Last Saturday afternoon, in Canberra, an aide to Kevin Rudd visited the Bishop of the Catholic cathedral in Canberra.
He told the Cardinal that Kevin would be attending the next day's Mass, and he asked if the Cardinal would kindly point him out to the congregation and say a few words that would include calling Kevin a saint.
The Cardinal replied, "No. I don't really like the man, and there are issues of conflict with the Catholic Church over certain of his views."
Rudd's aide then said, "Look, I'll write a cheque here and now for a donation of $100,000 to your church if you'll just tell the congregation you see Kevin as a saint."
The Cardinal thought about it and said, "Well, the church can use the money, so I'll work your request into tomorrow's sermon."
As the aide promised, Kevin Rudd appeared for the Sunday worship and seated himself prominently at the forward left side of the centre aisle.
As promised, at the start of his sermon, the Cardinal pointed out that Mr Rudd was present.
The Cardinal went on to explain to the congregation, "While Mr Rudd's presence is probably an honour to some, the man is not numbered among my personal favourite personages. Some of his most egregious views are contrary to tenets of the Church, and he tends to flip-flop on many other issues. Kevin Rudd is a petty, self-absorbed hypocrite, a thumb sucker, and a nit-wit. He is also a serial liar, a cheat, and a thief. I must say, Kevin Rudd is the worst example of a Christian I have ever personally witnessed. He married for money and is using his wealth to lie to the Australian people. He also has a reputation for shirking his representative obligations both in Canberra, in Queensland and overseas ... The man is simply not to be trusted."
The Cardinal concluded, "But, when compared with Prime Minister Gillard, Kevin Rudd is a saint."
