Gide and Celine

holocaust denying bishop
denies
his denial
as denial

his aphorisms echo
across the Vatican Cellar
and settle silently
on the ears of a long forgotten relic

Cuban heels
crack staccato
under the cassock of a Westphalian cleric
'a rearguard action against bitter reform'

for now
an equating
of liquidation
with abortion
has effectively halted calls for 'his' rehabilitation