From:	Matb <mbreton@**.NETCOM.COM>
Subject:	Re: Catholic Church...Help!
Date:	Sun, 18 May 1997 20:58:36 -0700

> > Of particular note, conjuring is only allowable by the priesthood.

> This IS a tough one to handle IMO.
> As IIRC most Catholic churches teach that spirits have only TWO sources.
> Heaven and Hell.
> There are spirits of Good and Spirits of Evil, Angels and Devils.
> Also, spirits are never "summoned" they are sent by their respective
> forces, either to help or to harm.

Not sure I'd agree with this one, just because spirits et al, as done
by FASA, draw more from "pagan" tradition than Christian. The Grimoire
quote I mentioned goes further into detail on summoning, mostly that
spirits are not innately good or evil. Never seen a text description
of a spirit that matches angels or devils, although some of the art has;
I imagine a spirit summoned by a priest may well look like an angel.

As an aside, there was a priest Dog shaman mentioned in Sprawl Sites,
although I don't recall if they mentioned a denomination.

> > Although the game is a speculation of future events, it still reflects
> > back to current times, and so faces the possibility of libel. So do
> > you.

> Libel? Since when is fiction open to Libel Litigation?
> I agree that it would be quite rude to paint someone's faith in an ugly
> light, but games are a work of fiction, and as such, it's completely legal
> to do so.

Hmm. Perhaps 'defamation' - a more general term - would have fit
better.
(Not that I imagine the Church pursuing a lawsuit, after getting knocked
for protesting The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ, and others.)

> Ever read the comic book Terminal Drift?
> It paints the Catholic Church as having been completely corrupted by the
> forces of evil, and in fact, now worshipping the same.
> A wholly distasteful, blasphemous concept IMO, but also completely
> protected.

Interesting. I'll have to look it up.

(re: Vatican and magic lore)

> That in and of itself could be a rather interesting run.
> Would your runners dare violate someplace as ... sacred as the Vatican to
> acquire a tome for a wealthy mage?
> Especially if said mage planned to use the tome of Evil?
> Don't forget that certain ares of the Vatican are doubtless rather high in
> ackground count, or even sites of power/ley lines that can be applied to
> "friendly magic" There are also sure to be wards and barriers throughout
> the area.

Hmm. Remind me to have Gurth add Vatican City to the NERPS project...
It's a very small place - measured in square miles - and much of it
is off-limits to the public. I remember St. Peter's being absolutely
cavernous, but in comparison with most modern structures it's absolutely
tiny -- there aren't (many) skyscrapers in Rome, though, so it still
feels large.

One of these days I'll upload the pictures from my tour of Italy to my
non-existent webpage.

-Matt