History is Written by the Victors/Pope

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...1,370546.story

One of my favorite portions:

"Pope Benedict XVI ended his first pilgrimage to the Americas much as he began it: with a searing attack on diverse forces, from Marxism and capitalism to birth control, that he believes threaten society and the Roman Catholic faith. And in comment likely to generate controversy in Latin America, the pope said the New World's indigenous population, "silently longing" for Christianity, had welcomed the teachings that "came to make their cultures fruitful, purifying them."

The Pope's grasp of history is not the best.
Also funny:

"As he has done frequently, the pope condemned abortion, gay marriage and "the facile illusions of instant happiness and the deceptive paradise offered by drugs, pleasure and alcohol."

Facile illusions? Is condemning happiness the best way to gain new recruits? I wouldn't be so quick to label other avenues of joy "illusions".

I'd be a bigger fan of the Pope if he reversed the Catholic church's view on birth control, a policy that has led to misery for countless millions across the globe over the last hundred years or so.