Whatever You Do, Don't Call Him Benny

I stumbled across this forum on a Catholic website a short while ago. The members were discussing, and in some cases arguing, over whether it is disrespectful to refer to Pope Benedict by various nicknames. The consensus was that you shouldn't call him Benny, though "the German Shepherd" might be okay. Even though the forum posts date back to April of 2005, they're worth checking out for a few good chuckles.

And while I am in Catholic teasing mode, while I was driving home this evening, I saw a car up ahead of me with a couple of bumperstickers on it that immediately identified the driver, an older lady, as a Catholic. One sticker read "WE LOVE OUR PRIESTS", clearly meant to be an affirmation of trust for the Catholic priesthood in the wake of the pedophile priest scandals. Fine.

But the second and more prominent sticker had me figuratively scratching my head. It boldly declared "ANGRY? NEED A WEAPON? PRAY THE ROSARY!" Uh, really? I don't know about that. I can see maybe using a string of rosary beads as a weapon. If you snuck up behind someone, you could probably strangle that person to death by wrapping the beads around his or her neck and pulling the cord tight. Or you could swing it like a mace and strike a mortal blow to the person's head. I wouldn't put to much faith in the efficacy of prayer though.