[comp.dcom.telecom] 666 And All That

steveh@relay.eu.net (Steve Hamley) (08/12/90)

>                      Just Dial 1-900-230-POPE
 
> [Moderator's Note: If he wanted to get 800 service, I guess MCI would
> be out of the question. After all, 800-666-POPE would be a dead
> giveaway! :)  PT]

Funny you should say that.

In the UK, Redemptorist Publications, who publish a Catholic
newsletter, runs its own premium-charged helplines. They give out such
information as what the church thinks about divorce, what to do when
your kids stop going to mass, etc.

These are on the numbers 0898 666 XXX.

Their service provider also seems to have a slight clash of interests.
At the same time as the Redemptorists were running a line on 'should
you read horoscopes' they announced new improved, interactive
horoscopes run in conjunction with a daily paper.

ergo@ames.arc.nasa.gov> (08/13/90)

In <10777@accuvax.nwu.edu> tharr!steveh@relay.eu.net (Steve Hamley) writes:

>In the UK, Redemptorist Publications, who publish a Catholic
>newsletter, runs its own premium-charged helplines. They give out such
>information as what the church thinks about divorce, what to do when
>your kids stop going to mass, etc.

>These are on the numbers 0898 666 XXX.

>Their service provider also seems to have a slight clash of interests.
>At the same time as the Redemptorists were running a line on 'should
>you read horoscopes' they announced new improved, interactive
>horoscopes run in conjunction with a daily paper.

I seem to recall reading that, on paper at least, the Roman Catholic
Church is still banned in the UK.

All of this reminds me of a cartoon I saw once in *Punch*.  Two
Africans are walking down an English street, passing a newstand that
apparently caters to the credulous: giant headlines about UFOs and
Satanism, books on Astrology and the Occult, and so on.  One of the
Africans is saying to the other, "The locals are actually quite nice,
once you get used to their quaint superstitions!"


ergo@netcom.uucp			Isaac Rabinovitch
atina!pyramid!apple!netcom!ergo		Silicon Valley, CA
uunet!mimsy!ames!claris!netcom!ergo

Disclaimer:  I am what I am, and that's all what I am!