Now His Holiness has decided not to live in the papal apartments, but to book a room at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the hotel just inside the Vatican walls, so he can hang with his peeps.
This will be read, as so many of his other antics are, as a repudiation of his predecessor, and of almost all his predecessors. All his press and crowd appeal comes simply from refusing to do what is expected of him and of making dramatic gestures and going on about poverty and the environment. Does he really think it will have much effect? As if he thought these things up himself? And it once again puts the spotlight on his personality and tastes. If I hear one more cooing sigh about his "simplicity and humility"...
The man is a moral exhibitionist. It's what they get for electing a Jesuit.
(PS. April 2, even the very liberal Commonweal magazine hosted an op ed piece wondering if the Pope, by breaking church rules on Holy Thursday, washing the feet not only of women, but of a Muslim, was not comporting himself like a Roman Emperor who was above the law?)
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3 comments:
Perfection. your precision is something I envy.
This a basic ad hominem - conveniently attributing hidden motives to an individual to dismiss that individual's actions and words.
I'm not saying your analysis is wrong necessarily, but the burden of proof regarding your accusations lies with you.
Of course it's ad hominem. That's how humans navigate the world from dawn to dusk every day, interpreting others. That's how our whole justice system works.And self-interpretation, as I know from being a therapist, is not always the truth.
In this case, the ad hominem is about an action, not an argument. And ad hominems are ruled out of court really only in logical argument, which the Pope is not making. He is making choice, acting and he intends them to be interpreted. Otherwise he wouldn't do them. So you're half-right.
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