Need for (Holy) See'd: Vatican Drift

[andygates]

When Pope Benedict XVI was elected, we all heard the flap about him being in the Hitler Youth as a kid.  No biggie, really - it was mandatory and he wasn't really into it, though executing millions of Jews, gypsies and homosexuals is a tad naughtier than 'youthful indiscretion' normally covers.  Still, it was utter grist for the satirical classes.

They're gonna love the new Popemobile.

Looky that!  It's a Nazi staff car straight out of Indiana freaking Jones!  You'd think that one of the people in the Pope's entourage might mention that the open-topped conspicuously German military-brutal lines could, maybe, look a bit like a shiny white WW2 Kubelwagen? 

Nazi mockery aside, given that the Big Man delivered a tone-setting speech on environmental responsibility last summer, this shiny new popemobile is a missed opportunity.  It's an ideal candidate for a zero-emissions vehicle: Papal exhaust stinks as much as anyone else's, especially in a crowd. And talk about setting an example: if God's right-hand man uses a clean car, well, that sends a message.

And yet he instead opted for "dominating V-8 power... A robust 5.0 liter V-8 produces 292 horsepower and 336 lb-ft of torque."  Ah well.  It'll be neat for when the Pope goes offroad.

Comments

[katsmeat.livejournal.com]

He's not standing in his bullet-proof-glass phone box. I thought that was just as much a part of papal regalia these days as a white zucchetto skull cap.

[andygates.livejournal.com]

Maybe his chasuble is like a shield of steel?

Popefink! :D

And I've never heard the word zucchetto before. Always thought these religious types were off their gourds, though...