It is very easy to write illegible code in any language and Python is no exception to that rule.

It is very easy to write incomprehensible code in any language and Python is no exception to that rule.

It is very easy to write inefficient code in any language and Python is no exception to that rule.

It is very easy to write unportable code in any language and Python is no exception to that rule.

Perl is not holy, but neither is any other programming or scripting language. I'd even say there is no perfect language. Each language will serve its own public and audience. I've been confronted with problems with both languages in the past, and if you look though what you say is write-once code (and there are enough ways to make that readable fast if needed), I have found that fixing failures in perl is waaaaaaay easier than fixing problems in python. But of course YMMV.

Perl is a brilliant language, ideal not only for beginners, but for experts and wizards as well. Python on the other hand is an ugly language that cannot be moulded into something beatiful because it thinks "There Is Only One Way To Do It" would be ideal for anyone (but me). Python syntax might be easy (easier) to read than Perl's syntax (for beginners that is), but that is by no means a guarantee that that syntax is better, more efficient or easier to maintain. As python only gives you one wheel, if that wheel doesn't work you're fucked, as there is no other wheel available. The only options in that case imho are 1. give up, 2. use perl. That is why python programs are left to die and perl programs keep evolving.

Just my view on the matter. And no, I do not hate Python. There is a best tool for every problem. Quite often that is not Perl, but most often it is not Python.