posted June 21, 2004 07:39 PM         

THE POPE AND THE INDIAN...

About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Indians had to leave. Naturally there was a big uproar from the Indian community. So the Pope made a deal. He would have a debate with a member of the Indian community. If the Indian won, the Indians could stay. If the Pope won, the Indians would leave. The Indians realized that they had no choice. So they picked a middle aged man named Santu to represent them. Santu asked for one addition to the debate, to make it more interesting neither side would be allowed to talk. The Pope agreed. The day of the great debate came.

Santu and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute before the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers, Santu looked back at him, shook his head and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Santu pointed to the ground w here he sat. The Pope pulled out a wafer and a glass of wine. Santu pulled out an apple. The Pope stood up and said, "I give up. This man is too good. The Indians can stay."

An hour later, the cardinals were all around the Pope asking him what had happened. The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to all religions. Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground and showing that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and wafer to show that God absolves us from our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?

Meanwhile, the Indian community had crowded around Santu. "What happened?" they asked. "Well" said Santu, "First he said to me that the Indians had th ree days to get out of here. I told him that not one of us was leaving. Then he told me that this whole area would be cleared of Indians. I let him know that we were staying right here." "Yes, yes, and then???" asked the crowd. "I don't know", said Santu, "He took out his lunch, and I took out mine!"