Is the Pope more of a 'character' in a story now, rather than a player in world affairs. Would Vetinari, for instance, try to keep him busy so he can't bother people in the real world?

We were talking in the pub last night about the Pope's visit to England and some of the backwards-thinking things he, and his cohorts, often say and how the press make a big deal of it.

We concluded that hardly anyone cares about what the Pope thinks these days. Heads of religions are like these 100+ year old folks in nursing homes moaning about how things have changed and how it's all turning to crap. The staff smile and agree to keep them quiet, but really they couldn't care less.. and the rest of the world isn't even aware of them.

This isn't a bash at religion in itself, just some of the old-timers and crackpots we see running some of them.

Dragon's Kingdom - Stop typing "alot" when you mean "a lot"! - Disappointed

pope = Vorbis

News of the Pope's visit takes up a lot of airtime so we don't have to listen to news about the economy, social problems, foreign policy, etc.

Cat Clash

I have not much to say on this subject, as after several conversations (read arguments) between most of us and one girl in particular about the pope this week, we all swore (and myself and Fiona were forbidden) not to enter into any more conversations about the current pope, the previous pope, or any pope through the ages, the catholic church and pretty much anything religious in nature...

...so I will leave you with these pictures which make me laugh every time I see them...

...and yes; I'm probably going to hell, but that's ok because I have a suite reserved...

This reminds me of a strange tiny bit of paper I found in our letter box. I twas about double the size of a postage stamp and all that was on it was a bunch of quotes from a bunch of popes saying you would go to hell if you didn't join the catholic church.

There was no endorsement, there was nothing to indicate whether the deliverer agreed or disagreed. Just random quotes. It was very strange. Just like a church that thinks that abstinance is a cure to AIDS...

PhD Student: Research information sheet

There once was a man named Bruce
Who liked to sit on a spruce
He ate lots of chowder
And yelled at me louder:
"I'm talking to YOU, Mrs. Hughes!"
--> The Literary Genius: Mowgli

I think all heads of religion are Discworldesque characters by now - no one really follows what they say. I can't say much about the Pope specifically, since he rarely enters any conversations I have -but I believe religions evolve over time, and as Christianity keeps getting older, the Pope and the Vatican will keep shrinking. You can look at Hinduism as an example - we don't even have a spiritual leader now.