Pope: we hope the next one keeps the brand name.

As our readers may have noticed, DJ! has a love-hate relationship with the Catholic pontiff.

We love holding Maledict's misogyny and homophobia up to ridicule; we hate the abusive power wielded by this patriarchal, ideologically fundamentalist religious leader.  And we rigorously noted his obdurate justification of priests' pedophilia.

Our response to the news of his renOOOnciation (I can't help but imagine that word expressed as Preston Manning did with refOOOrm) was varied.

We wondered if it was something we said:

Also:

Though it's tempting to suggest that the cumulative burden of ignoring decades of child abuse in dozens of countries by Catholic clergy and laity, as well as maintaining a hard line on controlling women's sexuality in servitude to men was all too much for Maledict...

This recent news report about the loathsome financial manipulations of the Church (via Pale) is sadly typical of its hypocrisy, in all matters that threaten its considerable wealth.

So, why is he renOOOnciating his job as CEO of a wealthy multinational corporation? (He probably gets to keep most of the luxurious perks.)

Luna thinks that he may want to influence the selection of his successor.  She also has other thoughts, which appear to be badly received by thin-skinned, thick-headed Catholic zealots.

Go check out the rest of her twitterstream here.

The Québecois cardinal that DJ! has dubbed the Ayatollah Ouellet appears to be a fore-runner in the papal selection process.

Father Raymond Gravel was interviewed on Radio-Canada with regard to the Pope's resignation and Ouellet's prospect.  He was gentle and respectful as he shared his observations on the personal quandary as well as the formal letter tended by the pontiff.  On the topic of the suitability of Ouellet for the position, he was definitely chilly, pointing out that the Catholic Church needed a leader, a unifier, someone who had worked as a parish priest, who knew how to connect with the faithful and that the Québecois cardinal had none of those attributes.

All that we at DJ! require of the next Vatican Taliban head poobah is, to quote fern hill: "at least half as evil-looking as Maledict. Too much to hope for, I suppose, for someone so often captured with pure malice blazing from his eyes".  My humble wish is that the new pope will decide to honour his predecessor by choosing the name Maledict ... err, ... Benedict XVII.

The last words on this whole international hoo-haw surely belong to the Queen. Yes, this one.