XXXtra Virgin

So the Catholic Church is in the news again. Stunning isn't it?

Today is Friday the 13th (which I will skip right over since it's silly) and I arrive this morning late as usual after having stood and watched a huge fire on 23rd and L like nosy Aunt Petunia. Everything was "under control" so I felt it would be ok for me to "move along", because there was "nothing to see here". Supposedly. ;) So I get in and check the old email and I've got and email from one of my favorite news stations, WTOP. So I go on to look at all the issues online and this fire seems to have screwed up traffic in a huge radius stretching all the way through midtown. Then...I get to the nitty gritty of why I like this site. Under NEWS there is a category called "SERIOUSLY?" and its a bunch of weird little stories, all of which I love and here's the ringer for today:

Catholic Magazine Apologizes Over Ad
NEW YORK (AP) - A Jesuit magazine has apologized after inadvertently publishing an advertisement for a Virgin Mary statue wrapped in a condom that an artist intended as a protest against the church's opposition to condom use.

The Rev. Drew Christiansen, editor-in-chief of America, said in a note to readers that the condom was not visible in the black and white proofs that were used to review the final draft of the Dec. 5 issue, which appeared with color photos.

"We are returning payment for the ad and protesting the abuse to the artist," Christiansen wrote to subscribers.

The headline for the ad read, "Unique Contemporary Religious Art Work for Sale." In the text, the statue was called "Extra Virgin," and was described as "a stunning 22 cm high statue of the Virgin Mary standing atop a serpent wearing a delicate veil of latex."

The statue was made by Steve Rosenthal, who said he was an artist in London. Rosenthal released a statement Thursday saying he placed the ad as a protest for World AIDS Day against Vatican opposition to the use of condoms to stem the spread of the disease. World AIDS Day is Dec. 1.

"I at no time tried to dupe or deceive `America' magazine," Rosenthal said. "The description of the work was clear by both the text included and image provided."
The Rev. Jim Martin, associate editor, called the ad "a deliberate attempt to embarrass us and denigrate Mary."

"The word condom is not in the ad," Martin said Thursday. "The word `latex' for a celibate priest does not register as it might with lay people."

Christiansen said America was changing how it reviewed ads in response to the mistake. Martin said the magazine, which has a circulation of about 46,000, received a few dozen complaints from readers.

America previously had been the target of criticism from church officials.
The Vatican's doctrinal watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, pressed Jesuit leaders to remove the previous editor, the Rev. Thomas Reese, after the magazine published articles by scholars who took issue with Catholic teaching, according to sources in the religious order. Reese resigned in May.

Niiiiiiiiice. Gotta love a flub-bub like that one. So yes, I like this section of WTOPnews.com indeed. Coming in at a very close second however was the story of the 19-year-old PETA staffer who has legally changed his name to KentuckyFriedCruelty.com. Check it out.

Mr. Garnett, er, I mean Mr. KentuckyFriedCruelty.com said in a statement, "People don't believe me at first when I tell them my name, but it never fails to spark a discussion."

REALLY? No way.

Also, It's not an 'accurate' article until you've quoted Pamela Anderson: "I'm sure Chris can't wait 'till KFC stops torturing chickens so he can change his name back," the actress said in a statement, adding that the chicken abuse "is awful and has to stop."

Yeah man! What she said! ;) I personally think that it would be a fitting lesson if he was not permitted to change it back...ever. Now...I'm off to go abuse some chicken (on a roll).