Better Than A Poke In The Eye

Almost

When I was apt to complain about something not really that bad my Dad would try to cheer me up by saying "it's better than a poke in the eye!" Don't know if that was some irish quip or a pittsburghism or where he got that one.

Here's a real Irish poke in the eye- a few of the Irish Bishops in effort to demonstrate accountability and remorse and cooperate with the house cleaning demanded by the irish faithful turned in their resignations to the Vatican. The Vatican didn't accept them. The Pope didn't accept them.

This followed the very interesting dismissal of the class action reported in the "American Papist" at which he brags that his canon law father wrote memos stating that the Bishops are not under the central authority of the Pope.

The obvious question- so why does the Pope have authority to accept or reject Bishop resignations then?
I bet those legal memoranda held as much legal water as the titanic.
There may be a clue. Bishops still want their vatican underwritten or guaranteed pensions when they resign maybe? Do they get some annuity? If you want to resign-you just send a letter of resignation, don't you?
Why does it have to be "accepted" or not.

I bet those guys who dismissed the class action had other reasons, because the issue of whether Bishops are under the authority and control of the Pope for purposes of employer liability doesn't seem to be that truly controversial. Who else do they think they work for? The Queen?