(Untitled)

[fpb]

If I were the Pope, I would cancel the visit to Britain and say why.

Nobody is under any obligation to invite the Pope, or even to treat him with respect. But civilized people do not insult those they invited.

Comments

[elegant_bonfire]

I saw part of this on CNN headline news, but just excerpts. (I watch the news at the gym while I'm on the elliptical,with the sound off and my IPOD on, so I kind of get news-at-a-glance for 45 min.)

The bits I saw looked like something written by a 12-year old, was it a real memo or a hacker?

[fpb]

I'm afraid that it was a real memo. The author has been identified - not too hard, his name was on the thing - and transferred to other duties, and there have been strong apologies to the Vatican from both the Foreign Office and the Minister for Scotland. (The reason why the Minister for Scotland spoke is that in Britain there are two Catholic hierarchies, one for England and Wales and one for Scotland, and both authorities had invited the Pope.) The Vatican is apparently furious and seriously considering the cancellation option, because this is not an isolated incident, but the straw (some straw!) that broke the camel's back. For months now, the BBC and the leading newspapers - except for the Daily Telegraph - have been out-NewYorkTiming the New York Times in the matter of anti-papal cheap shots, false stories and general nastiness. Richard Dawkins and Chris Hitchens have claimed that they will perform a citizen's arrest on the Pope and lined up a lawyer who has made up a legal case for them - not just any lawyer either, but one