Post #24, NL: ....can anyone explain the complete absence of evidence in their posting histories of any condemnation of abortion?
Posted on 04/27/2011 8:10:30 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
(RNS) In its new Sunday night series, The Borgias, Showtime has found the magic combination for ultimate crowd appeal in a scintillating soap opera about a bad-boy pope.
The Borgias follows the quasi-historic story of the Spanish noble family who, with the ascent of Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander VI in 1492, brought a nighttime-television-style era of debauchery to the papacy.
The Borgias were infamous for simony — buying and selling church offices and sacraments. In their case, they bought the papacy through bribery and coercion.
But don’t forget the sexual promiscuity, bribery, double-crossing, incest, blackmail, murder, poisoning and all manner of unabashedly sinful behavior.
The debut episodes of The Borgias on Sunday (April 3) opened with scenes of intrigue and titillation. Called to the death bed of Pope Innocent VII, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (Jeremy Irons) plots to become the next pope by any means necessary.
Meanwhile, his eldest son Cesare (Francois Arnaud) — an 18-year-old bishop of the church — and his fetching paramour engage in an athletic sexual encounter while his adolescent sister Lucretia (Holliday Grainger) watches through an open window.
Some viewers likely went scrambling to Wikipedia to look up the Borgias during those opening scenes, curious about these cardinals (and popes) who had lovers and children. According to the series, Borgia had numerous children by several mistresses; Pope Innocent VIII fathered a dozen offspring as well. In the 15th century, at least according to The Borgias, it was commonplace for Catholic clerics to have mistresses and large families despite their vows of celibacy.
At a time when stories of clergy sex abuse still regularly make international news, naughty popes and Catholic leaders behaving badly might strike a certain resonance with viewers, if fueled by nothing more than a sense of schadenfreude.
As the debut episodes unfold, Rodrigo buys his way to the throne of St. Peter; a cardinal is poisoned at a lavish dinner with other princes of the church; another cardinal is framed for murdering a chambermaid in his bed; and a traitorous assassin is paid to do the Borgia family’s dirty work.
But wait, there’s more: the new pope uses a tunnel from the Vatican to the villa of the murdered cardinal for regular rolls in the hay with his new mistress; his old mistress, meanwhile, promises to remain chaste now that the father of her children occupies the papal throne.
In short, the papacy has rarely looked worse than it does in The Borgias. And maybe that’s part of its appeal.
Not surprisingly, the arrival of the tawdry papal soap opera in the middle of Lent did not go unnoticed by the New York-based Catholic League, the perennial defenders of any and all perceived pop culture assaults directed at the Catholic Church.
In recent statements, Catholic League president Bill Donohue questioned why Vatican officials hadn’t formally protested The Borgias.
“For one thing, Catholics are used to being slammed by Hollywood, so The Borgias hardly shakes them,” Donohue said. “Catholics don’t expect perfection from (their) clergy. This, however, is beside the point. The most immediate issue is why Showtime decided to gift Catholics with this series during the Lenten season.”
An obvious answer is that this is the high season for all things spiritual. During Lent — with its fasting, abstaining, ashes, rituals and holy days — religion is a hot topic.
The Catholic Church is an evergreen for pop culture clashes. There’s something about Catholicism that seems to lend itself so well to film and television and capture the popular imagination with a kind of passion that, say, Presbyterianism or Lutheranism don’t.
“Well, for one thing it’s colorful — literally. All those cassocks and albs and miters and vestments makes for visually arresting television,” said the Rev. James Martin, a Catholic priest and prolific author of titles such as A Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything.
“It’s the combination of power, money, religion, sex and sin. That’s almost unbeatable television, even if it’s not altogether historically accurate.”
Catholicism has that certain something that makes it well suited to vivid (and sometimes controversial) media depictions, said Tom Beaudoin, associate professor of theology at Fordham University.
“Catholicism offers an unusually compelling mix of qualities that is well-suited for media culture: its taste for the ritually spectacular, its evident culture of secrecy, its elicitation and denial of erotic and homoerotic experience, its historic enmeshment with secular power,” Beaudoin said.
“As everyone now knows, this is a tradition both beautiful and dangerous and that makes for compelling media today.”
Beyond all the high church hedonism, there seems to be something else that keeps viewers tuning in to a can’t-look-away car crash like The Borgias. Maybe it’s really all about us, and not them.
“There’s a fascination with the sins of the powerful, whether it’s Henry VIII or the Borgias,” Martin said. “It may make viewers feel that our sins aren’t so bad: we sin from time to time, but at least we’re not poisoning our relatives.”
“The best part about Free Republic is how (borrowing a phrase from Rush Limbaugh) I get to live rent-free inside the heads of so many Catholics. “ _________________________
Now that is your one accurate statement. Thank you.
However, the time you spend in our heads is exactly proportional to the time you spend thumping our heads. A thumping which is no virtue in your case. Your impotence in matters of faith and Church remains nothing one cares to rent but is agreeably free for the purpose of comedy, as in a Catholic’s coffee break from the serious. I love Tom & Jerry.
I would never do such a thing. Although I'm thankful that I don't have to pay for your presence in my head, I would gladly shell out thousands for it if needed...
I never said all. Julius III was bisexual.
No need. It's always been a free service.
” Your impotence in matters of faith and Church remains nothing one cares to rent but is agreeably free for the purpose of comedy, as in a Catholic’s coffee break from the serious. I love Tom & Jerry”
I think of them as “Pinky and the Brain.”
“What do you want to do tonight, Brain?”
“Well Pinky, the same thing we do every night. Try to take over the world!”
Two little lab mice with delusions of conquest. Just like the anti-Catholics - attacking Christ’s own Church and getting nowhere.
http://www.ovguide.com/video/pinky-the-brain-theme-song-922ca39ce10064fbfd11889a828b3c39
Yeah, blowing it off with a *Nobody’s perfect*, *We all sin sometimes* kind of a response is making it a non-issue.
When Catholics quit downplaying the sin of their clergy, then I’ll know they’re taking is seriously and won’t think that they consider it a non-issue.
“Pinky and the Brain, why Denmark fails”
http://www.ovguide.com/video/pinky-and-the-brain-why-denmark-fails-922ca39ce10064fbfd11889a2fffa789
* Or “Why Bigots fail”
(Noting how you are deftly attempting to divert the spot light from not actively working against abortion) You haven't disappointed me because I would have to have expected more from you to be disappointed. I made a statement about "anti-Catholics" and you tripped over yourself volunteering yourself as one.
That you will be judged is not at issue, but no where did I suggest you would be judged by me. That is the "straw-man".
The cross must be weightless when you have successfully reduced Christianity to a theoretical exercise and done away with the Beatitudes.
“...not actively working against abortion...”
They don’t follow the Beatitudes after all. Being OPC and having your ticket punched means never having to bother.
Does that mean that your only purpose for being on those threads is to monitor them for *anti-Catholic* sentiment? Doesn't defending the unborn matter to you that you don't speak up on those threads?
It is interesting to note who self identifies as an anti-Catholic.
Who would that be?
Interesting also, that many Catholics consider anyone who doesn't self-identify as Catholic to be an anti-Catholic, Catholic hating bigot, period, end of story.
Post #24, NL: ....can anyone explain the complete absence of evidence in their posting histories of any condemnation of abortion?
Really? Since there are quite a few Catholics on this site and, according to you, "many" Catholics have that opinion, you should probably be able to identify a few on this site who hold that opinion. Can you? If so, care to name any names?
The Church warns and guides its member and hopes for the salvation of all under Her care. People have free will and can follow or not.
Since I defend the single biggest, most visible, and most effective proponent of Life against those who would diminish its moral authority to speak and act on behalf of the unborn it matters a great deal to me.
"Who would that be?"
Apparently you, since I mentioned anti-Catholics and you felt compelled to chime in.
You have now referred to that post twice. It is only evidence that you consider yourself one of the anti-Catholics.
(Get yourself some new stock photographs. That one wasn't funny the first time you posted it. Do we get to see big colored fonts repeated ad naseum by you next?)
LOL Classic!
You wrote:
“Give me your hand and I’ll take you through it s l o w l y and c a r e f u l l y.”
No, I don’t think you will. As I said, if those points are true, why shouldn’t they be said?
You wrote:
“In contrast to Papist Bigots?”
Are there any here? You use pejoratives regularly used only by bigots. You’re the only one between us who fits the bill as a bigot.
The other nice thing about this forum is that it’s Friday every day... Romanists serving up red herrings every day.
I’ll be holding a press conference tomorrow showing my anti-abortion certificate.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.