MetaFilter posts tagged with bishops

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reynir — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:48:37 -0800

Wasdale is a remote valley in the English Lake District. It boasts England's deepest lake, highest mountain, smallest church...and biggest liar. Will Ritson ran a Wasdale pub in the nineteenth century and became famous for his tall tales and improbable stories. He used to tell gullible Victorian tourists that turnips in the dale grew so large that families quarried into them for their meals and then used the hollowed-out remains as barns for their sheep. Every year the Bridge Inn hosts the contest to find the World's Biggest Liar, in honour of Auld Will. Competitors are invited from all round the world, and come from as far afield as Sweden and South Africa. According to organisers, it's not unknown for there to be a famous face or two in the audience - 2007 reportedly saw Tom Cruise at one end of the bar, and Tony Blair, a man who knows a thing or two about lying, at the other. The audience have heard how mermaids are farmed in Wastwater, claims that the geology of the Lake District was formed by giant moles, and the assertion that wind farms aren't built to generate electricity, but to slowly and sneakily propel Britain south to warmer climes. The 2004 winner revealed plans for Wasdale to be flooded and the sheep to be replaced by fish farming. Residents whose homes would be flooded "would be allowed to keep their homes, with air locks at the door, and cat or dog fish flaps." In 2006 comedian Sue Perkins became the first woman to ever hold the title, with a lie about global warming caused by local sheep ('muttons of mass destruction'). Previous winners include local shepherd and fellrunning hero, Joss Naylor. But none have been as successful as the seven time title holder, Silloth farmer John 'Johnny Liar' Graham, whose fame has spread as far as China. It's claimed that a special record for the fastest ever winner is held by a past Bishop of Carlisle, who stopped off at the pub on the night that the contest was taking place, announced in disgust that 'I have never told a lie in my life', and was promptly acclaimed the winner. Politicians and members of the legal profession are barred from entry into the contest, as they are regarded as "too practised in the art".

Missionary Position: Facing West

zarq — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:50:00 -0800

Pope Benedict XVI has announced the establishment of a new Vatican department dedicated to tackling what he called 'a grave crisis in the sense of the Christian faith and the role of the Church." The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelisation will (per Archbishop Vincent Nichols,) focus on countries "in which, even though the Christian Gospel has shaped an entire culture," secularism now reigns, in what the Pope termed an "eclipse of a sense of God." Editorial: "Catholicism, the religion that gave the world the idea of the missionary, is struggling on its historic home turf." This council is part of a larger reshuffling of the Vatican hierarchy, which may support the Pope's ongoing anti- abortion and gay marriage efforts: The first President of the new Evangelical Council will be Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, a Vatican bioethics official, whose controversial front page statement in the L’Osservatore Romano newspaper last year condoned the abortion of twins in a nine year-old Brazilian rape victim. At the time, Fisichella headed the institution that helps frame the Catholic church's "pro-life" doctrines, The Pontifical Academy for Life. A Canadian theologian and anti-abortion hardliner, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, will now head the Vatican’s powerful Congregation for Bishops, which evaluates the nomination of bishops and sets the tone for the Catholic Church hierarchy worldwide. “The head of the Congregation of Bishops is a very important nomination; it determines the ruling class of the Catholic Church for the next 20 years,” said Andrea Tornielli, a Vatican expert with the Italian daily newspaper Il Giornale. The appointment is particularly important in light of the abuse scandal, which has called into question the actions of bishops around the world. Victims have accused bishops of covering up abuse or not acting swiftly to discipline priests who have abused minors.
Ouellet has been outspoken against abort ion (calling it a 'moral crime', unjustified even in cases of rape) and gay marriage.

Click click click gasp!

Hammerikaner — Tue, 05 Aug 2003 10:30:06 -0800

Rev. Gene Robinson's controversial aspirations to be the first gay bishop in the Episcopal church have been put on hold over accusations regarding allegedly inappropriate touching in public conversation and an indirect hyperlink to pornography via a group called Outright that says its mission is "to create safe, positive, and affirming environments for young gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and questioning people ages 22 and under." They also say that the would-be bishop is not affiliated with the group in any way. The church's investigation into the matter, CNN has just reported, is now complete and the vote will soon be rescheduled.

Jimmy Brelsin has been taking stabs at Catholic Church

SimStupid — Tue, 08 Oct 2002 18:41:03 -0800

Jimmy Brelsin has been taking stabs at Catholic Church over the last two days (the bishops are abusing money this time). As one of the last true beat reporters in NYC, if not the nation, he's been writing for underdogs for over 40 years. Fairly well too.

MetaFilter posts tagged with bishops

This is the best post ever to appear on Metafilter.

Missionary Position: Facing West

Click click click *gasp!*

Jimmy Brelsin has been taking stabs at Catholic Church

Click click click gasp!