How not to break the Ten Commandments in church

Following the well-deserved triumph of "IDOLS" in the World Cup of Liturgical Abuses, perhaps because their use is so obviously a breach of the First Commandment, it seems only right to see which other commandments you (or your priest/bishop/cardinal/pope) may break during a standard service.

This one needs no introduction.

1. I AM THE LORD THY GOD: THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME.

Yes, we've just done that one. They don't come much stranger than Pachamama, even if Austen Ivereigh told us that she should be identified with the Blessed Virgin Mary.

2. THOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.

I don't think I've ever heard priests swear in church. One of the tests they make seminarians go through is to drop a heavy weight on their feet and see what swear words they come out with. If it's the F-word or the J-word (the name of our Lord), they're out and can only become Jesuits. If it's a more restrained "Thump! Blinking Heck!" then they are allowed to graduate. You will NEVER hear a bishop say worse than "Chase my Aunt Fanny up a gum tree!" even if someone puts tin tacks on his Cathedra. Try it and see whether I'm right.

Getting down to brass tacks, bishop?

3. KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY.

Well, round here they have suspended the Day of Obligation aspect to Sundays. Indeed, as part of social distancing or whatever, we are encouraged to go to Mass on a different day if possible ("keep Tuesday holy"). So now there is not the smallest sense of obligation about Sundays - you can if you wish watch a livestreamed Mass, or (for light relief) one of Bishop Barron's videos; but you don't need to.

4. HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.

It's fairly easy to keep this one in Mass, except for the occasional "Shut up, Gran!" when the old dear is talking during the homily. Or you may prefer "Speak up, Gran!" if it's Deacon M. preaching.

5. THOU SHALT NOT KILL.

Human sacrifices are not normally part of Mass, even in the Amazon. However, we have not yet seen Cardinal Marx's full plans for the German church.

6. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.

Well, since Amoris Laetitia, this commandment has more-or-less been abolished. Still, adulterous unions are not an intrinsic part of the liturgy. You might count a general condemnation of immorality here, so banners celebrating LGBT relationships, polygamy, or three-in-a-vat-of-custard nude wrestling are also out.

Fly this flag or you will be guilty of Custardophobia!

7. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.

As Cardinals Becciu, Versaldi and Maradiaga are at pains to point out, they just borrowed the collection bags and took them home for safe keeping.

8. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHOUR.

This really depends on the sort of Mass you go to. In a Novus Ordo Mass everyone is silently praying before the service. The Extraordinary Form people are gossiping away like nobody's business - in Latin of course.

9. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S WIFE.

I think there's a footnote in Amoris Laetitia saying that this is now allowed (after accompaniment, discernment, and perhaps an evening out in an expensive restaurant). Still, it's really more trouble than it's worth.

10. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR'S GOODS.

Originally this included male or female servants, oxen or donkeys, or anything that belonged to your neighbour. This is why most people do not bring their servants or animals to Mass, to avoid giving temptation to others who might covet them. Likewise, if someone sits down next to you and puts an ox or donkey within coveting range, then we advise you to go and sit somewhere else.

Avoid Palm Sunday processions if you are a donkey-coveter.

AOC is the future of the Catholic Church

In a brilliant piece of writing, it has been revealed that Alexandria Occasional-Cortex (the woman with the part-time brain), alias AOC, is the future of the Catholic Church. Many readers (my aunt and my cat) have asked me to explain this in more detail for those who find the original article by Comrade Heidi Schlumpf too difficult to digest.

Comrade AOC, or "Big Sister" as she wishes to be known.

With the backing of Pope Francis, whose political views are very similar, and his likely successor Cardinal Cupich, AOC proposes to reform the Catholic Church in her own image.

Out goes the Pontifical Academy for Life, which was never very active anyway, and in comes the Pontifical Academy for Death, confirming once and for all that pro-life issues are no longer worth taking seriously. After all, as Fr James Martin LGBTSJ believes, you cannot be pro-life if you don't believe in gay marriage; or as St Greta of Thunderbird puts it, how DARE you try and save people's lives when the world is literally burning away into ashes. (How many polar bears have YOU seen today? Well, that proves it.) That great statesman and pious Catholic, Joe Biden, backs the Pontifical Academy for Death all the way.

Your new-look Vatican (St Lubyanka's Square)

So it's time to remodel the Vatican on socialist principles. The CDF will be closed down and replaced by the KGB (the Kongregation for Good Belief), which will punish all those who criticise our supreme leader Francis or the blessed Alexandria. Cells are already being built for Viganò, Schneider, Burke, Brandmüller, Zen, Sarah, Festing, and other dissidents, and these people will not be released until they have undergone a sacrament known as Cerebellum Mundabitur (washing of the brain); they will then sign a letter saying that they love Big Brother (the new more comradely title for the Holy Father).

Just what I've always wanted!

All churches will be closed down, and our subsidiary organization, BLM-Antifa-Extinction, or Soros-Gates Enterprises for short, will be responsible for setting fire to them. Catholic worship will be conducted by means of a two-way telescreen in every Catholic's house, which will check that all Catholic worship is compliant with socialist doctrine.

Every day the liturgy will include a two-minute hate, although the object of the hatred will change daily. Some times it will be the hated Trump, but it may also be the hated far-right Johnson, the hated Orbán, the hated Salvini, or whoever else our chief theological adviser (Comrade Massimo Faggioli) deems suitable for attack.

Finally, the Catholic Church's major shareholder, the Chinese People's Catholic Church, will be contributing ideas for the best way to control rebel Catholics - locking them in a dungeon and feeding them on bat soup is just one new idea that is being explored.

Comrade Schlumpf is right: the future of the Catholic Church is definitely Occasional-Cortex!

Receiving in the hand or on the tongue?

And there came unto the prophet Eccles a holy priest who asked the following question:

A real toughie!

So Eccles consulted a few friends, each of whom received Communion in a different way, and this is what they said:

Fay Risee, receiver in the hand.

I thank God that I am not like that wretched publican over there, who is kneeling down and hoping to receive on the tongue. My bishop really hates anything that smacks of "traditionalism", "believing in the Real Presence", "reverence", etc., and he has given instructions to all his priests that if they attempt to offer the sacrament on the tongue, they will be cast into the outer darkness, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Or perhaps the SSPX. Who cares whether it is safer to receive on the tongue or in the hand? My bishop is the only God I believe in!

"Nervous" Odo, worshipper at St Daryl the Apostate's.

In ordinary times, Fr Phil would consecrate bread that he had bought from Tesco's on the way to Mass. Sometimes he couldn't get bread and used Eccles cakes! No way could they be delivered on the tongue. But now for safety reasons, we have individually packaged hosts in little envelopes, which we can take home and consume at our leisure. Or give them to friends!

Self service!

Telly Addict, watcher of livestream masses.

For me it is not an issue, as I no longer attend Church, but watch all my masses by livestream. Unless there is something better on. That Ed Stewpot with his semi-religious BBC show "Sunday" is very good, isn't he? Last week he had the Dalai Lama, George Soros, and the Chief Satanist all commenting on climate change. Anyway, when I do listen the priest encourages us to make a "spiritual communion" instead. Of course, I don't always manage to do this - last time, the man from Amazon rang the doorbell, delivering my copy of the best-selling Bumper Book of Bishop Barron Burbles - but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?

Chairman Ivereigh has spoken.

Hagia Sophia to become an Anglican cathedral

Seeing that his decision to turn the once-Christian Hagia Sophia into a mosque has been condemned worldwide, President Erdoğan of Turkey has agreed to compromise by turning the building into an Anglican church.

His first inclination was to make it a temple of Pachamama, but in the end this was considered too "Catholic" so Anglicanism was the solution, as it does not presuppose any particular belief system.

Your new-look Hagia Sophia.

"This should improve the Turkish tourist industry no end," explained the good man. "Both Christians and Muslims love helter-skelters, crazy golf, and artists' installations. The spiritually nourishing sight of an imam shouting 'Wheee!' as he slides down the helter-skelter will do a lot for ecumenism."

Historically, the Hagia Sophia was built as a Christian cathedral, but in 1453 Mehmed the Conqueror, tired of seeing idols of Pachamama, artists' installations (this is what artists make when they can't do art), and tango-ing priests, had it turned into a mosque, and everything went quiet for a few hundred years. Later it became a museum. However, a glorious future now dawns.

"We're hanging up our washing on the Sophia line!"

However, some critics have said that this is simply a case of Turkey voting for Christmas. We shall see.

The next Pope

The Rome correspondent Edward Pentin has written a book detailing some possible successors of Pope Francis in the Chair of St Peter. Not that Pope F is likely to quit soon, since he still has a huge pile of Dubia to answer - the latest one from Cardinal Zen asks bluntly "Are you mad or bad?" (a difficult question to answer). Also, the Pope's health is excellent - he works out every day in the martial art of Pappaslappa - so it is likely that he will live to be 100.

Rather than go for a "runners and riders" approach, let's detail some of the qualities that the next Pope must have, and see where that takes us.

Getting down wiv da yoof.

The Church needs more young people, and the way to bring them in is to forget dusty old notions such as God, but instead appeal to their interests, namely sex, drugs, dancing and listening to rock music. A Pope who can tell his Elvis Lennon from his John Presley is what we really need!

Someone forceful.

Nobody wants to think that their Holy Father is being manipulated by sinister forces, so is it not better to put the sinister forces in charge? That way we know where we are.

Someone who can make changes.

The German Church, imbued by the Spirit of Vatican III, not to mention Vatican IV, is showing us the way in dogmatic changes, and so a senior German cardinal, filled with the spirit of sauerkraut, kartoffelsalat and bier, would make an excellent leader for the Church as it heads for the cliff edge.

Is it time for a do-nothing Pope?

After all the excitement of Pope Francis's reign, maybe the Church needs a period of consolidation, with a Pope who has nothing to say, and nothing to do. Modern technology means that the next Pope may just be a cardboard cutout, programmed to give the occasional blessing. And who can say no to that?

A financial wizard?

The Vatican finances are rather dodgy at present, so perhaps it is time to forget evangelisation, saving souls, and sound doctrine. Instead we need to concentrate on building up a huge bank balance, and so it is time to appoint someone who knows all about amassing the stuff in sackfuls.

A safe pair of hands.

The Catholic Church should always be looking to the past, and perhaps it is time to elect someone who, although 87 already, can be relied upon to preach all the values of the swinging 60s, when the Church was reborn. It doesn't matter too much if the new Pope is barking mad, provided that he is there as a figurehead reminding us of our glorious past.

AND FINALLY...

Why not elect three Popes at once?

Sir Michael versus St Michael

Sir Michael Palin, by and large a very funny comedian and all round nice guy (yes, I've even met him), has objected to the medal that goes with the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George, as he finds it offensive to see St Michael stamping on the head of Satan. (The medal was redesigned a few years ago to make Satan white rather than black, because everyone knows that Jesus is black but Satan is white. Ask Justin Welby.)

The earlier form of the medal.

"It would be much nicer to see St Michael shaking hands with Satan, perhaps even offering him a cup of tea," explained the great man. "As a veteran of Monty Python, Ripping Yarns, etc., I have made it my lifetime's work not to offend people. Rudeness, blasphemy, naughtiness - they were always right out!"

A tasteful inoffensive scene from The Life of Brian.

"As a celebrity, it is my duty these days to stand up for religion," continued St Sir Michael. "Now that Christianity has more-or-less disappeared - at least in the circles I mix in - we have to remember the great Commandment that Black Lives Matter and White Lives don't. In point of fact, I don't wear my medal in public, only in the bath, and no one ever sees it. But if they did see it... well, nobody expects the BLMish Inquisition!"

As seen in Sir Michael's Ripping Yarns, and not likely to offend anyone.

We tried to contact St Michael about his scandalous habit of stamping on the head of the Devil, but we were unsuccessful (as Piers Morgan put it, "Just because he's an Archangel, he thinks he's too grand to come on my rotten television programme"). Likewise, our attempts to contact Pope Francis in order to get the saint de-canonized were unsuccessful - apparently he has a backlog of rigid traddy saints that he has to sack first. Too bad.

Enough of this filth!