Welcome to “A Look Back,” where we review and celebrate select clips from the overwhelmingly voluminous video catalog and the many splendid works of Stephen T. Colbert over the years.
Stephen is unsuccessful in receiving a blessing from the pope….and none too pleased about it.
Habemus Papum! We have a pope! And he is named after one of the awesomer of the pantheon of saints, St. Francis, who was well known for his humility and dedication to poverty. It is certainly hoped that Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina will take the reins of the Church and lead it away from its current scandals to a brighter future.
Stephen, being one of the few modern satirists who is both interested in and unafraid of scrutinizing religion, has referenced the pope many times on both TDS and of course on TCR. Let’s take a look back at some great, papally infallible moments.
TDS Moments
To Jon’s incredulous expression, Stephen always seems to say, “Jon, I’m going to bring it.”
Stephen did a lot of segments on religion during his tenure on The Daily Show, including the fabulous “This Week in God.” You got the sense in these moments that Jon really let go of the controls and let Stephen take over, giving us a taste of TCR to come. Stephen was the show’s go-to guy when topics/issues concerning the Church or the Pope came up.
In this early TDS clip (2002), the pope’s response to the then-burgeoning U.S. priest scandal gets some Stephen treatment:
“Plus they have a huge backlog of apologies to work through. Recently we’ve seen mea culpas go out to Jews, Protestants, heretics and your other assorted non-Christians. Aboriginese, Holocaust victims, Native Americans, Muslims,the Chinese, and Copernicus.”
In “This Week in God,” Stephen plays a little game of “What’s the Pope Blessing Now?”, and gets in a few zingers at the Church:
“Oh come on! What would high Catholic Church officials know about immoral sexual conduct!”
Stephen was not afraid to profane the use of religious symbols in the “TWiG” segments either:
Following the death of John Paul II, Stephen contemplates the horror of not having an infallible Vicar of Christ to lead the earth:
“Jon, do you realize that there is no one on earth who is infallible? Right now, the whole thing is being run by human beings. And I’m not sure if you’re familiar with their track record. I don’t think anybody wants them in charge.”
Stephen, TDS “Papalogist,” reviews the various “Papplicants” vying for JP II’s miter:
“Let’s face it, Jon, if [a papal candidate] weren’t celibate, there’d be no telling how much tail he’d be getting.”
TCR Moments
When Stephen moved onto TCR, we lost his wonderful takes on “This Week in God,” but his fascination with the Holy See continued.
A nascent word breaks down how the Church defines various levels of gayness:
Stephen takes issue with the Vatican’s decision to go “carbon neutral”:
“How many greenhouse gas emissions are really produced by pope-announcing smoke? But more importantly, sir, you have got to provide with us consistent, infallible declarations on how to live our daily lives. How can you tell us to reduce carbon emissions and at the same time tell us to go forth and multiply? Last time I checked, babies are made of carbon.”
Stephen is excited as a kid on Christmas for Pope Benedict to make his first U.S. visit right there in NYC – so much so he gets Peter Gwinn’s baby on hand for a potential in-studio baptism:
“If you’re on his naughty list, you may go to hell and become a lump of coal. That’s where Santa’s coal comes from. It’s damned souls.”
“[Referring to the baby] you know what, you could really feel the original sin. Either that, or he had a load in his diaper.”
Stephen reports on the Pope’s hip new style, and Catholic TV’s riveting tech-no-vision:
“Check it! That hat is so street. And the bling..he’s like the Vatican’s Flava Flav, or in the original Latin, Flavorus Flavum.”
“It is so nice to see my Church leaving it’s recent problems behind, and reaching out to young people – this time in public.”
Stephen, concerned with Pope Benedict’s recent wrist fracture, urges the nation to get him “WristStrong”:
I am pretty sure the best part of this clip is Stephen putting cash in the “monk’s” rope belt. But those guys sounded good!
And we got a view of the pope’s rustic summer residence:
Stephen is well known for his faithfulness to his Catholicism, but he is not above criticizing the Church’s myriad of scandals or its authority figures. Moreover, his critiques are always done in a funny and respectful way, which scandal-weary, practicing Catholics such as myself appreciate. What are your favorite “This Week in God” segments or other religion-related moments on TDS or TCR? Do share in the comments.
A Look Back: Papal Edition
Welcome to “A Look Back,” where we review and celebrate select clips from the overwhelmingly voluminous video catalog and the many splendid works of Stephen T. Colbert over the years.
Stephen is unsuccessful in receiving a blessing from the pope….and none too pleased about it.
Habemus Papum! We have a pope! And he is named after one of the awesomer of the pantheon of saints, St. Francis, who was well known for his humility and dedication to poverty. It is certainly hoped that Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina will take the reins of the Church and lead it away from its current scandals to a brighter future.
Stephen, being one of the few modern satirists who is both interested in and unafraid of scrutinizing religion, has referenced the pope many times on both TDS and of course on TCR. Let’s take a look back at some great, papally infallible moments.
TDS Moments
To Jon’s incredulous expression, Stephen always seems to say, “Jon, I’m going to bring it.”
Stephen did a lot of segments on religion during his tenure on The Daily Show, including the fabulous “This Week in God.” You got the sense in these moments that Jon really let go of the controls and let Stephen take over, giving us a taste of TCR to come. Stephen was the show’s go-to guy when topics/issues concerning the Church or the Pope came up.
In this early TDS clip (2002), the pope’s response to the then-burgeoning U.S. priest scandal gets some Stephen treatment:
In “This Week in God,” Stephen plays a little game of “What’s the Pope Blessing Now?”, and gets in a few zingers at the Church:
“Oh come on! What would high Catholic Church officials know about immoral sexual conduct!”
Stephen was not afraid to profane the use of religious symbols in the “TWiG” segments either:
Following the death of John Paul II, Stephen contemplates the horror of not having an infallible Vicar of Christ to lead the earth:
“Jon, do you realize that there is no one on earth who is infallible? Right now, the whole thing is being run by human beings. And I’m not sure if you’re familiar with their track record. I don’t think anybody wants them in charge.”
Stephen, TDS “Papalogist,” reviews the various “Papplicants” vying for JP II’s miter:
TCR Moments
When Stephen moved onto TCR, we lost his wonderful takes on “This Week in God,” but his fascination with the Holy See continued.
A nascent word breaks down how the Church defines various levels of gayness:
Stephen takes issue with the Vatican’s decision to go “carbon neutral”:
Stephen is excited as a kid on Christmas for Pope Benedict to make his first U.S. visit right there in NYC – so much so he gets Peter Gwinn’s baby on hand for a potential in-studio baptism:
Stephen reports on the Pope’s hip new style, and Catholic TV’s riveting tech-no-vision:
Stephen, concerned with Pope Benedict’s recent wrist fracture, urges the nation to get him “WristStrong”:
I am pretty sure the best part of this clip is Stephen putting cash in the “monk’s” rope belt. But those guys sounded good!
And we got a view of the pope’s rustic summer residence:
Stephen is well known for his faithfulness to his Catholicism, but he is not above criticizing the Church’s myriad of scandals or its authority figures. Moreover, his critiques are always done in a funny and respectful way, which scandal-weary, practicing Catholics such as myself appreciate. What are your favorite “This Week in God” segments or other religion-related moments on TDS or TCR? Do share in the comments.