Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...Comedian faces prison for joke about Pope and gays
09.12.2008 1:07pm EDT
(Rome) Italian stand-up comic Sabina Guzzanti is under investigation for “vilification” of the Pope for telling an audience that Benedict XVI would “go to hell and be pursued by two big, gay and very active devils.”
Pope Benedict is known for his vocal opposition to LGBT rights and same-sex marriage.Guzzanti was appearing at an anti-politics rally organized by satirist Beppy Grillo in Rome last July. If convicted, Guzzanti could be imprisoned for up to five years.
The Rome city prosecutor, Giovanni Ferrara, has asked the federal justice minister for permission to start criminal proceedings against Guzzanti. It is a criminal offense in Italy to “offend the honor” of the Pope or the Italian president.
Ferrara said that Guzzanti’s comments went beyond satire.
The Union of Christian Democrats, part of the ruling conservative coalition government in Italy said it would support the charges.
“These gratuitous insults must be punished,” said Luca Volonte, a spokesperson for the party.
Guzzanti is no stranger to controversy. She recently caused a firestorm by suggesting that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s equal opportunities minister Mara Carfagna – who had previously worked as a topless model – got her job in exchange for performing oral sex on the Italian Premier.
What he has been wanting them to do all along.
Just what were the two big, gay, very active devils going to do with Pope Benedict’s wrinkled virgin (LOL) ass?
Here in Italy there is a big news story this week about a court case involving some scandal in Montecarlo, the case has been going on for 16 years (yes 16) and all thirteen witnesses have died (on the plaintiff side).
In Italy, it is the case they choose to work on, not the case they need to work on, (Italians suffer greatly from this corruption).
The pope is a big power individual and boosts his religious might, claiming he is a representative of god, people of course believe this, what does anyone expect of such individuals (suggestion: hide your children from them).
So the Holy Fuhrer..oops, I mean “Holy Father”… has been “vilified”, eh!
Why not apply equal law to equal people and pursue him for the hatred he has spouted against people both within and without Italy.
Oh, I forgot! Italy’s fascists were in league with Hitler and are probably delighted with the renewed close relationship with a Nazi!
Because:
1) Public boycotts are essentially useless
2) It makes gay groups comparable with groups such as the Family Resource Council
3) There are wonderful men and women in the beautiful country of Italy
i enjoyed all your comments.why don’t the hrc & other gay groups try to organize an international boycott against italy for crap like this? i don’t recall gay groups ever trying to make 1 nation’s economy hell like most of these counrties try to make our lives when we are stuck in them & their evil laws.
Absolutely INSANE! Any right-minded judge would throw any type of charges out the window like this.
Sounds as if Italy is taking lessons from our good Islamic fundamentalist friends.
Quasi, those of us that keep and have faith find those that do not believe in a higher power to be laughable as well.
Thanks for Sharing.
I remember a song by Depeche Mode which had lyrics:
“I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumours,
But I think that God’s got a sick sense of humor,
And when I die I expect to find Him laughing”
Of course, people believing in an absent, silent and invisible god is laughable in itself.
And just what makes the Pope, or anyone else, think they have the monopoly on talking to a god, if it exists, and can tell others what he wants for this universe. I do not believe other religious authorities have any more authority than I do.
‘Nuff said.
(In case this is a duplicate, my browser hiccupped and could not display this page when I hit submit the first time.)
God exalts the meek and takes down the mighty and the arrogant. Comedians have their place as part of God’s plan for taking down the mighty and the arrogant and to teach humility. If I were Pope, I’d have a sense of humor and would just laugh along with the teasing, just take it in stride as being the lot of one who is in the public eye. I would as Pope through my office campaign for an end to such a law that would jail someone for making fun of me.
A kindly Pope with a great sense of humor setting examples of feeding the hungry and giving shelter, good food, new clothes and new opportunities for betterment of lot in life to the beggars in tattered rags, a drive to end extreme poverty and making GLBT and straight alike homored and welcomed would win the world to his side, a severe and oppressive Pope full of pomp and irrelevance as prince of darkness would drive humanity away as we are seeing more and more of.
The Roman Catholic Church sometimes pretends to be in favor of free speech (i.e., *their* free speech) as when they campaign against hate speech laws because they say it may restrict their ability to speak out against homosexuality. However, whenever they have power they have never hesitated to restrict free speech, whether through burning Giordano Bruno at the stake to censoring books and, now, putting people in jail for making jokes about their German Shepherd Pope.
I love it when people pontificate, yet have no idea what they are talking about.
The law that Italy is enforcing is one that nearly every European State has concerning religious and political groups. These very same laws are used to fight anti-Semitism.
The Vatican has nothing to do with the law, and where or not it is enforced. Since the Vatican is an independent state it can only make suggestions to Italy, it can not have any laws (other than treaty obligations) enforced.
The EU’s authority over this matter is limited, and since most member states have such laws the EU will not overturn them.
how crazy. the biggest queen around, the pope! oops, was that wrong/ all that bling, and those gowns, please.
Another reason as to why we need to stand up for free speech. Scary that this can happen but we seem to be seeing shades of the same in Canada.