Vatican hypocrisy

[Everett]

Pope Benedict XVI has warned against rampant materialism which he said is polluting the spirit of Christmas.

"In today's consumer society, this time of the year unfortunately suffers from a sort of commercial 'pollution' that threatens to alter its real spirit," the Pope told a large crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear his weekly Angelus blessing.

Am I the only person who feels that for the Pope to denounce commercialism from the marble balcony of a gold-domed building, surrounded by jewel-encrusted religious icons, while wearing a giant gold cross, is just a little ironic?  Why does the Vatican need to hoard so much material wealth anyway?

Sorry if this post seems a little rambling, but I'm just curious, and a little perplexed.

Plagiarism is NOT COOL!!!!!  Give credit where it is due please.

www.fark.com

Yes, I originally submitted this article giving credit to both Fark and Wired, but deleted the reference because I intertwined both sources together to the point where it would cause more confusion.  A simple split-second oversight, but I shall apologize to the Internets immediately.

Also, would you like to add any meaningful input to the discussion?

Holy unmentionable Joe, I hear police sirens outside your house!!!111 AHHHHHH

Also, yes, I don't see exactly how the Pope can criticise materialism when he lives in such a building.

[Everett]

Score one for us Protestants.  Just kidding.
But seriously, Phil (and all the other R.C.'s on this forum), do you believe that in the long run, Vatican II was a mistake?  I've run into an increasing number of Catholics in New York who believe that the Latin Mass should be restored to church services.

Ah, nothing better to bring someone closer to God than listen to some guy babble on for an hour in a language no one listening can understand.

Ah, nothing better than to listen to some guy babble on for hours and hours about stuff that no-one else cares about (strip clubs, suburbs, lapdances).

I take back my previous comment; I'm not familiar with Catholicism or the Vatican. But if the Vatican's "stuff" is indeed in storage like a museum, then that is fine. There is nothing hypocritical about preserving ancient relics, whether or not they are "shiny" or whatever.