"Christopher Stasheff - St Vidicon to the Rescue" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stasheff Christopher)

doctrine."

"Which means Your Holiness has finally talked them into it!" Father Vidicon gusted out a huge
sigh of relief. "At last!"

"Yes, I can't help thinking how nice it must have been to be Pope in, say, 1890," His Holiness
agreed, "when the Holy See had a bit more authority and a bit less need of persuasion." He heaved a sigh
of his own and clasped his hands on the desktop. "And it's come just in time. Reverend Sun is speaking
to the General Assembly Monday morningтАФand you'll never guess what his topic will be."

"How the Church is a millstone around the neck of every nation in the world." Father Vidicon
nodded grimly. "Priests who don't pass on their genes, Catholics not attempting birth control and thereby
contributing to overpopulation, Church income withheld from taxationтАФit's become a rather familiar bit
of rhetoric."

"Indeed it has; most of his followers can recite it chapter and verse. But this time, my sources
assure me he intends to go quite a bit furtherтАФto ask the Assembly for a recommendation for all U.N.
member nations to adopt legislation making all these 'abuses' illegal."

Father Vidicon's breath hissed in. "And with so large a percentage of the electorate in every country
being SunniteтАж"

"It amounts to virtual outlawing of the Roman Catholic Church. Yes." His Holiness nodded. "And I
need hardly remind you, Father, that the current majority in the Italian government are Sunnite
Communists."

Father Vidicon stared. "They'll begin by annexing the Vatican!" He had a sudden nightmarish
vision of a Sunnite prayer meeting in the Sistine Chapel.

"We'll all be looking for new lodgings," the Pope said drily. "So you'll understand, Father, that it's
rather important that I tell the faithful of the whole world, before then, about the Council's recent
action."

"Your Holiness will speak on television!" Father Vidicon cried. "But that's wonderful! You'll be
тАж"

"My blushes, Father Vidicon. I'm well aware that you consider me to have an inborn affinity for the
video medium."

"The charisma of John Paul II with the appeal of John the XXIII!" Father Vidicon asserted. "But

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what a waste, that you'll not appear in the studio!"

"I'm not fond of viewing myself as the chief drawing card for a sideshow," His Holiness said
sardonically. "Still, I'm afraid it has become necessary. The Curia has spoken with Eurovision,
Afrovision, PanAsia-vision, PanAmerivision, and even Intervision. They're all, even the Communists,
willing to carry us for fifteen minutes тАж"