The pontiff’s planned appearance at Rome’s prestigious La Sapienza university is called off after students and professors object.By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 16, 2008 ROME — It’s a big deal when the pope agrees to speak at an event that isn’t church-related.It’s an even bigger deal when public protest forces him to cancel.Veteran Vatican-watchers said they’d never seen anything quite like it. Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday abruptly called off plans to speak at Rome’s prestigious La Sapienza university, after students and professors rallied to proclaim him pontiff non grata. More than 60 professors signed a letter to the public school’s rector saying the pope’s appearance, which had been scheduled for the opening of the academic year Thursday, was an affront to people of science and to the “secular” nature of the institution.Students staged a sit-in Tuesday, waving banners with angry slogans (“Knowledge needs neither fathers nor priests”) and launching what they dubbed “anti-cleric week.”"This pope unfortunately is not particularly friendly to science,” physics professor Andrea Frova, one of the La Sapienza academics who signed the petition, said in an interview.Frova and the others said they were offended by a comment made by the pope 17 years ago, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, that called the heresy trial of 17th century astronomer Galileo “reasonable.” (In fact, Ratzinger was quoting another philosopher in that passage, part of a long speech on the Roman Catholic Church and Europe.)The issue goes beyond Galileo, Frova said, and to the church’s position today on stem cell research, evolution and genetic engineering.”History changes; the scientific problems are different today than in the time of Galileo, but the attitudes of the church stay the same,” he said.The pope would be welcome at the university to debate these issues, Frova said, but not to deliver a speech in which there would be no opportunity for discussion or response.Given the incidents of the last few days, a brief Vatican press statement said, “it was considered opportune” to scrap the event.Is the pope hostile toward science? Benedict is a strong intellectual who has emphasized the importance of reason in the practice of faith. Yet he also says evolution is the work of a divine creator, and helped defeat Italian laws that liberalized scientifically assisted fertility.Italy lives in the shadow of the Vatican, and mainstream politicians rarely challenge or criticize the pope. Officials in both the government and the opposition were quick to lament the protests that waylaid Benedict.Prime Minister Romano Prodi expressed “solidarity” with the pope and condemned the “unacceptable attitudes of intolerance.” The left-wing minister for family policy, Rosy Bindi, who has clashed with the church on reproductive health and similar issues, said she was “very saddened” by the episode. “This is not a pretty day for our democratic republic,” she said.”You don’t have to agree with what he says, but the right to speak must not be denied to anyone,” Universities Minister Fabio Mussi said, according to the Italian news agency Ansa.Pier Ferdinando Casini, head of a main Christian Democratic party, said that with professors like this, “we must fear for the future of our children.”The students who led the protests celebrated their “victory for laicism,” whereas the rector of La Sapienza, Renato Guarini, said he was dismayed that a “small publicity-seeking minority” had managed to derail a papal visit to an institution founded, as it happens, by one of Benedict’s predecessors, Pope Boniface VIII — 700 years ago.
I seem to remember this “Bush vision” rant of Truecristian’s. He/it may just be a bot after all, recycling the same old material. One of the other rambling, disjointed posts he put up when he first reappeared was a direct copy of a post from a thread from last year. He can’t even come up with new crazy; he has to copy his old crazy.
Look for jeesus in your grilled cheese, TC. Jeesus wants you to eat him.
If you don’t believe, you will burn in the very bowels of hellfire and
damnation. And I will gladly watch your torment from my window seat in
Heaven, and laugh as Satan flaggelates you with his forked tail.
Another person who will be laughing is The One Jesus christ. We will be
rolling on the floor of Heaven while you’re burning on the floor of the
Lake of Fire.
It appears that either somebody’s off their meds, or the dosage needs to be upped a bit.
think we all know who was responsible for that, the Godless liberals who cannot stand having their immorality shoved back in their ugly face!!
As opposed to the occult superstitionalists who cannot handle having their religious insanity noted, much less commented on, by rational minds.
The defenders of free thought, the Big Bang theory and evolution, are not only striking out at me, but at all Christians. .
Wouldn’t want anyone to get any ideas about that whole free thought concept – the sheeple might actually start figuring out that their religiously insane leaders have been blowing religiously insane smoke up their a$$ all these years…
Last night, while I was sitting on my front-porch swing, gazing up at Heaven, President Bush appeared to me in a vision.
Apparently they didn’t tell you about the brown acid, dude. And I thought it was supposed to be teh lawd jeebus h. koresh you’re supposed to be visioning, not some illegally installed drunken cokeheaded deserter.
He told me that my work was not yet finished, there were still many liberals who had not yet seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!!
Did he have one of them kewl Etch a Sketch thingys with your work plan all detailed out?
President Bush would not be in the White House right now if God didn’t want him there. President Bush was put in a position of leadership in order to wipe the devil’s religion of Islam off the face of the Earth, so that the Christian God can fill the world with His message of peace and love. President Bush has stated numerous times that he speakes with God in the Oval Office, he even asked God for military advice before the invasion of Iraq.
My goodness. It is too bad he didn’t ask someone else? Although consulting with the single largest cause of humans murdering humans in the history of civilization would be the best way to figure out how to murder others in the name of the Invisible Sky Fairy.
But I think that Putsch must’ve read that a bit wrong. And I don’t ever recall that the Republican’t controlled government has ever officially declared the war on Iraq to the be the equivalent of wiping the devil’s religion of Islam off the face of the Earth, so that the Christian God can fill the world with His message of peace and love.
Then again, acid flashbacks of the Cokespoon Cowboy don’t appear to me on my front porch and tell me that my work throwing comments threads off topic at progressive web sites, er, trying to get teh eeevvvvvul libruls to see teh glawry of teh lawd, still needs to be done.
Modern liberalism is the equivalent of atheism, liberals are in favor of killing babies, raising taxes, teaching evolution, and same sex marriage. Jesus is opposed to all of these horrible things.
I’m trying to think of a better way to show others what true religious insanity is all about than this complete misrepresentation of liberal mores, ethics, and precepts that this individual has said. And how the madness tries to justify its’ blasphemy by throwing in a gratuitous jeebus reference at the end. But I can’t quite get there. Any help?
If you don’t believe, you will burn in the very bowels of hellfire and
damnation. And I will gladly watch your torment from my window seat in
Heaven, and laugh as Satan flaggelates you with his forked tail.
Another person who will be laughing is The One Jesus christ. We will be
rolling on the floor of Heaven while you’re burning on the floor of the
Lake of Fire.
When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever ’til the end of time!
But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit!
But I want you to know something, this is sincere, I want you to know, when it comes to believing in God, I really tried. I really, really tried. I tried to believe that there is a God, who created each of us in His own image and likeness, loves us very much, and keeps a close eye on things. I really tried to believe that, but I gotta tell you, the longer you live, the more you look around, the more you realize, something is fucked up.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed. Results like these do not belong on the r?sum? of a Supreme Being. This is the kind of shit you’d expect from an office temp with a bad attitude. And just between you and me, in any decently-run universe, this guy would’ve been out on his all-powerful ass a long time ago. And by the way, I say “this guy”, because I firmly believe, looking at these results, that if there is a God, it has to be a man.
No woman could or would ever fuck things up like this. So, if there is a God, I think most reasonable people might agree that he’s at least incompetent, and maybe, just maybe, doesn’t give a shit. Doesn’t give a shit, which I admire in a person, and which would explain a lot of these bad results.
DFH George Carlin on religion
DFH = Dirty Fcuking Hippie (Commie Fag Pinko Junkie)
BURN!!!!!
Mr. Atheist:
When I read your site I am sickened by your bitterness and unsensored
hatred. All you damned atheist think you know it all don’t you? Well
I got news for you: you don’t!
If you don’t accept Jesus in your heart now/today/this minute you’ll
be facing eternal punishment. You know in your heart God and Jesus
are real. We all feel it deep inside and cant deny it unless we tell
a lie. That’s right you’re lying and sinning each time you say there
isn’t a God. I can’t help wondering how good life would be in our
wonderful country if you atheists didn’t infultrate the government and
take away the great Christian nation that our founding fathers gave
us. You people have killed this country you know that! Do you think
God let 9/11 happen because of all the good Christians? My friend,
you and I both know deep down why 9/11 happened. Atheists and queers
and witches are turning this whole country against God, and God tried
to show you some of the things to come. 9/11 was a glimpse into the
future. Think! It is so obvious! What is life like over there in
Iraq and all those other countries over there? Terrible that’s what
it’s like! Know why? Because they reject Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior! You KNOW this and I know you know it. We all know it but
we can’t say it because it isn’t politically correct–one of the worst
atheist liberal inventions ever. Politically correct.
What about God and morals and the Ten Commandments? Do you want to
live a life like those lost souls in those other countries? Find
Jesus, if you don’t youll suffer and always regret it.
I don’t even want to know how much you hate yourself and your life
because you’re an atheist. Life must be so pointless to you. I bet
you amke your family miserible. That’s another thing. I read your
rant diary thing and I’ll tell you what: that premature baby you got?
I want you to know you did it. You almost killed your own baby
because you reject the One True God! The sins of the father will fall
unto his flower I tell you that much! How does that make you feel to
know that because you hate God that you caused this tragedy in your
family? If you still have a little spark of Jesus you should feel bad
right now. If not it might be too late for you becaue the Devil has
eaten your heart to peaces.
TRUECRISTIAN,
Fred Phelps called, he wants his job back.
I don’t even want to know how much you hate yourself and your life
because you’re an atheist. Life must be so pointless to you.
It would be nice if we weren’t continually presented with a sterling example of pointless religiously insane pagan occultist superstition hate speech from the resident Invisible Sky Fairy feti$hist and his BuyBull propaganda to illustrate the immoral blasphemous hypocrisy of the religious Reich.
There might be an element of pathos for this schtick if it wasn’t so blindingly stupid. Definitely a case could be made for government subsidized medication if it could help with seriously deluded individuals like this…
With regard to this, I would have to reference what I said about living a Christ-like life. I wouldn?t dare shove my faith or the religion within it down anyone?s throat, that has to be their own choice to choose to live like that. That said, someone like Huckabee isn?t going to sit down and agree with everyone else just to get into office and leave behind his faith. He?s not trying to force Christianity down anyone?s throat: just as this country was founded, he?s trying to instill Christian principles into law. I don?t believe anyone should be devoid of having choice in their lives, but then again I also believe that certain choices are wrong.
We don’t care what you believe. Take your superstitious ravings somewhere else!
ok there is more evidence to support jesus than hitlers defence councell so my friends who obviously lack history degrees walk away be the bigger man later yall
hay guys question for u lot of recluses if god did exsist would he see animals such as pigs and humans as equal ? peace out
look im drunk wen i giv these and defending the lord
look evolution u have all taken to the limit u belive what is infront of you not the evidnence