of,veal ~callo or. and. a choice
a 1aPI~ plet JllJ8l10n and

RIPPED OFF BY
chIcken
y two kinds
kbapustniak 0:~~¥eh' preceded
""''''de f IS soup_
and :k ' ••~ rom 'saue 'k
sausages COOkedr. .taut
IRELAND
"The church was totally ripped off
. broth~
broth.
marrow bone
shc t of roast duck . ,-an~ 'a bor-
In a neh
In a

when the Pope visited Ireland" com. .All of this Is .

plained papal representative Mo~signor hIS favorite dess tOPPed. Off wlth
Ralph Brown (quoted in "The Age, 25/ of Ie. a specialit ertt~IInY' kart-
6/81). He was determined that such a Cracow. Y of Jus belOved
thing should not happen again, and a .After lunch th .
specialist was hired to prevent any rip. flIght- deck and e Pope VisIts the ..,
off, or rather have the profits go the _ !n faC',.J- - spends some t'
right people. Mark McCormack whose
gave b·IT th to a ante"" . ••• ~.
firm was chosen to handle the' English
. 6 JUNE a young w.o~ in a buildi.ngon
tour of the Pope, had successfully ON .d t want hig h capital 0 f
organised the tours of Mohammed Ali,
Rod Steward, Michael Parkinson, Bjorn
child sh~ d~ ~~reet in Valletta, t ~d in a state
St Patf\~k~alie pisani, 24 y~ars ~ir ' took her
Borg, Chris Lloyd and many others, also Malta. Na imagine what ~s~ w'on to the
the Royal Wedding. Usually he charges : of who can it from a wm 0 trial for
~O% of the take, for the Pope he made " child and thr~~w NoW she stang~monstrate.
0

It a mere 20%, which he estimated to be pavement be Nothing could h desperate

ughWr. \0 ht of t e h r
about 2 million dollars. The take of the . mansla icaUy the pig. hich denies :
Papal tour was expected to be $12 mill. . more trag an in a sOCietyw { rtility and in .
ion. "If anyone tries to use the official , pregnan~~~: control her ~w~v:mment pl~ns
logo without the firm's agreement, a , .the. mea tly announce. g. llnics are b
lawsuit is more than likely", McCor. which recen family plannmg;c . hurch
mack said, And Monsignor Brown ad. to introdUceh by the catholiC C. Melbourne Herald
dedi ". . , for us, money is as much a bitterly {oug t, 22 Sept. 1978
reality as the Holy Trinity Itself." \ . itsau ~'-_.
~ Fri., AAp· A
Imposed suspended se - court. today
, jail on two Cathol' nte.nces of six months
hose daughter died'~h~t'ebst~ .and a. couple
I e emg exorcIsed.

Faith, hope and vandalism

ARMED with scissors and razors,
Philadelphian Catholics ran rampant
for papal souvenirs. Durin~ a High'
Mass. they cut and hacked away at
whatever they could snatch. . "Maybe he'll be a saint some day and
As the. Pope left St P.etec's Chul'ch,
and while Mass continued, the con-
~re~ation went berserk. .'
Withih minutes a white aisle ru~"
was demolished - cut into pieces and,
stowed. in handbags and pockets -
satin ribbons were ripped from posts
and prayer books "souvenired", while
priests fou~ht to keep order.
But the faithful were umishatned.
I'll have a relic;" said Mrs Joanne
Logan, who, like 'many others, came
armed with scissors. .
Theresa Schultz felt the same. "The
Pope walked on it," she said, as she
tore a huge chunk out of the carpet.
 'Lookingwith S
at wife a sin
T"e pope
orn01ed Italy by on-
"as'

"Duneing that it is a
S1" for ",an to "look
"The pope ~aY oo,se
1ves
on ,hi

""t'" lust" at his wife.

pope John Paul l\uac'f:.-
ed lust within marriage at
his week\Y general aU-
dience last WednesdaY,
and provoked a storm. ofo
criticism in the Itaha.
pres.';.·
Under
headlines like
"1oe Sin of LoOKing"

'ill) Of l e
and "00 l'olol pesire
Your .• the 'P~l'e

. ::.,.,:
..•':f'
tCI'-th
qu

4 Cl,
",,1.0 /01", \low .flS' ber Joe' ••1•••••
01
{F·n ",.OS1i; ,
."io" ••d"'" ,,0'
.PPC.' •• _t b'" hnnd,.d
oo
."d f~,t,-f.'" tl>o",.."d ",ithf"I' ohO"ly .fter
° d
n "0 '" ,Cie
b~eek:n in ~ kiJ!'.~Of the
,",Might 00 ~'''''. 6 ",.t ib ,••• '" ,.y ••k"l,,;; pc,;!e"ed t·ideftt'hb is' 15 tfaith b
,.u" "'0 r~ Y",
~p'
,io"S'
• boso,1
.',,, on tho 1\,t.lo,
I\,",~ ..~~or••
bo '0•••••·
on Lo~J.alond s hJs
!'-IrsectedOUsfaithharl11
l'eligi
.'dt he4u
Z.cko
"e
fco",
deirust. .
he b.st
Uid"'.n he
be t1}.at
"I/ons'
frotn
rea~len.,
.ikin g. thrOUO"I-.
f''''
Y e • i t. °d "'hYOU1d b elieTl •••

. ray .f or . "'.8 OUt R0"'an .d",

"'c 42, ",:n, C.
c b.hiC.th··
nOU irh."
p~ino lino.
d tec . Mc Z
" ~ '. s • ';;'tco
Old M
Pc ed
iFtect
hM
recr . S or rl es t Is ,~%:p:"~"iC '" 1'Sc;;l
tes~~~Whh~' e w s On. er Of as w

else P .Y
gry 1J~skille~s bo~eligigar.

UI t lls. bYt;'hhe~S

i~;NN~~~
w'l'l ydney h
Tc~epr~iishop
athoHc pals 01
p~~~~ i~atgf~iCa
denomination. ny -other
::men
1 be d' aa.ve bIS bee school will be 5
at
mahgree WithlSmls~ed
pupil. hop'S ess
d they
unnltoldthey' .mediate
extea 2 Y.
wooid pnests
aod Iincould
well.
j pIa
OU,re"" " .an "tid.•••by T Coli, fmm
From "Phone 'Y Hdl"
bo~'J men ,g,a each /m I . not be 1 ye, 'he .>on. 'm· dom,,"'''' Low"n" on ,on
t .' en'er Ibe ay:
y andfor ",,"::ho . MUldoifilled." demand
p
26/7/198~)"~~" (Mdb. H"obl •.
""hop" pnest- th" ;'P?mt ,.oon "" d,nominolion o'h" "I,giou,
.assistant bThomas M . The le/
glOn foPranof pread for a domestic strl'''esauftCers so m.uch

region .lshop ed
.aid . 01 the S f0' the o!.doo
n, the tha<PUPHpamn in" Ore yer'' i-
dem
' , o'h 0 I,,,.
thatgraVechurch
of ~~ea "i,
'ette;~ney
• was are~J.'the,"
0 parish
"i p,"'ose.
nost, in
"fo, 'h th e 01,inth,odes
a dec~3orthe';V:ry ~g,onth:o,atio""
pad'h
will,c hou"w"t witb
Vi""n,a manaod
a p~tol ,tonn ,hOth~out ne",h'
of bl
T ci:r'becaus~
.. ao'f.tate
the cation, etoexplicit. osa,y eo~'
the p,.'n'enlion c . h'" th,ou,b a to
bOenl~ten,n, f,ont window.b,oad",t
a reli,io", H' had
h. Ag •• NOD. 1980 • '""hoo" ,'- on tel",i"on and bad felt in,!,i,ed to

-~~---------_.
AN lDQ'URGATBD BIBLE
, CHICAGO.
u G00910 SUfft\\, Mr. Frank R. Chandler recen1ly cele-
brated .llis 9O\hbirthdaY, and took the op-
portun1ty to . comment. upon theust.. 20tb
S,,~S\\\S\\O\' century Bible" whicb he has i pUb-
•. In it:' he said, •. I have exPurgated all
lished.
immoralities, indelicacies, and irrele-
vancies. I ha.ve left. stars to denote thP-
deletions. For instance, in the Bible 1\
says that Noah Kot drunk. Why do ""e
need to 5ay thatt ASthe Bible stands now
1 'Wouldnot. want a daughter of mine to
read it, but expurgated, as 1 have mt.de it,
U, i5 fine literature.4'-Reuter

. "Only Go ... <:-" .."':'.".--";"...::;';""
d glve
hfe. But GOd . s and tak
and We're ISbusy else es
undertake th ~he ones wh where
0
(Torturer. IS task in At lllust
s, as qUoted b gentina."
Y J. Ttinennan)
cm~[ID
AND THE SWORD OF THE RIGHTEOUS
"My text today is Luke XII, 49 (I come
to send fire on the earth; and what will 1
if it be already kindled?).
How righteously may we, indeed, the
most peaceful pe9ple under the sun, reo
peat those other words of the Prince of
Peace: 'Do not believe that 1 have come
to bring peace to the world, 1 have
come not to bring peace, but the
sword.' Just as the Almighty caused His
son to be crucified for redemption, so
we are to crucify humanity for the reo
newed salvation of mankind. Humanity
must be redeemed by blood, by fire,
and by the sword. Our warriors do not
willingly shed the blood of other'
nations, but they do it as a sacred duty,
which they dare not neglect without
1 hall alwa~s
happens, sHim,
"WhateveGr d and pra~ tlOt the
1 e 0 'thlU 0 "
Ovd remain fal d defend it ...
an rch an
Catholic Chu LJ , innc. h RimmLer
. Boss rJe
NazI
..
• ..;";:Ii-;:. ;:i: .. ~.~
from an Italian post card
showing that the virgin and Saints
w('rc with the soldiet's
committing a sin. Above all, our adored ough war without compassion. The
Emperor abhors the horrors of war. For wicked, the friends and allies of Satan,
many long years he laboured incessantly must be wiped .out of eXIstence. Satan
to maintain the peace of the world. We himself, who has come to the world in
have never used our strength to menace the shape of a great power, must be
the independence of any other nation. crushed, and to us has been entrusted
Just for this reason, on account of our the intensely holy duty of accomplish·
clean record, we have been chosen as ing the destruction of the embodiment
the Almighty's instrument to punish of Evil. When that work is done, fire
the envious, to chastise the evil·doers, and the sword will not have come in
to bring the sword to the sinful vain; humanity will be redeemed; the
peoples of the world. Our divine mis- reign of righteousness will be estab-
sion is to crucify humanity. It is there- lished on the earth, with us as its creator
fore the duty of our soldiers to strike and its armed protector."
blows of merciless violence; they must (Shortened version of a serlnon given
kill, they must burn, they mu~ work by the Rev. Philippi ill Ber/ill, 1915,
wholesale destruction. Half·measures (looln a newspaper article collecteaby
GeorJ!e lues; "Man Bites Man ", Penl!uin)
would be impious; there must be thoro
12

I'll alw~ys remember
the kind face of the Padre.
- salvation was a constant comfort
"\Var has supernatural.use.
we have in the end to love it
. as the religious man
loves his disciples."
Jose Maria Escriva De Ba/aguer .y A/bas·
(Founder of Opus Dei)
Opus Dei is papa Wojtyla's favourite
charity, and he has exulted the quasi-
secret organisation to unprecedented
status. The aim of the organisation is to
infiltrate banks, universities etc., to re-
establish the medieval power of Catholi-
cism. It claims to have 80.000 members
in 80 countries. There are three divi-
sions: priests, men and women. The
women as well as the men are obliged to
scourge themselves at least once a week.
The spokesman of Opus Dei, Father An-
drew Byrne , admits: "It is true that we
withlove
FROM THE BODY OF CHRIST
~~
One of America's nuclear-powered ~.' '$!il
and nuclear-armed submarines has ~
officially been baptised 'S'"
BODY OF CHRIST (Corpus Christi). ,
Apart from a small group of local
Christians nobody objected.
The Catholic hierarchy apparently
agree with the Moral Majority leader
who said that Nuclear Arms were
a gift of God to the USA.
"When we dropped bombs on the
villages I knew that many inno-
cent women and children would
die a terrible death; they would be
burned alive by napalm, maimed,
or buried alive. I come from a very
religious family, and I often
thought of my own wife and chil-
dren back in Massachusetts. I won-
dered how I would manage to live
with the guilt for the rest of my
life. The knowledge that God was
with me and that our kind padre
had done everything for my soul's
in these terrible times. Even today
I could not survive without the
certainty my faith gives me. "
issue whips for self flagellation. Mem-
bers are also encouraged to wear spiked
chains round their thighs. Their use is
not obligatory but many members find
them beneficial". He did not elaborate
in what way they are felt as beneficial.
One of Opus Dei's main activities at
present is the recruitement of new
members. The age for joining is now
14 years. Father Byrne says: "It is true
we run clubs for youngsters ... Priests
are there to talk to those who are inter-
ested. In some cases when a youngster
wants to join we do advise them not to
tell their paren ts ... "
When Mister Wojtyla was archbishop
of Cracow he frequently visited the
Opus Dei headquarters in Rome, and
one of his first acts upon becoming
Pope was to pray at the tomb of its
founder Escriva. He supports all the
aims of Opus Dei.
 "THE POPE'S HANDS
ARE DRIPPING WITH
BLOOD."
(Laura lJiaz Me b
for Livourn1e . m er of Parliarrwnt
at o.t ' III a speach delivered
I ona, 15. 4. 1946.

Between 1925 and 1935 the Vatican re-
presentative in Berlin was a certain
cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who was in-
strumental in negotiating the famed
"Concordat" between the Holy Sea and
the Nazis. (Dictionary description of-
concordat: a harmonious agreement.)
The pope at the time was Pius XI) char- :
acterised by the Cologne Gazette as
"the most German Pope who ever sat on
the throne of St.Peter". In 1939 he was
followed by an even more "German"
pope: Eugenio Pacelli, now calling
himself Pius XII. He told his friend Rib-
bentrop that he always had a special af-
fection for Germany.
Von Papen, Hitler's most "respectable"
statesman who had negotiated the Con-
cordat, defines Nazism as "a Christian
reaction against the spirit of 1789", and
'indeed, fascism was securely linked
with Christianity. Hitler was a Catholic
as were nearly all of his henchmen, and
throughout his life he confessed his be.
lief and his conviction that providence
. protected him. The Vatican was re-
putedly pleased to see Catholic Austri-
ians and Bavarians establishing them '-
selves in Protestant Prussian Berlin,'
poised to "liberate" the East.
The originator of fascism, Mussolini,
had already been praised by the pope as
savior of Italy, and even when he began
his bloody military campaigns, the Va-
tican supported him. The Jesuit cardinal
of Milano, Archbishop Alfredo Ildefon-
so Schuster, called the barbaric' Ethiop-
ean war a Holv Crusade, and the pope
himself (Pius XI at the time) explained:
"Italy thinks lhe war is justified be-
cause of a pressing need for expansion".
The. occupation of Albania was not
oppOsed by the Church either.
If Catholics felt uncomfortable with
political leaders whose hands became
bloodier each year, they were reminded
that it was their duty to obey established
governments. No such reminder came
forth in support to the lawful govern-
ment in Madrid. The pope excommuni-
cated the heads of the Spanish repub-
lic and declared spiritual war. The pri-
mate of Spain, ,the Archbishop, vir-
tually proclaimed civil war. Champion
of the Church General Franco, suppor-
ted by Hitler and Mussolini (and his
moorish African troops who were Mo-
hammedans!) enjoyed the full blessings
of the pope who praised the tyrant in
flowery words. In language that seems
to echo from previous centuries, bishop
Gomara preached: "Blessed are the can-
nons if, in the breaches they open, the
gospel springs up!"
In all the honest memoirs of church-
people of the time it is. confirmed that
the mood in Europe's Catholic institu-
tions was enthusiastically fascist. Catho-
lic students went to Rome and returned
full of praise. From hundreds of docu-
ments here is a typical example on how
Catholic groups identified with fascism:
The "Catholic Action Centre" in Bel-
gium, .organised by Monsignor Picard,
who openly proclaimed Mussolini a
genius and expressed the wish for a
similar dictator for all Catholic
countries, published "Avant Garde", a
paper whose aim it was to weaken the
ties between England, France and Bel-
gium. The publishing house, "Christus
Rex" was managed by Leon Degrelle
who not only welcomed German occu-
pation, but who fled with the Nazis
when the Allies advanced. Did such men
act behind the pope's back? Certainly
14
not. Pius XI said: "The men of Catholic
Action would fail in their duty if, as
opportunities allow it, they did not dir-
ect the politics of their provinces and
of their countries." (Pius Xl's \ letter
"Peculari Quadam") .
The above mentioned Catholic leader
Degrelle could later be heard on Berlin
radio broadcasting to his liberated com-
patriots: "I have asked my Fuhrer for
20,000 flying bombs. They will chastise
an idiotic people. I will promise you
they will make Anverse a city without a
port, a port without city ... " (Anverse
was indeed heavily bombed.)
The Church often attempted to dis-
own such men after the war, not too
convincingly. "Catholic Action's" chief
wrote in his memoirs: "Being a fervent
Christian ... I would not have consider-
ed collaborating (with Hitler) without
first consulting the religious authori-
ties". He goes on to describe in detail
their answers.
The Vatican had already established a
"Collequium Russicum", a Jesuit insti-
tute prepared to re-evangelise the con·
quered area in the East, under the ex-
plicit protection of the Wehrmacht and
the SS. It was no secret that the pope
expected Adolf Hitler to win the war.
There are numerous references to this in
the correspondence between Berlin and
Germany's representatives in the Vatican.
While most Catholics at the time lived
under fascist rule or with fascist sym-
pathies (as in South America), there
were also Catholics in Anglo-Saxon
countries, and the allied representatives
were anxious to gain the support of the
pope. Numerous representations were
made, documenting atrocities commit·
ted by the Nazis. In 1941 (just to give
an example), wh en Pacelli was already
pope, Roosevelt's personal representa-
tive begged the pope to denounce Nazi
barbarities. After three weeks ',came
the pope's reply, containing the sen-
tence: " ... up to the present time it has
not been possible to verify the accuracy
thereof '(the atrocities)"1. , propaganda against Catholicism ... "6
In December 1942 the Allies, includ-
ing governments in exile, issued a decla-
ration condemning German atrocities
which went way beyond waging war -
the well documented extermination
campaigns, The pope, asked to co-sign
the declaration, refused, telling Myron
Taylor to report back to Washington
that the Holy Sea (Cardinal-Secretary
of, State Maglione, to be precise)'
had been unable to "verify the Allied re-
ports as to the number of Jews exter-
minated" 2" (In other words, while it
was unclear whether one million or two
million had been gassed, one should not
issue rash declarations!)
The pope's Christmas message of
1942 was less reserved:
"This is not a time for lamentation,
but action. May the Crusades' enthu-
siasm get hold of Christianity, and the
call of 'God wants it!' will be heard;
may we be ready to serve and sacrifice
ourselves, as the Crusaders of old ... We
exhort and implore you to take upon
yourselves the awful gravity of the pre-
sent situation ... As for the volunteers
who participate in this Holy Crusade of
modern times, . . . raise the standard
high, declare war on the dark~ess of a
world separated from God". Hitler
could not have put it better. 'If Catholics
in fascist countries had any doubts on
which side the pope stood, this war-like
message removed them. The Allied 'were
aghast. When they approached the Holy
Father, he pointed out that he had
named no names, that he had also
spoken of his concern about the dis-
placed and the persecuted, and Jews
could feel free to incl]lde themselves into
that category. Taylor's assistant H.H.
Tittman reported to Washington that on
December 30, during an audience with
the pope, the holy man had "led him to
believe that he felt· that there had been
some exaggeration (of Nazi evil) for the
purposes of propaganda" 4.
A week later, when the pope was
again urged to qualify his Christmas
words so that they could not be taken
as a blanket approval of Hitler's war, he
said that "his public statements had
satisfied all demands recently made
upon him to speak out."5.
The pope had indeed made some
statements for the consumption in
allied countries that could be interpre-
ted as showing sympathy with the Jews.
But bishops in fascist territory were
never encouraged by the pope to follow
that line. '
One studies with interest the German
documents of the era. Hitler, as a Catho-
lic, was naturally anxious to maintain
the good will of the pope, and many en·
quiries were made as to his holy react-
ion to the gas ovens. There are dozens
of references to show that the pope's
good will was never completely with-
drawn from Hitler. Here is a typical
message, addressed to von Ribbentrop,
the Nazi Foreign Minister, from the Ger-
man Embassy in the Vatican, (Oct.28,
1943):
"Even though urged on every side,
the pope has not expressed any demon-
strative reprobation of the deportation
of Jews from Rome. He can expect our
enemies to reproach him in this attitu-
de, and see it exploited by the Protest-
ants of Anglo-Saxon countries in their
Again and again, enquiries from Berlin
were answered: don't worry, the pope is
on our side. The pope's failure to take a
clear stand affected not only Germans.
In the US, the Jesuit father Coughlin,
known for his militant anti-semitism,
kept a radio program going which
claimed to attract 20 million listeners.
I quote this fact because it was ment-
ioned in official German corresponden-
ce as evidence that the Catholic Church
throughout the world was basically pro-
Nazi.
Vichy's Vatican embassador wrote 'to
the French government: "The Church
never professed that the same rights
should be given to all citizens. . . As
someone in authority in the Vatican
told me, you will not find yourselves in
difficulties over the status of the Jews;'7
In the occupied, territories Catholic
scholars came out of the woodwork and
fell over each other in their attempts to
justify Hitler. M. Daniel-Rops of the
French Academy, a most pious man,
wrote this: " ... the face of a persecuted
Jewish nation fills history, bu t it cannot
obliterate this other face, smeared with
blood and spittle, for which the Jewish
crowd, felt no pity ... " and he goes on
to say that it was "divine will" which
"compensated" for the Jewish crime of
crucifying Jesus, making the pogroms an
act of God. So it appears in "Jesus et
son temps" in 1944. After the war such
references were deleted from reprints.
Daniel-Rops' books are still regarded
highly by Catholic scholars.
After the war attempts have been
made to try the pope for war crimes.
That of course was impossible as
millions of Catholics believed that their
Holy Father can do no' wrong. Dozens,
if not hundreds of books have been pub-
lished to show the pope's complicity
with the ,atrocities, committed by
Italy, Spain and Germany, yet the
Church has never found the strength to
say: we were wrong. :A later,' ',pope
has often been quoted as saying that if
Pius XII had spoken out, more people
\ ••.•
~,~
.: :.~ -~ " - ..•..:',':.
. -
would have died. The evidence is to the
contrary, and the statement is at odds
with Pius XII's own words after the war
ended. He was interviewed by the Swiss
journalist Dr. Nerin Gun; the Gazette of
Lausanne, Nov.15 1945 printed this in-
terview, which in part says: "We (the
pope) knew that, for political reasons,
violent persecu tions were taking place in
Germany, bu t We were never informed
as to the inhuman character of the
repression." And that after all the de-
tailed documentation put before him by
the alliedpowers.
Neither has the pope ever spoken out
against the Catholic terror organisations
such as the "Oustachi", which operated
in Yugoslavia, and whose leaders were
all practicing Catholics, declaring that
Oustachi was simply a
religious move-
ment aimed at establishing the true
faith. It is today presented as a Nazi
front. Their hestialities, well documen-
ted, challenge our credulity. Hundreds
of thousands were massacred in the
most cruel ways imaginable. The vict-
ims' eyes were hacked out and garlands
were made of them to be worn and pre-
sented as mementos.8 When the mur-
derers and torturers fled Croatia, first
to Austria, then to Italy to be sheltered
by the Church, they left behind chests
of gruesome reminders of their deeds:
platinum and gold wrenched from the
teeth of tlieir victims, rings and other
loot. Not only did the priests preach
violence from the pulpit, they parti-
cipated. The pope's own representative
was on best terms with Oustachi but-
chers, and the pope himself wrote the
foreword to a book of instructions by
the German Jesuit Muckermann which
contains sentiments like: "Catholic
Action means the gathering of world
Catholicism. It must live its heroic age.
... The new epoch can be acquired for
Christ only through the price of blood.'9
Suurces:
'1) "A"schwitz' alld the Allks", M.Gjlb",·I,
publ. Michal!! Jos"ph Ltd., Londoll 1981.
2) Fo,'eig/l Hela!iolls of tile Ullited Stai<:s,
1942 VoU, Washillgton 1960, p,. 70- 71.
3), "\Val' Messa!!es to th" World' by Pitts XIl,
(lid. Spcs., PUrLS 1945.
4) Foreign Helatio/ls of Ih« Ullikd Sioks,
1942, Vol.3, P. 911-13.
5) [ioreigr, OtIice Papers: 371/34363,C216
6)"St'cret AI'chives ut the WilhdrnslTassH"
7) "A"schwitz and tI,,· Allies"
8) '4Tht! secret hislol';" or thp Jesuits", h,'dl1lU1l1
Poris, p,.o[(:stalll
9) «Assassins
Tndh Society
in. the lla'll(~ (){U<Jd", H.Laurier(',
(Ed. D"foul', 1'01'is 1951) ,
.• ' L.
'--"'~'~
~.•.' '-. y :. " .' . ". .
an example), when Pacelli was already
pope, Roosevelt's personal representa-
tive begged the pope to denounce Nazi
barbarities. After three weeks .came
the pope's reply, containing the sen-
tence: " ... up to the present time it has
not been possible to verify the accuracy
thereof '(the atrocities)"l. . propaganda against Catholicism ... "6
In December 1942 the Allies, includ-
ing governments in exile, issued a decla-
ration condemning German atrocities
which went way beyond waging war -
the well documented extermination
campaigns. The pope, asked to co-sign
the decla!ation, refused, telling Myron
Taylor to report back to Washington
that the Holy Sea (Cardinal-Secretary
of. State Maglione, to be precise)'
had been unable to "verify the Allied re-
ports as to the number of Jews exter-
minated" 2" (In other words, while it
was unclear whether one million or two
million had been gassed, one should not
issue rash declarations!)
The pope's Christmas message of
1942 was less reserved:
"This is not a time for lamentation,
but action. May the Crusades' enthu-
siasm get hold of Christianity, and the
call of 'God wants it!' will be heard;
may we be ready to serve and sacrifice
ourselves, as the Crusaders of old, .. We
exhort and implore you to take upon
yourselves the awful gravity of the pre-
sent situation ... As for the volunteers
who participate in this Holy Crusade of
modern times, . . . raise the standard
high, declare war on the dark~ess of a
world separated from God". Hitler
could not have put it better. 'If Catholics
in fascist countries had any doubts on
which side the pope stood, this war-like
message removed them. The Allied 'were
aghast. When they approached the Holy
Father, he pointed out that he had
named no names, that he had also
spoken of his concern about the dis-
placed and the persecuted, and Jews
could feel free to include themselves into
that category. Taylor's assistant H.H.
Tittman reported to Washington that on
December 30, during an audience with
the pope, the holy man had "led him to
believe that he felt that there had been
some exaggeration (of Nazi evil) for the
purposes of propaganda" 4.
A week later, when the pope was
again urged to qualify his Christmas
words so that they could not be taken
as a blanket approval of Hitler's war, he
said that "his public statements had
satisfied all demands recently made
upon him to speak out."5.
The pope had indeed made some
statements for the consumption in
allied countries that could be interpre-
ted as showing sympathy with the Jews.
But bishops in fascist territory were
never encouraged by the pope to follow
that line. '
One studies with interest the German
documents of the era. Hitler, as a Catho-
lic, was naturally anxious to maintain
the good will of the pope, and many en-
quiries were made as to his holy react-
ion to the gas ovens. There are dozens
of references to show that the pope's
good will was never completely with-
drawn from Hitler. Here is a typical
message, addressed to von Ribbentrop,
the Nazi Foreign Minister, from the Ger-
man Embassy in the Vatican, (Oct.28,
1943):
"Even though urged on every side, would have died. The evidence is to the
the pope has not expressed any demon- contrary, and the statement is at odds
strative reprobation of the deportation with Pius XII's own words after the war
of Jews from Rome. He can expect our ended. He was interviewed by the Swiss
enemies to reproach him in this attitu- journalist Dr. Nerin Gun; the Gazette of
de, and see it exploited by the Protest- Lausanne, Nov.15 1945 printed this in-
ants of Anglo-Saxon countries in their terview, which in part says: "We (the
pope) knew that, for political reasons,
Again and again, enquiries from Berlin violent persecu tions were taking place in
were answered: don't worry, the pope is Germany, but We were never informed
on our side. The pope's failure to take a as to the inhuman character of the
clear stand affected not only Germans. repression." And that after all the de-
In the US, the Jesuit father Coughlin, tailed documentation put before him by
known for his militant anti-semitism, the allied powers.
kept a radio program going which Neither has the pope ever spoken out
claimed to attract 20 million listeners. against the Catholic terror organisations
I quote this fact because it was ment- such as the "Oustachi", which operated
ioned in official German corresponden- in Yugoslavia, and whose leaders were
ce as evidence that the Catholic Church all practicing Catholics, declaring that
throughout the world was basically pro- Oustachi was simply religious move- a
Nazi. ment aimed at establishing the true
Vichy's Vatican embassador wrote ·to faith. It is today presented as a Nazi
the French government: "The Church front. Their bestialities, well documen-
never professed that the same rights ted, challenge our credulity. Hundreds
should be given to all citizens. . . As of thousands were massacred in the
someone in authority in the Vatican most cruel ways imaginable. The vict-
told me, you will not find yourselves in ims' eyes were hacked out and garlands
difficulties over the status of the Jews;'7 were made of them to be worn and pre-
In the occupied territories Catholic sented as mementos.8 When the mur-
scholars came out of the woodwork and derers and torturers fled Croatia, first
fell over each other in their attempts to to Austria, then to Italy to be sheltered
justify Hitler. M. Daniel-Rops of the by the Church, they left behind chests
French Academy, a most pious man, of gruesome reminders of their deeds:
wrote this: " ... the face of a persecuted platinum and gold wrenched from the
Jewish nation fills history, bu t it cannot teeth of their victims, rings and other
obliterate this other face, smeared with loot. Not only did the priests preach
blood and spittle, for which the Jewish violence from the pulpit, they parti-
crowd felt no pity ... " and he goes on cipated. The pope's own representative
to say that it was "divine will" which was on best terms with Oustachi but-
"compensated" for the Jewish crime of chers, and the pope himself wrote the
crucifying Jesus, making the pogroms an foreword to a book of instructions by
act of God. So it appears in "Jesus et the German Jesuit Muckermann which
son temps" in 1944. After the war such contains sentiments like: "Catholic
references were deleted from reprints. Action means the gathering of world
Daniel-Rops' books are still regarded Catholicism. It must live its heroic age.
highly by Catholic scholars. ... The new epoch can be acquired for
After the war attempts have been Christ only through the price of blood.'9
made to try the pope for war crimes.
That of course was impossible as Sources:
millions of Catholics believed that their 1) "Auschwitz· alld Ihe Alli,'s", M.Gilbat,
publ. Michael Juseph Lid., LUl1d,)I/ 1981.
Holy Father can do no' wrong. Dozens, 2) .F()~·eigH Relutiults of the United Stales,
if not hundreds of books have been pub· 1942 Vol,], WushillgtuI11960,1'.70·71.
3). "War Messa!'es tu th •. World' by Pius XIl,
lished to show the pope's complicity (Ed. Spes., PUrlS 1945.
with the .atrocities. committed by 4) FU"eign He/ations of the U"ilt-d Stalt-s,
1942, Vol.3, P. 911·13.
Italy, Spain and Germany, yet the 5) Fureig" Office Papers. 371/34363,C216
Church has never found the strength to 6)"Sccret Archives uf the Wilhdmst"rasse"
7) "Auschwitz und iI", Allies"
say: we were wrong. :A later, '. pope 8) "The secret history or till' Jesuits", b'dtllulIl
has often been quoted as saying that if Puris, Protestallt Tt'uth Society
9) "Assassins in the 110n1(' uf Gud", H.Luurien·,
Pius XII had spoken ou t, more people (Ed. Dufuur, Puris 1951)
.;,.... .,- L.'
\ ,f;:<." ,.. O{/1
~\.'····.~·:r~· . . ~.' ..
c: ~.~ ..
~::-:
~\~ •• ,h .. , •
>"
•. c'.,:," .• _ .~ .. ,""::: •••.•.. '., .\.-:0':~".:
~.,~.~
.' . .... .. ' ....: ... , ~:'.- ..,. . .. '., .' . ",
, -
 C IME AND THE FEAR OF GOD
"Convicts as a class seem to be the most Philippines, France and Yugoslavia, and
religious people in the country", writes the mixed Protestant/Catholic countries
Leo Kalmer ("Crime and Religion", in the middle. What is surprising is that
Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago) after Catholic Colombians (who are so fer-
examining prison records in the USA. vent that they burn down "amoral" Pro-
While some religious minorities, such testant churches and regard Protestant-
as Jews, Quakers, Wesleyans, and cer- ism and Atheism as crime), have more
tainly atheists, are under-represented in than a hundred times more murders per
jails, Roman Catholics are the most thousand than the nasty Scots! This
crime-prone. At the time of Kalmer's study was made in the years 1957, 57
survey sixty percent of Americans pro- and 59, but indications are that the
fessed to no religion and were represen- ratio has not changed much.
ted by ten per cent in jail, and the forty Catholic leaning towards crime is not
percent who considered themselves reli- a modern phenomenon. Joseph McCabe
gious supplied ninety percent of the (also an ex-priest) studied the correlation
jail population. "Therefore", asks of crime and religion over a hundred
Kalmer, "what use religion?" years ago. Here are some of the results
Dozen of studies have been made in from 1880: Top of the list for murders
Europe and America (not only by in Europe were the Catholic countries
atheists), to get to the bottom of of Spain (7.2 murders per 1000) and
the phenomenon: why do churches arid Italy (10.1 per 1000), the least mur-
religious schools turn out so many cri- ders were committed in Protestant
minals? To give some idea of the ratio, <:ountries (England and Wales - 1.2 per
here are some examples:l Wyoming had 1000). The figures presented by Lea for
7.13% Catholics in its population, but some years after that vary only slightly.
32.18 of their prisoners were Catholic. We also have figures from a typical
Colorado had 10.91% Catholics, it's "p.1ixed" country, compiled in
prisons had 37.42% - and so on. 1910 by the Chief Justice of New Zea-
Catholic investigators have tried re- land for that country; while the mem-
peatedly to find factors which could bers of the Church of Englandconsti-
explain the phenomenon without in- tuted 40.27% of New Zealand's populat-
criminating the nature of Catholic ion, 41,47 of their prisoners were C of
teach'ings. They have speculated, for in- E - just a fraction.more than average.
stance, that many delinquents in Amer- Wesleyans were doing well, they were
ica are Catholics from Puerto Rio, Cuba less than three times as crime-prone
and Mexico, and so are much easier to than the average citizen, and Presbyter-
convict because they don't speak Eng- ians were also better than average, bu t the
lish. . Catholics were more than twice as likely
But if Catholic crime was indeed the I to commit a crime than the average
result of the social disadvantages of , New Zealander, or six. ti!lles more likely
aliens, then the latter ought to be doing . than a Wesleyan. The 14.07% Catholics
better in their own countries. This is not made up 32.95% of prisoners.
so. Emmett McLoughlin (an ex-Catholic American gangsterism, as examplified
priest) compiled a list of countries by the Prohibition, was a Roman Catho-
according to the number of murders lic monopoly and criminals, even
per thousand of population. The though they may have murdered and ex-
countries with the least murders were torted on weekdays, went to church on
(in that order) Scotland, Switzerland, Sundays. The mafia today is strictly
Norway and New Zealand - all "Pro- Catholic, and surprisingly fervent. They
testant" countries. The countries with donate large amounts to the church to
the most murders were Colombia, the maintain a feeling of spiritual security,
and maybe to atone for the occasional
murder of an anti-mafia cleric!
It is not true that the large number of
Catholics in American jails are Catholic
by name only. Monsignor Francis Lane,
prison chaplain, said that Catholic pri-
soners had received "the sacraments" on
an average of about two years.
The Catholic brothel and the devout
madam of popular fiction is not so far
removed from fact. New York's army of
Catholics has been found to be almost
half Catholic. Many brothel keepers in-
sist on their girls attending church and
maintain a kind of self-worth by donat-
ing generously to the churches.
It is not only the prisons and the
brothels which are full of Catholics;
mental institutions too have an over-
large Catholic clientele. Emmett
McLoughlin compiled thousands of fig-
ures from American institutions and
they left no doubt that the Catholic
Church produces more madmen than
saints. Many institutions did not keep
records on religion, or in the case of
Catholic houses, were loath to divulge
them and so it was impossible to cOm-
plete accurate statistics. But it is inter-
esting that that 94% of doctors said that
sexual maladjustments are prevalent
among girls from Catholic schcols, 75%
of doctors believed that Catholics gener-
ally were prone to suffer from sex-guilt
disturbances, 91% of doctors said that
the prohibition of birth control had
negative consequences. 86% of doctors
believed that Catholic sexual teaching
caused serious conflict.
The Catholic church is aware of such
statistics, since many studies Were in-
deed conducted by their own. But since
none of their explanations hold water
and the obvious rational explanations
(to which I come in a minute) are not
acceptable to the church, the official
stance is now against compiling statistics.
Independent researchers have been ham-
pered by interference from the church
hierarchy who know that their flock
will show up badly. But newsp~per
articles and talks to field workers
confirm that social problems are most
prevalent among Catholics, including
wife beating, drunkenness etc, and abort·
ion. it has been said that in this age of
anti· discrimination that the publishing
of figures which reflect badly on a sect·
ion of the community is illegal, and
newspapers do not want to offend the
many Catholics among their readers
who, it is true, are probably good
citizens.
Catholic morality has always been
upheld by a hierarchy which at times
was nothing else but organised crime.
Popes poisoned each other, amassed
riches, killed opponents by every avail-
able means. It is astounding how the
Catholic priesthood can present itself
as favouring high moral standards, and
look down on non-Catholics as inferior.
Catholic parents are not only unaware
that Catholic schools are, statistically
speaking, more likely to turn their
children to crime, they would stren-
uously deny it. But "Catholic writers",
according to McLoughlin, "have admit·
ted that confession and indulgences
made crimes so much easier that sins
were freely perpetrated because forgive.
ness was so automatic." Catholic moral-
ity stems -from the concept that an
amoral deed is something which
offends God. And interpretation of just
what constitutes a crime and how it can
be atoned for is geared to that concept.
Atheists on the other hand maintain
that there is no God who must be
obeyed or bribed, and that crime is
C'urtt.Jon by Lofo
frol1!
simply something which makes our life
on earth, (the only life we have) very
difficult and it is therefore in the inter-
est of all to agree to that social contract
which assures we get along as well as
possible. For that reason atheists are
so much under·represented in jails. It
is curious that in ligh t of this undeniable
fact religious people constantly equate
atheism with crime.
Throughout the ages Catholics have
wiped their slate clean by simply giving
to the rapacious overlords of the Church,
by buying their indulgences, paying for
mass, kissing phony relics, and aquiecing
to the lies and crimes of their priests. In,
return they were given assurances that
God would not subject them to the
horrendous pain of everlasting flames.
"The Christian Catholics commit many
sins in hope of pardon through pen-
ance ... " writes Charles Lea ("A History
of Auricular Confession") and even
where a sin is committed with the spe-
cific intention of confessing it and ob-
taining forgiveness later, it is acceptable,
for in fact it proves that the individual
thereby demonstrates his or her belief
and trust in God. Ritual and dogma re-
place. rational behavior and analytical
thinking. The Church is primarily inter-
ested in self-preservation and enrich-
ment, not dedicated to the individual's
happiness or the well-being of mankind.
The Catholic concept of crime. throu-
out the ages has challenged the credulity
. of thinking people. Manslaughter is not
a mortal sin. Thinking of sex was (and
still is to some). A Catholic who chewed
And here's the punch line!
'From the people who fill the jails
to the less crime-prone:
IIAtheism is... one of the most
disturbing manifestations of the mystery
of evil.
(from "Thr! New Catholic Encyclopedia")
"Unfuir to llipPot:rils"
"""""""""""""""""""""'"'
•• 10 •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
an' ice cube during fast committed a
greater sin than if he had clubbed the
baby of a heretic to death. (The chew-
ing of ice cubes, by the way, has been
a wonderful subject for Catholic "think-
ers". It is now generally agreed that if
it is deliberately eaten during fast, using
the teeth consciously, then it is a sin,
but if it is inadvertantly swallowed
during fast, God will forgive it!) A
Catholic who attended a Protestant
prayer meeting committed a mortal
sin, but not if he shot a hundred Jews
in a concentration camp. A Catholic
who ate meat on Friday would go to
hell (unless he atoned for it, usually by
some financial exercise), bu t stealing
something (provided it was not
taken from the Church) could be fixed
by a Hail Mary or two. Catholic
morality is not much more advanced to-
day. According to the present pope it
is "morally defensible" to drop nuclear
bombs on Moscow; the pilot, as well as
the people who designed and built and
financed the plan.e and the bomb,have
not committed mortal sins. Not so the
law-abiding woman who aborted a fer-
tilised egg (a mere cluster of cells not
remotely ressembling a human baby),
she will go to hell. With such a morality
expounded py today's Catholic leaders
it is no wonder that Catholics leave their
faith in droves, and others end up in
jails and madhouses!
For mon! ill{ornwtiol1 read
"Crilne and I11l1n()ralit.\' ill the CuthCJIic
Church" by l!.'nl1n~~tt McLuughlill,
pub/' by 1.yle Stuart, New Yo'-/,
(s<}l:frceboolz fur this al·ticle~
lI
,
,
 In 1983 the Papal Code of Cannon Law was revised to replace the version
that had been revised in 1917/18. It is contained in seven volumes, all in Latin.
There is, unfortunately, no longer the death sentence for "heretics",and for the first
time it is even permissible for Catholics to have their bodies cremated.
Excummunication still exists, and it is a fate worse than death. After all, it assures
your ever-lasting suffering in hell.
The number of crimes which carry automatic excommunication has been reduced
from 37 to only 6. One of these cardinal of cardinal crimes is the ordaining
of a bishop without papal permission. That should discourage any split of the
progressives from the present medievalists.
Murderers, by the way, are not excommunicated, but abortionists are.
Atheists will expose their usual lack of ethics by whining that it is worse to kill
a feeling, loving and loved person than it is to abort an unfeeling, unloved fertilised
cell. It shows that they do not know and fear our
-LOVING GOD.

GOD DAMN YOU!

When - in a short fit of temper - one of us, today, yells at another, "God damn you!" we know not whereof we speak. Being
damned by god, or by his agents, was an enormously serious event in the lives of persons in prior years when the Roman
Catholic Church was at the height of its power. Kings trembled, lesser authorities were psychologically emasculated, the
ordinary lay person was traumatized at the thundering words of the church. An excommunication removed one from the
community of persons with whom one lived, denied one access to the church or to its sacraments, caused neighbors,/riends,
and family to shun one, set one apart as an untouchable, and otherwise isolated one from the human community.
An English novelist, Lawrence Sterne (1713-1768),in 1759, decided that he would use one of the official excommunications
(which varied somewhat, but not a great deal, from one bishopric to another in diverse countries) in one of his works. Sterne,
for use in his novel, Tristram Shandy, obtained an excommunication from the chapter clerk of the dean and chapter of
Rochester. This has been checked against other official Roman Catholic excommunication texts and, basically, is about
"standard. "
It is presented here in two columns - the Latin on the left and the English on the right - so that you may know what you
really mean when you turn to someone and say, "God damn you!"

'1~x auctoritate Dei omnipotentis, Patris, et Filij,et Spiritus Sancti, ~ y the authority of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy
~ et sanctorum canonum, sanctaeque et intemeratae Virginis Dei ~ Ghost, and of the holy canons, and of the undefiled Virgin Mary,
genetricis Mariae, - mother and patroness of our Saviour, -

- Atque omnium coelestium virtutum, angelorum, archangelorum,
thronorum, dominationum, potestatuum, cherubin ac seraphin, &
sanctorum patriarchum, prophetarum, & omnium apostolorum &
evangelistarum, & sanctorum innocentum, qui in conspectu Agni soli
digni inventi sunt canticum cantare novum, et sanctorum martyrum
et sanctorum confessorum, et sanctarum virginum, atque omnium
simul sanctorum et electorum Dei, -
- and of all the celestial virtues, angels, archangels, thrones,
dominions, powers, cherub ins and seraphins, and of all the holy
patriarchs, prophets, and of all the apostles and evangelists, and of the
holy innocents, who in the sight of the Holy Lamb, are found worthy to
sing the new song of the holy martyrs and holy confessors, and of the
holy virgins, and of all the saints, together with the holy and elect of
God, - May he be damned.
 Excommunicamus, et anathematizamus hunc furem, vel hunc
malefactorem, N. N. et a liminibus sanctae Dei ecclesiae sequestra-
mus, et aetemis 5uppliciis excruciandus, mancipetur, cum Dathan et
Abiram, et cum his qui dixerunt Domino Deo, Recede a
nobis,
scientiam viarum tuarum noh.imus: et sicut aqua ignis extinguitur, sic
extinguatur lucema ejus in secula seculorum nisi resipuerit, et ad
satisfactionem venerit. Amen.
We excommunicate, and anathematize him, and from the thresh·
olds of the holy church of God Almighty we sequester him, that he
may be tormented, disposed, and delivered over with Dathan and
Abiram, and with those who say unto the Lord God, Depart from us,
we desire none of thy ways. And as fire-is quenched with water, so let
the light of him be put for evermore, unless H shall repent him and
make satisfaction. Amen.

Maledicat ilium Deus Pater qui hominem creavit. Maledicat ilium May the Father who created man, curse him. - May the Son who
Dei Filius qui pro homine pass us est. Maledicat ilium Spiritus Sanctus suffered for us, curse him. - May the Holy Ghost, who was given to
qui in baptismo effusus est. Maledicat ilium sancta crux, quam us in baptism, curse him. - May the holy cross which Christ, for our
Christ us pro nostra salute hostem triumphans ascendit. salvation triumphing over his enemies, ascended, curse him.

Maledicat ilium sancta Dei genetrix et perpetua Virgo Maria.
Maledicat ilium sanctusMichael, animarum susceptor sacrarum.
Maledicant ilium omnes angeli et archangeli, principatus et potes·
tates, omnisque militia coelestis.
May the holy and eternal Virgin Mary, mother of God, curse him. -
May St. Michael, the advocate of holy souls, curse him. ....:.-
Mayall the
angels and archangels, principalities imd powers, and all the heavenly
armies, curse him. .

Maledicat ilium patriarcharum et prophetarum laudabilis numerus.
Maledicat ilium sanctus Johannes Praecusor et Baptista Christi, et
sanctus Petrus, et sanctus Paulus, atque sanctus Andreas, omnesque
Christi apostoli, simul et caeteri discipuli, quatuor quoque evange·
listae, qui sua praedicatione mundum universum converterunt.
Maledicat' ilium cuneus martyrum et confessorum mirificus, qui Deo
bonis operibus placitus inventus est.
May St. John, the Praecursor, and St. John the Baptist, and St.
Peter and St. Paul, and St. Andrew, and all other Christ's apostles,
together curse him.· And may the rest of his disciples and four
evangelists, who by their preaching converted the universal world,
and may the holy and wonderful company of martyrs and confessors
who by ,their holy works are found pleasing t.o God Almighty, curse
him.

Maledicant ilium sacrarum virginumchori, quae mundi vana causa May the holy choir of the holy virgins, who for the honour of Christ
honoris Christi respuendacontempserunt. Maledicant ilium omnes have despised the things of the world, damn him - Mayall the saints,
san<;tiqui ab initio mundi usque in finem seculi Deo dilecti inveniuntur. who 'from the beginning of the world to everlasting ages are found to
be beloved of God, damn him -

May the heavens and earth, and all the holy things remaining
therein, damn him.

Maledictus sit ubicunque fuerit, sive in domo, sive in agro, sive in May be be damned wherever he be - whether in the house or the
via, sive in semira, sive in silva, sive in aqua, sive in ecclesiil. - stables, the garden or the field, or the highway, or in the path, Qr'in the
wood, or in the water, or in the, church.

Maledictus sit vivendo, moriendo, munducando, bibendo, esuri- May he be cursed in living, in dying. May he be cursed in eating and
endo, sitiendo, jejunando,. oormitando, dormiendo, vigilando, ambu- drinking, in being hungry, in being thirsty, in fasting, in sleeping, in
lando, stando, sedendo, jacendo, operando, quiescendo, mingendo, slumbering, in walking, in standing, in sitting, in lying, in working, in
cacando, flebotomando. resting, in pissing, in shitting, and in blood-letting.

Maledictus sit in totis viribu5 corporis.

May he be cursed in the hair of his head. - May he be cursed in his'

brains, .

Maledictus sit in vertice, in temporibus, in honte, in auriculis, in
superciliis, in oculis, in genis, in maxillis, in naribus, in dentibus,
mordacibus, sive molaribus, in labiis, in guttere, in humeris, in harnis,
in brachiis, in manubus, in digitis, in pectore, in carde, et in omnibus
interioribus stomacho tenus, in renibus, in inguinibus, in femore, in
genitalibus, in coxis, in genubus, in cruribus, in pedibus, et in inguibus.
- and in his vertex, in his temples, in his forehead, in his ear's, in his
eye·brows, in his cheeks, in his jaw-bones, in his nostrils, in his
fore-,teeth and grinders, in his lips, in his thtoat;in his shoulders, in his
wrists, in his arms, in his hands, in his fingers. May he be damned in his
mouth, in his breast, in his heart and purtenance, down to the very
stomach. May be be cursed in his reins and in his groin, in his thighs, in
his genitals, and in his hips, and in his knees, his legs, and feet, and
toe-nails.

Maledictus sit in totis compagibus membrorum, a vertice capitis, May he be cursed in all.the joints and articul~tions of his members,
usque ad plantam pedis :- no sit in eo sanitas. . from the top of his head to the sole of his foot. May there be no
soundness in him.

May the Son of the living God, with all the glory of his Majesty -
curse him

- et insurgat adversus ilium coelum cum omnibus virtutibus quae - and may heaven, with all the powers which move therein, rise up
in eo moventur ad damnandum' eum, nisi penituerit et ad satisfac· against him, curse and damn him unless he repent and make
tionem venerit. Amen. Fiat, fiat. Amen. satisfaction. Amen. So be it, - so be it. Amen.
The document was taken from "The American Atheist", July 1985
19
 BANANAS Come again, Mother Theresa?
In 1923 the composers of the song The Ethiopian famine, according to
"Yes we have no Bananas" were success- Mother Theresa, is .simply God's way of
fully sued by the owners of Handel's teaching the world a lesson in charity.
, dd spots ... "Hallelujah Chorus", which had similar A theists would make us believe that
f God s a opening bars. overpopulation is at the root of the
orne 0
problem of too many people for too
little resources.
Another gem from Mother Theresa:
Rome's Basilica of Santa Croce in Geru-
"Abortions are a greater danger than
salemme has a cut-off dry human finger
nuclear war"!!!
on its altar: supposedly the finger with
which st.Thomas touched Jesus' side!
INSIDE RELIGION
In 1960 a man was hospitalised in the
DIE IN PEACE- US who had, among other things, 3 sets
of rosary beads in his stomach.
THE CHRISTIAN WAY. ("1'lle Pe(Jpk's AlmuIlGch")

THE YOUNGEST, THE OLDEST

AND THE SLOWEST POPE
The Guiness Book of Records tells us
that the youngest pope was Benedict IX
who was only 11 or 12 when he became
pope in 1032. The oldest pope , as HONEST CHRISTIANS
claimed by the church, was elected
when he was 103 years old in 678. His-
The Liverpool Secular Society went to
torians dispute it. court in 1867 because the owner of the
The slowest election was that of Teo- rooms they were renting broke the con-
baldQ Visconti as pope Gregory X in tract. The court arrived at the anonym-
or around 1210. ous decision that a secularsociety, since
When the cardinals could not come to
a decision after 31 months, the Mayor it did not recognise the supreme author-
hurried them up by putting them on a ity of the Church, had no rights to be
diet of bread and water, and removing treated according to the law, and no
the roof of their conclave. That made contract with such eVil people had to
them decide in a hurry. be considered as binding.
(Guiness Book of Records)
TRUE BEll EVERS
VINDICATED!
In 1806 a hen near Leeds, England,
allegedly laid an egg with the words
"Christ is coming" imprinted. Priests
proclaimed this to be a sign from
heaven for the coming "Armageddon".
Masses flocked to inspect the egg. A
doctor who checked the story out, dis-
covered that the letters had been in-
scribed with corrosive ink. The con-
gregation, far from getting mad at the
hoaxers, gave thanks to God for saving
them.
BUILD MORE ARKS
"The world will end by a giant flood on
February 20, 1524'~ announced Jo-
hannes Stoeffler of TDbingen in Germ-
any. People started to build enough arks
to choke a section of the Rhine river.
Many others scoffed at the prediction,
but when the appointed day came and
coincided with a freak rain storm, they
stopped laughing, and scrambled to save
themselvestoo. Although the world did
not end, the rain storm enhanced
Stoeffler's reputation. A fter all, he
was only a little bit wrong...
A HOLY DIFFERENT BAll GAME
During the 16th, 17th and 18th cent-
ury the Vatican selected boys with
good singing voices (lemales were not
allowed to .sing in church) and castrated
them to prevent their voices from break-
ing during adolescence. The custom was
said to be maintained until early this
century.
~
·tCqvq v SJwnno UVWnl.f pasmi.laj v JVt{J SU!VJU!VW t{:J!t{m 't{:J.Jnt{;) :J.'l0t{JvO at{J OJ IIU.1P.lO:J:JV'su<J'lf.:J!t{:J0JU! tuat{J sa'lf.vw S!t{.L
DID JESUS REALLY HAVE
THREE PENISES?
Since Jesus Christ was supposed to have
ascended to heaven, taking his body
with him, the church was hard-pressed
for relics of his body. Then they re-
membered that there must have been
one part of his Jewish body that was
left behind: the foreskin. And since
three monastaries or churches claim
to own Christ's foreskin, and since all
of them have performed amazing mirac·
les, there must be only one conclusion:
he did have three ...
MONUMENTAL HOPES
"And if any time hereafter any person
or persons shall desire to honor my re-
mains, they can do it by erecting a mo-
nument whereon shall be inscribed these
words: 'Here lies the body of Charles
Guiteau, Patriot and Christian. His soul
is in glory.' "
These words are from the last will and
testament of assassin duiteau, who shot
US President Garfield in the back.
b
'sIIIIa pasmJ.laj a.lV 9 'oN pUV S'oN
The Lord told Moses to wipe out the
Midianites, telling him to "kill every
male among the little ones, and kill
every woman that hath known man by
lying with him. But all the woman
children that have not known man by
lying with him, keep alive for your-
selves." These virgins which the Lord
wanted the Israelites to rape and
enslave, numbered 32.000 (Num.32:40).
32 virgins He wanted to have sacrificed
to himself.
And they wonder why atheists don't
like Him!
FAUL TV TIME MACHINE?
Ahazia was 22 years of age when he
ascended the throne, being 18 years
younger than his father (II Kings 8 :25-
26). According to II Chron.22:1-2 he
was only two years older' than his
father;
(There are hundreds more examples of
inconsistency and nonsense in the bible)
WUTTEPPESITTUKGUSSUN·
NOOWEHTUNKQUOH.
The above word means "kneeling down
to him" (Mark 1:40). It is from a bible
translation that no one can read, the
work of missionary John Eliot, publi-
shed in 1661. The language of that
American Indian tribe has long since
died out. 1000 copies of the work were
printed and 50 are still in existence. The
only other word that can still be under-
stood is "mugwump" - Big Chief.
VEGETARIANS BEWARE!
A nun ate some lettuce without making
the sign of the cross and swallowed a
devil. When the devil was called out by
a holy man, he replied: "How am I to
blame? I was sitting on a lettuce, and
this woman, not having made the sign of
the cross, ate me along with it!"
This is a true story, since it was told
by the infallible pope himself (Gregory
the Great).
YE~ BUT CAN DEMONS
BE I RUSTED?
In the haydays of Catholicism, exorcists
did a roaring trade. One of them, the
bishop of Beauvais, cornered the com·
petition by giving a special service: He
made the exorcised demons sign a docu-
ment that they would not return into
the body of the possessed.
UNFAIR TOSNAKESf
The Italian Society against Cruelty to
Animals protested to Our Holy Father
in Rome who apparently is no animal
lover. In his frequent diatribes against
Satan he likes to compare him with
snakes, dragons, goats etc. This, the
society said. is grossly unfair to our
horned and/or slithering friends.

demonstration, sent
face an anti-pope. of the Vatican
The pope, ~.n~~f ~an from the. rig~c:r~rn as to what
along a sec lffering. police remalU U
as a peace 0 hould take next.
action they s
WODONGA'S SEX PUBLICITY
The mayor of Wodonga (a retired far-
mer) wants to get rid of all the rough
stuff on the shelves of the city's library.
The "rough stuff" are books on human
sexuality - "masturbation, orgasm and
that type of thing", says the Councillor
Macauley. The library staff produced a
list of the books in question, 32 all told,
ranging from Black's Medical Dictionary
to The Joy of Sex. Since the mayor's
outburst on the local radio station,
people are flocking to the library to get
these books to read ...
MICRO SURGERY - THE DEVIL'S
WORK ...
"If thy hand offend thee, cut it off",
is the biblical advice to good Christians.
Michael O'Connor of Sydney was such a
good Christian, and when he ~ost inter·
est in his tatoos, he went into a hard-
ware shop, bought a circular saw and
did Godfs work. Micro-surgeons in Syd·
ney's Prince of Wales Hospital worked
for many hours re-attaching his hand.
The Vatican declined to pay the medical
costs ...
(Source: Canberra Times, JUlie
GOD'S GIFTS
Smallpox is "a judgement of God on the
sins of the people ", this was the official
view of the Church when scientists
begun to experiment with vaccination.
It was God's right to kill by diseases,
and to avoid his judgement would make
Him very mad. Pain too was God's gift,
and anesthesia was opposed by the
Church, especially for women during
child birth. After all, it said in the
bible: "In sorrow thou shalt bring forth
children. "
2,1986)
The Foreskin Saga
Consternation has struck parishio e
of the small medieval town of Calcata -
the Viterbo region of Central Italy -
what they believe to be Christ's fore-
skin, the relic which for four centuries
has attracted pilgrims to the local
church, has been stolen .... According
to legend, it was given by the Virgin
Mary to Mary Magdalene, then delivered
by an angel to Charlemagne, who in
turn gave it to Pope Leo III at his coron-
ation in Rome in the year 800 ....
LIONS 1 - CHRISTIANS 0
A good Brazilian Catholic by the name
of Carlos Albertos Oliveira Fontes (47)
went to "test the power of God" in the
Zoo of Salvador. by putting his hand in-
to the lion's cage. The Courier Mail
(Aug. 21, 1986) reported Carlos to be in
a satisfactory condition (physically, that
is) in hospital ...
 HOW GOOD A CHRISTIAN ARE YOU?
DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIBLE
AND CAN YOU INTERPRET IT
CORRECTLY?
HOW WOULD YOU REACT IF GOD
DECIDED TO TEST YOU?
WHY NOT TAKE THIS TEST FIRST
AND FIND OUT!

(Gen.22:2) And he said, Take now thy son, Refuse rightout

If the Lord approached YOU
thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and with such a request, would you: aD
get thee into the land of Mo.ri'ah; and offer
him there for a burnt offering upon one of the Find a polite excuse not to
mountains which I will tell thee of. bO
Do it without question
dJ

How would you describe the picture?

Papal inquisitors sadistically inflict pain aD

on an innocent victim

Maybe they made a fire to keep the

poor man's feet warm ' 00

A heretic is being questioned by wise men

of God, and to ensure
that the sinner will confess and thereby save his
immortal soul, they kindly assist him
in the process

(Gen.6:6) And it repented the LORD that he
had made man on the earth, and it grieved
him at heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man
whom I have created from the face of the
earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping
thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth
me that I have made them.
If YOU were God, would you (aLways remembering that you were
all-powerful and all-knowing)-
admit that it was the first time you created a world, an'd that
it needed ironing out. Luckily you are all-powerful and thereby able
to fix it-
decide to destroy the earwicks, ringworm and similar guffies
but that you'd let the baby harp seals alone, and any animal'
that looks a little like Bambi. . . .

Have no mercy, drown the bloody lot, even though you

yourself have created .the poor critters -

Before you read the inverted part of

the Holy Scriptures, who would you think
is excluded from eating the bread of the
Lord -
.. 'poD S!q JO p~.uq aqll~a lOU ll~qs aH ZZ
~uaJ[o.1q sauols S!q ql~q .10
'paqq~:>s .10 'AA.ln:>saq.1o 'aAa S!q U! qs!waIq
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'papu~q
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·snonU.1adns ~U!ql AU~
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punq ~ :q:>lIo.1ddlllOU ll~qs aq 'qS!WaIq ~ qlllq
lllql aq aq u~w .1aAaoslllqM .IO.f (Sl:1(';'l!Aa'l)

(Exod.12:12) For I will pass through the land Who do you think, said these words:
of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first·
born in the land of Egypt, both man and
beast,
 Look at the picture.
What do you see?

A man of God blessing the

swastika Nags of
German Nazis

He is telling some soldiers

to be kind to the Jews

The picture is not

very clear

(Sam.5:9) ... and he smote the men of the I wouldn't know an

city, both small and great, and they had emerod if I fell over one' a0
emerods in their secret parts.
(6:5) Wherefore ye shall make images of your My emerod looks a bit
emerods, and images of your mice that mar doubtful
the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God
of Israel. .. My emerod drawing
Can you draw, with a pencil, is beau tiful, since I
the outline of an emerod (hold the secret parts) often make images
of the things

(Gen. 11) - And the whole earth was of one Did the-Japanese and the Australian Aborigines once speak
language, and of one speech. the same language?
Definitely yes C []
.

(Levit.26:15) And if ye shall despise my sta- What shall ye eat if ye abhor such judgements as the Grea.t
tutes or if your soul abhor my judgments ... Flood, the killing of all first-barns and the creation of
16 I also will do this unto you: I will appoint' insects who.lay their eggs inside living cq,terpillars, so that they
over you terror, consumption, and the burn- be eaten alive?
ing ague ...
'29 And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons,
and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.

q~

~~~1l
~\
,~~\
._ ); ~~.-->r
~ f'.~ V1,_,\ ···Pl·,.· ••..'.'~1'",•·..,
.....!.t"tf'('f'.rl
Is the person on the right acting
correctly in refusing to go to church?
_ _.-L. ___
,0,
1<,.
',"',', •
,. "
_~r-:\r'
~
--, ,(!:::r\:;,~, r~, . Probably. Just look at his pants .
. ,..'.., ~·'·09
..
I

'""., ":'''~'''
I I , •. 1\ • , I" '," ~;~;;
'····,···!·""·
~ ~,'; ;: I
a~
I ."

Who cares.'

(Deuter.23:2) A bastard shall not enter into No, he ;w longer has an excuse, since he just passed
the congregation of the LORD; even to his the eleventh generation. While his father was still
tenth generation shall he not enter into the guilty for the bastardl")! of his great-great-great- e [-
great-great-great-grcat grandfather, this man no .~~~
congregation of the LORD. is.
 You arC'at a party with your wile ..
You 're legally married. In Church. She
has washed her hair with Sunsilk and
it gleams just like on TV. You think:
'By golly, shC'has lost weight. " She
wears the dress you like. And the red
shoes. What goes through your mind?
(Remember the Pope's warning that
it is a sin to look with lust at your
wi{e.)
I'm a lucky guy. MarriC'd{or 20 years and still in
love and {aith{ul. There's no other woman like her.
I'd beller no t drink too much so that we can
make love whC'n we gct home. . . aD
I guess she's ready {or another child. Must get the
sugarbag oul to put over her head, Maybe tonight,
i{ therC'is time a{tC'rreading the bible. I only pray
that I won't {eel any pleasure. Oh Lord, and let
it be twins again. Or arC'sextuplets too much
to hope for? C []

(Exod.23:8) And thou shalt take no gift: for I{ you were the Pope and a South American
the gift blindeth the wise, and perverdeth the dictator offered you a gift worth 10 million
words of the righteous. dollars, would you bpcome

Who said, {or the first timC', the words:

The Ayatollah? aD Muammar Gadda{i? b 0
"KILL THEM ALL, LET GOD SORT
THEM OUT?" An oflicial representative o{ the Pope? C [J

(Gen.16:11) And the angel of the Lord said Il Ishmael would have lt would have been nice. aD
unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and behaved like a gentleman,
shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ish'. that would have been ... lt would have been impossible, since God
ma·el; because the Lord hath heard thy afflic- expressly made him a wild'man, with his
tion. hand against everyone. bO.
12 And he will be a wild man, his hand will lt would have been a great sin, since it'd go
be against every man, and every man's hand against the Lord's wishes; it would have
against him ... been the devils work, and deserving of
eternal hell fire.' 'c 0

DO YOU HAVE NOTHING DO YOU HAVE NOTHING

BUT As?
Go into the back yard and make a .
large fire, take your shoes off and stand
in it. This will give you an idea of how
you shall spend eternity, for you are an
incorrigible atheist and damned.
BUT Cs?
A Christian of your caliber ought to
be canonised. But while you may be·
come a saint after you die, you are ad-
vised to see a psychiatrist. Tomorrow.
You are anywhere between the two ex-
tremes and a sinner that could probably
be saved. To do so, give all your money
to the church.

"I cannot accept that we
are to judge Pope and King
like other men with
with favourable presumption
that they did not wrong ...
There is no worse heresy
than that the office
sanctifies the holder of it."
(Lord Acton)
1) 3 times, after having sold the job
twice for 2,000 pounds of gold and then
reclaiming it by force.
2) Eight. Two were murdered by Holy
Father Sergius III.
3) The son of the above Sergius III and
his mistress Marozia was crowned by his
Holy Father to become Holy Father
John XI. . brother. .
4) Holy Father John XII(955·964). He
was beaten to death by the husband of
his mistress when caught with her in
bed. The Church has put the inscription
on his tomb "Ornament of the Whole
World".
5) "A Brothel" and "A Stable".
6) "There was no Cleric in Rome who
was not either illiterate, or guilty' of
Simony or living in concubinage".
7) Holy Father Innocent III (1198··
1216) called it being "Inspired by the
Devil" and proclaimed Anathema on it
and its supporters.
8) He said to his relatives assembled
around him: "Why do you weep? Did I
not make you rich enough?"
9) He promptly appointed his 3
brothers and 4 other relatives Cardinals.
10)"It was swept along in a flood of the
most obscene pleasure, an incredible
storm of debauch, the most horrible and
un'precedented shipwreck of chastity ..."
The Pope VI· is referred to as "An
Ecclesiastical Dionysos with his obscene
and infamous artifices."
AN IMPORTANT QUIZZ FOR DEVOUT
CATHOLICS: HOW MANY OF THE
QUESTIONS BELOW CAN YOU
ANSWER CORRECTLY?
1) How many times was Holy Father 12) How many children did Holy Father
Benedict IX holding the Papal Throne Alexander VI (1492-1503) have?
between 1032-1048?
13) Who was the best businessman-Pope
2) How many Popes were simultaneous- o{ them all?
ly claiming the Papacy between 896-904?
1 4) Which Holy Father made two of his
3) Who succeeded the Holy Father Ser-
gius III (904-911)? sons Cardinats at the ages of 14 and 16
and gave two Papal Cities (Piacenca and
4) Which Pope drank toasts to the Devil Parma) to his daughtPr?
and invoked Pagan Gods while gambling
and how did he die? 15) For what is Holy Father and Saint
at' the Church, Pius V (1566-1572)
5) How did the Bishop o{ Cremona famous?
Luitprand and Cardinal Barunius de- 16) What was the reaction o{ Holy
scribe the Lateran Palace (Pope's resi- Father Gregory XIII (1572-1585) to the
dence) in the Xth century? news ot' the slaughter at' the Huguenots
6) What did visiting Bishop Benno re- in France on St. Bartholomew Night in
port about Papal Rome in 1046? 1572, when 100,000 men, women and
children were killed?
7) What was the Holy Father's reaction
17) How did Holy Father Clement VIII
to the signing o{ the Magna Carta: in
1215? react to the Edict o{ Nan/es (1598) by·
the French King granting Protestants a
8) What were the last words of Holy measure pf religious ·tolerance?
Father Innocent IX (1243-1254) on his
18) What was the t'avourite punishment
death bed? under Papal jurisdiction in Rome in the
9) What was the /irst action of Holy XVI and XVII centuries?
Father Nicholas III (1227-1280) alter
ascending the Papacy? 19) How long did Holy Father Clement
XIV. (1769-1774) live after having dis-
10) How did the famous Italian writer solved the Order of Jesuits?
and greatest scholar of his time,
Petrarch, describe the Papal Capital or 20) How did more recent Holy Fathers
view religious tolerance and t'reedom or
Avignon where he lived {rom 1312-1337? opinion? ; .,
11) What did Holy Father Urban VI 21) What is "Syllabus of Errors"(
(1378-1389) do on learning that some 22) What happened to the long-standing
Cardinals were plotting to replace him rule of the Canon Law requiring death
with their {avourite? for heretics?
11) H~ had 6 of them t.ortured t? death, .17) He said: "The most accursed thing
~atc~mg th~ tortur~ himself while rea~. that €an be imagined whereby liberty of
mg hiS breylary. (~Itnessed a~d des~rl' conscience is granted to everybody,
~ed by emme~t .~unst of the time, Diet· which is the worst thing in the world."
nch Von NeheIm). 18) Torture, castration and burning at
12) 6 known and probably 8. His in· stake.
famous son, Cesa~e, ~as. a murderer; his 19) Less than a ye~. All indications
daughte~, Lucretia, sll~ilarl~. S~e also were that he was poisoned.
had an mcestuous relatIOnship w~th her 20) The pronouncement of Holy Father
father the Pope and probably With her Gregory XVI (1831.1846) in his Encyc.
lical (5/8/1832): " ... that absurd and
13) POSSIblyLeo X (1513·1521), the erronous doctrine or rather delirium
one who excommunicated Martin Luther. which claims and defends liberty of con:
.H~ .amassed a perso~al fortune of science for everyone. From this comes
~~lllh?nsof c~owns. SaId a.bout Papac~: in a word the worst plague of all, name·
It IS a busmess so profItable that It ly unrestrained liberty of opinion and
would be sheer madness to open the freedom of speech "
eyes of the ignorant". 21) A list of 80 "Reprobated,proscribed
1~) Paul III (1534·1549). A later Pope, and condemned principal errors of our
S~tus V, ha~ done even better. He made times" compiled by Pius IX in 1864,
hISson Cardmal at 13. (This Pope decreed his infallibility).
15) He institutionalised Holy Inquisit· Samples: It is false that "Every man is
ion, torturing and burning at stake free to profess the religion, which by
hundreds of heretics, while Holy Father the light of human reason, he believes to
was watching. He was also concerned be true." It is false that "Men find the
with the morals of the Clergy, prohibi· way of eternal salvation and attain it in
ted Priests to keep female servants and any religion" (Other than Roman Ca·
Nuns to keep male watch dogs (!) and tholicism). It is false that "The Roman
ordered that blasphemers were to have Pontiff can and should reconcile himself
their tongues pierced with red hot iron. to and agree with progress, liberalism
He was also instrumental in convincing and modern civilisation" (Article 80).
P~ilip of Spain t? invade England with 22) It was reaffirmed by Holy Father
hiS Armada, but died before the debacle. Leo XIII in 1901 and again by Holy
16) He celebrated Thanksgiving Mass, Father Benedict XV in 1918 as "Right
had church bells ringing, sent congratu· and duty to put heretics to death". Not
lations to the French Royal Court and until 1983 were the words watered
struck a commemorative medal inscri· down a little.
bed: "Slaughter of the Huguenots". Compikd by Dick
AIlOIl
 ~~~~~~
during one of the apparitions! A photo
taken of the family before the "mirac-
lE'» ';})l)1.py 'Y!ff1J1JtJf.JJ .a.JJd 1JJJJ.JJk faces ~
(de Sede) and Rev. de Marchi wrote at
the time: "Any physiognomist would
credit (Lucia) with a coarse, if not vici-
ous nature."
The mother of the family was the
only one who could read a little, and in
the evenings she read the children from
a book called "Abridged Mission". The
book dscribed holy visions such as the
one in La Sallette-Fallavaux in the
French Alps (interestingly enough,
Fallavaux, "fallax vallis" can be tran-
lated as "valley of deceptions",); the
book also contained other information
that was useful to young Christian
A $5 MILLION MIRACLE! FATiMA: minds, such as the much needed exact
details of "Christ's passion": "Kicks:
Have you miracle of miracles ... 144. Punches: 150. Slaps in the face:
Mothers of Christ at the bottom The Catholic Church has published over 102. Blows at the body and chest: 202.
of your garden? a hundred books on Fatima, some with Lashes with a whip: 5,000. Heart pangs:
On October 16, 1964, Rosa Buzzini resounding titles like "Maria Saves the 72. Tears shed: 600,200. Drops of
West" by bishop Gruber, in which the _blood shed: 230,000". Such was the
Quattrini, a simple peasant woman of author describes the "miracle" as "a education of moron Aboboro's illiter-
San Damiano, Italy, saw the Mother of forceful counterplay against the might ate children. At the time when the
Christ in her garden. of Satan, unequalled in history." "miracle" attracted attention, a doctor
While visions of that kind are two In truth Fatima is a million-dollar examined the children, and his report of
bob a dozen in Catholic countries, this business, ,designed to lighten not only their mental state was not favourable.
time the Madonna had visited somebody the hearts out the pockets of millions of The doctor's report disappeared (mirac-
special, somebody with business sense. suckers - and the present pope went ulously) from the archives during ·Sala-
Mamma Rosa spread the news of the there in 1982 to keep the hoax going. zar's Fascist-Catholic dictatorship.
vision and opened a snack bar to sustain The story is that of 3 illiterate child- Portugal was possibly Europe's
ren, who in 1917 saw the virgin mother poorest country, and the region of
those who came to look at the pear tree of Jesus no less then 6 times, in several Fatima was Portugal's poorest - truly a
where the Madonna had appeared, and odd guises. First as a veiled lady (almost backwater of European civilisation;
which had displayed an unseasonable certainly played by a- Senhora Genipro mountainous to the point of being un-
flowering (not uncommon). She also with connivence of local priests),speak- accessible, its people "suspicious" and
opened a souvenir shop at the miracle ing in a "thin melodious voice", then as almost totally illiterate. Church publica-
site, finally even a 100 room hotel, be- a doll in a tree ( it spoke in the same tions praise the area for "the number of
cause the pilgrims came thick and fast. voice without moving its lips), then, as its priests, the abundance of its voca-
As a cult developed around Mamma pe?ple ?ame to witness the event, the tions; it was considered as one of the
Rosa and her Madonna of the Pears the c.hI1drens. accounts cOJ?flicte~, and they most precious jewels of the church and
. ' SImply saId: "Ask LUCIa.LUCIaknows". one of the main supports for religious
VatIc~n becam.e embarassed, and maybe I Lucia was the older sister. action as a whole: one could trust in
even Jealous, SInce all the money flowed The children's father nicknamed its prie'sts and parishioners under any
into Mamma Rosa's pockets. Vatican Abobora is officially described as having circumstances" (Rev. Galamba de Oli-
lawyers could do nothing, since the led "an examplary life" as pumpkin veira). True, the region had supported
Pope had failed to register "Madonna" grower; " ... he used to confess, take the church when in 1911 attempts were
and "Mother of Christ" as trademarks. holy communion and never missed Sun- made to separate State and Church. The
The best the Vatican could do was to day mass." Eyewitness accounts of con- Fatima region and its numerous priests
deny that a miracle had taken place. t~mporaries disagree. Abobora (P';1mp- opposed the move so vigourously, that
.. kIn) means "moron", the man, beIng a an inventory of church property was
Yet the ~Iracle WhIChtook. PI~ce was habitual drunk and idiot, never grew a prevented, i.e. everything was assumed
a true one. people kept comIng. They pumpkin in his life. He was even drunk to belong to the Church. It is worth
came in such numbers and bought relics ' mentioning that after Salazar's long
with such ravenous appetite that reign the church had managed to keep
Mamma Rosa was worth no less than stUI half of the people illiterate (1974)!
five million dollars when she died in Several books (see footnote) on the
September 1981. subject recall a conversation overheard
Then she left all that fortune to Pope by an army chaplain between father de
John Paul II - with a condition! That Sousa and prior Ferreira regarding the
her vision would be recognised as gen- terrible poverty of the region. Both
agreed that there was only one hope to
uine. And who knows - in times to relieve it: a miracle, and a big one. Like
come she might even be beatified. Lourdes. There was a strong suspicion at
The last word (and that was some the time among educated people (such
time ago) from the Vatican was that as the director of the National Library
maybe Mamma Rosa saw something in Lisbon) that the whole miracle was
after all... manufactured by local priests.
The threll children's accounts,
detailed at first, become rather evasive
after the first couple of "apparitions".
Attempts to corroborate their stories
Mama Rosa, who amassed failed. When the children were quest-
five million dollars from her backyard ioned by civil authorities, they repeated
miracle, the stories, but Lucia, recalling, that in-
terview later added: "The Senhor sub-
prefect wan~d me to tell him the sec-
ret but I wasn't allowed to tell it to
anybody." Even her own accounts were
rather confused. Example: "(the holy
virgin) never appeared to me last year.
Never did she before May this year. I
have not told that to anybody, because
it is not true." (Told to Rev. Formigao.)
A month later: "Last year, I had seen
the same lady at the place named Estru-
meiras. I had told it to my mother; she
laughed at me a lot and she had threat-
ened to beat me. That's why I didn't tell
anything this time".
A rather gruesome account of the in-
terrogation by civil authorities has now
crept into Catholic literature; it did not The Pope's gala performance at Fatima: Miracles are the Catholic Church's
appear until 20 years after the event and
is a total fabrication. In the presence of
greatest money spinner, and ignorance is promoted. Pope Leo it X:, "...
would be sheer madness to open the eyes of the Ignorant.
the children the sub prefect allegedly'
boiled a cauldron of oil and threatened to claim was not published until the and St.John and St.Josef. How they
deep fry the children if they did not re- second world war was well on its way identified themselves has not been re-
cant! "Confronting Death" is the head- (1941), but it is still held up as a "pre- corded, but it must have been true, be-
ing of a chapter describing this scene in diction" come true! cause the pope went there in 1979 and
one book. It is odd that such a thing has In case of another war or any event of 450,000 believers thronged to see him
not been mentioned in all the volumin- worldwide significance, the church has at the glass-enclosed shrine.
ous literature of the first 20 years, itself covered. With Ku-Klux-Klanish The trouble was that once the pope
either by the children, by the press, or pretentiousness the pope talks of a was gone, so were the people with all
in any of the many reports by the "Third Secret", too powerful for their money. And the unsold plaster
Church! But it's still repeated in several mortals to know about. It is handed casts began to gather dust.
authoritative church books, apparently down from pope to pope, only to be re- But monsignor had seen the light: a
as a warning on what happens when c.ivil vealed after the event! shrine-led recovery for the little Irish
authorities have the right to questIOn There was in fact talk about a "big bog village! He cajoled the government
god-fearing Christians! secret" back in 1917, when the hoax into paying for an airport. No body likes
There are many claims that were was initiated, but the children said that to reject a Catholic request, not in ire-
made later. On the fifth apparition (13/ this secret concerned themselves-the land. But in 1983, when $A19 million
9/1917) flowers were supposed to have children, and not the world at large. It is had been spent and the airport wasn't
fallen from the sky. No one of the generally assumed that it concernes the even half finished, the government
thousand ar so people who were actu- circumstances of how the hoax was or- stopped funds. It had become apparent
ally present saw any flowers come ganised. that an extravagantly large airport in a
down, and a pastor admitted that a Source: "Fatinwt Inquiry about a H()ov\"" by
tiny Irish village was a white elephant if
photo pUblished later was a fake. Gerard de Sede; HFatinla lJeslnascarada" by
Joao Ilhal'co. - ever there was one. And the monsignor's
On the 6th and last apparition the persuasions could be better described as
crowd assembled was quoted in some KNOCK KNOCK - Who's there? good old deceptions. 19 million of tax-
sources to have been 100,000, others payers' money, so the critics said, could
say 15,000. In any case it was huge. By Half the people around the area of
Knock in Ireland are unemployed. Fam- have been better spent.
that time the circus was well organised; Monsignor was not fazed. He said (re-
the children were washed and dolled up ilies are large, resources are limited. But
thanks to the farsighted monsignor ported in "The Age",-7/61'86): "This is
with crowns and artificial flowers. See- Horan the main street of Knock is now the greatest thing to have happened in
ing the crowd outside, the children's an un{nterupted row of souvenir shops. the West for 100 years."
keeper at the time (a Senhora Maria do They're not in business yet, and neither Meanwhile the villagers are getting a
Carmo Menezes, author of the book is the "Knock International Hotel" or little impatient. It is expected that the
using the faked photo), warned: "Child- the big airport; but God willing, they lamb of God may put in another
ren if the miracle you have predicted will be soon. appearance soon to help the villagers
do~s not happen, those people might A hundred years ago the "Lamb of move the tons of holy kitsch that gather
just burn you alive!" The holy virgin God" appeared to 15 (some say inebria- dust in their stores. God may work in
would not let such a thing happen, in ted) villagers on a rainy night, accompa- mysterious ways, but monsignores sel-
fact, that day she excelled herself by nied by no less than "Our Lady" herself dom do.
telling the children that the war had
ended, that very day. Asked repeatedly
on this important bit of information, , ean I'm c(Jredof my
~~ellet in W1irac res:
Lucia was most definite: The war had
ended on that very day, and the soldiers
were coming home. In fact, the' armist-
ice was not signed until a year later. The
false prediction is no longer to be found
in Catholic literature, and Lucia herself
who was soon to be spirited away into
a convent, away from questioning
people, later claimed that she never said
such a thing, but simply inferred that-
the war would be over "soon".
Not all the clergy was in o'n the hoax,
but priests are like policemen, they
don't go around dobbing each other in.
Even so some priests of the area dis-
approved of the "miracle". The Parson
of Penacova said he "could not resolve
to believe in the miracle".
Amon~ other amusing aspects of the
"miracle' is the claim that the virgiri
told about another war to come. This
 YOUR OWN MIRACLE
y 0 honour Our Holy Father by presenting Him with some new miracles, such as
e "Shroud of Moorrabin" or the "Virgin of Paddington"? As PETER VISKA explains,
all the do~it-yourselfer needs is some simple tools and an unbounded faith in the Almighty.
Remember, miracles are not only fun, they are a glory to God - and can be profitable too!

THE SECOND SHROUD.

STEPS:
Visit grandma's house and borrow her special
Cloths she uses each Christmas for her plum-
puddings.
Smear your face and body with Vegemite and
rub yourself on the plum pudding cloths.
Tack the Cloths together with antique threat.
Two days before the Pope's visit, place the
reconstructed plum pudding shroud at a city
construction site with deep excavations.
The cover of night will help.
Phone the National Sacred Site Trust and
report imminent desacration of a very signif-
cant theological artifact.
Dressed in priest's garb, make your way to
the excavation site. Point out remarkable
resemblance offace to that of TURIN shroud.
t;") In front of media, authenticate existence of a
IJ rarely mentioned second shroud.

o
(.}. After the visiting POPE has blessed the s~conQ
shroud, release information of the 'hoax' to
Truth newspaper.
G') Return cloths to grandma in time for new
" batch of plum puddings.

THE APPARITION.
STEPS:
Find a 16mm copy of The Sound of Music.
Borrow a 16mm projector and a very long
extension cord from a friend. .
Locate a suitable grotto-shaped alcove near a
local convent. It helps if the grotto is en route
to the local milk bar.
On the night before the arrival of the Pope
set up the projector in a hidden location,
aimed at the grotto.
Leave a pack of nicotine-free, tar-free, FREE
cigarettes and a box of matches conveniently
placed.
When the nuns pass by and stop, and light up
a cigarette and blowout the smoke ...
START the projector. The apparition will be
like a hologram on the smoke. As the smoke
dissipates, turn off the projector.
Before the nuns return with eyewitnesses,
remove evidence and spray the word
"MARIA" lightly inside the grotto.
Release infra-red photographic proof before
media's morning deadline.
Be the first to set up HOLY WATER and
OTHER SOUVENIRS stall for the Pope's
visit to the grotto.
 SPEAKING IN TONGUES.
STEPS:
cr
.,..
Tape Molly Meldrum's Countdown rave on
your dad's reel to reel taperecorder.
r;) Flip the tape inside out, so it plays backwards.
r.:. Play it at fast speed.
~ Dubb of this mix ,·up tape and make cassette
!:J loop. Practice speaking the garbled loop tape
phonetically.
J:1 On the day the POPE arrives, break through
V the barrier, run up to His Holiness and blurt
out the well-rehearsed "SPEAKING IN
TONGUES" message.
r.I Repeat the message ad infinitum. Faint twice
e.J while you are being interviewed for the
evening news. Roll your eyes back during
your final recital, then collapse on the floor
as the POPE commences to bless you. ~
/At In a prepared statement declare Molly
------'~~
I..:J Meldrum as your religious head and leader.
When the religious specialists finally play
a tape of your performance backwards, the
parapsychoreligious coincidence will amaze
and convince them.
Leave town and let Molly Meldrum handle the
religious chaos and Papal groupies.

THE BLEEDING STATUE.

STEPS;
Remove the head from a genuine Lourdes
statue of OUR LADY.
Hollow out the inside of the wooden statue
to make a reservoir.
Fill the reservoir with fresh vermillion-
coloured paint.
Replace the head. Allow glue to dry.
Touch up paint work.
Visit an unsuspecting relative with an
identical statue. While they are making a cup
of tea, switch the statues.
Three days before the POPE arrives, visit the
above-mentioned relatives. Make sure you
take a small make-up mirror.
While they are making the customary cup of
tea, turn ON their Compact Disk player.
With extreme precision reflect the laser beam
from the CD to the heart of the Blessed
Statue. This will make an undetectable hole
from which the vermillion paint will slowly
begin the BLEED.
Upon the relatives' retur'n to the room,
casually notice the phenomenon. While every-
one is busy praying, call current affairs
programs, newspapers, magazines and the
Papal Tour organisers.
 TERVIEW WITH THE POPE
This article is a little bit of a personal disappointment. (Don't
turn the page, 1 hope to clarify that statement.) I'd intended
it 0 be an in.depth interview with His Reverence but it seems
r,e jumped the gun somewhat. Actually I'd promised the
editor of Australian Playboy an exclusive interview, on the
suength of which I'd received a hefty advance which I've al·
ready spent on a new typewriter, so all sorts of litigation is in
the aiI. I had a semi-firm telephone assurance that a personal
audience and interview was in the provisional stages of dis·
cussion and negotiation. But, frankly, the bastards let me
down. The pope's minders gave me all this rigmarole about
submitting a transcript of the questions first, for approval. Just
springing that kind of stuff is unprofessional; we had an agree-
ment. Now you must understand a lot of my personal inte-
grity is tied up in this thing, and as far as I'm concerned a deal
is a deal, albeit a tacit telephone· handshake with Cardinal X
(I am prevented from naming names due to pending court
I'd intended to preface the interview with the following
short introduction (in italics), but after the "co-operation"
I've received, you can forget it.
Today's interview is with a real biggy, one of the greatest
stars of all time in this business and an all round nice guy to
boot, none other than that famous fellow who's proved exclu-
sively you can make a career out of kissing tarmacs, ha, my
little joke, no seriously now folks, that famous holy-roller, and
he's been one for as long as I can remember, the inimitable and
the remarkable, not to say inlallible ... the one and only versa-
tile and famous ... and believe me honestly when I say it's al-
ways been my ambition to meet this fellow ... and such a
great bloke, really ... and I've met some of them and it's true,
the bigger they are the nicer they are, and he's one of the
biggest, and our special guest here we're so pleased could fly in
all the way from L.A., or Rome, just to be with us here on this
special special occasion. .. I'd like you all to really put your
hands together, so to speak, and give a big warm welcome to
your friend and mine, the man who's meant so much to so
many of us over the years, who really needs no introduction
at all, yes here he is folks, our special guest, doing one of his
famous routines that took him right to the
top and over the other side, with that
magical number from the wonderful, marvellous,
sensational hit, The New Testament, a wonderful
and fabulously telented man ...
Take it away, Pope!
*_"eill Overtun is a Melbourne cartuonist,
writer and lectrtr(~r;· his novel "Neon Eclipse"
Juu just been published by P,mguin.
action). Now I thought I'd been semi·verbally·guaranteed an
Exclusive with the Pope, but they just didn't come through
with the goods. 1 waited in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel
with my tape-recorder all set up to go, and they never showed.
(Maybe my problems don't matter a hill of beans, but let's lay
the blame at the correct doorstep.) Five bags of beer nuts,
then 1 left.
Since submitting my list of questions, I have received no
further contact from them, in spite of my repeated phone-
calls. They put me on hold. The dull burr of Dr. and the
Medics singing "Spirit in the Sky" still numb my ears. How·
ever, moving right along. Unable as I am at the time of publi·
cation to have made, as it were, direct contact with His Holi·
ness, I present this interview "in absentia", so you personally
can fill in the blanks. I ask only that you remember who
showed up and who didn't show up.
And then I'd expected he'd'give us an excerpt, you know,
a reading of some sort, then we'd go straight to the questions:
- Pope, that really was a great pleasure for me. Very good in·
deed. First rate stuff. Strong language for kids, but gripping,
gripping: ' Now, one thing I've always wanted to ask you, and
a lot of people I'm sure would want to ask you, is about the
Cheesestik. About who exactly invented those pull· down red
tabs down the sides that don't work? Similarly, why do band·
aids have that red cotton down the sides that you're supposed
to tear down but never function properly either? Are you
going to intervene on this visit, and take any direct action to
resolve this?
- Well, then,.I suppose you'd really much rather discuss
contraception. Now, if you want to find out about cars, you
ask someone who really knows the business and how it works.
You go to a garage mechanic. If you want to find out how to
bake bread, you ask a baker. So if you want to find about sex,
what do you do go along and ask a Catholic priest? Don't mis-
understand me, 'but I'd wanted to know your exact qualifica-
tions in this area? I mean, to be honest with you, I had a
jz-~ .~
/Y~.
friend that once asked a catholic priest about sex, and we had
to stick an ice-block down his back just to bring him around
and stop the nosebleed. He gave him the address of The
Family Planning Clinic, in a plain brown envelope. Who ex-
plained The Rhythm Method to me, I mean my friend, and
well, it all seemed to really be designed to give pregnancy a
sporting chance. Or The Rhythm Method in disguise, known as
the Billings Method, which involves not only long periods of
abstinence but filling in lots of little charts with green and red
squares. I got confused between it and bingo, which was going
on in the hall next door. Is there a real difference, or just in
the numbers they callout?
- Is it just you on this tour, or is there a support act?
- Since arriving in Australia, have you had any problem at the
airport with the toilet-paper dispenser in the public lavatories
that only mete out about two sheets at a time? Any likelihood
of your stepping in on this matter?
- Well, on a lighter note, what about your attitude on abort-
ion? I guess you'd agree that, apart from the unlucky, many
people who resort to abortion are paying the penalty for being
so dumb. Now - the same people who don't want sex educa-
tion in schools don't approve of the most reliable contracept-
ion, and would refuse abortions. Are you worried the world's
going to run out of people or something?
- I'd also like to ask you about the failure of love. Why does it
begin with incandescant fervour and wind up with Veronica
taking to me with her old hockey stick? And why do butchers'
boys always seem to have legs with no knees, so that they al-
ways move in that duck-waddling, rocking gait? And what the
hell is rugby all about? All these grown men sticking their
heads up each others' bums, it can be neither sporting nor
sanitary, so why is it socially accepted?
- Okay, we all know about the pope as Pope, but what about
the man behind the jol;>?I'm sure people would like to hear
what it is like for you at home. Have you ever had mormons
knockmg at the door of the Vatican at 8 o'clock on a Sunday
morning? Do you think this is a problem with organized reli-
gions - dictating over matters of sex and such? I just fail to
see where they're getting their information. Can you see the
Almighty delegating the authority to make moral judgements
to these organizations? "I'm busy with a flood today; I'll just
send around two of those pimply faced kids in the black suits
at eight in the morning." You don't do that, right? Now, I
know you yourself don't actually go door-knocking, but a
balcony's much the same as a door, isn't it?
- What about confession? Do you hold confession with Your-
self, and run back and forth between the two boxes?
- I know your brand, the Catholic Church, does not practise
circumcision, as the Hebrew faith does. Do you personally re-
gard circumcision to be immoral? I mean, a perfectly good
foreskin, and they don't even put it into a jar for you to take
home. What do they do with them? They can't just throw
them out, old ladies might see them in the laneway, poking
out of the tops of green garbage bags. Is it true what I heard,
that they have a dyeworks? Where they dye them all different
colours, and attach them to baloons? You know, the little
scraggly nozzles you blow them up with? Or is it just some
stupid anti-semitic rumour, I just thought you might know,
being in the same business and all? I mean I can never blow
up another party-baloon without wflincing, so I'd like the
matter resolved. Can you possibly check up on that for me?
- Is it true that you've got an art gallery of plundered artwork
though the ages? Isn't that part of the crimes cited at Nurem-·
berg against the Nazis - theft of national art treasures? Or did
the Vatican sleep during WWII? And among the collection is
Australian Aboriginal Art too? When are you personally
going to do the decent thing and hand it all back? Look, no
names or anything, you can just leave it all heaped on the
doorstep of one of our National Galleries and nothing more'll
be said about it.
- Do you think that your continuing popularity is in any way
due to the fact that John Lennon's death meant the Beatles
could never regroup?
- And ... I know this is a bit of a stale old chestnut, but just
for laughs ... are there ever going to be woman Catholic
priests? I mean I know men are men and women are women,
and each have their different roles to play and that, bu t can
you see why it's hard to take this from a guy wearing a dress?
- Why is the Vatican dripping with jewels, robes, candelabras
and property when the shoeless and starving of Ethiopia watch
each other die in diarrhoea and dust? And this situation goes
on for years while you speculate with land and have your
fancy-dress balls?
- One final question, are you always infallible? I mean do yo
ever find yourself doing naughty things like, well, biting.t e
heads off teddy bear biscuits or jelly babies before you rea.li.se
you're doing it?
- Well, thanks a lot, Pope, and good luck with the show
the rest of the tour.
(From the yet unpublished book "My Favorite Saints", by
J1ichael Sharkey. It also tells us the stories of Saint
Dementia of Quince, of Saint Codex the Great (Codex of
Cactoblastis), of Saint Sycorax, of Wu Pi, the Martyrs of
Turdi and many others.)
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess whose
name was Oblivia. She lived in what is now France, and she
was born into a family which was not Christian. Many
famous kings and princes heard about the beauty of
Oblivia, and each longed to have her for himself. Oblivia
was as good as she was beautiful.
In those days, great knights roamed the country, seeking
fabulous beasts and maidens in'danger, in order to capture
them and prove their manliness. One of these roaming
Landsknechts, an Alsatian named Ouzo, saw Oblivia while
he was sacking the castle in which her parents lived. He was
hard and cruel, and destroyed all of her family, but spared
the beautiful Oblivia on the condition that she would marry
him. She did so. But Oblivia was sorry that Ouzo was a
Christian, for her 'parents disapproved of mixed marriages.
Oblivia became devoted to Ouzo. She loved him a great
deal, and over the years he became less truculent. He be- '
gan to maim his captives and let them live, instead of flay-
ing them alive from the head down.
One day, Ouzo was attacked by enemies of his own, and
Oblivia said, "I will go out and treat with the enemy for
you." Ouzo was at his wit's end and let her go. As a result
of Oblivia's dealings with the enemy, Ouzo won a terrific
battle and gained a lot of land. This was Oblivia's first
miracle, and the Church decided to make her a member by
proxy. Oblivia was declared a Saint while she was still alive.
In later years she often met the enemies of Ouzo and
sapped them of their strength, so that when he died, Ouzo
haa conquered most of the Western part of Europe, and he
bequeathed it to Olivia.
Oblivia outlived Ouzo by several decades, and was taken
up to Heaven by Holy Angels. Her body did not decay, but
was carried away after about a thoudand years.
Her Feast Day is 29 August, and her emblem is a white
cloud.

Infallibility,
despite its bad

ailibf;-e;acher~,- what Christ l

---- press, is still a
monopoly

'nt
ew
~
at had to bad his teac.h~; ~a!= claimed by
Catholicism.
Christ, Son of
The Anostles kn th he had taught. As was shown ~n God, gave
r a t
and a llt h ·thout error. uld reroa them a guarantee
(no money back).
had tatuhgahtt
they wou.1d,do so Wi '.. f Truth wo h.
ante£ . h nroro1sed t hat the ,S,
plot 0 .n Y,QU all t The copy (left)
come, from current
-lesson sIX, e r " Ca tholic propaganda

" t "for ever~ that i. sent in plain

envelopes in
re.ponse to pre"
ad •.
 " ... All date kissing leads to occasions
The perfect of sin. A kiss.. .is also meant to awaken
Catholic in the lovers desires which can only be
lawfully satisfied in marriage. Sooner or
Teenager later your emotions are bound to be
aroused ... thus just one kiss may lead
to mortal sin. If one should die in this
state, as well one may, the pains of hell
would be his or her fate for all
eternity."
The book goes on to describe a case
of seemingly innocent "puppy love",
where the girl, "under repeated invi-
tations from the devil", soon grew tired
of resisting the boyfriend's advances.
She was a nice girl basically, because she
had gone to a Catholic school; then, un-
fortunately, she had gone to a high
school which was somewhat worldlier.
She had began to "relax some of her re-
ligious practices. She skipped weekly
QUotl'S and illl.lsh-atiolls (runt tlw
Communion, grew careless about her
prayers, and rarely went to Sodality
meetings." The book is too coy to spell
out what actually happened in the
parked car , it simply alludes to the
"devil's" work.
"About twenty hours later a curious
passerby found the couple locked in
death's embrace, apparently victims of
carbon monoxide poisoning."
Then the book actually states that
the girl "deserves the tortures of hell for
all eternity." For those "fleeting
moments of pleasure", and because she
had died before being able to go to con-
fession she would now burn in hell for
ever and ever, suffering unimaginable
pain ...
The book is called "20th Century
Teenagers", and is specifically written
for Catholic girls.
book H20th Century Teenagers" thai is still being llsed in Catholic schuuls

ODD SPOT
InA .
Ustralta'
State Q s mOst reI' .
"c, '. ueensland Iglous
eatlonism'" ' where
SChool, and wh IS taught in
authoritl' ere the
es op
.e d UCation h POse sex
Illegitimat~ ~h~;; are mOre
;n
anYWhere else ren than
AUStralia.

..
-: "~"...:.... :..
:.~: '.

."_
.-. ~ ,-
... ::.::'

The perfect Catholic marriage is re-
The perfect cognised by the Church. It is a contract
between you and the Pope.
Catholic The perfect Catholic marriage sees
Marriage the children as being given over to the
Church, even if one of the parents is not
Catholic. The non-Catholic parent signs
a piece of paper to this effect.
Thus, the Catholic Church gains even
more members than it is due. Pyramid
selling is outlawed, but the Catholic
marriage numbers game continues.
This growth in membership enables
the Church to gain income, to buy pro-
perty in goo.d locations which can later
be sold off as housiJtg developments or
shopping centres.
The Vatican holds the largest invest-
ment portfolio in the Western world.
This is also financed by the Catholic
marriage. . Can 900 million guilty people all e
Atone stage, the Pope was found to
have invested in a condom factory in
South America. He is also said to have
invested in arms factories. '
In participating in the perfect Catho-
lic marriage, you are not allowed to use
any products that may interfere with
the aim of the Catholic marriage, which
is to produce many more Catholics. This
makes some Catholics unhappy, so they
use them anyway. They then feel guilty.
The Catholic marriage can persist
long after one or both of the partners
have gone deaf, sterile, insane or war·
ped. You can get out of it bu t you have
to pay money, which then adds to the
Vatican investment portfolio.
Maybe it is simpler to marry the
Church and spend your life as a nun or
a priest. Then you can educate the chilo
dren produced by the perfect Catholic
marriage.
You can also teach them Catholi-::
guilt, which is largely based on the fear
of not living up to the ideals of the per-
fect Catholic marriage. .
'wrong?
Ask the Pope. (Send interna '02
money order for a reply. ~o clai.rr:s :-E-
cognised after the Second Comin .
by lain Stocks
 ~~ FROM THE BOOK OF BOOKS
When you're down in the dumps, treat yourself to a dose of God's own wit. and
wisdom. Grab that Gideon's bible you once took home by mistake and check it out yourself.

The Lord teacheth the prophet They woke up and were dead.
not to hide girdles... II Kings 19:35 And it came to pass that
night that an angel of the Lord went
Jer. 13:3·7 And the word of the Lord out, and smote in the camp of the Assy-
came to me a second time, saying, Take rians and hundred four-score and five
the girdle thou hast got, which is upon thousand men: and when they arose in
thy loins, and rise, go to the Euphrates, the morning, behold, they were all dead
and hide it there in a hole of the rock. corpses. {
So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates,
as the Lord commanded me. And it
r so.y dead ( k
came to pass after many days that the
Lord said to me, Arise, go to the Euphra·
tes, and take the girdle from thence,
which I commanded thee to hide there.
we-Ire ) 1hQ1
e(
Pftl
of
Lord
Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, ,Ar19 a in ..'
and took the girdle from the place
ag
where I had hid it: and behold, the gird--
Ie was marred, and it was profitable for
nothing.
- '=

YOU CAN'T GET ME!!!

Judges 2:19 And the Lord was with
Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants
of the mountain; but could not drive
out the inhabitants of the valley, be-
cause they had chariots of iron.

~t:e:::<,.6'" ',..".~/ f"':.~

C'nrlst"d y()(A 'Z

-'IEi~~~<
Come and get itt!!!!!
Ezek.4:12 And thou shalt eat it as
barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with
dung that cometh out of man, in their
sight. .

Sounds heavenly.
Isaiah 16:11 Wherefore my bowels shall
sound like an harp for Moab, and mine
inward parts for Kir-ha-resh.

1. '
a. e acheS.
yr \-le.r/lea'lS {
¥\Q.,/be \ peaches.

t11
t~~
(lll~l/~

Come again?
Amos 4:3 And ye shall go out at the
breaches, every cow at that which is be-
fore her; and ye shall cast them into the
palace, saith the Lord.
And God inventeth make-up ...
MaI.1:2 Behold, I will corrupt your seed,
and spread dung upon your faces, even
the dung of your solemn feasts; and one
shall take you away with it.
Bon Apetit!
II Kings 18:27 But Rab'-sha-keh said which sit on the wall, that they may eat
unto them, Hath my master sent me to their own dung, and drink their own
thy master, and to thee, to speak these piss with you?
words? hath he not sent me to the men

Good Spirit!
Numbers 11:23-25 (Good News Bible):
Then the Lord came down in the cloud
and took some of the spirit he had given
to Moses and gave it to the seventy
leaders. When the spirit came on them,
not for lonl(.

DIGITS Square heads

ARE IN! (Levit.l9:26) Ye shall-not eat anything with
the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment,
nor observe times.
I Kings 12:10 27 Ye shall not round the corners of your
My little finger heads, neither shall thou mar the corners of
shall be thIcker your beard.
than my father's
loins ...

Pillow taik
Ezekiel 13:18 And say, Thus saith the Lord
Hosea 12:12 GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to
And iacob fled into all armholes. . . ha l'1 beef!
ver
the country of Syria,
and Israel served for a /'\. '(o:hopliffiI11tjflinf
wife, and for a wife he kept
sheep. (~ haVe yO" :... 0-

Check the label.

\~ (Levit.19:19) ... neither shall a garment ming-
led of linen and woolen come upon thee.
SJo . "Si quis clericus, aut monachus, verba joculatoda
risum moventia serat, anathema esto."

ocufatonO. (If any clerk or monk utters jocular words causing laughter,
let him be excommunicated.)
Ordinance of Second Council of Carthage.

1 novJ
The village idiot in a small Italian village
was given the job of watching from the If 1fYl f Christ;
church tower for Christ's Second Com- . bride 0 fa Ihe Lord '2
ing; he was to ring the bell as soon as he fhe J sp~a~_lher-in-ldW.
saw the Savior approaching.
After some weeks the man com-
do a5 ff.{1
plained to the priest: "It's a boring job
and I hardly get paid nothing ... "
The priest replied: "Look at it this
way: it's a job for life. "

There was a young lady named Alice

who peed in a Catholic chalice.
The padre agreed
it was done out of need
and not out of Protestant malice.

What did Mary sing when she got

pregnant?
"Penis from heaven ... "

The conductor in a train to Dublin, The host of a distinguished gathering

walking down the aisle, called out: "Is looked around the dinner table for a
there a Catholic priest present? Is there clergyman whom he could ask to say
a Catholic priest present?" grace. As he could not see one he turned'
Some minutes later, as the conductor to his neighbour, asking him instead.
came back, still calling the same words, The neighbour nodded and said:
one of the passengers approached him: "As there is no clergyman present, let
"I'm not a Catholic priest, but a us all thank God. "
Methodist minister. Maybe I can be of
assistance?"
"I don't think so", answered the con-
ductor. "It's only a cork screw we're
wanting. "
 The Catholic Church has often been accused
of being "too inflexible", of interpreting the
Holy Scriptures in a narrow, literal way.
Nothing could be further from the truth, as Father
Melchior and Brother Franciscus demonstrate:

• The Empress of Brazil was blessed by
the pope. She broke her leg three days
after. She and the Emperor were de-
throned and died in exile.
• The Crown Princess of Brazil was
blessed by the pope. Her baby was born
deformed; she died in exile.
• The pope blessed the widow of Mexi-
co's Emperor Maximilian. She became a
hopelessmanic; died in exile.
• The pope blessed the Emperor
Mexico, Maximilian. He was dethroned
,and killed by his people.
• The pope blessed General Boulanger,
and in less than two weeks he was an
exile, later committing suicide.
• Dr. Windhorst received the papal "Or-
der of Christ" He died in less than a
year.
• In 1963 President Kennedy of the
USA was received and blessed by the
pope. He was shot dead in the same year.
• In '1967 Senator Robert F. Kennedy
had an audience with the pope. He was
assassinated the following year.
• In 1978 President Sadat of Egypt had
an audience. He was assassinated.
WARMIMG
'\..
THE CURSE -.r---
OF THE GOLDEN
ROSE ~
• Pope Pius IX sent the Golden Rose to
the king of Two Sicilies, and in less than
a year he lost his crown and kingdom.
• Pius IX sent the Golden Rose to
Queen Isabella of Spain; in a short time
she lost her crown and died in exile.
• He sent the Golden Rose to the Emp-
ress Eugenie O'f France, and in less than
a year the Emperor and the empress lost
their crowns. Both died in exile, and
their only son was killed by the Zulus.
• Mrs. Sherman, wife of the American
General Sherman, received the Golden
Rose. She died soon after.
• In ,1923 'the pope gave the Golden
0
Rose to the Queen of Spain. She and
her husband Alfonso lost their throne
and fled from Spain.
DISASTROUS DISASTERS
~Y GO./)it
". NtA({E~ r s f.
\\\\!ti~'
'\\~~1i~.•
of
--""0.. ~
_ _
• The pope blessed a steamer filled
with nuns eriroute to South America in
187,0. It never reaahed its destination,
every person was lost at sea.
• In 1897 the papal 'Nuncio blessed the
grand "Charity" bazaar in Paris. Within
five minute~ it was in flames, and nearly
150 of the aristocracy perished.
• In 1928 the pope blessed the "Italia"
airship, and gave it a cross to be placed
on the North Pole. The "Italia" broke
in half, half her crew was lost.
LOSS OF CROWN
LOSS OF BATTLE
KINGDOMS GONE TO DOGS' ...
• The German Kaiser visited the pope
and received his blessings. He lost his
throne and was chased into exile by the
German people.
• When Pius IX sent his holy blessings
to the Austrian emperor, the latter lost
Venetia, and suffered defeat at Sadowa.
• The Queen Regent of Spain and King
Alfonso were blessed by the pope. They
promptly lost Cuba and the Philippines.
• In 1970 Emperor Haille Sellasie of
Ethiopia had an audience. His country
was soon hit by a severe draught, and
Sellasie was deposed .
• In 1973 President Thieu of South
Vietnam had an audience'with the pope.
Thieu had to resign and flee; his country
was taken over by the Viet Congo
• In 1969 Paul VI visits Uganda
and knights Milton Obote. Obote was
0 Tf{E"t.·, ousted by Idi Amin. In 1975 Idi Amin
had an audience with the pope - soon
after he was ousted; he still lives in
exile.
• In 1966 King Constantine and Queen
Mary of Greece had an audience with
the pope. Within less than a year they
were ousted by Army officers.
• In 1972 Prime Minister Edward Hea
of Great Britain had an audience. His
country drifts into a industrial crisis;
He.ath's party loses at the polls.
• In 1975 President Ford had an aud-
ience, He is defeated the following year.
• In 1980 John Paul \I visited France
and gave President Giscard D'Estaill£ a
private audience. The latter wa- E-
feated at the elections.
 '[®~(iw~cs
ANDTHE
Torture was not a Christian invention
but the practice found a natural home
in a religion obsessed by the idea of
suffering. "The evil of torture", writes
Joseph McCabe ("The History of Tor·
ture") "became fouler than ever in the
Christian era - foulest of all at the very
height of the power of the Church of
Rome - and was used in the interest of
religion." He continues: " ... it was Vol-
taire and a group of Voltairian rulers,
jurists, and writers in various countries'
who awakened the conscience or'
Europe and led to the general abolition'
of torture; and it was overwhelmingly'
in Catholic lands that this sordid, imple.
ment of power was used again, and by,
the white hand of kings, nobles, and
priests, whenever and wherever medi-
eval conditions were restored." . ous time, when well·fed peasants were
In pre·Christian, "pagan" Europe,
torture had a relatively minor place. The
Greek Sceptics, Stoics and Epicureans
condemned it outright. Seneca said: "It
forces even the innocent to lie."
With the rise of Christianity, torture
became more, than primarily entertain-
ment, it became a divine tool. Saint
Augustine, still revered as a Christian
saint and hero, thoroughly approved
and recommended it, as did almost the
entire church hierarchy and the
Christian rulers right up to modern
days. Constantine, who made Christian·
ity the State religion, had some of his
own relatives tortured; the Christian
emperor Valentian kept bears which he s::: ';#'
fed with pagans and heretics, In the ~.;:,; "
Byzantine or Greek part of the Christ- '~ ~ Ij iii (i)"
i.~:.. I' . f...: ,'"
ian empire which prides itself of never "'! 3 , .If
having indulged in an inquisition, cruel- ~ ~,.t;; l·~t;,:;'ii::
,': '~~~~7
GLORY OF GOD
ty and torture was as rife as 'in 'the
Roman part. Theodosius had 7000 men,
women and children attracted to the
circus in Thessalonica by promise of a
show - and had them all butchered. In
Alexandria, Christians went on a ram-
page against pagans; •it was here that
the elderly and revered Hypatia had her
flesh scraped from her bones by Christ·
ian monks, No one talks today of the
Christian practice of feeding pagans to
the lions, on the contrary, it is always
the Christians which are presented as
martyrs in our literature.
How odd that Christian writers speak
of the light of Christianity when it was
darkness that came with it. Even the age
known as the "Dark" Age is claimed by
Christian thinkers to have been a glori·
pious and respectful, where monks sang
while pruning apple trees, or copied
manuscripts by candle light. The truth is
quite different.
Crucification was no longer practiced
since the days of Constantine (simply
because it was considered blasphemous
, , to inflict the holy pain of Christ), but
the Christians invented methods that
were equally revolting. There were often
religious and sexual overtones to their
tortures. The "Quaresima" was a
schedule of mutilation and torture that
was calculated to keep the victim alive
• for exactly 40 days, in honour of the
" forty days of Christian "Lent". The fire,
I~"'" a common means of dispatching or tor-
" I '\~ , ;) ":, turing a victim, was called "holy" and
' "purifying". The "Iron Virgin" or
"mater dolorosa" was a container in the
shape, of a woman, and her hollow in-
;1t,:~;~2~:
sides were fitted with strong iron spikes
which pierced the victim when he was
put inside and the device was closed.
Many religious ordeals of torture were
ostensibly held to establish a person's
guilt and left him or her no escape. If
the ordeal killed, innocence was proven,
if it was survived, witchcraft or other
foul play was thought to be responsible,
and the unfortunate person could .be
considered guilty and be dispatched
without qualms.
We are talking about the great age
that built Europe's magnificent cathe-
drals and which created great works of
art: these were the times when knights
still roamed the countryside, and min-
strels had to sing their praises. The
nobility of the knights is a myth of Sun-
day schools and movie matinees.
Knights were parasites on society, robb-
ing, raping, murdering and burning. It is
not likely that the rulers of these times
were indeed "beloved", the records of
intrigues, of poisonings and wars speak
against it. The peasants had no voice at
all, arid being illiterate they were not
even able to communicate their plight
to us - to posterity., The great Catholic
ruler Bernabo Viscomti, Duke of Milan
(and inventor of the above-mentioned
Quaresima) owned no less than 500.0
hounds which the peasants had to keep demonstrated the power of God, the ne- in cruelty. _The descendents of the
for him. If one of the dogs fell ill, the cessity of salvation, and the painful path above-mentioned Bernabo continued
peasan.t keeper lost a hand or a foot, if to it. the rule by torture; all were extremely
the dogs killed a bear, the peasant's Huizinga also writes of the magistra- devout. One of them tortured his own
eyes were put out. For failing to pay tes of Bruges who in 1488 were suspec- wife until she falsely confessed, and he
tax, houses were burned down. The ted of something or other and were pub· then burned- her to death. Dozens of
great and noble knight and defender of licly tortured. They begged to be killed, such holy murders were committed in
faith Bernard de Cahusac (as described but were kept alive as long as possible his family alone. No one dared to de-
by Professor Luchaire) once cut off the for the edification and morbid pleasure mur, if any did, they were forced to eat
hands and feet of 150 monks and nuns of the multitudes, that they may "feast their own excrement until they died.
because they were not as profitable as again upon their torments". This was not considered murder, it was
he wanted them to be. His wife helped All the popes of the dark ages of faith putting the victim into the hands of
him personally by slashing the breasts of urged torture, some invented new ways God, who after all had the power to
the nuns and tearing out their finger- and happily watched the pain-racked save anyone if he wanted to.
nails. bodies expire in unspeakable suffering. The Baglioni of Perugia were so pious
There was a macabre fascination with The Holy Father Urban VI (be remin· that they moved into a cathedral to live.
death and pain. Dr. Huizinga ("The ded we are speaking of saintly men who They hanged 130 of their opponents
Waning of the Middle Ages") writes of have remained uncensored. by the outside the church and then spent three
the Churchyard of the Innocents in Church to this day) personally watched days saying masses for them. Bastards
Paris: "Skulls and bones were heaped up and supervised as he had six of his cardi- and nephews of the popes (of which
in charnel-houses ... and lay there open nals tortured to death, while he himself there was no shortage) were foremost in
to the eye by the thousands ... " Such read the breviary. this sort of behavior. It WHS Machiavelli
places were so popular for promenading It was no wonder that a religion himself who admitted that the Italians
that shops were put up around them which intimately embraced suffering, of the time were so corrupt because
and prostitutes plied their trade. To be produced so much cruelty among the "the Church and its represeritatives set
reminded of death and suffering was faithful; it can be said that the more up the worst example". .
considered an edifying experience, as it pious a society is, the more it indulges If God punishes men with eternal
 c. i- "WaS reasoned, surely it was
-0 Christian philosophy, namely the faith
:or en to use the same means
<:.... ,..::5L-: that God would not let anything bad
"Y cause. happen if it was truly done in his holy
::m'-.?ChII- 19 out heretics was a profit- name, precluded any compassionate
:e GL entertajning business for the reasoning.
?a acy. ometimes boxes were put up Whenever clerical forces re-ascended,
. c urehes and priests encouraged their one of the first things that was re-intro-
L.ock to denounce secret heretics. The duced was torture, be it in france, in
accused never knew who had dobbed Austria, in Portugal, Spain, Italy,
them in. 0 lawyer was there to defend Russia.
rhe victim, he was instead subjected to The process continued right into our
pain to help him confess. With jesuitical own age. General Franco re-introduced
rationalitity it was argued that the pain torture and the Australian bishops sang
actually helped the accused to salvation, his praises for it. When in 1938 an
since it made him or her confess. Italian cruiser called at Sydney to parti-
:\1illions were murdered this way. Need- cipate in the 150-year celebration Car-
less to add, the property of the victims ,dinal Gilroy went aboard to say Ma;s and
fell to the Holy Church. alluded favourably to the fact that the
ship had just come from Spain, where it
had shelled godless Republican positions
"" to help the forces of Christianity.
Ferdinand Marcos, 'intimate friend of
the pope until he was ousted by more
progressive forces, maintained the
horror of torture - he still pictures him-
self. as the defender of Christianity
agamst godless communists.
In the days before the Falklands War,
Just as rockets and computers can be this writer was prompted by an article
considered the most advanced of to- by Phillip Adams on Argentina to join
day's hardware, the dark ages of faith Amnesty International and to send a
had also an area where their technology ! letter to the Argentinian representative
excelled, where R & D was appli~d and ,I to protest against torture in that
paid dividents. Their technological peak ". country. The response was typical - the
was the torture chamber. In under- Argentinian Embassy in Canberra sent
ground vaults robust monks experimen - me leaflets with anti-Communist and
ted with ever more refined methods for Catholic propaganda.
the glory of God. There was the rack, . The devoutly Catholic dictatorships
the thumb screw, boiling oil, Spanish m South 'and Central America maintain
Boots (for crushing the bones of feet); . torture to this day, and there is no word
victims were pressed unto spiked Suu •.ces: Joseph McCabe "The Histo •.y of protest from our Holy Man in Rome.
boards, hung up by the wrists with of Tor·tu •.e"; Be •.tralld Russdl "Why On the .contrary, wherever one of his
laIn Hul a Christiart"; Pruf. Huizinger,
heavy weights attached to the feet; "The Waning of the Middle Ag"s'; Fran"'
flock should voice opposition to in-
cords were tightened around various Hl'/billli, "Vie To •.t" •..•., human practices in these countries, he is
parts of the anatomy. Bishops and other sharply rebuked.
rulers were proud of their torture cham-
bers and showed each other their latest
equipment as today they would show
off their new cars or hi-fis. "The instru-
ments" as they were called, were most
useful Sometimes it was enough to
show them to recalcitrants such as
Galileo, to make him recant on his god-
less idea of a round earth revolving ...
The Magna Carta (1215) is today con-
sidered a milestone in human progress,
as it proclaimed a'mong other things that
no free Englishman could be tortured.
The document was condemned by the
reigning pope as the devil's work, and
anybody approving of the Magna Carta
was excommunicated.
It was always the godless who camp-
aigned for the abolition of torture. Un-
der the influence of Voltairian thought,
Friedrich der Grosse was the first King
to wipe torture from the law books in
1740, even before the French Revolu-
tion. Catherine the Great of Russia, ad·
vised by the agnostic Diderot, followed
suit in 1769. Later, when she was suc-
ceeded by more pious rulers, torture
was re-introduced with a vengeance. In.
1776 Portugal outlawed torture, .
through a king that was advised by Vol-
taire's pupil the Marquis of Pambal.
The French destroyed "the instru-
ments" when they stormed the Bastille.
The greatest and most celebrated
Christian thinkers such as Saint Augus-
tine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, even the
Protestant Martin Luther, were whole-
he'artedly in favour of torture. Their
_ •••••••• _K.A.R.O.L.B.Y •• C.A.N.D.L.E•• L.I G_H.T•• L_.I •....•••••
~••

Karol Wojtyla yearns for a return to the Dark Ages; his encyclical of May 1986 shows
that he is totally out of touch with today's world.
This is a shortened version of an article by MADALYN O'HAI R which appeared
in liThe American Atheist" in August 1986.

Karol Wojtyla, alias Pope John Paul II,
the ultimate madman of our century, on
May 18, 1986, issued the fifth encycli-
cal of his eight-year pontificate. Titled
Dominum et Vivificantem (The Lord
and Giver of Life), the thrust of the
psychobabbling that the media reported
was "Damn the Atheists".
The encyclical is a disaster. The
thinking is so convoluted and muddled,
the themes so out of touch with reality,
the historical references so fabricated,
the style so laborious, repetitive, and
disjointed, that one can only conclude
that the man is not alone mad, but so
imprudent as to advertise his mental dis-
abilities to the world. This is psycho-
babble par excellence, and malice-filled
psychobabble at that. The media appar-
ently recognized this, and the wire sto-
ries and other press coverage were short,
bu t not kind. One journal characterized
it as a "doomsday encyclical". The New
York Times emphasised that it was a
harsh critique of the modern world
"brimming with references to satan".
To excuse the obvious mental condi-
tion of the pope, that same newspaper
described the encyclical as "a highly church is concerned, "every knee shall
personal revery." A psychiatrist would bow" (Romans 14:11). The church's
be less kind. task is ."salvic", and the pope repeats
To this date The American Atheist again and again that, like it or not, its
Centre has not received one media re- intention now is to save, or redeem, the
port which picke.d up an extraordinarily entire world.
important, special aspect of the encycli- Wojtyla is intent on identifying the
cal. Abortion clinics throughout the Christian Trinity as the single allowable
United States are under siege, with ter- . concept of god, reaching back to the
rorist bombings, attacks, and interfer- 1,400-year-old fight of the Father, the
ence with ingress and egress of women Son, and the Holy Ghost (which he now
to those clinics. The National Abortion designates as the Holy Spirit) being con-
Federation reports that there have been substantial. The largest and most lasting
thirty-four bombings and twenty-seven rifts in the· church were over this con-
arsons at abortion facilities since 1977. cept. To prove the point he cites Gene-
In addition, there have been literally sis and god saying, "Let us make man in
thousands of incidents of picketing and our image, after our likeness" (Genesis'
.general harassment short of actual 1:26). Little did the Old Testament
damage-producing violence. scholars know that this allusion was to
In all of these anti-abortion actions, the Big Three who did not come into
the Roman Catholic church figures being until New Testament times -
large, yet that particular religion is but as the pope illustrates, a foolish con-
never openly named as a source of the sistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
anti-abortion violenee. This is regrett- Wojtyla is reaffirming the orthodoxy
able. of the Roman Catholic church's posit-
ion. The Southern Baptist Convention
***
Throughout the encyclical, the did the same in' Atlanta, Georgia, in
theme is repeated that as far as this mid-June of this year, when the leaders

lIDD@
l? [b ill [QJ ill)
of tl:e 1-=.-! miIJjon member denomina- cified and glorified Christ." Now you tongues" as confirmation of the Holy
tion me- to reinforce their fundamental- know. And why was J.C. crucified and Spirit's presence. This is the phenomen-
. terpretation of Christianity. raised again? Ah, you finally have lear- on of glossolalia which, as everyone
ned your catechism - "to break the knows, is evidence of mental illness, en·
stranglehold of personified evil, so that gaged in only by hysteric religious fana-
The Holy Spirit came to humankind this world may be fashioned anew tics of the radical right. For example,
at the price of Christ's "departure". according to God's design and reach its Falwell, Swaggart and their ilk are too
ince this was god's big plan, it was ne- fulfillment" (Pastoral Constitution on high-toned to stoop to this kind of
cessary then for the Jews to knock off the Church in the Modern World, 2). idiocy. However, the pope now inter-
J.C. by crucifying him. His "departure" This ultimate sin, "they do not believe", prets the "speaking in other tongues" to
had to mean his death - with god "call- is expanded from Jerusalem at the time mean that the Holy Spirit brought
ing him home" via his slowly drifting of J.C. to the historic and total world. "back to unity the scattered races and
upwards. J.C., you see, had received the Therefore, "every sin, wherever and offering to the Father the first fruit of
fullness of the Holy Spirit, and the only whenever committed, has a reference to all the nations." In fact! "Peter comes
thing that could be done was to kill the cross of Christ." Wojtyla is going to forward and speaks before a multitude
him. For those of you who are thirsty reach out to everyone in the world, all of people of different languages, gather-
after the Holy Spirit, let this be a lesson countries, in all periods of time, to lay ed for the feast." Of course, they all un-
to you. In this way, the death on the "sin" on everyone, so that the Roman derstood him, and he them. But, what
cross is inextricably involved in the plan Catholic church can then, through the did he speak to them about? Peter, the
for the return by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, save them from it. This is first witness to the power of the Para·
the exact position taken by the Inquisi-
*** tion once before in church history.
clete, the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit,
laid upon them all "concerning the sin
Jesus did not come into the world
only to judge it and condemn it. He which is the rejection of Christ even to
came to save it. Well, that doesn't his condemnation to death, the death
matter; the Roman Catholic church and When the Holy Spirit came at the on the cross of Golgotha." If the Jews
Wojtyla can both jUdge and condemn, time of the Pentecost to the Upper think that pope is ever really going to
especially in regard to righteousness. Room in Jerusalem, with the mother of forgive them for "doing in" J.C., they
Righteousness is really "definitive salva- J.e. and the apostles in attendance on should all read this encyclical. No way!
tion in God ... as it centres on the cru- him, everyone began to speak "in other

The vision upon which the

United States of America was
founded, specifically
encompassed religious freedom,
and the only way to achieve
this was by strict separation of
the State from the
Churches.
Cartoonist Thomas Nast was
concerned about the efforts,
particularly by the Catholic
Church, to force religion
into public schools. He was
especially disturbed by pope
Pius IX's 1864 encyclical
which demanded that all
science, culture and educa-
tion throughout the world
must be subject to papal
approval.
Nast's tears were well
tounded. Religion has re-
moved many of the
altruistic concepts which
meant to create a "Land 01'
the Free" in America. Even
the State malta "E Pluribus
Unum" (seen above the door)
has now been replaced with
"In God, We Trust".

:'\0 ClIl:HCJI :\I-:E)) Al'PLY.

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 The rejection of Christ, by implica-
tion the rejection of god himself, is
therefore linked with the paschal
mystery - the crucification and resur-
rection. And, there, by god, you now
have it all in one ball of wax. For Peter
goes on with his message to the world in
general and to the men of Jerusalem in
particular: "Repent and be baptized
everyone of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;
and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit." He had, of course, drunk
some of the holy spirit himself.
"Convert to Christ" is the entire
message.
***
The greatest sin in the world was and
is the sin of those who "have not be-
lieved". They have, one and all, sent
Jesus to an ignominious death. The
greatest sin that man could commit,
occurred - the killing of Jesus, the son
of god, consubstantial with the father!
Therefore every sin demonstrates its re-
lationship with the cross of Christ.
Where is the sin of nonbelief? This
unspeakable, abominable sin, in its ori-
ginal reality, takes place in man's will -
and conscience - first of all as "dis-
obedience". The disobedience consists
of a rejection of (or at least a turning
away from) the truth contained in the
word of god. And, at this point, me-
thinks the pope tries to slip in "scien-
tific creationism", which is even now
before the United States Supreme Court
to see if it can gain entry to our nation's good and evil." God, and the Holy Spi-
(USA) public schools. For quite sudden- rit, alone can define what is sin. Good-
ly, in this discussion he points out that ness, truth and love mean a life in union
when the universe was created "The Spi- with god; sin, the "breath of evil", is
rit of God was moving over the face of nonbelief and disobedience. "Here we
the water" (Genesis 1: 2) in order to find ourselves at the very centre of what
create. "To create means to call into could be called the 'anti-word,' that is
existence from nothing." Man was thus to say, 'the anti-truth'." What male-
created in the "image and likeness" of factors would engage in such beastly
god. And, since the Holy Spirit did the work, in such a spirit of darkness?
creating, he knows man in his heart - Well, now Wojtyla gets to the great
and that knowledge tells the Holy Spirit beast - Atheism! " In the modern age,
that the sin of non-belief, which is really when the atheistic ideologies seek to
disobedience, is the sin Which is the root root out religion on the grounds that re-
of all other sins. For man has an obli- ligion causes the radical 'alienation' of
gation that has been revealed to him man," it has come to such a state,
with the cross of Christ, that there is Wojtyla says, that there is "a process of
only "obedience unto death". After all, though t and historico-sociological prac-
J.C. went to the cross just as he was . tice in which the rejection of God has
told, and so should all of us. What a reached the point of declaring his
harsh master is this god! 'death.' An absurdity, both in concept
and expression." Most Atheists would
. But what is disobedience, thus defi- agree with the pope. The concept of
ned? It is "transgression of a prohibition "the death of god" was put forward by
laid down by God." What was the pro- theologians - not Atheists. The Athe-
hibition? - that mankind could not eat ist position is that there never was a god
of the fruit of the tree of knowledge? and therefore caterwauling about "the
For if Adam and Eve did this, in the death of god" is the height of absurdity.
Garden of Eden, they would become as
gods, "knowing good and evil" (Genesis ***
3:4) No one, however, has the right to What did god do when he saw sinful
know what good and evil is. "Man can- man? He said, "I am sorry that 1 have
not decide by himself what is good and made them" (Genesis 6: 5-7) and laid
what is evil - cannot 'know good and the flood on the whole shebang. Reject-
evil, like god'." Disobedience then as ing the love of god thusly brough t
the original dimension of sin means "suffering" to man. Wojtyla, however,
man's "claim to become an independent does not point ou t that the "suffering"
and exclusive source of deciding abou t
was laid on man by that loving sado-
masochistic god.
in, being abroad now in the land,
can only be o\ercome by god butcher-
ing his own son, 'sacrificing the lamb",
which seems a somewhat eerie way of
ol\1ng the problem. But, there you are
- tha 's the drama - after killing every-
one on earth in a flood in a fit of pique,
after causing his own son to be killed on
a cross, god "returned to the love which
was betrayed by Adam through sin."
J.G., you see, when ordered to the
cross for no reason whatsoever, since he
was obedient and did "believe in him,"
went like a whipped dog to his death.
Eve, when ordered not to eat the apple,
told god to go buzz off and nothing
happened to her. Indeed, she became
the mother of all humankind - a not in-
significant achievement to which all
women can only say "Vive la femme!"
The sin of such disobedience cannot
be condoned under Wojtyla's theoretics.
Instead of punishing Adam and Eve,
however, god waited for several score of
Madalyn O'Hair is a lawyer and an internationally known Atheist: she is the veteran of many successful
campaigns agains( religious excesses in America, such as prayer and bible readings in school.
She is known to Australians through her many books and articles as well as through her personal visit
millenia and punished J.G. instead - by
having him killed. No wonder that, re-
garding J.G., the quote Wojtyla uses is,
"And his delight shall be the fear of the
Lord" (Isaiah 11:1-3). At this point
Wojtyla becomes helplessly confused
and his efforts to extricate himself are
beyond his abilities. He takes, therefore,
a leap of faith and announces that the
Holy Spirit managed it all. "Proceeding
from the Father, he directs towards the
Father the sacrifice of the Son, bringing
it into the divine reality of the Trinitar-
ian communion." You figure that sen-
tence out. But, to go on: "Thus there is
a paradoxical mystery of love." You can
bet your sweet behind there is! "In
Ghrist there suffers a God who has been
rejected by his own creature: 'They do
not believe in me.' " The pope, how-
ever, does not add that it was god's own
game to hang his own consubstantial
son on a cross and kill him. To go on:
"but at the same time, from the depth
of this suffering - and indirectly from
the depth of the very sin 'of not having
to this country.
believed' - the - (Holy) Spirit draws a
new measure of the gift made to man
and to creation from the beginning." As
we used to say back in Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania, "Put that in your pipe and
smoke it." If it is marijuana, it may get
you close to some understanding of this
crazy language.
For·those who hope for a better life
here and now, he has little or nothing to
say; certainly there is no encourage-
ment that they should struggle for
better living conditions. Instead,
"Prayer always remains the voice of all
those who apparently have no voice ...
Prayer is also the revelation of that abyss
which is the heart of man." Prayer can
only indicate that man is participating
in the divine life. That is small help
when one is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-
housed, sick and needy. Such a person
hardly needs "to save him from him-
self" with prayer ...

- -" ~ ...=.:=~,;;\
~~~.~ __
-_ ,I __ ~ .. ,~~I
"THE PROMISED LAND," AS SEEN FROM THE DOME OF SAINT PETER'S, ROME.
 \~\~11IfW4iJ
Lelmt f': :;/,

~ at:Jiee~d~
Thanks 0 efforts by progressive and compass- ~
ionate people throughout the last centuries, the
oftunnel
. /.
the _-~"'-'
cruelty and power of religion has now diminished v.; I I '

o the point where it is totally rejected by a growing W;~\'i Protestant!

number of the population (see diagram). Our churches ~ p~ Anglican
are empty, and theological colleges are desperate to find
recruits. The continuing growth of Catholicism, world-wide, Eastern
is solely the result of the explosive population growth in South America Orthodox
and Africa, and for that reason the disastrous process is encouraged by the
pope. In educated countries religion is on a speedy decline.
Other
Unfortunately, rather than to embrace humanistic ideals to gain the
Christians
acceptance of thinking people, most churches have chosen to fight back by
campaigning for a return to fundamentalism, or at least resist adoption of
progressive ideas. At a time when mankind may well be on the brink of
total extinction it is more important than ever that we pursue policies that
can save us from destruction. But as long as Churches oppose birth
control, align themselves with repressive regimes, deny to their people
many basic freedoms and demand unjust privileges such as tax exemption,
they deserve to be regarded as ballast from the Dark Ages that should be
jettisoned as soon as possible.

Diagram:
Percentage who say religion is
losing influence
(from Madalyn Murray O'Hair's
"Freedom Under Siege ", publ. by
J.P. Tarcher, Los Angeles)
Diagram:
Percentage of Catholics who still
go to Sunday Mass
(drawn by R.Heimann after data
from "The Bulletin", July19, '83.

Diagraln drawn by
Rolf Heilnann. source:
Chinese
"World Christian Folk Religion
Encyclopaedia" by
Percentage of Catholics who Rev.Vr. Barett, Tribal
_~~~~~x.!",~~s.:
~!~~.!I.~_~~ .__~~~ .. Oxford University Press.
Jewish and
Others

"Christ's sayings were like quack pills, intende.d to be swallowed whole, without chewing or knowing
what they were made of, and they poisoned you. "
SAMUEL BUTLER

"If the writers (of the gospels) had gone into any court of justice ... and had given their evidence in the same
contradictory manner as it is here given, they would have been in danger of having their ears cropped for
perjury and would have justly deserved it. Yet this is the evidence, and these are the books, that have been
imposed upon the world as being by divine inspiration and as the unchangeable word of God. "
THOMAS PAINE

"Perhaps the time is approaching which has so often been prophesied when religion will take her departure
from ... humanity, like a nurse which the child has outgrown; ... For there is no doubt that religious
doctrines which are founded merely on authority, miracles and revelations are only suited to the childhood
of humanity. "
SCHOPENHAUER

"1 will admit that one perdition of Christianity has peen undisputably fulfilled. '1come not to bring peace,
but a sword. ' Christianity indeed has equalled Judaism in the atrocities and exceeded it in the extent of its
desolation. Eleven million of men, women and children have been killed in battle, butchered in their sleep,
burned to death at public festivals of sacrifice, 'poisoned, tortured, assassinated and pillaged in th~ spirit .
of the Religion of Peace, and for the glory of the most merciful God, "
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
"Be convinced that a she-ass spoke; believe that a fish swallowed a man and threw him up three days
later safe and sound on the shore; don't doubt that the God of the universe ordered one Jewish
prophet to eat shit (Ezekiel) and another prophet to buy two prostitutes and have children by them
(Hosea). Believe a hundred things either manifestly abominable or mathematically impossible:
otherwise the God of mercy will burn you in the fires of hell, not only for millions of billions of
centuries, but for all eternity, whether you have a body or whether you don't. "
VOLTAIRE

"History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining

a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political
as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose. "
THOMAS JEFFERSON

"All great truths begin as blasphemies. "

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

"If science exterminates a disease which has been working for God, it is God which gets the credit, and all
the pulpits break into grateful advertising raptures and call attention to how good he is!"
MARK TWAIN

"The whole conception of God is a conception derived from the ancient Oriental despotism.
It is a conception quite unworthy of free men. When you hear people in church debasing
themselves and saying that they are miserable sinners, and all the rest oOt, it seems
contemptible and not worthy of self-respecting human beings. We ought to stand up and look
the world frankly in the face. We ought to make the best we can of the world, and if it is not so
good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in all
these ages. A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful
hankering after the past, or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago
by ignorant men. "
BERTRAND RUSSELL

"There are religious leaders today in the twentieth century who strain at the gnat of
artificial contraception and then swallow the camel of overpopulation, poverty, famine, crime,
and the conditions which lead to war. Then they say, 'Peace, Peace!' when by their outdated
pro-nationalism they have induced conditions such that there can be no peace!"
Dr. M.H. MOTHERSILL ("Birth Control and Conscience")
 THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH
A great part of the Australian Papol Tour of 1986 is being "sponsored" by Corporations,
and the "Papal Logo" has been designed and marketed by high-powered experts.
Corporate sponsorship is not free, it is a non-taxable expense by Big Business, ultimately
passed on to us; the consumer, whether we approve of the pope or not.
As a major, multi-billion dollar investor, the Catholic Church identifies closely with Big
Business, and an association with the Vatican can payoff for businessmen. The story
below gives an example.

Concerned at the lack of business of their members, the Milliners Institute of

North America once hired a publicist by the name of Guido Orlando to approach His
Holiness the Pope. Orlando wrote a letter to the Vatican suggesting the following:
"The remarks I thought Your Holiness might make could be phrased, 'Of the various pieces
of apparel worn by women today, hats do the most to enhance the dignity and decorum
of womanhood. It is traditional for hats to be worn by women in church and at other
religious occasions, and I commend hats as a right and proper part of women's dress.' "
The very words suggested by the Milliners' representative were incorporated in a
papal recommendation that women wear hats. L 'Osservatore Romano and many other
papers repeated them, and they were printed on posters to be displayed in milliners'
stores. Within a month there was a sharp upturn in the sales of women's hats.
 THE CROSS OF CHRISTIANITY-
IS IT WORTH BEARING?
Religion is a billion dollar business. The main product sold:
Immortality. Since no clients have ever come back to complain .
that they're not getting their money's worth, mortals are still buying
the product.
But business)s not what it used to be. It's not like in the good old
days of the Crusades and the Inquisition, when no questions were
asked by consumers.
The "Holy Ghost Busters ", publishers of this book, believe that the
visit by Carol Wojtyla, God's very own representative on this earth, is a
good opportunity to ask some pertinent questions, and to examine
the background and the business methods of the people who peddle
salvation in the next world, and who have brought so much misery
to this one ...