Well, That Didn't Take Long (UPDATED)

Sniping waits for no interment.

WARSAW, April 2 (Reuters) - The controversial spokesman for Poland's past communist rulers said on Saturday he will not regret the death of Pope John Paul -- a man credited with inspiring a peaceful revolution which ended Polish communism.

"I cannot say I will regret his passing. As a godless atheist I never cared much for the church or the papacy. I disliked the fact that the Papacy bore down so heavily on Poland.”

--Jerzy Urban, Polish Communist; Previously Warsaw Pact Poland's communist government spokesman. (Bet he’s popular in Krakow right about now.)

After JPII’s death was announced, someone on some blog wondered how long it would take for Christopher Hitchens to cut loose. It turns out that it happened before the pontiff breathed his last even. (To be fair, most people guessed over a year ago that John Paul II didn’t have long to live. Mr. Hitchens has probably had this one ready to go since the January hospital trip.)

If what he says about Bernard Law is true, Mr. Hitchens definitely has a point. However, couldn’t it have waited until after the funeral? Law will still be around and the Pope definitely isn’t going anywhere; the body he used to own, anyway.

Pope John Paul II’s soul has already been before the highest law that exists.

(Thanks to Instapundit and Babalu)

UPDATE: And I question your sense of proportion and ability to read effectively. If Hitchens had been on the Vatican hierarchy in general and JPII in particular like white on rice--writing op-ed after op-ed, trying to get the US Government to put pressure on the Vatican to extradite Law--was there ever a warrant for Law's arrest?--then there would be little reason to question Christopher Hitchen's timing. The writer, however, is building a reputation for tearing down widely well-regarded figures almost from the moment they breath their last, regardless of what they may or may not have done in this life. In JPII's case, Hitchens had a 48-hour head start.

People that allow others to harm the innocent and helpless are just as evil as the actual perpetrators and, I repeat, if John Paul II did this, he has already been judged justly. (Maybe that reference slipped by you as well, Timmer.) Those who actively work to bring such people to justice here on earth are the greatest of souls. But, unless he's hiding something, Christopher Hitchens isn't one of them. Though he's often a brilliant writer, here, he's just doing his vulture schtick, not to mention his "I-hate-religion" routine.