Author Topic: Pope is picking a fight with organised crime.  (Read 4972 times)

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Offline Askold

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Re: Pope is picking a fight with organised crime.
« Reply #15 on: June 23, 2014, 11:42:29 pm »
You know...

Any article about the pope seems to be one of two these days. Either they tell stories of what the pope has done lately and they are all amazing. OR it is someone telling people that THE POPE IS A HORRIBLE PERSON AND EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM IS JUST SMOKE AND MIRRORS DESIGNED TO DRAW ATTENTION AWAY FROM WHAT THE CHURCH IS DOING!!!!!!!!!!

Really. There seems to be a debate over how much control the pope has over the church and wether or not he can actually change things. Funnily enough, those defending the pope are the ones who claim that either he doesn't have as much power as people think or that simply the institutional (what's the word... weight? resistance to change? Ahh.) inertia slows him down from changing the church in one night. The other side claims that he hasn't done major changes because he does not want to and that he hates everything good and nice because he hasn't allowed condoms.
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Offline RavynousHunter

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Re: Pope is picking a fight with organised crime.
« Reply #16 on: June 24, 2014, 10:24:25 am »
The Pope may just be a mouthpiece, but he's an influential mouthpiece.  Unlike most other royals, quite a few people actually care what he's got to say.
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Online dpareja

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Re: Pope is picking a fight with organised crime.
« Reply #17 on: June 24, 2014, 11:42:32 am »
The Pope may just be a mouthpiece, but he's an influential mouthpiece.  Unlike most other royals, quite a few people actually care what he's got to say.

He's also one of only two European monarchs who has actual power (the other being the Prince of Liechtenstein)--all the others are constrained by convention never to do things like refuse to sign a bill passed by the national Parliament (certain weird circumstances notwithstanding).
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Offline niam2023

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Re: Pope is picking a fight with organised crime.
« Reply #18 on: June 24, 2014, 09:31:30 pm »
Considering how religious the Mafia is - going by to the Orsini Family and its Rivals - this could hurt them deeply a lot more than we think.
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Offline Askold

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Re: Pope is picking a fight with organised crime.
« Reply #19 on: June 25, 2014, 12:48:57 am »
Considering how religious the Mafia is - going by to the Orsini Family and its Rivals - this could hurt them deeply a lot more than we think.
They have priests coming in to bless them on important occasion like business deals and going to war with other organisations. They make large donations to the catholic church and have as much influence on the church as they have on rest of the nation in Italy. The oaths that they swear when joining la cosa nostra are christian oaths said while holding a picture of a saint. (There was also a mention that if the Mafia asks any particular priest to come to do a wedding or baptising, no is not an acceptable answer.)

Yes, this will hurt them. The only problem really is that they might retaliate.
No matter what happens, no matter what my last words may end up being, I want everyone to claim that they were:
"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
Aww, you guys rock. :)  I feel the love... and the pitchforks and torches.  Tingly!

Offline RavynousHunter

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Re: Pope is picking a fight with organised crime.
« Reply #20 on: June 25, 2014, 07:48:37 am »
In a battle between the world's two biggest criminal organizations, who will win?

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