Irony Alert!

I found this amusing…

Thousands of cheering Catholic schoolchildren feted Pope Benedict XVI with songs and gifts Friday on his second day in Britain, offering a boisterous welcome as the pontiff urged them to ignore the shallow temptations of today's "celebrity culture."

Do ya see the irony of a man surrounded by throngs of screaming fans decrying the "celebrity culture"? I guess the celebrity culture is OK when it is accompanied by a religious title and vestments.

The irony of course is that for Joseph Ratzinger, and even more so for his predecessor, the whole papal office is saturated in the culture of religious celebrity. Bodyguards and handlers. Fancy digs and world travel. Wherever he goes he attracts throngs of adoring people cheering and screaming, hoping he will make the sign of the cross in their direction like a rock star throwing his guitar pick in the crowd. In many homes there are pictures of Joseph Ratzinger adorning the walls in much the same way that mormon families have pictures of the President of the mormon church and his two counselors. He is spoken of in reverential tones by his followers. In some ways, the cult of celebrity is far greater for popes because of the religious devotion that accompanies their celebrity. We of course see this in Protestantism as well but the devotion is nothing like the papal cult of celebtrity.

Just found that paragraph amusing. On the other hand, I find it particularly unfunny that so many people place so much trust in a man, or more specifically an office, whether pope or pastor or priest.