Posted on 12/29/2005 11:45:43 AM PST by NYer
Tonight, ABC’s “Primetime” will air a segment, “On the Trail of Pope Joan,” that raises questions about the possible existence of Pope Joan. Catholic League president Bill Donohue weighed in today:
“ABC has been busy questioning the divinity of Jesus for years, what with its infamous ‘Search for Jesus’ specials. In May of this year, it went back to the well again with a ‘20/20’ episode questioning the resurrection of Jesus. Correspondent Elizabeth Vargas told viewers: ‘Whether the resurrection proclaimed by the disciples was physical, metaphysical, or simply a hallucination—the dreams of grieving followers,’ is not known. In other words, Christians have likely been duped. And tonight we learn that we’ve been duped again—a woman pope ruled in the ninth century.
“Diane Sawyer not only wants us to believe in Pope Joan, she takes us to exact street where she processed. ‘Fact or Fiction’ she exclaims! Indeed, Sawyer tells us that Pope Joan gave birth while processing. Pope Joan, she says, dressed in male garb, but this is not an historical anomaly: Sawyer shows us a picture of a woman dressed as a soldier in the U.S. Civil War and then proclaims, ‘Which brings us back to Joan.’ But of course. Another segue could have been little girls dressed up as GI Joe on Halloween, but that might have unsettled the sure-mouthed Sawyer.
“Sawyer does not interview either Paul Johnson, the world renowned historian and author of ‘The Papacy,’ nor does she interview Eamon Duffy, the brilliant historian from Cambridge and author of the magisterial volume, ‘Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes.’ Had she done so they would have laughed in her smug face. So who does she rely on? Donna Cross and Mary Malone. Cross wrote a novel about the mythical Pope Joan and has no standing among scholars. Malone is an ex-nun who lost her faith and hates the Catholic Church. ‘I can no longer pray,’ she said in 1996, ‘because of the language, and because it seemed so essential as the core of the tradition that God be male.’
“In other words, ABC’s gospel has no room for Jesus but plenty of room for Pope Joan. We could squeeze more truth from a used-car salesman than we could from these people.”
Ah, Marozia. She was reported to be the mistress of one pope, mother of another and grandmother to yet another.
Another reason why I'm glad that I don't watch Prime Time.
Do you have a link or are you just spouting anti-catholic hatred?
They gather around them teachers who will tell them what their itching ears want to hear. The end times continue...
When you get comments like that, it's hard to know which side to believe.
I am with the Catholics on this one.
ABC is sinking to a ridiculous low with crap like this.
And they are interviewing people with a vendetta against the Catholic Church. Of course they are going to claim Pope Joan existed!
But, she didn't.
For all the things that I believe is wrong with the RCC, they have had one thing right at least.....males only in leadership!
Pope Joan is nothing but fiction.
I hated MNF since it always pushed off Jimmy Kimmel and Seinfeld reruns.
I am glad it is going to ESPN, that is for sure. I don't watch anything on ABC except Jimmy Kimmel and Seinfeld.
It used to be the network I watched the most and CBS used to suck, but the situation is exactly the opposite. ABC just flat blows.
There is more proof that Mohammed was a molestor than there was a Pope Joan, ergo the MSM will ignore this!
Most petty noblemen drew the line at incest.
They can attack christians we don't make a habit of throwing bombs
There goes your credibility.
FYI, the reason for male priests is that the priests act in the person of Christ when administering the sacraments. This is why Pope John Paul II said that the authority to allow female priests doesn't belong to the Church. Christ chose only men as his Apostles.
Hypocrisy?
Catholics claim to be sinners in need of redemption and sanctification.
That there shouldn't be sinful clergy?
Jesus chose Judas as one of the original 12 Apostles.
Matthew 13:24-29Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
'An enemy did this,' he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
From wikipedia:>>
Oh, so it MUST be TRUE! :-/ :0)
Except, of course, there is not the slightest bit of evidence that he did so.
And yes, one contemporary accused him of it - but one accusation by a personal enemy is one accusation by a personal enemy.
That's one guy's story. All accounts of the man pretty much agree that he carried on a long-term affair with the widow of one of his political rivals. That stuff about his dad's mistress and his own niece is only claimed by one source who had a serious axe to grind.
John XII sure was a vile character, though.
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