It’s only recently been explained to me that I didn’t get satire.  Last week I read a tweet saying that anyone who was ‘big’ would not be averse to being satirised.  I like to think that’s true of me.  However, I had to endure my wife and my parish being swept in to the satire, and my wife being targeted by our standard sockpuppet creator.  Our satire fans saw no reason to stop engaging with the sockpuppet accounts and one or two condescending comments about my lack of a sense of humour were made.

So I got thinking, am I approaching this the wrong way?  Perhaps I am, and as the old saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them.  What if I started a bit of satirisation?  ‘Viz for Catholics’ was the idea I tweeted .  John Burke took to the idea with gusto, suggesting ‘Billy the Friday Fish’ ‘Novus Ordo and his Magic Guitar’  ‘Milly Mantilla, the girl with the Catholic Voice’.  I loved these ideas and thought of the fun that could be had.  But, were they as subjective as I had endured?  Would people understand how hurtful they could be?  I think not.

So I put together a few of my own ideas, one of two things can happen.  Either they get applauded by those who recognise themselves, or I am called out for doing so and my previous transgressions (for which I have apologised on many occasions) are again hauled over the coals.

So who have we got: –

Rover Bent:  Cathedral musician who wears a gimp mask so his boss doesn’t know he’s Catholic. Faith takes second place to the view from his ride on lawn mower.

Arthur Daily-Office:  The thirsty pub bore.  He will corner you and tell you all he knows, and then try and sell you a ladder. Anti-Anglican.

Blandbird: Eminent broadcaster who’s best friend is a Traveller who keeps her children off school. Never moans about the bishops but doesn’t defend them either. A big fan of John Steinbeck.

Barry Maniple:  Priest blogger who loves a drag on a fag

Mary J Bilge:  Trustee of a Catholic charity who doesn’t recognise Catholic Clergy

Father Dead: Gun toting cowboy priest

BananainpyjamasOSB:  Benedictine who thinks Conversio Morum means ‘talk like a moron’

Auntie Noon: Bearded lady, always in a huff and needing a puff, genuflects on the left knee.

Mama Antilla: Fruity blogger. Wears her mantilla over her eyes and whips out gadgets at the consecration.

CPWDKDC: Confraternity for priests who don’t know deacons are clergy:  Poor formation is no reason not to be exclusive (ie: exclude)

Project The Pap:  Sensationalist blogger who always looks for the negative about the Church, allegedly.

I suspect one or two of the above might recognise themselves, and in doing so, might find a nerve touched.  If that’s the case, I will happily delete their entry above.  And they can go away knowing I have not stooped so low as to denigrate their family, parish or diocese.  If anyone attempts to leave an unpleasant comment about them it will be removed, not displayed for a time to give everyone something to snigger about, it will be removed, and I won’t be asking them either, I’ll be using my decency instinct. They can be grateful they’ll not know how that feels too. And then the big ones will, understanding that being satirised is abusive, stop engaging with our sock puppet creator, in all their forms.

If not, lets run with this……….