Tiger Is An Angel Compared To Benedict

An editorial cartoon by Don Wright, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who works for The Palm Beach Post, really caught my eye when it was printed in The News & Observer Saturday. To me it was laugh-out-loud-funny and shows why Wright is so good at his profession.

In the cartoon, there seems to be a prim and proper lady, seated with hands crossed on her lap. She’s facing you. She says, “I forgive the Pope. Faith overcomes all.”

Next to her is probably her husband, not as neatly dressed, wearing what appears to be a t-shirt and shorts, beer-belly obvious, and he’s looking at and pointing to a television. He says, “I forgive Tiger! He just made another birdie!"

Maybe the description loses something. Go to this link—http://www.tmsfeatures.com/editorial-cartoons/liberal/don-wright/—and see if you can find this cartoon on the Tribune Media Services website.

Wright hits a home run with this view of what’s happening with Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Catholic Church, and Tiger Woods, who many have come to think of as chief God of Golf. As it turns out, both may have reached the top of their profession but neither is perfect in his personal life. The Pope is involved in obvious mishandling of sex abuse cases in his area of responsibility; Woods mishandled one of the 10 Commandments, the one about adultery, if you're behind in your reading.

While I am far from being a Catholic (Mom was a Southern Baptist; Dad was Jewish converted to Christian Scientist), I have encounter many who defend the many pedophile priests, many accused of having sex with boys, telling me that I do not understand, that these priest are human and subject to making mistakes. However, these are the same people who are disgusted with the actions of Tiger Woods who cheated on his wife with at least 12 consenting adult women.

I have a Catholic friend who defends the Pope and priest all around while refusing to watch Tiger Woods play at the Masters. That person is twisted. Considering the two situations, that person should turn off the television Christmas Eve, turning away from the Pope's annual worldwide broadcast of his service on the night of the birth of Jesus, and make plans to watch Tiger every day. The differences are huge.

Let’s see: Priests, who took vows of celibacy, who agreed to live a life without sex, having sex with unsuspecting young boys and maybe young girls; and, the world’s best golfer having sex outside his marriage with 12 or so consenting women. Is one worse than the other? I think so by a long shot. And, is it worse when the now Pope, when he went by a name other than Benedict, obviously knew of the transgressions by priests and didn’t do the right thing and kick them from their priesthood? Maybe his selection of Benedict was done for reasons we can only assume; he has turned his back on the Catholic faith.

Neither Benedict nor Tiger are in good situations, but in my opinion, the high and mighty Pope should consider taking a 144 day break from his profession and get a little sex counseling. His church has mishandled this entire situation for more than 10 years and longer (if longer is more than more). Of course, I’m not a Catholic so maybe it’s none of my business. But I do have an opinion, and I'm entitled to express it, Catholic or no.

But, while I feel for Tiger’s wife and children, what he did is not of the magnitude of the situation with Benedict. If you're for Benedict and against Tiger, you need to reconsider your priorities and maybe your faith. When I compare the two, Tiger is the angel.