“The Church is today a church based on His death—the idolatry of Christ—the crucifix—forgiveness—a free ride for those who follow its rules of prejudice and greed.
“It ignores His life—the ideology of Christ—‘Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself’—a church without preferences—a Church for all.
“It is your job, Albino, to change the Church back to what Christ had intended. Again, never risk your king to save a pawn!”
Nevertheless, it was these books and his father’s guidance which molded him into the social revolutionary he would become. They would also provide him with the ammunition he needed to have some fun—to play with the minds of his captors at Feltre.
1 Povera Tigre Belluno 22 Jul 28
2 The grant was anonymous. It is reasonable to believe it came from the party his father belonged to
3 Direct testimony of the author
4 Leviticus 21
5 Parish Bulletin Feltre, 10 May 26 London Times 22 Jun 26
6 Leidsch Dagblad, 25 Jun 26
7 Povera Tigre Belluno 12 Dec 26
8 Povera Tigre Belluno 22 Aug 28
9 The most prolific teaching of Albino Luciani
Photo Feltre tower - author
Photo eleven year old Albino Luciani - Angenzia Ansa 1923
Chapter 4
The Tyrant of Feltre
“God is more our Mother than She is our Father”1
Albino Luciani
Today, visitors to Feltre can view a display of old notes, the only surviving record the boy Luciani had ever been there. A dozen or so reprimands—some not much more than a slap on the wrist while others threatened expulsion and even excommunication.
As he had been in grade school, the boy Luciani was a rascal and a tyrant at Feltre. Even the Church’s biographical briefs will tell you this. But, they will not tell you why. They will lead you to believe he spent his schooldays shooting rubber bands and dipping pigtails in inkwells. Not so. Here, as I have promised, I will tell you why.
The ghostly past
To the little boy of Feltre, it was more a case of fun than it was one of sarcasm when he attacked the primitive nature of ritual.
One day he drew a comparison between the Christian dancing around his statues at festival time and the American Indian dancing around his totem poles—the ritual was the same, just the ideology differed. He compared them to their common ancestor, the Cro-Magnon, which archeology had recently discovered had once danced around an altar of bear skulls tens of thousands of years before.
He capitalized on the archeological discovery man’s tendency to believe in ghosts began with the Neanderthals two hundred thousand years ago. The Neanderthals feared the spirits of the dead. Scores of excavations had revealed they buried their dead. The bigger the man, the deeper buried—at depths up to twelve feet. Females were not buried as the threat of spirits was thought to be relative to body size.2
That the Neanderthals believed the sprit leaves the body at death was not only the beginning of man’s tendency to believe in ghosts, it was also the beginning of his belief he could somehow beat the rap of mortality and live forever.
It also marked the beginning of religion from which emerged the Cro-Magnon altar of bear skulls, the witchdoctors of dark Africa, the cunning Aborigine wise man who created the gods of the South Pacific, the clever Celtic who dreamt up the Banshee, the Eskimo who created Agloolik—the god who lived under the sea, up to western religions of today in which unscrupulous men take advantage of man’s mortality to achieve their political objectives.
Regardless, being a natural born prankster, he took pleasure in playing with the minds of his masters. He was well positioned to do this—they had only read one book. He had read them all.
The conspirators
In simple matters, he would use his peers. He would plant the idea in one of his classmates who would raise his hand, “Adam and Eve had three sons, Seth, Cain and Abel. After Cain killed Abel, we know Cain went on to sire a family. I would suppose then that his wife had to be his mother, Eve, since there were no other women?”
Don Filippo would jump at the bait, “Although the Bible doesn’t mention it, Adam and Eve had daughters. The Bible doesn’t mention them because women are not that important. Like all other animals, women are mere property of man. Here,” he pointed to the tablet of the commandments, ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor his property, his house, his wife, his slaves, his ox, his ass.’3
The boy would respond “Then in those days it was okay to have sex with your sister?” The class laughed. Albino, in a corner of the room, would use all his willpower to maintain his composure.
Yet, as would be his sacred duty throughout his ministry—as God had given him the light to see that duty—wherever scripture or doctrine treated people unfairly, he stepped in.
Thank heaven for little girls
“How about the Bonobo?” he looked at his master for an answer.
“The what?” Don Filippo had evidently never heard the word.
“Of the fifteen species of higher primates including man, only the bonobo—the pigmy chimpanzee—recognizes the parity of woman. As a matter-of-fact, in the world of the pigmy chimpanzee, woman is dominant, man is subservient. In the world of the pigmy chimpanzee,” he told them what he would tell the world fifty years later, ‘God is more our Mother than She is our Father.’”4
Don Filippo could scarcely contain himself. “Blasphemy!
“Only man can be of divinity. Only a man can be a God. We know this as a matter-of-fact. It is sacrilege to think of woman as being of divinity. An idiot would know that.”
“As a matter-of-fact?” Albino looked up at his master.
Filippo spoke down to the boy, “Yes, it is the fundamental truth on which Christianity is built. Christ was a man. What’s more, God—His Father—was a man. His mother was a mere animal.”
“Let’s see,” mumbled the boy reaching for his copy of the New Testament and flipping a few pages. “Here, here in Matthew. I guess this is what you are talking about. “When Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child. Joseph being a just man was minded to put away her privily and not make her a public example…’”5
He paused for a long moment as does a chess player planning his next move. He carefully anticipated all the possible ways his teacher might counter his move. Then he let him have it. “It is a matter-of-fact Mary cheated on Joseph. Christ was conceived out-of-wedlock. Christ was a Bastard—born-out-of-wedlock. According to canon law Christ could never be a priest, let alone a God. “
If Don Filippo had been standing on a corner, one could easily mistake him for a red light. He did exactly what Albino anticipated, “You are taking it out of context. Read the rest of the verse.”
“‘…Behold the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream, saying, Joseph, Mary is conceived of the Holy Ghost…’”
Don Filippo locked up his case, “It is a matter-of-fact the Holy Ghost was the Father of Christ. Mary was merely the animal used to bear the child. This proves only a man can be of divinity.”
The class turned and looked at Albino as if he had been the last one in line when the brains had been passed out.
The boy agreed, “Yes, it was a Ghost who had sex with Mary. But it is not a matter-of-fact; it is a matter-of-faith.
“The matter-of-fact is Mary cheated on Joseph. We don’t know who Christ’s real father was. Christ was a Bastard. Not only born-out-of-wedlock, He was born of adultery—a product of sin. That is a matter-of-fact. What you are talking about is a matter-of-faith.”
Don Filippo’s face flushed aghast the boy had dared use the word ‘sex’ in a classroom. Yet, he could not ignore the challenge. He had to correct the imp’s illusion “The Holy Ghost did not have sex with Mary. Christ’s conception was immaculate, free of the sin of sex.”
Albino concurred, “Then you agree Christ was not a man.”
“You don’t understand, Albino. Christ was bo
th man and God.”
“If Christ was a human being, the Ghost, you speak of, would have fertilized Mary’s egg with sperm. Otherwise Christ would not have been a man; He would have only been a God. The Ghost had to have had sex with Mary or Christ could not have been a man.”
Don Filippo was tongue-tied. In his mind he pictured himself at the top of the bell tower gazing down in amusement at his young adversary’s body splattered across the cobblestones below. The class waited anxiously for an explanation, but nothing came forth.
Albino rescued his teacher, “Yet, you are right. Joseph’s dream is the fundamental ‘truth’ on which Christianity is built. It is the pivot point of belief in the Christian world. Yet, it is a matter-of-faith and not a matter-of-fact.
“More than two-thirds of the world: Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, atheists and others don’t believe in Joseph’s dream. Only we Christians believe in Joseph’s dream. We believe in Joseph’s dream because of all the peoples of the world, we have the greatest tendency to believe in ghosts—in this case one with a capital ‘G.’”
He paused, looked around the room to be certain each of his peers would witness what he was about to say. “Yes, my good papa, if one gets carried away with ‘faith,’ you are correct, God is our Father.
But, if one considers the ‘facts—the absolute facts,’” he followed with conviction “God is more our Mother than She is our Father.”
Don Filippo threw him off the bell tower, again.
1 He repeated this on September 6, 1978 in a public audience and again on September 27, 1978
2 Neanderthals also believed bears had spirits which survived death. They also conceived altar worship of a ‘bear god’ the earliest record of a god. The earliest being a row of bear skulls geometrically arranged on a stone slab in a cave in France. Darwin published his thesis The Origin of Species in 1859. The first Neanderthal fossil was discovered in Germany in 1856 but it was thought to have been a modern man until thirty years later its origin and age was determined.
3 The Tenth Commandment
4 As explained elsewhere in this book, John Paul shortly after his installation and repeated it the day before he died to a group of Philippine bishops
5 Matthew 1 Had Joseph made her public example, Mary would have been stoned to death as required by the Law of Moses in the Old Testament. Until very recently, it was common for television to record a young unwed mother being shot to death in the streets of Iran
Chapter 5
The Worst of People
“When a man does not believe in God… it does not mean he believes in nothing. It could mean he believes in everything.”1
Albino Luciani
Not all things the boy Luciani did in class were fun and games. Sometimes things got quite serious. There was a young priest, Don Gaio, who taught a class on catechism.
One day, a student demanded, “We should have a law against atheists and put them all in jail? They are the worst of people.”
Albino took this as a direct attack on his father. His classmates knew his father was an atheist. In fact, they knew his father did not even believe Christ had ever lived.
Although his father did not believe Christ had lived, that is, a man who had performed the miracles said of Christ including His virgin birth and resurrection—unlike his Christian adversaries—he did believe in Christ’s philosophies as set forth in the gospels.
What’s more, he believed good men, in an attempt to do away with the evilness of the God of Moses, had written the gospels.
When the young priest started to side with the student, Albino didn’t bother to raise his hand. To him it was a matter of honor. He would stand and fight to the end in defense of his beloved father who had taught him right from wrong.
Bringing his fist down on his desk, he stood up, “Instead of throwing stones, let us first define what we are talking about, so that we all know what we are talking about.”
Don Gaio looked at the boy as if he didn’t know what he was talking about. Albino answered the priest’s puzzled expression, “We are talking about God. That is what we are talking about. How one defines God. That is all we are talking about.
“So let us define the ‘God’ of religion versus the ‘God’ of the atheist.” Still there was not much more than a dumbfounded look on the faces of both the teacher and the students.
The priest motioned him to sit down. Yet, the young boy held the floor, “Let us start with what we know.
“To begin with, we have the sun. We know the sun holds the earth in its orbit and is the source of all life on our planet. The reason it is the source of all life on our planet is because it is the source of all energy in our solar system.
“We know, from Einstein’s work, energy is the fundamental unit of creation. Without energy, without the sun, nothing could begin, nothing could grow, nothing could move, nothing could be.” Don Gaio, raising his voice in a nervous twang, ordered him to sit down.
Albino didn’t budge. “So religion and atheism have a common definition. God is the source of all energy which drives the natural order of God’s creation. So, in truth, we all have a common God.
“Yet, the similarities end there. On the one side, we have those of us who are happy with what God has given us in this life and accept the natural order of God’s creation. On the other side, we have those of us who are unhappy with what God has given us in this life and do not accept the natural order of…” Gaio cut him off.
“Now, you are talking sense…” the young priest smiled. “Yes, we Christians accept what God has given us…”
“Not Christians, Atheists.” Albino took back the floor. “Atheists accept the natural order of God’s creation. We Christians are not satisfied with what God has given us in this life. We lust for more.” Fifty-two ears surrounding him perked up. Fifty-four including Gaio.
“We Christians cannot accept the real world we live and die in while the atheist does. To put it bluntly, we Christians believe in ghosts and the atheist does not.” Don Gaio sneered the boy a glance of insanity and the class snickered at Albino’s ridiculous notion.
“Yes, we believe in ghosts. We believe a Burning Bush which claimed to be God appeared to a man named Moses over three thousand years ago—the foundation of all Judeo-Christian belief.
“What’s more, like Jews and Muslims, we also believe in those ghosts that appeared to the two-dozen or so other prophets who came after Moses in the Old Testament.
“As Christians, ghosts follow us into the gospels as well.
“When Joseph is alarmed when Mary is conceived with child before they had come together, as we were discussing the other day, we believe another ghost—an angel—appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him Mary had been impregnated by a still another ghost—the Holy Ghost—the foundation of our conviction Christ is God.
“On top of it all, we, as Catholics, believe in ghosts today as we accept the ghosts of Lourdes and Fatima. So much so, we make saints of those cunning few who pulled the wool over our eyes.”
Don Gaio was tongue-tied, the class frozen in apprehension. The boy was not quite finished. “Most ridiculous of all, we believe we, ourselves, will someday, too, be ghosts.”
The beginning of us…
“Nevertheless, let us consider how this works.
“First, let us consider the beginning of us—birth.
We all know, as a matter-of-fact, we are conceived of tiny bits of energy that come together and result in a chemical reaction. That is the will of the God of Nature—the natural order of creation—the God of the Atheist—the God who gives us life.
“It is an absolute fact of nature the egg comes first.
“But, religion does not accept the facts. It does not accept the will of the God we know, as a matter-of-fact, gives us life. It tells us, ‘No! The chicken came first.’ It gives us the tale of Adam and Eve.
“Yet, on the other side, we have the facts.
“The Indians were running around the Americas
thousands of years before God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and our true ancestors—the Cro-Magnons—were were running around Europe tens of thousands of years before that.”2 He stopped again for a moment or two to allow his listeners to catch up.
The end of us.
“Then, we have the end of us—death.
“We know, as a matter-of-fact, each one of us will eventually die. This is the will of the God of Nature—the natural order of creation—the God of the Atheist—the God who gives us life.
“But, once again, religion does not accept the will of the God whom we know, as a matter-of-fact, gives us life. It tells us, ‘No! For a few dollars, I will give you eternal life.’
“And how will we live forever? The sun is only the hand of God. There is an all-powerful Supernatural Creature who controls the sun and has a large book in which He records everything each one of us does from the time we are born until the time we die—the premise of all religions. So, for a few dollars, we will live forever.
“So we have the definition of religion—a business in which unscrupulous men take advantage of man’s fear of his mortality to achieve their political objectives.
The in-between of us…
“Then there is the in-between of us—life.
“There are many difficulties in life. People suffer from all kinds of birth defects, diseases, injuries, accidents and so forth. This is the will of the God of Nature—the natural order of God’s creation—the God of the Atheist—the God who gives us life.
“Again, religion does not accept the will of the God who we know, as a matter-of-fact, gives us life. It says ‘No! For a few dollars I will give you miracles. I will give you a better life.’
“To seek miracles is to refuse to accept the will of the God who gives us life. Regardless, we fall down on our knees and speak to plaster statues asking them for miracles. As if to say, God would favor some of Her children over others.
“Religion is a business of only two products—miracles and an afterlife. When we are priests, the faithful will pay us for the first of these because it does not really believe the second one is there.
Murder in the Vatican Page 7
