In yesterday’s (September 28, 2011) New York Times, there is an article (Quite for Years, Italian Church Blasts behavior of the Nation's Political Elite, Elisabetto Povoledo) about how Italy’s Roman Catholic Church is delivering what amounts to a body blow to the country’s government, its leaders – Silvio Berlusconi among them.
This week the church “lashed out, issuing its strongest reprimands yet of Italy’s ruling class, deploring ‘behavior that not only goes counter to public decorum but is intrinsically sad and hollow.’” My question, why now?
It is not as though Berlusconi became licentious overnight (many licentious things may have happened even as sun light streamed through the windows of the prime minister’s residence!). But, something must have snapped. Can it be this – “…one female guest was said to have performed a striptease dressed as a nun [my emphasis] …”?
That must have taken the Holy See aback – even cloistered as he is in his own neighborhood that enjoys the status of an independent country in the UN whereas Palestine does not. A quick missive goes to the head of the Italian Roman Catholic Church (I am confused – is the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, capital of Italy, Italian or Roman?) to issue a stern warning to the foreign, yet domestic government.
The pope did a risk analysis and assessment: “What would I stand to lose if I issued a warning, a mere warning, to the government? Oh, perhaps it will withdraw some fiscal privileges that are extended to the Italian Roman Catholic Church, and that too only for a brief period. I have enough in my coffers to tide over. No problem. So it shalt be written, so it shalt be done.”
The Italian Roman Catholic audience is reportedly, “increasingly intolerant of the ostentation of lifestyles that are shamelessly immoral.” I want to make three points: one, intolerance among the religious is no surprise. It is indeed in the DNA of religiosity. Two, ostentation defines religiousness. Three, immorality is not necessarily alien to the Roman Catholic Church, Italian or not. Witness the cascade of charges of child sex abuse.
Then, why this sudden outrage? My take – the economic problems flowing over from its neighbor to the east, Greece, thanks to the Euro. The head of the Italian business lobby Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia wants the government to take “unpopular measures”. Unpopular with whom? Definitely not the investors, of course. "Let people eat cake," Marcegaglia was saying, though not in so many words.
The Italian Roman Catholic Church knows that its goose will be cooked should the government take heed of what the business lobby is saying. In a fiscally tight situation, it will be unconscionable even for the jaded church establishment to ask for donations to its already rich coffers. It had to preempt such a move by the government, and it chose to go on the offensive. The church position was issued the day after the speech by Marcegaglia! No one accused the Roman Catholic Church of being ponderously slow. It is fleet footed if its interests are threatened.
But, what takes the cake is the response from a crucial ally of Berlusconi, Umberto Bossi, of the Northern League: instead of finding fault with the government, the “[B]ishops should say more Masses.”
This is the twenty first century version of “Let them eat cake!”
Raghuram Ekambaram
This week the church “lashed out, issuing its strongest reprimands yet of Italy’s ruling class, deploring ‘behavior that not only goes counter to public decorum but is intrinsically sad and hollow.’” My question, why now?
It is not as though Berlusconi became licentious overnight (many licentious things may have happened even as sun light streamed through the windows of the prime minister’s residence!). But, something must have snapped. Can it be this – “…one female guest was said to have performed a striptease dressed as a nun [my emphasis] …”?
That must have taken the Holy See aback – even cloistered as he is in his own neighborhood that enjoys the status of an independent country in the UN whereas Palestine does not. A quick missive goes to the head of the Italian Roman Catholic Church (I am confused – is the Roman Catholic Church in Rome, capital of Italy, Italian or Roman?) to issue a stern warning to the foreign, yet domestic government.
The pope did a risk analysis and assessment: “What would I stand to lose if I issued a warning, a mere warning, to the government? Oh, perhaps it will withdraw some fiscal privileges that are extended to the Italian Roman Catholic Church, and that too only for a brief period. I have enough in my coffers to tide over. No problem. So it shalt be written, so it shalt be done.”
The Italian Roman Catholic audience is reportedly, “increasingly intolerant of the ostentation of lifestyles that are shamelessly immoral.” I want to make three points: one, intolerance among the religious is no surprise. It is indeed in the DNA of religiosity. Two, ostentation defines religiousness. Three, immorality is not necessarily alien to the Roman Catholic Church, Italian or not. Witness the cascade of charges of child sex abuse.
Then, why this sudden outrage? My take – the economic problems flowing over from its neighbor to the east, Greece, thanks to the Euro. The head of the Italian business lobby Confindustria, Emma Marcegaglia wants the government to take “unpopular measures”. Unpopular with whom? Definitely not the investors, of course. "Let people eat cake," Marcegaglia was saying, though not in so many words.
The Italian Roman Catholic Church knows that its goose will be cooked should the government take heed of what the business lobby is saying. In a fiscally tight situation, it will be unconscionable even for the jaded church establishment to ask for donations to its already rich coffers. It had to preempt such a move by the government, and it chose to go on the offensive. The church position was issued the day after the speech by Marcegaglia! No one accused the Roman Catholic Church of being ponderously slow. It is fleet footed if its interests are threatened.
But, what takes the cake is the response from a crucial ally of Berlusconi, Umberto Bossi, of the Northern League: instead of finding fault with the government, the “[B]ishops should say more Masses.”
This is the twenty first century version of “Let them eat cake!”
Raghuram Ekambaram
6 comments:
It is amazing that with complaints of child abuse by the clergy shaking the very foundations of 'morality' on which the catholic church is founded,pope finds it logical to throw the first stone at the royalty..
DS sir, as far as religion is concerned, I have stopped being amazed - you cannot put anything past them. You are the first one to call berlusconi and his cronies ROYALTY ... whther they are or not, they absolutely behave that way!
Thanks a lot.
Raghuram Ekambaram
Intolerance, ostentation, immorality - I love your definition of religion, Raghuram. Only you can define religion so succinctly.
The Roman Catholic Church is known for a lot of all the three.
Including killing the Pope John Paul I who wanted to reform the Church by excluding the mafia from it and by allowing birth control methods... The poor guy was 'dead' [I'm not saying 'killed' just to escape the intolerance of religion at least legally!] within months of his election as the Pope.
Matheikal, whether I defined religion or not, you made me realize I did! Thanks for giving credit where it is not due :))). I grab it with both hands.
JP I was the first papal "demise" I heard on the US media. That is when I learnt about the "white smoke" up and out the chimney of Sistine Chappal (slippers, if you had any doubts!). But, JP I was followed by a regressive JP II and then the "Regression personified" B XVI. This is what is called "Progress" in religious terms.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Raghuram Ekambaram
Instead the Church should have appointed some consultants from our own Tirupathi, how to make the church economically strong? Then, they could have bought the cake called Italy :)
Balu, you are right, but not quite. The Roman Catholic Church is way too strong. The problem is they want to be stronger and the current episode of a go-go dancer doing a strip tease, starting out as a nun was too much to take. hence the reaction.
One post I am planning is to locate Roman Catholic Christianity as a system of political governance.
Raghuram Ekambaram
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