My friend and colleague Michael sent me this article a few days ago and asked me “What do you think about questioning the existence of the Vatican as a country?”

I was simply going to read the article and write him a paragraph on the long and complex nature of the Vatican as a City-State but it turned into and article/analysis/rant about a UN Jurist that is both ethnocentric and ignorant of History. Here was my answer:

“Thanks for the article – I am laying low on Catholicism around the blogosphere for a while.

A few things about the article, the accusation against Pope Benedict XVI including his summon to an international tribunal, the defence that the Pope is an untouchable Head of State and the enduring problem of the Papacy’s temporal versus spiritual rule.

Lawyer and jurist Robertson is saying these things in “The Guardian” which is renowned for a left-wing bias and accompanying tendency towards exaggeration to serve their purposes (along with sensationalism). Every media outlet has an agenda (this blog included).

That being said, Robertson might actually mean what he is saying but he is going to have a hell of a time proving that the Church’s rampant sexual abuse of children by ordered saintly men (about 4700 accused and another 5000 under investigation) was a) orchestrated systematically b) known by the last 3-4 Popes and c) actively covered-up by the orders of these pontiffs. I am not discounting the possibility, I am just saying that proof of any of this would only be contained in the Vatican archives and, as a sovereign country, no one can force them to divulge it.

As for the papal defence, to say that the Holy Father could not be brought to an international tribunal because he is a head of state is preposterous. Since Nuremburg, a convention has been established that makes NO ONE immune from an internationally organized and recognized tribunal as was imposed on Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and Charles Taylor (Heads of Serbia, Iraq and Liberia respectively) to name a few.

Now for the Pope’s temporal rule, I find it a tad condescending that Patterson simply calls into question the legitimacy of the Pope’s State in 2010 by only taking into account a limited knowledge of the Lateran Treaty of 1929 and because it was signed with Mussolini. He seems to decide at whim who is a legitimate leader of a nation (Hitler was elected so it was OK for Pius XII to sign treaties with him? What about treaties signed between Wilson, Coolidge and Mussolini?). The Holy See (Latin for chair) has been established on the “Petrine Idea” for about 19 centuries. The seat of the Catholic Church, and for many centuries the seat of Italian and Mediterranean power, was in Rome where St. Peter preached for Jesus and was crucified. Since then, a dozen centuries of French, German, North African, Spanish, Turkish and British invasion challenged the immense power held by the 265 popes in History. In the last two hundred years especially (Since the Napoleonic and Revolutionary French witch-hunt for anything religious) many countries (including USA, Russia and most industrialized countries) have guaranteed the sovereignty of the Pope as a historical institution rooted in a world religion and as a world leader on par with themselves. In fact, Mussolini’s Lateran council decision in 1929 was not all it was cracked up to be for the Papacy. The revolution that had brought Italy together in 1860 had eventually dissolved the Papal States that were a good swath of land from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean in Central Italy. When the Popes were negotiating their power and land in the 1910s and 1920s they wanted it all back, stating centuries of ownership as legitimacy. It was to satisfy the highly Catholic nature of Italians and despite the atheistic nature of Italian fascism that Mussolini gave the popes back some land, but just the very minimum that he could get away with.

Finally, this article implies that the Vatican is not a country because Italy is the only Nation to have recognized it and because the UN does not give it a full membership status. I think I have made my point that most Western nations have recognised the Papal temporal power in the last 2000 years, a temporal power and political institution that pre-dates every single Nation-State in Europe. Furthermore, there is further condescension in world-class powers giving themselves the ultimate decision of whom can play “country”. Chechnya, Palestine and the Basque region of Spain all declared independence but have not been “recognised” by the Big six (USA, UK, France, Russia and Germany and China). When it was more in line with national interests however, (most) of these countries recognized the emancipation of East Timor, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Provinces and Israel… A case by case subjective evaluation has been the norm, not a moral and ultimately impartial decision.

I submit that the Catholic Church Child Abuse Scandal must be dealt with in courts (from a legal standpoint, in the national courts of the countries where the crimes are occurring) and by the moral and spiritual judgment that may await such people in their system of divine retribution. As for an international (see Western) tribunal deciding the fate of one Pope and of a millennial institution, “The Guardian” can keep on dreaming.

End.

(PS: Screw it, I got so invested that I have to publish this now, thanks for the topic and we’ll see about this Icelandic Volcano next week.)

Jon”

Where would we be without the wonders of the Interweb?

1) Can we learn any Soviet lessons from their own occupation of Afghanistan in the 70s-80s? Probably not… (Link)

2) 10 most memorable Internet moments of the past decade. The invention of Facebook poking isn’t there? (Link)

3) A disgruntled lover’s diary reveals that Mussolini wanted the Jews dead every bit as much as Adolf. (Link)

4) National Geographic is on the prowl trying to find the South American traces of Dr. Joseph Mengele, Nazi physician and torture-master. (Link)

5) If you have $130,000 to spend then this XIIIth century castle in Wales can be yours. You will need to install some serious insulation for winter… (Link)

ON THIS DAY IN 1945: Top-ranking Nazi officials are brought to court in what is called the “Nuremburg Trials”. Unfortunately, no Hitler, no Goebbels and Goering committed suicide by cyanide before we could hang him. (Link)

AND AS FOR THE LIGHTER SIDE: Cracked.com’s “6 inventors who got Jack S*** for Changing the Modern World” – I’m not sure if the inventor of Tetris fits in this category… (Link)

End.

A candid picture has been released of President Obama reading at his desk in the Oval Office. The image is made impromptu and adorable by presidential daughter Sasha sneaking up on him behind a couch. The picture inspired many “awwwws” with its unplanned nature and realistic portrayal of a leader hard at work. Not to question the photographer/Obama administration but the appearance of this picture on BBC News the day it was taken makes me suspect that there may be some PR tarnishing the spontaneity of the snapshot.

In fact, it would not be the first time that the massive public relations team behind a world leader encourages “down to earth” and “man of the people” pictures to “accidentally” make it to the media, providing a lovable twist to a politician. With Obama’s tanking approval ratings (which are still astonishingly high when compared with predecessors), stagnating economic recovery and hotly debated healthcare reform, such a pic is not only alarmingly positive for the President but also very fortuitous at this difficult time.

That being said, this masquerade is not necessarily the end of the world and it is certainly more subtle than certain historical examples.

Just last month, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went on an unannounced nature trek to collect his thoughts. Unfortunately for him, and fortunately for his image, a photographer was present to take some candid pictures of the statesman. The photographer is so good that it almost looks like Putin is posing for most of them. In the end, the pictures have gone around the web and have contributed to making the ex-KGB officer look like even more of a narcissistic tyrant. People in Chechnya for example are not getting the softer side of the “Butcher of Grozny” with this impromptu wild adventure.

Look how casual I am feeding this horse topless.

Throughout his presidency and most often in the 7 or 8 bad years of his two terms, George W. Bush would often have inexplicable pictures taken of him at his Texas ranch. Hard at work (while mass media would criticize his long vacation stints), the pictures aimed to provide a “human” touch to a highly unpopular leader. This particular example may not have had as much positive results as planned but at least they tried.

A portrait of hard-working manliness

The Obama pic is very similar to a candid photograph of President Kennedy at the Oval office while his son plays inside the desk itself. This, amongst other things, gave JFK one of the best PR stories that the position has ever seen. They called the White House “Camelot” for crying out loud.

After the fall of Rome to the Fascists in 1922, Mussolini immediately understood the concept of public image. He made the “cult of the leader” an integral part of his fascist philosophy and would often employ subtle misdirection and manipulation to garner public favour, especially in times when he took decisions that Italians may not have liked (an alliance with Nazi Germany comes to mind). By leaving the lights to his office turned on 24 hours a day, Il Duce could say he ALWAYS worked for the people, with a straight face on. He would also bring the state-controlled media to farms during the Great Depression and personally till the land (for a minute or two). PR went a long way but in the end, American PR and Mussolini’s subservience to Germany ended in the Italian people killing the leader and his wife, dragging the carcasses around the town square and finally hanging the tattered corpses in public.

Look how devoted to the people I am tilling the fields topless.

Much farther back in the 2600s BC, possibly the first act of candid PR on a grand scale occurred in ancient Egypt. Not only would Emperor Khephrem erect his own pyramid to tower over his predecessor’s but would also have a massive sphinx carved out of the surrounding rock. The lion would boast the face of the great leader and would go on to instil respect and fear throughout the ages. It remains one of the best known (noseless) faces today, 4600 years later. I would say that is some successful PR.

Overall, we can accept President Obama’s flattering depiction as honest and at worst as harmless publicity. We can start worrying when his administration blasts away Jefferson’s face to make room on Mount Rushmore.

End.