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Aidan T's avatar

Woah, I'm confused. I thought that looking backwards was a sin according to Francis? Looking back at Catherine the Great is something to encourage, but looking back at the Catholic tradition is a sin. Francis just throws out whatever rubbish happens to cross his cranium, a period of silence would be really, really welcome at this stage.

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Bisbee's avatar

The words of the pope, thoughtless as they are, maybe are an attempt at "smelling like the sheep." But as is the case of many of his comments these are insensitive to the realities of everyday life for many. He seems to want to appear "relevant," "hip" and "conciliatory" to the extreme. These things pass away amid the uncertainties and changes of the world.

The timelessness of the realities of history do not change, (unless you are a nihilist or revisionist) nor do the historical realities of the evil.

Peter the (not so) Great, was a malevolent man, who reduced a patriarchal Church to a department of the State. His intrigues and backstabbing of close allies and friends demonstrate his lack of integrity.

Catherine's cruelty to the serfs, her hatred of all things Catholic (her welcoming of the Jesuits was to thumb her nose at Rome) and her embracing of Enlightenment ideas confused the Russian Church and culture. She was probably complicit in the death of her husband after she forced his abdication.

Despite what is cast as dubious in the above article she was an amoral woman (as demonstrated in recording sexual liaisons in her journals). She paid off her formidable list of former lovers and granted titles to gain their silence.

Her list of possible heirs was endless, showing favor to those who held her attention for a time and then switching to others; sometimes her possible illegitimate sons and sons of lovers.

Finally, because she didn't have time to change her will and the acts of succession before her death her probably legitimate and very difficult son, Peter the (not so) Great, mentioned above, succeeded her.

Fair is fair and honest is honest. The historical truths, enshrined in Catherine's own hand and by contemporary chroniclers paint a picture of an amoral despot.

Because Russian history is not so important to Westerners the pope's citing of these two scoundrels were thought in his mind to be great examples of Russian life and culture.

Thank God His Holiness didn't bring up Ivan IV (also known as "Ivan the Terrible").

Thoughtless and ingratiating comments tend to upset people.

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