Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Special Bulletin: Benedict XVI Quotes Gilbert!

In a recent interview - the first of its kind ever granted by a Pope - Benedict XVI demonstrated his splendid glory by quoting (well, paraphrasing) Gilbert Chesterton:
Fuchs: Stories with humor in them too? In 1989 in Munich you were given the Karl Valentin Award. What role does humor play in the life of a pope?

Benedict: I'm not a man who constantly thinks up jokes. But I think it's very important to be able to see the funny side of life and its joyful dimension and not to take everything too tragically. I'd also say it's necessary for my ministry. A writer once said that angels can fly because they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe we could also fly a bit if we didn't think we were so important.
Benedict forever!

Hat tip: Nancy Brown.
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5 comments:

  1. Daniel2:02 AM

    What a wry sense of humour, Benedict must have. Angels not taking themselves seriously indeed.

    I have often wondered just what Popes think in their quiet moments, whether they know deep down that their whole lives have been spent promoting a mischievous fantasy.

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  2. Kyro9:29 AM

    Good find. Dale had offered a prize at one point for anyone who could find a Cardinal Ratzinger/Benedict XVI Chesterton reference. Im not sure if it has been claimed yet.

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  3. Sean P. Dailey11:47 AM

    Not very clever, daniel, or original, and I bet you don't even know the correct quote or who the source, but thanks for visiting.

    Perhaps the only place to find utopia therefore is inside one's self! We'll see!
    So said every great world leader from Hitler to Charles Manson. Congratulations.

    Oh, and in your list of favorite books, if by The Handmaiden's Tale you mean the Margaret Atwood novel, you got the title wrong.

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  4. Daniel6:47 PM

    What a nasty piece of work you are, chestertonian! You represent the worst of misplaced British arrogance and the best of intellectual small-mindedness.

    A penny for your thoughts!

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  5. Sean P. Dailey11:26 PM

    You make too many assumptions. For one thing I'm not even British. Or even English.

    And after dismissing Catholic belief as "mischievous fantasy," you have a lot of cheek calling anyone else arrogant.

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