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Religious leaders are just angry that their own financial situation is as bleak as everyone elses. If god really spoke to them, he'd have warned them to get out of the stock market before it crashed. Proof positive they are as clueless as the rest of us. They should consider that this is HIS way of making them experience real poverty even if they won't hornor their vows. Perhaps HE hates what they do. If they followed "HIS word" they wouldn't have the trappings of royalty. I wonder what the Pope's ring is worth. Just think of how many hungry mouths it could feed if it were auctioned off at Sothebys. Black tie dinner? They should be eating gruel just like some of the Bhuddist monks do. Now they know what a life of deprivation and poverty are about. They're better Christians than the Christians.

Capitalism, dead? Haha. Hahaha. A guy walks into a bar....

Two things,

Marcus I know I trust God (that's a less grand statement than it sounds!) and you don't, but on the ring thing, you're right, there really isn't any argument against your view here.


And, from the Telegraph story, "A spokesman for the Cardinal said: "They were private remarks at a private dinner." "

Well, that's just a dumb comment.

Private remarks at a private dinner... dumb diddy dumb dumb, dumb dumb.

Hearing the Cardinal proclaim the death of capitalism in Claridge's reminds me of the undoubtedly apocryphal story a friend of mine related after returning from a conference in Ashford Castle (she, though, swears it is true).

An American fellow delegate asked her if she knew why there were so many clergy in the hotel, she replied that they were there attending a forum on Holy Poverty. The American replied: "Gee, I'd sure like to be around when those guys are discussing clerical celibacy".

Hi Portwyne:

The hypocrisy of the powerful knows no bounds. I nearly threw up the other night when Jeremy Bowen said that Olmert and Sarkozy were probably sitting down to their 'first course', just as F-16s and helicopter gunships were pounding the poor of Gaza.

Leave it to a died in the wool communist to bring up the war against terror in a discussion of whether or not the Catholic clergy are right about the future of capitalism. His was another dogma thrown on the ash heap of history. Bombs away.

I tend to dislike organized religion, with the emphasis on the "organized" bit. Denominational structures don't much appeal to me. I can see numerous hypocritical or jealous reasons why they may say things like that. HOWEVER, they have very valid points.

And, correct me if I'm wrong, but the Cardinal may have much of his expenses paid for...but he himself doesn't own much at all. (I disagree with that, but it does have some resemblance to poverty.)