Considering the digital confusion that has come out of the Catholic Church in the last few months, you wouldn’t be out of line in assuming one of the Vatican’s Twitter accounts had been hacked when it tweeted the following yesterday: “Holy switcheroo! Batman has grown bitter, more vengeful with the years.” It wasn’t a hack, though — it was something even weirder: proof that yes, the Vatican apparently does have a position on Batman. And it’s that they miss the Adam West version of the character, which is a really indefensible opinion to espouse, even for the Catholic church.
The article — you can read it here — reminds parents to be wary of the modern Batman and the detrimental influence the Dark Knight could have on young readers, and cautions them that Adam West’s campy 60s take on the hero is no longer par for the course. This fact will come as news to people who have been in multiple decade comas, and also to no other people, though it does serve to add “Batman” to the list of things the modern Vatican is astoundingly out of touch on. That may not necessarily be surprising, but it is, we think, notable.
What’s more surprising to someone who grew up (a really, really crappy) Catholic, though, is that the darker modern take on the hero doesn’t sit well with the Vatican. One would think a guilt-driven and increasingly uncompromising Dark Knight would jibe nicely with a church that has been undoing the liberal reforms of Vatican II for the last several decades. Then again, as an “on the books” member of the church at best, hey, what the heck do I know? Frankly, I’m just amazed the writer got through the article without mentioning the obviously deviant ‘bat-nipples’ costume from Batman & Robin, which not only endangered the morals of a generation, but could put your eye out if you weren’t careful.
(via AP)
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