"Papist" in the news....

Completely for fun, let's do a quick check of some news feeds to see how "papist" is being used in recent parlance:

• "Shakespeare was probably sent from Stratford Grammar School to Prescot by his father at a dangerous time for Catholic families like his own, in which the government of the day feared Papist plots and used spies to root out suspects." - The Independent

Classic and appropriate usage. High marks for making the connection between Shakespeare and Catholicism. Needless capitalization of "papist"? Even better.

• "... only Senator Sam Brownback stands out both with some name recognition and credibility as a far right candidate, but as a Catholic recruited to what evangelicals may view as a papist cult by a member of Opus Dei even he may be questionable." - Capitol Hill Blue

Bonus points for the phrase "papist cult" (and in the same sentence with "Opus Dei" no less!).

• "We’ll never know whether that speech [of JFK's] calmed the nerves of those who were fearful that a Catholic president would turn the U.S. into a papist state. But we know that Kennedy went on to win with 49.7 percent of the vote and clearly counted among his supporters many non-Catholics." - The Journal Gazette

Extra credit for connecting a papist with the possibility of taking over America. Always fun.

• "The Palestinian leadership is corrupt no less than the Israeli leadership. A friend of mine said that we are not "more papist than the Pope". However, when corruption infiltrates our society at such a rapid rate with so many Knesset members involved then there is a serious problem in credibility, honesty and accountability to the electorate that voted these shady mediocrities into the Knesset." - BNN

Kudos for using the phrase "more papist than the Pope." Of course, that would be pretty hard. Better get started!