The pope isn’t even on this continent yet, but the pope-mania has begun.
The Freedom From Religion Religion Foundation would like to share as secular antidotes two artistic responses to Pope Francis’ upcoming visit and congressional address: an irreverent cartoon by Mike Konopacki, and the words and music to Dan Barker’s equally irreverent and unforgettable “Stay-Away Pope Polka.” Listen for free here.
Dan originally wrote this song in 1987 (using the world’s first “atheist backup chorus” at a studio in downtown Madison, Wis.). “The Stay-Away Pope Polka” was played on the radio in each of the many cities Pope John Paul II visited — at great taxpayer expense — that year, and was also played at many of the protests and demonstrations by secularists, gays, feminists and others around the country.
Although Dan conceived the song as a polka in honor of John Paul’s Polish roots, it’s is equally fitting for Pope Francis (even including a Spanish chorus). Yes, the current pope offers more moderate window-dressing, but nothing has changed when it comes to the Church’s theological and doctrinal “sins.”
Enjoy!
