Oh. My. God...

[Donald Ian Rankin]

While lurking FR (it's far more fun to read articles that one disagrees with, and try and work out *why* they're wrong, than ones that merely confirm one's own views, I find), I came across a list of the "Top 10 Catholics of the 20th century", at

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1381801/posts

I thought FR had lost its power to shock me, but look at the fifth entry on the list, classed alonside four saints and three popes. I am... amazed...

Out of curiosity, if DUers were compiling a similar list, who would go onto it? Would any of the entries be the same? Mother Teresa?

[trotsky]

1. For the benefit of us non-Catholics...

can you explain a little behind the "shocking" items? Never heard of them.

[asthmaticeog]

3. You needn't be Catholic

to have heard of Francisco Franco.

[trotsky]

9. LOL, sorry - I miscounted.

I thought 5th was "St Faustina and the Divine Mercy message".

FRANCO, yeah, no real surprise there. They love their dictators at FR.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

4. Franco was

the Fascist dictator of Spain for 36 years. Pat Buchannan gets all hot and bothered over him. He was a grade-A asshole.

[MARALE]

6. I found this:

http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/franco.htm

His "killer File"

[htuttle]

2. He's still dead, isn't he?

[fertilizeonarbusto]

5. Notice no John XXIII

But, he was a librul...

[intheflow]

8. John XXIII was the top pick for my top 10. Here's my list:

10: Joan of Arc
9. Mother Theresa
8. St. Francis of Assisi (the hippy saint!)
7. Sr. Helen Prejean (Dead Men Walking)
6. Fr. Phil Berrigan (anti-war activist)
5. Fr. Daniel Berrigan (anti-war activist who works to close down the SOA)
4. Dorothy Day (American Catholic Marxist, Co-founder of The Catholic Worker)
3. James Carroll (author)
2. (3-way tie) Sr. Ardith Platte, Sr. Carol Gilbert, Sr. Jackie Marie Hudson (nuns who recently went to jail over pouring their own blood on a missile silo)
1. John XXIII

[fertilizeonarbusto]

12. Great list! n/t

[Hand]

7. Lovely choices... NOT!

Franco was a bloodstained, senile fascist thug.

Come to that, so was Pius XII, aka "Hitler's Pope".

[Selteri]

11. One is hard pressed to find any of the

Pope Pius through history that did anything actualy good.

[carnie_sf]

10. Just goes to show

how much freepers really love democracy. As far as ny list, I don't have a complete one but it would definitely include:
Fr Daniel Berrigan
Fr Phil Berrigan
Sr Helen Prejean
Pope John XXIII
Fr Fred Carrigan (My old parish priest)