I frowned, wracking my brains. What had I done worthy of congratulation? Had the baby been born? And nobody thought to tell me? Now the happy news was percolating through the extended family, reaching me through this circuitous route. "Did you tell your dad and mom?" "Nah, they'll find out eventually ..."
"For what?" I asked.
"The pope," he said.
Ah yes! Bragging rights to the pope. Or "Da Pope!" in another instantly classic Sun-Times headline (with an assist from WBEZ). Or Pope Bob, as a reader dubbed him, born in Chicago, grew up in Dolton.
Chicago can use the boost. It's been a while since we've had a one-name celebrity to crow over. Michael and Oprah are specks in the rearview mirror. Obama ... well ... still fond of the man and looking forward to that presidential center. Though right now he's still the guy who walked us to the cliff's edge and coughed into his fist as we toppled into the abyss.
Still. Isn't using the pope as an occasion for pride somewhat contradictory? With all the whoops and fist bumps, I've yet to hear anybody say, "The pope's from Chicago; we'll have to double our efforts to live justly and love our fellow man." All pomp and no obligation — is there too much of that already?
Honestly, while there was genuine pride, news of the Chicago pope was often played for laughs. Jokes about deep dish communion wafers and baseball. Pope Leo XIV is a White Sox fan. Well, they need something. Jesus did say, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted," and 121 losses last season is humbling aplenty.
Harebrained, a local graphics outfit that can turn out a great logo faster then I can tie my shoe, immediately created one of their spot-on mashups.
Innocent joy only lasted a few hours. The city's understandable pride was quickly used to revive the old "Windy City" charge of unseemly boosterism.
"But in a place where civic pride is both a virtue and a way of life, Chicagoans need little help believing their city is among God’s favorites," the Washington Post sniffed, as if they weren't the same publication that refused to publish a cartoon that would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize because it suggested their owner fell short of his own lofty self-estimation by genuflecting before the orange enormity.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news: But you put your lips on that guy's backside once, and it leaves a stain that will never wash off. Neville Chamberlain's entire life was an asterisk after waving that piece of paper and declaring "Peace in our time." Live with it.
I'm reluctant to suggest it doesn't matter what the pope believes in. But we live in a leaderless moment — even President Donald Trump, who spins in the wind. As much as he pushes tariffs, I don't see the MAGA crowd yelling, "Yay tariffs! Double the cost of everything we buy! Shut down the global economic system!"
To continue reading, click here.
Honestly, while there was genuine pride, news of the Chicago pope was often played for laughs. Jokes about deep dish communion wafers and baseball. Pope Leo XIV is a White Sox fan. Well, they need something. Jesus did say, "Whoever humbles himself will be exalted," and 121 losses last season is humbling aplenty.
Harebrained, a local graphics outfit that can turn out a great logo faster then I can tie my shoe, immediately created one of their spot-on mashups.
Innocent joy only lasted a few hours. The city's understandable pride was quickly used to revive the old "Windy City" charge of unseemly boosterism.
"But in a place where civic pride is both a virtue and a way of life, Chicagoans need little help believing their city is among God’s favorites," the Washington Post sniffed, as if they weren't the same publication that refused to publish a cartoon that would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize because it suggested their owner fell short of his own lofty self-estimation by genuflecting before the orange enormity.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news: But you put your lips on that guy's backside once, and it leaves a stain that will never wash off. Neville Chamberlain's entire life was an asterisk after waving that piece of paper and declaring "Peace in our time." Live with it.
I'm reluctant to suggest it doesn't matter what the pope believes in. But we live in a leaderless moment — even President Donald Trump, who spins in the wind. As much as he pushes tariffs, I don't see the MAGA crowd yelling, "Yay tariffs! Double the cost of everything we buy! Shut down the global economic system!"
To continue reading, click here.
Obama walked us to the cliff's edge and coughed. Wowie wow. That's exactly how I feel. I can't get excited about the new Pope unless this is the end of times and Leo and the orange man have a Tenacious D mano y mano.
ReplyDeleteI'm not following what you mean about Obama walking us to the cliff's edge. Please explain?
ReplyDeleteWhere was Obama when we needed leadership and he kept silent? I truly believe if he had gotten involved, not just words of support for Harris, we might not be here. I think he felt he did his time. But, that's just my take on it.
DeleteWhat do you think an ex-President could have done besides "words of support"? also known as being one of her strongest surrogates?
DeleteJim
DeleteGet out there and talk to people. Get them angry enough to vote for feeling they weren't being heard. Watching him when he did enter the fray in support of Harris he seemed tired of them, of us. It's done. Now, we need to focus on the orange man.
DeleteMaggie: What? If listening to Trump and his cohorts spewing nonsense, lies, obscenity, hate, etc. & egotism sentence after sentence, hour after hour, day after day wasn't enough to get you/anyone "angry enough" despite knowing "you're not being heard" to vote against Trump you don't need a leader, but psychiatry.
DeleteAs an atheist, I just don't care who the church has as its head, as he will continue to cover up the priests that molest children!
ReplyDeleteNo matter what they say, it's so ingrained into that church, with the molesters going right up to some of the leadership in Rome, it appears impossible to end it! The cover up will continue for decades & not end until they realize they need to allow the priests to marry & have families. But as we've seen in this country with the various evangelicals, they do marry, have families & still molest children!
I think it's also a power thing, not merely a sexual thing.
Negative nelly. Just as you have no desire to change your mindset, the same people around you will not change their mindset on you.
Delete"Obama ... well ... still fond of the man and looking forward to that presidential center. Though right now he's still the guy who walked us to the cliff's edge and coughed into his fist as we toppled into the abyss." I don't understand this.
ReplyDeleteWho was the man who followed Obama into the presidency?
DeleteI like to imagine Obama singing Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe". Dylan was not the Messiah and neither was Obama. Actually, it's real easy to imagine Obama saying, "Figure it out, folks."
DeleteKnowing full well what we were up against.
DeleteI would not expect you (I'm addressing this to Neil, however the threading works out) to be one of the too-great number who think Obama had some secret One Weird Trick that could undo the results of a national election if he had really wanted to
DeleteI think Obama said: "You break it...you bought it."
DeleteAnd I think he would have preferred to see Joe run in 2016.
I will always believe that if Joe's son had not died, he would have cleaned Hillary's clock and then sent the Orange One back to obscurity in Florida, which would have been his worst nightmare...becoming a loser, a has-been, and a nobody. And our recent history would have been a lot different.
But Beau did die, and the Democratic movers and shakers were not united behind Joe. They thought it was Hillary's time, and that she was likeable enough to win.. It wasn't, and she wasn't.
And here we are, ten years later. God, how I miss Joe.
If Beau hadn't died, Joe would have retired. The plan was for Beau to fill out the family's/father's dream of President Biden.
DeleteEven Trump was surprised when he eked out an electoral college victory over HRC, and the idea that the 2016 version of Biden-- reeling from his one son's death and the other's near fatal addiction, to say nothing of his adulterous affair with this recently widowed sister-in-law-- would have "cleaned Hillary's clock" is highly debatable. Us Old-Heads remember when Saint Uncle Joe was the Iraq War supporting, crime-bill-writing Senator from MBNA
Count me among the baffled with regard to Obama being the guy "who walked us to the cliff's edge..." I don't remember any evident lack of support for Hillary. in 2016. If he didn't support her as strongly as he ought to, maybe he thought she didn't need or want that support. After all, most of us innocents expected the electorate to soundly reject the blowhard buffoon, the only question in our minds being how great the victory would turn out to be.
ReplyDeletejohn
Obama didn't send us over the cliff. Neither did Harris. The responsibility lies entirely with the people who bought Trump's shtick and voted for him. All the necessary info was right in front of them and they chose Trump.
ReplyDeleteAnother 36% stayed home. Many of them voted for Obama in previous elections. I think he could have done more. And now, he stays silent. I think he had one post on Bluesky.
DeleteYes it's democracies fault. how dare the voters speak!
DeleteThis allows stupid people to pick the president.
We got to do something about that cuz it's happened too many times now and even the electoral college doesn't save us sometimes
Good mention of Ann Telnaes formerly from the Washington Post
ReplyDeleteUntil the Catholic Church takes responsibility for the children who were molested, I cannot celebrate a new pope. An apology and addressing this issue should be the first order of business.
ReplyDeleteShow of hands, please... How many of you had ever heard of Cardinal Prevost prior to last Thursday?
ReplyDeleteAnyone?
Right, didn't think so. That's because he spent most of his years since 1985 in Peru, moving to Rome in 2023. (Interestingly, he was most recently the Bishop of Chiclayo, a name so strikingly similar to Chicago that one wonders whether someone in the Pope's outer office mistyped an assignment memo.)
I'm finding all the Chicago Pope hoopla more than a little overblown, considering that his strongest connection to the area seems to be frequent phone calls with his brothers. Peru, on the other hand, must be going bonkers over the fact that one of their own naturalized citizens is now Pope, and yet we have heard little to nothing about it.
On the plus side, his fluent English will give him a big advantage over the usual stumbling interpreter when the time comes to confront Trump et al, if that time ever comes. Hope springs eternal.
Just plug "Reaction to new Pope in Peru" into a search engine. Lotsa "ink."
DeleteNo, make that "Inca"...it's funnier.
DeleteI'm more or less indifferent to the Catholic Church. No matter who is Pope, it always was, is, and probably always will be a reactionary institution.
ReplyDeleteThat's said, it's mildly amusing to watch the righties' heads explode over "the woke Pope."
The "righties" only think in terms of industrial complex. They're afraid of a potentially liberal Catholic church because a powerful nonprofit industrial complex would upset their rotten apple cart.
DeleteIf Obama is to blame, it's for not convincing Biden to eschew a second term. Maybe the history books will tell us about others who tried and failed to convince him to honor his one term pledge. My scorn is reserved for George W. Bush, who might have swung enough republicans to prevent the second coming of the Cowardly Liar. Add W's cowardly silence to his WMD lies and the toll of dead Americans attributable to him multiplies.
ReplyDelete