Jam and jewels

The EU is looking into why religious education teachers in Italian schools receive preferential treatment: less rigorous selection (they're handpicked by the local bishop) and better salaries. Not that they do teach religion, any more than a geography teacher who just does, say, rivers actually teaches geography. They teach catholicism. And not teach as in "opening minds". Teach as in "indoctrinate".

This is the second EU investigation into the way the catholic church gets kid-gloved in Italy. The other one, set up a couple of years ago, is looking into the tax breaks given to church-run hotels, schools, massage parlours (well, maybe not massage parlours), quite apart from the inordinately large slab of money it receives from Italian tax payers in the first place. Ratzinger was drivelling on about what a terrible thing money was yesterday, to a bunch of old men dripping gold and velvet, clapping their bejewelled paws, stamping their Prada'd feet. So why not give some back, Eggs? Instead of putting political pressure on the EU, via its parliamentary goons in Italy, to persuade it to leave the Vatican's coffers alone?