HONG KONG — Is the pope Catholic! This, of course, is a fabled American rhetorical expression, usually used sarcastically and meaning, how could you be so stupid as to doubt something?
"Would you like another beer?" is often cited as the kind of question that would elicit the above response.
But I would like to ask the question — is the pope catholic? — with a small "c" (from the Greek katholikos) meaning "universal." Evidence is growing that Pope Benedict XVI is forgetting his catholic mission and is becoming dangerously isolated in his Vatican palace looking at the outside world through a narrow Roman keyhole.