Pope Benedict XVI sure as heck loves forgiveness!

Italian comedienne Sabina Guzzanti will not be prosecuted for a jab as his Holiness, in which she said, “Within twenty years the Pope will be where he ought to be, in Hell, tormented by great big poofter devils — and very active ones, not passive ones." Conservative groups and lawmakers were outraged and attempted to use a "fascist era" law to get revenge on Guzzanti's "dishonorable" remarks. She could have faced five years in jail.

Justice Minister Angelino Alfano waved aside the story, "I decided not to authorise it, knowing well the stature and capacity of the Pope for forgiveness." Vatican officials echoed Alfano's fawning, "The Pope's authority is far too superior to be dented [by the joke] and, in his magnanimity, he considers the case closed." What a mensch, that Pope!

The Pope obviously can't take a joke.

Nor, it seems, can Italy's Justice Ministry, for they've given the green light for prosecutors to use a fascist era law against comedienne Sabina Guzzanti, who recently took aim at his Holiness:

Guzzanti is accused of "offending the honour of the sacred and inviolable person" of Pope Benedict XVI.

The satirist and comedian, during a routine at a rally in Rome in July, condemned the Vatican‘s interference in issues such as gay rights.

“Within twenty years the Pope will be where he ought to be, in Hell, tormented by great big poofter devils — and very active ones, not passive ones," she said.

Now the Rome prosecutor has been given permission to proceed against her under the 1929 Lateran Treaty.

The treaty, between the Vatican and the Italian government, was signed when fascist leader Benito Mussolini was in power.

It stipulated that an insult to the Pope carries the same penalty as an insult to the Italian President.

Even Guzzanti's father, right-leaning MP Paolo Guzzanti, wagged a finger at the green light, saying "[This is] a return to the Middle Ages. Perhaps my daughter should be be submitted to the judgment of God by being made to walk on hot coals."

French security forces aren't fucking around when it comes to protecting Pope Benedict XVI from the dreaded irate gays:

French police have placed radical gay militants under surveillance ahead of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to France on September 12-15, the daily Le Figaro reported on Wednesday.

Eager to avoid a repeat of the condom shower that greeted the Pope in Sydney, Australia, in July, certain gay activist groups such as Act Up are being closely watched in the run-up to the visit.

Security forces are also keeping their eye out for Al-Qaeda, a group we find far more frightening than some condom throwing homos.

Talk about cojones!

Spanish social conservatives have filed a lawsuit against Madrid Pride for - get this - hate speech. HazteOir claims that pride organizers and other revelers smeared the Catholic Church's good name by holding up a sign calling Pope Benedict XVI "chief of the inquisitors." Benedict, of course, often rails against gay rights. Should we sue him for hate speech?

As if their lawsuit's not laughable enough, HazteOir claims their fight's for the greater good:

From both humanitarian and Christian concepts of society, only by protecting values such as liberty, justice and solidarity can citizens retain their rights and dignity," HazteOir states on its website.

Our projects are aimed to promote political participation, human dignity and the value and integrity of human life.

How do you say bullshit in Spanish?

The Pope's headed into hostile territory.

His holiness, Benedict XVI will soon board a flight to Sydney, where he can expect more than a few gay gray clouds. As we informed you earlier this week, pious gays are planning to protest the Catholic leader whose anti-gay attitudes help maintain the Church's archaic homophobic "traditions." That movement will culminate with a "Second Coming Out" when homos of all denominations declare themselves part of the more general "church."

Sure, the demonstrations may be a bit embarrassing for Benedict, but they're hardly the worst of Benedict's problems…

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Pope Benedict XVI's American adventure has come to an end.

The Catholic leader performed his final mass at New York's Yankee stadium Sunday, during which he briefly addressed the sex abuse scandal, a running theme in his Stateside visit.

In a glancing reference to the sexual abuse of children by priests, he said that praying for the kingdom of God “means not losing heart in the face of adversity, resistance and scandal. It means overcoming every separation between faith and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness.”

Benedict and his colleagues obviously want to put the scandal behind them, but such an ending most likely won't come to pass.

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