Pope Phones It In

I have been soft pedalling the religious news lately, but now I'm opening all the stops. First there was the news, back in February, that the Pope had revised a prayer in the Good Friday service, Latin version, to express the wish that the Jews would be enlightened and recognize Jesus as the Savior. Conservative Jews disapproved, and said the prayer could set back relations between the two religions. The Times, however, noted, "Most Catholics worship in the vernacular, and their prayers will not be affected."

Then there was this bit on new sins, in March, also from the Times: "To its ancient list of sins like lust, gluttony and greed, the Roman Catholic Church has added pollution, mind-altering drugs and genetic experiments."

And today's glorious mysteries bring this A.P. item in the Times: Pope Stays Dry in Procession:
Pope Benedict XVI presided over the Good Friday night way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome during a driving rainstorm but did not carry the cross as planned. The pope wore a long white coat as he stood sheltered from the cold rain under a canopy on the Palatine HIll overlooking the Colosseum. At the end of the procession, Cardinal Camillo Ruini handed Benedict the tall, slender, lightweight cross, which the pope gripped briefly."