De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Just a quick word on BBC Panorama's Monday night programme which advertised itself thus: Pope John Paul II ruled the Catholic Church for 27 years until 2005. He was one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century, revered by millions and made a saint in record time. Now reporter Edward Stourton can offer a new perspective on the emotional life of this very public figure. Now it is hard not to consider that this is an attempt to besmirch the reputation of an extraordinary public figure. Certainly it hints at a hidden sexual agenda, and this was made even more clear by John Humphry's attempts to suggest to Alexander Lucie-Smith and Caroline Farrow, on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, that it would be better if Priests weren't celibate at all after this Panorama. (By the way, I think Caroline & Fr. Lucie-Smith do a wonderful job of running rings around Humphrys, you can listen to the interview here , it takes place in the last ten minutes ...

I watched BBC's Panorama programme last night entitled "The Pope's Revolution", initially, with great trepidation that it was going to be another misinformed critique of the Church and teaching which modernity seems determined to dismiss, irrespective that it constitutes a perspective focused purely on truth and imbued with the wisdom of generations. I actually found it rather good. It certainly gave a lot of interesting perspective regarding Pope Francis' background in Buenos Aires, with footage of his sister, who commented on how caring Pope Francis had always been toward the family, as well as some interesting insights from Rabbi Skorka. The information grounded the Pope in some socio-historic context for me. The dirty war in Argentina, the poverty of the Barrios and Communes of the city where Jorge Mario Bergoglio is far more than a man in a white suit on the TV, he is someone who has affected the lives of almost everyone Jane Corbin spoke to. All th...