Salon.com > pope http://www.salon.com Tue, 02 Jul 2013 17:35:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Vatican monsignor questioned in corruption plot http://www.salon.com/2013/07/01/vatican_monsignor_questioned_in_corruption_plot/ http://www.salon.com/2013/07/01/vatican_monsignor_questioned_in_corruption_plot/#comments Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:05:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13347145 ROME (AP) — A Vatican monsignor arrested in a 20 million euro ($26 million) corruption plot has been questioned by Italian magistrates for the first time and has asked for house arrest.

Attorney Silverio Sica says Monsignor Nunzio Scarano is not well at Rome's Regina Coeli prison and wants to await a decision on his fate at home.

Scarano was interrogated for some three hours on Monday by Judge Barbara Callari, who must decide whether to confirm his arrest.

Scarano was arrested Friday with two other people in an elaborate plot to bring 20 million euro from a Swiss bank account into Italy without reporting it to customs officials.

Sica said Scarano "recognized it wasn't licit," but acted to help out his friends.

Prosecutors have identified the friends as Italy's d'Amico shipping family.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/07/01/vatican_monsignor_questioned_in_corruption_plot/feed/ 3 Pope condemns “slave labor” conditions in Bangladesh http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/pope_condemns_slave_labor_conditions_in_bangladesh_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/pope_condemns_slave_labor_conditions_in_bangladesh_partner/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 16:39:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13286828 International Business Times Coincident with the global May Day celebration of the rights of workers, the Pope has condemned the climate of “slave labor” that led to the tragic building collapse in Bangladesh last week.

The Associated Press reported that during a private mass, Pope Francis was apparently outraged by a newspaper headline which noted that the 400 people who died in a garment factory in Dhaka were only paid the equivalent of 38 euros (about $50) per month.

"That is what the people who died were being paid. This is called slave labor," he was quoted as saying.

"Today in the world this slavery is being committed against something beautiful that God has given us -- the capacity to create, to work, to have dignity. How many brothers and sisters find themselves in this situation! Not paying fairly, not giving a job because you are only looking at balance sheets, only looking at how to make a profit. That goes against God!"

The five garment factories inside the poorly constructed Rana Plaza in Dhaka housed some 3,500 workers – at last count, 402 had died in the collapse, while more than 2,500 are wounded. At least 150 people remain missing.

This disaster followed a fire in another Bangladeshi factory five months ago which killed 112 people.

The Pope then added: "There are many people who want to work but cannot. When a society is organized in a way that not everyone is given the chance to work, that society is not just."

Meanwhile, thousands of workers and other activists took to the streets of central Dhaka on Wednesday to demand improved working conditions and the death of the owner of the collapsed building,  Mohammed Sohel Rana.

AP noted that one person at the rally spoke through a loudspeaker on the back of a truck: "My brother has died. My sister has died. Their blood will not be valueless."

Sohel Rana, 38, is now under police custody and is likely to be charged with negligence, illegal construction practices and forcing workers to toil in unsafe conditions. If no more charges are filed, he faces up to 7 years in prison (which will anger protesters demanding his death).

"I want the death penalty for the owner of the building,” said one garment employee, according to AP.

“We want regular salaries, raises and absolutely we want better safety in our factories.”

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh High Court has ordered the confiscation of Sohel Rana's properties, and a freeze on the assets of the owners of the factories which operated inside Rana Plaza, so that such funds can be used to pay surviving workers and families of the victims.

The European Union also said it may take steps to force the Bangladeshi garment industry to upgrade facilities and improve work conditions by enacting changes to Bangladesh's preferential, duty-free and quota-free access to EU markets. "The European Union calls upon the Bangladeshi authorities to act immediately to ensure that factories across the country comply with international labor standards," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht said in a statement.

The IndustriAll Global Union, the Swiss-based federation that represents 50 million workers around the world, established a May 15th deadline for Western retailer to propose fire and building safety standards for Bangladeshi factories.

Bangladesh’s huge garment economy accounts for some $19 billion of annual exports, with 60 percent of that figure going to Europe. The next biggest market is the U.S. (23 percent).

Some 3.6 million Bangladeshis work in the industry, the majority of them women. Garments account for 80 percent of Bangladesh’s total export business.

More International Business Times

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/pope_condemns_slave_labor_conditions_in_bangladesh_partner/feed/ 1 The pope is not the church http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/pope_francis_doesnt_represent_all_catholics_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/pope_francis_doesnt_represent_all_catholics_partner/#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:49:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13242920 The pope is not the church.

It’s going to be very tempting to forget this fact over the next few days. The pundits, Catholic and otherwise, have been rapt in the suspense of awaiting the arrival of Pope Francis. We heard a lot of impossible hopes for who the next pope would be, along with the less thrilling reality of the actual candidates. But Catholics, along with the masses who have been suddenly and momentarily interested in Catholic affairs, should remember that the papacy is not to be confused with the church itself. At no time should this have been more clear than those strange and special few days when the Catholic Church was a people—an assembly, a community, a mystical body—without a pope.
Religion Dispatches

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/21/pope_francis_doesnt_represent_all_catholics_partner/feed/ 4 Salon limerick contest http://www.salon.com/2013/03/17/salon_limerick_contest_25/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/17/salon_limerick_contest_25/#comments Sun, 17 Mar 2013 14:59:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13243878 This week readers assess The Pope, Rand Paul and Ashley Judd:

 

To save cash, White House tours are curtailed,

But the House tours have NOT been derailed.

So you still can have fun,

Seeing nothing get done,

On the Hill, watching nonsense unveiled.

Madeleine Begun Kane

Bayside, N.Y.

 

I must say I'm calling it quits,

On caring which cardinal sits,

In St. Peter's chair --

The whole damned affair,

Is Mardi Gras, minus the tits.

Nancy Cahill

 

The new Pope hails from Argentina.

And I’m wondering just what that might mean-a.

Let’s hope that his Latin,

Is smoother than satin,

And that his church is in for one big house clean-a.

Gary Sandy

Davis, Calif.

 

In the senate McConnell's a dean,

Of the GOP obstruction machine.

But his name will be mud,

When our dear Ashley Judd,

Kicks his ass in twenty fourteen.

Mike Moulton

Gainesville, Fla.

 

Rand Paul held the floor by the hour,

His words pouring forth like a shower.

He could have gone on,

Saying drone use begone,

But his bladder held ultimate power.

Thompson Lange

Carmel, Calif.

 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/17/salon_limerick_contest_25/feed/ 1 The week in 10 pics http://www.salon.com/2013/03/16/the_week_in_10_pics_5/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/16/the_week_in_10_pics_5/#comments Sat, 16 Mar 2013 13:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13243016 http://www.salon.com/2013/03/16/the_week_in_10_pics_5/feed/ 2 It’s good to be the pope http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/its_good_to_be_the_pope/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/its_good_to_be_the_pope/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 22:15:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13228292 On Wednesday, a conclave of 115 cardinals elected Pope Francis (formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina) as the new spiritual leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

And being the pope definitely has its perks. In addition to inheriting a 10-room apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace, the pontiff has just scored a palatial summer pad in Castel Gandolfo. His wardrobe is custom made, and those iconic ruby red slippers are tailored to his exact specifications. He'll travel the world, and be received by adoring crowds who will scream his name. With 24 hour security detail, his safety is guaranteed. (Most of the time, anyway.)

And besides the Vatican's personal (and vast) art collection, the new pontiff will be treated to cultural performances that the rest of us can only dream of. Like these sensual acrobatics performed for the Pope Emeritus back in 2010.

It was raining men, so to speak. (Hallelujah.)

(h/t Videogum)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/its_good_to_be_the_pope/feed/ 8 New pope: Best of the worst reactions http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/new_pope_best_of_the_worst_reactions/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/new_pope_best_of_the_worst_reactions/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:50:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13228220 There's a new pope -- Francis I -- who unsurprisingly has terrible views on gay and reproductive rights. He has somewhat better views on poverty and inequality. He personally helped Argentina's right-wing military junta hold political prisoners after 1976. And here's what the best of the worst of Twitter has to say about it (worst/best of all, Erick Erickson):

[embedtweet id="311930145382486017"]

[embedtweet id="311939252286025729"]

[embedtweet id="311927675587530752"]

[embedtweet id="311936079282462720"]

[embedtweet id="311935971782447105"]

[embedtweet id="311923395166089217"]

[embedtweet id="311935738692382721"]

But, for some relief, here are some great reactions to the new pope:

[embedtweet id="311931171804164098"]

[embedtweet id="311932878453866497"]

[embedtweet id="311937060367896577"]

[embedtweet id="311930109332430849"]

 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/new_pope_best_of_the_worst_reactions/feed/ 35 More black smoke: No new pope yet http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/more_black_smoke_no_new_pope_yet/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/more_black_smoke_no_new_pope_yet/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:32:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13227573 VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Black smoke again billowed from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, meaning that Catholic cardinals hadn't elected a pope on their second or third rounds of balloting.

Cardinals voted twice Wednesday morning in the Vatican's famed frescoed chapel following their inaugural vote Tuesday to elect a successor to Benedict XVI, who stunned the Catholic world last month by becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign.

The cardinals break for lunch at the Vatican hotel and return for another two rounds of voting Wednesday afternoon.

The drama - with stage sets by Michelangelo and an outcome that is anyone's guess - is playing out against the backdrop of the turmoil unleashed by Benedict's surprise retirement and the exposure of deep divisions among cardinals that ensued. They must find a pope who can both clean up a corrupt Vatican bureaucracy as well as a pastor who can revive Catholicism in a time of growing secularism.

The divisions and the difficulty in finding both attributes in one man, many analysts say, mean that the world should brace for a long conclave - or at least one longer than the four ballots it took to elect Benedict in 2005.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/13/more_black_smoke_no_new_pope_yet/feed/ 4 Dennis Rodman plans to meet the new pope http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/dennis_rodman_plans_to_meet_the_new_pope/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/dennis_rodman_plans_to_meet_the_new_pope/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:15:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13226552 Only a few weeks after his questionable attempt to spread world peace via bringing "basketball diplomacy" to North Korea, eccentric 90s-era basketball star Dennis Rodman has announced an ambitious follow-up: an audience with the new pope. Rodman, who came back to the U.S. singing praises of one of the most reviled men on Earth, Kim Jong Un, told TMZ, "I want to be anywhere in the world that I'm needed ... I want to spread a message of peace and love throughout the world."

Rodman is on his way to Rome and lands tonight, and says his "people" are in touch with contacts at the Vatican. But assuming that the Vatican is, indeed, interested in entertaining Rodman (a source told TMZ that it's not), logistics are going to be Rodman's first hurdle: The papal conclave just started its voting process, making tonight the earliest the new pope could elected be elected--though due to the lengthy process and voting requirements, even that's unlikely.

 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/dennis_rodman_plans_to_meet_the_new_pope/feed/ 2 The Vatican plays landlord to Europe’s biggest gay bathhouse http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/the_vatican_plays_landlord_to_europes_biggest_gay_bathhouse/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/the_vatican_plays_landlord_to_europes_biggest_gay_bathhouse/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:04:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13226402 Happy Conclave Day, everyone. While you are discreetly scanning TMZ on your office computer or contemplating the Chipotle you will eat for lunch, 115 cardinals have gathered at the Vatican to select God's new representative on earth.

But there is something more than just choosing a spiritual leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics weighing on the cardinals today: Gay bathhouses.

News broke on Tuesday that the Holy See had purchased a $30 million dollar share of Rome real estate that includes Europe’s largest gay sauna, making them its official landlord.

As reported by The Independent:

The senior Vatican figure sweating the most due to the unlikely proximity of the gay Europa Multiclub is probably Cardinal Ivan Dias, the head of the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples, who is due to participate in tomorrow’s election at the Sistine Chapel.

This 76-year-old “prince of the church” enjoys a 12-room apartment on the first-floor of the imposing palazzo, at 2 Via Carducci, just yards from the ground floor entrance to the steamy flesh pot. There are 18 other Vatican apartments in the block, many of which house priests....

Cardinal Dias, who is seen as a social conservative even by the current standards of the church hierarchy, is no doubt horrified to learn of the activities taking place a floor below.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/12/the_vatican_plays_landlord_to_europes_biggest_gay_bathhouse/feed/ 28 Salon Limerick contest http://www.salon.com/2013/03/03/salon_limerick_contest_23/ http://www.salon.com/2013/03/03/salon_limerick_contest_23/#comments Sun, 03 Mar 2013 15:59:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13217452 Salon readers rhyme the Pope’s resignation and Seth Macfarlane:

Amidst litigation galore,
Pope Benedict has said “No more!”
He says he'll pursue prayer,
But I'm scratching my hair,
Asking, "What the hell's changed from before?"

Chad Parenteau

http://www.chadparenteaupoetforhire.com/index.html

 

I admit I don't care who they pick
For best actor, director or flick.
But here's news: When rude rubes,
Reduce women to boobs,
They'll now earn "a MacFarlane" (Best Prick).

Johanna Richmond

Red Hook, N.Y.

 

Send entries to limericks@salon.com along with your name and hometown. The deadline is Friday at noon eastern and we’ll publish our favorites on Sunday. Poems may be edited for clarity or scansion. Good luck!

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/03/03/salon_limerick_contest_23/feed/ 1 Pope Benedict XVI’s surprising artistic legacy http://www.salon.com/2013/02/18/pope_benedict_xvis_surprising_artistic_legacy/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/18/pope_benedict_xvis_surprising_artistic_legacy/#comments Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:00:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13202085 As the first Catholic Pope to resign from his position since Gregory XII in the 15th century, Pope Benedict XVI has startled the world with his announcement that he will step down by the end of this month. While controversially conservative (and much less benevolent-appearing than his predecessor the grandfatherly Pope John Paul II), the German-born religious leader did have an open mind at least in encouraging a renewed relationship between the Catholic Church and art, viewing the use of beauty as a path to the sacred.

Hyperallergic Named the Pope in 2005, he oversaw the 500th anniversary of the forming of the Vatican Museums by Pope Julius II, including a gathering of hundreds of “Patrons of the Arts” in the Catholic Church, as well as the permanent opening to visitors of a necropolis some 2,000 years old filled with ornate mausoleums. As the head of Vatican City and its immense Vatican Museums, the Pope casts influence not just over the Catholic Church, but the presentation of the history of art as well.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/18/pope_benedict_xvis_surprising_artistic_legacy/feed/ 1 “SNL” recap: Christoph Waltz plays God — Tarantino style http://www.salon.com/2013/02/17/snl_recap_christoph_waltz_plays_god_%e2%80%94_tarantino_style/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/17/snl_recap_christoph_waltz_plays_god_%e2%80%94_tarantino_style/#comments Sun, 17 Feb 2013 14:47:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13204379 The wonderfully talented comic actor Christoph Waltz has Tarantino to thank for writing two versions of the same memorable role — Nazi Colonel Hans Landa in "Inglourious Basterds" and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in "Django Unchained" — both of which have earned him many awards, including an Oscar and a nomination for another, and "household name" status on this side of the Atlantic. If only "SNL's" writers could have gotten past their clichéd notions of Prussian humor — even as they made fun of their own limitations during Waltz's shrug-worthy monologue — and stopped forcing upon the poor actor one creepy, pervy, effete role after another then this could have been, well, if not great, than more fun, especially on this a bountiful week of insane news stories, each a gift bigger than the next: the first papal retirement since 1415, the State of the Union Address, the Carnival Cruise disaster, the horsemeat controversy in Europe, and the meteor that crashed into central Russia. I realize much of that newsiness responsibility falls to Seth Meyers on the ever-more-toothless "Weekend Update," but that sweet smile of his just looks sadder and sadder as it hangs in the air there like an abandoned high-five hand. (The man really does need an Amy.) Waltz gets Tarantino-like redemption when he puts on a crown of thorns, and gets resurrected as one seriously pissed off Jesus Christ.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/17/snl_recap_christoph_waltz_plays_god_%e2%80%94_tarantino_style/feed/ 2 Showtime’s “The Vatican” books its first cast member http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/showtimes_the_vatican_books_its_first_cast_member/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/showtimes_the_vatican_books_its_first_cast_member/#comments Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:29:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13199765 With eerie timing, Showtime's "The Vatican," a potential series about "spirituality, power and politics", has booked its first cast member. The Hollywood Reporter has learned that "Watchmen's" Matthew Goode will co-star in the pilot as Bernd Koch, the pope's right-hand man.

The show would be "set against the modern-day political machinations within the Catholic church," exploring the power structure and relationships within the inner circle at the Vatican.

Ridley Scott will direct the first episode.

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/13/showtimes_the_vatican_books_its_first_cast_member/feed/ 1 Must-see morning clip: John Oliver picks members of the GOP as possible successors to the Pope http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/must_see_morning_clip_john_oliver_picks_members_of_the_gop_as_possible_successors_to_the_pope/ http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/must_see_morning_clip_john_oliver_picks_members_of_the_gop_as_possible_successors_to_the_pope/#comments Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:06:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13198452 Why would last year's presidential GOP candidates Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum, ever be in the running for the now-vacant papacy? "Daily Show" correspondent John Oliver explains, dripping with sarcasm: "What would they know about appealing to a floundering organization dominated by old white men clinging to an arcane moral code who must reluctantly embrace change to stay relevant ... you're right, there's no cross-over there at all, Jon."

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/02/12/must_see_morning_clip_john_oliver_picks_members_of_the_gop_as_possible_successors_to_the_pope/feed/ 0 The Pope’s first tweets http://www.salon.com/2012/12/12/the_popes_first_tweets/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/12/the_popes_first_tweets/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:56:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13122611 After some small furor over news that the Pope planned to launch a personal Twitter account, the pontiff's first tweets, which appeared Wednesday, were predictable and uncontroversial. His first tweet included a general blessing, while the following four advised his 700,000-plus followers how to uphold faith and serve Jesus -- predictable Pope fare.

As of yet, the fact of the 85-year-old Pope -- the prince of the centuries-old Vatican -- taking to Twitter remains more interesting than the content of his feed.

[embedtweet id="278808536404852736"]

 

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/12/12/the_popes_first_tweets/feed/ 1 Pope joins Twitter http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/pope_joins_twitter/ http://www.salon.com/2012/12/03/pope_joins_twitter/#comments Mon, 03 Dec 2012 15:54:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13113382 VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Benedict XVI, the pope known for his hefty volumes of theology, is now trying brevity - spreading the faith through his own Twitter account.

The pontiff will tweet in eight languages starting Dec. 12 using his personal handle (at)Pontifex, responding live to questions about faith during his weekly general audience, the Vatican said Monday.

Within four hours of the Vatican's announcement, Benedict had already garnered 100,000 followers on the English version of (at)Pontifex alone. He may never hit 1 billion faithful that the Catholic Church counts around the globe, but he's odds-on to get 1 million followers by the end of the year, British bookmakers Ladbrokes said.

The pope sent his first tweet last year from a Vatican account to launch the Holy See's news information portal, part of efforts to increase the church presence in social media and spread the faith. A personal Twitter account for the 85-year-old Benedict has been the subject of intense speculation ever since; Monday's news conference was packed in an indication of the interest it has generated.

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