back to article Vatican hails hacking culture, Wikis

A Vatican magazine argues hackers of the Linux coding and hardware modification type are on a mission from God. Father Antonio Spadaro, writing in the fortnightly magazine Civilta Cattolica, seeks to rehabilitate the term and divorce it from its more common association with cybercrime-related activities. Spadaro quotes …

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  1. Richard Wharram

    no title

    Irony overload.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    oh hell no

    Dear woo-meisters, stay the fuck away from our sub-culture. We don't like hierarchy driven lie machines and we sure as hell don't like the biggest pedo club on earth.

  3. Aaron Em

    'Rigid heretical structure'

    Good one!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    oh 'eck...

    That's all we need, the God Botherers instituting the Church of the Almighty Electron!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Mr. Man

    Are you the Priest?

    No ma’am, Hackers.

  6. Gene Cash Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    The Jesuits

    These were just about the only forward-looking open-minded intellectual part of the church.

    I'm atheist, but I was taught history by a Jesuit, otherwise I would have never learned the Romans invaded Britain, or who the Mongols were. Yes, American schooling is that bad... you ever wonder why Americans think the US is the center of the world, and have no clue?

  7. Yet Another Mr Smith
    Coat

    From the Sermon on the Mountpoint

    Blessed are the geeks, for they shall pwn the Earth.

  8. Fred Flintstone Gold badge
    Coat

    OK, so that confession app..

    .. stands a chance after all. Windows for sinners, of course..

    Yes, the cassock, thank you.

  9. Youngone Silver badge
    WTF?

    Ha, Irony indeed

    Control, competition, property. Two of those things the Vatican have spent two thousand years collecting, and the other one has been ruthlessly destroyed. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which one's which. Or you could ask the Cathar family next door.

    Oh, wait...

  10. Christoph

    A few differences?

    "more than a few philosophical differences to sort out."

    The hacker culture is very very non-authoritarian, to the extent that imposing a rigid hierarchy would destroy it. Even compromising with such authority simply would not work.

    The vatican is absolutely committed to a rigid hierarchy, and will not compromise in any way.

    The two are simply incompatible.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    Don't pay too much attention....

    .....they're just trying to increase their visibility with people who have logical minds (e.g. agnostics and atheists)

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    They wouldn't be saying that....

    .... if they new Mr. Raymond's religious affiliations. They should rather have quoted from Larry Wall's foreward to "Programming Perl" (the 'camel' book).

  13. heyrick Silver badge

    Hackers apply rigorous analytical principle

    If you, dear priest, truly believe we follow your principles, please try following one of ours - look in the mirror.

  14. Jacqui

    You know you are introuble

    when the biggest pedo club in the world wants to join.

  15. Peter Simpson 1
    Jobs Horns

    Just last week

    Didn't the same organization claim hat the Internet was a tool of the Devil?

    Either trying to stay relevant, or distract you from any recent allegations of paedophilia, I suspect.

  16. MinionZero
    WTF?

    WTF! Ok Vatican, you want hacking, time to do a bit of hacking then!

    Ok step 1 in hacking, find out what its made of. Ok Vatican, you want hacking, I'll give you hacking, time to hack the Vatican to reveal the MO of its leaders!

    Vatican leaders MO:

    (1) Convince your followers they are superior to all who disagree with them, so followers then look down on all who disagree with them and so ignore them and so can never learn anything other than what their leaders teach them. I said this first because they teach to look away from anything that questions the leaders words. Its how they control their followers, by isolating them from anyone who questions the leaders.

    (2) Point 1 above shows an endless deeply pathological pattern of deceit, cunning and duplicity - Sound familiar!

    (3) The leaders build up their image where the leaders over the followers are to be revered and held in such awe by their followers. That is pure Narcissism, disguised by yet more lies in this case of piety which is yet more cunning and duplicity. On top of this its even worse because they also always want to be the centre of attention, watched by their flock, that’s Histrionic as well! ... So we already have strong warning signs of two personality disorders combined NPD + HPD.. and there’s more, a lot more!

    (4) Widespread sexual abuse of children. Yes we are talking a lot worse than even just NPD + HPD. We are right off into Psychopathic levels of total lack of empathy for the suffering of their victims on this point, yet these leaders expect us to hold them up reverence! You don't get any more lying, cunning and duplicity than that!

    (5) Obviously not all religious leaders are sexual abusers of children, but there is another major aspect of sexual preoccupation found endlessly in many religious leaders which is the relentless and wide spread condemnation by the leaders of homosexual behaviour. Like it or not, it happens in this world, its their choice, its their life, get over it. The point is however the leaders don't get over it. They work endlessly to suppress it at every step in their words and thinking and often they do it with such deep anger that it really shows something more is behind their behaviour. So lets look more closely then at how these leaders live. Lets look in particular at catholic religious leaders and how they choose to live. Bishops, Nuns, Popes etc.. whichever level of their very powerful hierarchy you look at, you find the same pattern of them wanting to live their lives with their own sex, yet at the same time, they relentlessly condemn any thoughts of homosexual behaviour ... and here is the key to this part of the puzzle, because they condemn any thoughts of homosexual behaviour in themselves. They are trapped in a endless battle with themselves. The one thing they refuse to admit to even themselves and condemn in others as they have learned for most of their life (or more to the point, have been taught to condemn in others as they condemn in themselves). Oh the irony. Centuries of horrific abuses of their power to kill all who openly and freely display what they fear most of all. This pattern is often found in Borderline personality disorders (and they can be dangerous bastards ... some will kill to deny what they secretly think. They know and fear any knowledge of their true thoughts leaking out, because to them it can destroy them. They fear and despise what they really are).

    So we have wide spread examples of Histrionic, Narcissistic and even Borderline behaviour ... Thats 3 personality disorders in the one person! and yet even worse, on top of that in some cases, (potentially thousands of cases!) we also have full blown Psychopathic behaviour! ... That’s a full set of Cluster B personality disorders. All 4 personality disorders found combined in the one person!!! ... All Cluster B disorders have deep lying, cunning and duplicity around what they fear. When you find someone with more than one personality disorder, then you are really are dealing with a very extreme person. Yet we are talking about people with up to 4 personality disorders! ... all 4 Cluster B disorders in the same person!. Now you know what demons they are praying to suppress ... IN THEMSELVES!

    And yet the religious followers believe these people! They trust them! They trust their children around them! WTF! WAKE UP!

    Step 2 in hacking, is once you find out what something is made of, you work to build something better. Ok religious followers, I know what I have said is hard to hear, but there is hope and a better future for you and your family. Here's a few hints of how others already live and many will happily help you adjust to a life of freedom from the repressive abusing control freaks you have so far lived under.

    Its important to note that for a lie to be really effective, it has to combine elements of the truth. Religions do this. When you look at all religions they all have things in common which is a sense of community (Humans are after all still pack animals and so our families, our friends and our local community are our pack. That sense of community still exists free from the lies of the repressive leaders who endlessly seek to control and abuse others for their gain. Also all societies have laws. Again Humans live in packs and we really are pack animals and so for packs to exist in a modern society the packs have to have common rules, namely that is what morality is, simply a way for everyone to be good and fair to each other.

    There you go Vatican, Hacking 101 for a better way to life without all the centuries long relentless lying, cunning and in many cases outright abusing duplicity that the Vatican has been guilty of for so many centuries! ... how many have died and suffered because of you lot of lying leaders of cults throughout history. Welcome to the Internet Vatican and all cults and yes you are cults as in a pack of people deceived and cut off from anyone questioning their leaders. Time for you lot of cult leaders to stop and you know its happening ... its what you leaders of cults fear and that’s obvious from your behaviour online and in the news, embrace the new, talk about Hackers, yeah right, fuck off with all of you bunch of lying Vatican two faced evil bastards.

    This is why science has struggled for so long to get past the cults supernatural explanations of the world. Their leaders would loose power if no one wants to follow them any more.

    Sorry for the long post, but it had to be said. Hey Vatican, how do you like Hacking now!

  17. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. LaeMing
      FAIL

      Why would Richard not simply call himself a "Author of Public Domain Software" ?

      Possibly because he isn't? Public Domain is NOT the same as GPL. Very very not.

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

  18. J 3
    Alien

    Hm...

    "Under fire are control, competition, property. It's a vision that is... of a clear theological origin"

    I wonder if he knows that Richard Stallman is an atheist (and open about it).

  19. Ed Deckard
    Coat

    Come on, people

    You can now say you're on a mission from God!

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  20. ardubbleyu
    FAIL

    @minionzero

    a) I detect that you don't like the Catholic hierarchy

    b) You obviously think (Wrongly) that they are all the same

    c) You have far too much time on your hands

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'd just like to say ...

    If anything its a progressive comment. And that in itself is unexpected ... and, yes, therefore welcome.

  22. veti Silver badge
    Coat

    Cue page after page of hate comments...

    Calm down. The Vatican isn't saying that hackers are some kind of closet left-footers, nor is it preparing the ground for some kind of takeover bid. This is just an opinion piece in a magazine. It has no more bearing on official doctrine or policy than an editorial in the Guardian has on the British gov't.

    Yes, he does know that many hackers are atheists, wiccans, quite possibly even satanists. It doesn't matter. Their faith is simply irrelevant to his argument.

    As for all the "pedo" jibes... here's a thought. How about, every time a Brit or American opens his mouth (on any topic whastoever), we shout him down with yells of "Slaver!" "Drug runner!" "Arms dealer!" "Imperialist!"? It'd be about as relevant.

  23. xperroni
    Alert

    Warhammer 40k For The Win?

    So the priests are cozying up to the hackers? Wonder if we're not witnessing the beginnings of Wharhammer 40k's Technopriesthood...

    Now if only we can get that Mars colonization project started!

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Change

    Whatever your views on the church may be at least some within it are now looking to reconnect with the world rather than sticking solely with the old ways. I don't expect a massive church reform but recent things like accepting the use of condoms in Africa and getting in touch with real people via the internet. These are all positive steps being taken by an institution which needs to modernise itself.

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