Posted on 12/28/2005 10:48:42 AM PST by infoguy
Check out the promotional ad for this Thursday evening's (December 29, 2005) episode of ABC's Primetime. The promo is for the story, "On the Trail of Pope Joan" (audiotape on file; emphasis mine):
"Diane Sawyer takes you on the trail of a passionate mystery. Just as intriguing as The Da Vinci Code. Chasing down centuries-old clues hidden even inside the Vatican. Could a woman disguised as a man have been Pope? Thursday night. One astonishing Primetime."
It doesn't get much uglier than this, folks. Quite simply, there was never a female pope, or "Pope Joan." The tale is a complete fabrication dating back to the 13th century - nearly 400 years after the reported "reign" of the so-called "Joan." For reliable summaries of the bogus tale, see this and this. Scholars debunked the fable hundreds of years ago, and recent books (this and this, for example) have further repudiated it.
Over the centuries, the "Pope Joan" story has been used as a slanderous tool to tarnish the Catholic Church and degrade Catholics. In his acclaimed 2003 book The New Anti-Catholicism, Philip Jenkins writes, "The Pope Joan legend is a venerable staple of the anti-Catholic mythology" (page 89). Jenkins adds,
"Though it has not the slightest foundation ... [f]rom the sixteenth century through the nineteenth, the tale was beloved by Protestants, since it testified to Catholic stupidity ... [Today] Pope Joan enjoys a lively presence on the Web, where feminist anti-Catholics celebrate her existence much as did seventeenth-century Calvinists" (page 89).
That a major network like ABC would lend credibility to such a vicious anti-Catholic smear is deplorable.
What could be worse? Donna Woolfolk Cross' novel, Pope Joan, seeks to advance the stature and validity of the fictional character, and a movie of this book is currently in production. Yikes.
Amen to that...
Here's some more FReeper anti-Christian fun and mischief from the usual suspects. Hollywood must love this target audience
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1547804/posts?q=1&&page=1#1
Guess you lost 'em on that one...
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More debunking of the story for you.
Truly disgusting, the below-gutter levels that these people will stoop!
I read on a review at Amazon that Whoopi Goldberg claimed that the Pope Joan story was true from her center square on Hollywood Squares. (So you know it's true.) ;)
...
Ditto!
Actually, if and when ABC ever produces/broadcasts such a thing, it would be entitled:
"Mohammed Defiled as Child Molester by Evil Christians"
That (^^) was sarcasm as to what my beliefs are, but believable assumption as to what I think such a work by such a source would be called.
Many thanks for that link to the writings of FR Patrick Madrid. Excellent excerpts provided! Thank you, again, I'm excited to now know of his work.
Ha, very, very funny!
~;-D
Ha, and I thought that the Three Kings were from Orientare.
"We three kings from Orientare."
The Book of Daniel, now this.
The Da Vinci code has been discredited, Diane. Come on.
Ha, I, also, thought when I was very young...
"Oh, come lettuce sadore Him..."
I didn't know what it was or how they did what but, I knew it was something important and reverant, so would just say "lettuce sadore Him."
I hesitate to even comment, out of fear of being trolled, but I'll offer you this one and one only very important part of what "Christianity" as to "organized" and "church" is and why:
Jesus Christ pronounced to others and to Saint Peter that Peter was upon which and whom Christ would build His church. And then also pronounced that upon that church, the gates of hell would not prevail against it.
Saint Peter received the directive and empowerment of Jesus Christ and founded, built, established that church. It's the Catholic church, the church founded by Saint Peter.
The Protestant movement was not created nor built by Saint Peter.
You are very right to continue to focus on the significance and singular importance of Jesus Christ. But you seem lost as to what Christ commands as to his church, what it is and why it exists. It's no small thing, because, if it was so, then Christ would have included that in his statement to and about Saint Peter and upon whom (Saint Peter) Christ declared that His church would be built.
We have the word from the Word, Jesus Christ, as to the Catholic church being the church built by Saint Peter at the directive of Jesus Christ.
About various nomenclature that you "cannot find in the Bible," there is also a process of holiness in and of the church that is developed in faith of and for Jesus Christ. The "Eucharist" is one of those holy terms.
That you cannot find the word itself in the Bible...requires faith to "find" the Eucharist.
No, no one among Catholics are lost on that point.
"Do not cast your pearls before swine" comes to mind here...some of us just shake our heads and reserve the pearls.
What the Catholic Church (any church for that matter) have evolved or more precisely digressed into is a far cry from the freedom, understanding, and anointing the early church had.
All of us are the sadder for it.
The Calvinists were predestined to do it, I guess.
What a silly story.
Are you a Catholic? If not, how can you make any assessments about the Catholic church? Your perspective is probably your problem.
And of course you know a great many people don't believe that...We believe Jesus was referring to himself when He said 'and upon this rock I will build my church'...
Besides, why would God build a church based on Peter and what he taught??? Peter doubted Jesus and later lied about knowing him to save his own skin...
And, the mystery of the Gentile church was given to Paul, not Peter...Peter was later rebuked by Paul...Of course we all know this stuff so I'm not telling anyone anything new...
It was a couple of centuries later that the Catholic Church came into existance...There is no reference in the Bible to a Catholic Church, or any Church...Just the church...
The people that were under Paul's ministry were 'saved', born again Christians who underwent spiritual death, burial and ressurection...
There were no Catholics, or Protestants...They were Christians, at least under Paul's ministry and teaching...
The Protestant movement was not created nor built by Saint Peter.
That's a true statement...As I just said, Paul was the minister of the Gentiles...The Protestants are a result of Paul's teaching...
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