Holy rolling,bankrolling.Big upsurge in pious patronising patter disguised as hopes over New Year in Scotland

Loan sharks condemned by cardinal The most senior Roman Catholic in Scotland will use his New Year's Day sermon to condemn loan firms charging "extortionate" interest rates. Presumably less extortionate rates are better. Speaking at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien urged those crippled by debt to seek help. Is he going to dig in deep and make interest free loans to help them out of the Vaticans swelling coffers,not a chance. Is the pope a Catholic? The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland spoke of her wishes for a world "transformed" by love and hope. The Right Reverend Sheilagh Kesting wants "selfish ambition" cast aside. Unselfish ambition is undefined of course. Cardinal O'Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, will say the holiday season sees many families trapped in an ever increasing spiral of debt. 'Narrow interests' He points out that many families find themselves in the grip of loan companies and loan sharks, who demand an extortionate rate of interest, ensuring they remain trapped. He will condemn such practices and applaude the work done by many in the churches and wider society to help people out of debt, through credit unions and advice clinics. But, he doesnt condemn the very system which will keep those workers trapped in poverty and wage slavery.Debt or no debt. His call comes in a sermon to mark a world day of prayer for peace, in which he also speaks out against nuclear weapons, arguing that the pressure to keep the issue in the forefront of civil and church life must remain in the coming year. Peace will not come on a wing or a prayer.Peace will only come when the cause of war, the capitalist system and its intense competition, for markets, raw goods and materials,with powerful global rivalry is ended.War is an inevitable concommitant of capitalism. In her message, Ms Kesting said: "I pray that we will look beyond selfish ambition and the scoring of points - beyond the narrow interests of ethnicity, nationality, political party, denomination or religion and instead focus our concerns on the neediest people of our world and the things that make for peace." So let's get rid of capitalism then, root, branch and all . It is capitalism which is the cause of poverty, not high or low interest rates. Capitalism depends on us selling our mental and physical energies for a wage,or salary in order that we might live. With the exception of the capitalist class or social parasites such as religious orders, the vast majority are born poor and die poor, in order for us to service the capitalist system,to the end of making profits for a minority. As verily ,verily, we say unto youse, the poor shall always be with youse, for the pious claptrappists to mouth meaningless platitudes, ad infinitum. Amen.