Are Roman Catholics "A Thorn in the Flesh?"

Since the Red Cross of Constantine compelled the Roman Emporer to act in ways contrary to the Words of Jesus, Roman Catholics have been battling a war of perception, one which has spawned division among groups around the world. While casting themselves as servants of God, their actions, both good and evil, have left doubt in the minds of many.

In true Catholic tradition, along comes the head of Vatican Protocol, Father Leonardo Sapienza, and creates further head scratching among interested observers.

The first thing he does is give official Roman Catholic acceptance of a venerated homosexual personality of the past. In his book, Provocations: Aphorisms for an Anti-conformist Christianity, Father Sapienza includes the rather conflicted musings of English Playwright Oscar Wilde, convicted of Sodomy in 1895 in an affair with Lord Alfred Douglas.

Father Sapienza then states that the reason for this provocative book is the role of Roman Catholics as "a thorn in the flesh" in order to arouse Catholics out of their "indifference" and stimulate radical activity. This is a very interesting revelation, indeed, from the upper echelons of the Vatican, a revelation more or less overshadowed by the controversial nature of Wilde's acceptance.

Are we to relegate such official words to the realm of ignorance? Or mistake? Or do we presume that Father Sapienza speaks with full disclosure to those who are Biblically and historically literate? Who else but those with "ears to hear" would know that "a thorn in the flesh" is a phrase identifying a "messenger of Satan" taken from the words of the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 12:7? Who else would find peace in such a disclosure?

To the Spiritless person, perceptions tend to be muddled by such ambiguity. Head scratching is often the result.