Manx post office licks up to the Vatican

It’s bad enough that Benny the Boy Nazi (better known to the gullible as ‘The Pope’) gets a free UK holiday, courtesy of the taxpayer, but at least the Manx weren’t asked to contribute to the obnoxious scrote’s scrounging, or his kickbacks.
Except that we are.
A press release on the IOM Government website yesterday (see http://www.gov.im/lib/news/post/stamps/popebenedictukvi.xml ) opens with the appalling news that:
“Two postage stamps depicting photographs of Cardinal Newman, one never published before, and a stamp label showing Pope Benedict XVI, are included in a miniature sheet to be issued by the Isle of Man Post Office on Wednesday 11 August, the 120th Anniversary of the death of Cardinal Newman. The two £1.50 special stamps received Royal Approval from HM The Queen and include the Royal Cipher.
The engaging miniature sheet is being issued to commemorate the State Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom, 16-19 September, and the Beatification of Cardinal Newman, 1801-1890, at Cofton Park, Birmingham, on Sunday 19 September.
Isle of Man Stamps & Coins is now working with the Vatican Post Office to produce a limited edition souvenir first day cover and joint special hand stamp postmark to commemorate the Beatification of Cardinal Newman on 19 September 2010. “
What next? A First Day Cover celebrating Saddam Hussein, Childrens Rights Champion, or maybe Josef Goebbels as a model parent (perhaps underwritten by Care for the Family)?
Actually, as with the rest of the potty-mouthed pontiff’s disastrous trip, it looked like the Vatican and their little helpers had screwed up again, because the press release also admits:
“The miniature sheet, a presentation pack and a first day cover and insert were printed well ahead of the four-day visit of Pope Benedict to Scotland and England and before the announcement on 24 June that the Holy See had requested a change of venue for the Beatification of Cardinal Newman from Coventry Airport to Cofton Park Birmingham.
The miniature sheet wrongly refers to the beatification of Cardinal Newman taking place: "at Coventry Airport, 19 September 2010." These special stamps depicting Cardinal Newman will be collected and treasured by stamp collectors and non collectors alike throughout the world. The inclusion of the Coventry Airport venue will add philatelic interest.”
So, screw-up or well calculated kickback for the Vatican on the value of ‘wrong’ stamps which will now be snapped up, invested, and doubtless resold at ridiculous prices in the future?
Because, by coincidence today, I also discovered that the Vatican might have picked up yet another little trick from their good friends and sometime collaborators, the Nazis. It seems that in the early days of the Third Reich, Martin Bormann had the bright idea of cutting deals with the German post office. Thus, every time Hitler’s ugly face appeared on a German stamp, the Nazi Party got a cut. It seems it was one of the biggest earners for them at a time when other funds were short and the whole country was in recession anyway.
So, wouldn’t it be interesting to know what kickback the Vatican Post Office get on this deal, and how many copies of those limited edition/special hand stamp postmark sets they get to squirrel away for a rainy day – like the next big payout on a child abuse case?