Curia critique * Religious cop * Snaketivity Scene : Monday’s Roundup

After Pope Francis' stunning rebuke of the Vatican bureaucracy, the curia may down an extra eggnog today. One of the cops murdered in Brooklyn this weekend thought he might want to serve the NYPD in a more spiritual way. And Snaketivity at the Michigan Capitol.

Pope Francis delivers his blessing while praying at a statue of Mary overlooking the Spanish Steps in Rome on Dec. 8, 2014, during the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Photo by Paul Haring, courtesy of Catholic News Service
Pope Francis delivers his blessing while praying at a statue of Mary overlooking the Spanish Steps in Rome on Dec. 8, 2014, during the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Photo by Paul Haring, courtesy of Catholic News Service

Pope Francis delivers his blessing while praying at a statue of Mary overlooking the Spanish Steps in Rome on Dec. 8, 2014, during the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Photo by Paul Haring, courtesy of Catholic News Service

Good morning. Three days until Christmas. But Pope Francis’ Christmas message to the curia today was not so Christmas-y.

Francis denounces curia

Pope Francis today leveled a scathing critique of the Vatican bureaucracy, calling out the clerics within it as power-hungry hypocrites who suffer from “spiritual Alzheimer’s.” The curia’s failing report card, which Francis introduced as “15 Ailments of the Curia,” was delivered in the pope’s Christmas greeting to the cardinals, bishops and priests who run the Holy See.


Francis’ has not been shy about pointing out the curia’s shortcomings, but the phrasing of some of their problems — trafficking in the “terrorism of gossip” for example — had to hurt. He also called some of their lives  . . .

 . . . typical of mediocre and progressive spiritual emptiness that no academic degree can fill.

If you don’t have time to read the entire greeting, you can read the best hits of the message here, courtesy of RNS.

Police murders

The ugly news over the weekend was that two NYPD officers — Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu — were shot to death Saturday by a man who said he was taking revenge for the deaths of two unarmed black men — Eric Garner and Michael Brown — killed by police officers who were subsequently not indicted by grand juries.

Ramos thought seriously of serving the NYPD as a pastor, as opposed to a cop, says a friend of his quoted by the New York Post.

The Rev. Al Sharpton Sunday called for an end to misplaced blame, calling out those who hold protestors against police brutality responsible for the officers’ deaths. He also rebuked those who blame NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has sympathized with the protestors and told his biracial son to tread cautiously around police.

Former NYPD chief Raymond Kelly says that de Blasio could use a “religious leader” to help him repair his relations with the police department.


“Allahu Akbar” attacks in France

A man shouting “Allahu Akbar” mowed down 11 pedestrian with his car in Dijon, France, Sunday, seriously injuring two. Another man, also shouting “Allahu Akbar” stabbed three police officers Saturday in a suburb of Tours. The Islamic State recently called for attacks on the French for their role in trying to stop the violent movement in the Middle East.

9 out of 10 Americans celebrate Christmas

And 70 percent say they do it primarily for religious reasons. But just 13 percent say connecting with Jesus or God is what makes the holidays fulfilling. Two percent celebrate Hanukkah. One percent celebrates Kwanzaa. These and more holiday factoids from the Barna group’s new survey.

Jesus headed to the silver screen

Two new Jesus films are in the works and may not be to the liking of traditionalists. One aims to make Reza Aslan’s book “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” into a movie. The other is from Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, who is making a film of his own book: “Jesus of Nazareth.”

Snaketivity Scene

Competing Christmas and Satanist displays went up on the grounds of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing this weekend, with the Detroit chapter of the Satanic Temple’s contribution featuring a snake wound about the Satanic cross, which they called a Snaketivity Scene.Then there’s a traditional Nativity Scene courtesy of GOP state senator Rick Jones, who said that while he would have preferred that the Satanists’ had put up their display up in July, he’s not going to get too upset. Said Jones:

That’s OK. We’re going to ignore them. I’m not afraid of the snake people. I’m sure that Jesus Christ is not afraid.

Mass Christian-to-Hindu conversion

Much of non-Hindu India, already queasy about the Hindu nationalist bent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was further alarmed Sunday when the controversial World Hindu Council staged a mass conversion of 200 Christians to what the group called the converts’ “original” faith. Modi has been criticized for his party’s links to such groups, which have been accused of pressuring minorities to convert.

Aggrieved businessman keeps scaling St. Peter’sHi resolution version of RNS-CONCLAVE-START030813a.jpg

Somehow Marcello di Finizio — for the fifth time — evaded Vatican security and scaled St. Peter’s. This time he chose a platform just above the loggia from where Pope Francis is supposed to deliver his Christmas Day blessing to the faithful. Di Finizio had a beach concession in Trieste and says he’s not getting down until government officials agree to meet with him over regulations that he says ruined his business.


Manhattan Menorah Mystery

Tonight is the seventh night of Hanukkah, and you might be wondering: who is responsible for that massive menorah that pops up on Fifth Avenue each year?

Best of the Rest from RNS

David Gibson explains the persistence of the claim that Jesus never existed.

Our ed-in-chief’s top 10 religion stories of 2014 and Rabbi A. James Rudin’s picks.

ICYMI: 10 Anti-Christmas Christmas cards.

Bonus tracks

Japan faces a butter-less Christmas.

Why can’t anyone write a new Christmas standard?

Seventh-day Adventist Ben Carson could throw a wrench into the GOP primary, the New York Times opines.

How Pope Francis became the world’s BFF.

– Lauren Markoe

We hope you have a better day than the curia is having today. Catch the next Religion News Roundup tomorrow at religionnews.com or make it easy on yourself and have it sent to your inbox. Sign up below:

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