Two photos to tie you guys over, until the mad-rush that is Christmas is over!
You might remember Pope Benedict two years ago, wearing a red bonnet lined with white fur that had him looking uncannily like our "Father Christmas".
(Instead of a cap with a fuzzy tassle, our version wears a pointy hood, although the more Americanised version is taking over)
Well, our beloved Pope continues to amuse, whilst looking amused.
They call this one "Saturno", and don't you think it is well-named? It does look like one of the rings of Saturn plopped down on the infallible noggin.
Incidentally, the Pope has brown eyes, which are quite common in Bavaria, yet this photo makes them look almost caramelly green. I hope he doesn't have cataracts.
Yes, Pope Benedict's face is one of the gentlest faces I have ever seen on any person, male or female. He's so darling.
It's been a while since I spoke about my beloved, Benedict XVI. Here is a small blogpost to rectify that.
One of the best things about Pope Benedict, is that he has continued the warm relationship forged by John Paul the Great towards the Jewish community. In fact, the Chief Rabbi of Haifa became the first rabbi to speak before a Vatican Synod this Monday.
Don't think he had only honeyed words for the assembled clergymen. He chastised the Roman Catholic Church and Pope Pius XIII, for their restraint in speaking out and not helping to prevent the Holocaust.
Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen was unflinching in his criticism:
Cohen said that in his speech he planned to make an indirect reference to Jewish disappointment about Pius as well as an appeal to all religious leaders to denounce Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Last month Pope Benedict forcefully defended Pius, saying he "spared no effort" on behalf of Jews during World War II.
Some Jews maintain Pius did not do enough to save Jews while the Vatican says he worked behind the scenes to help because more direct intervention would have worsened the situation.
"He may have helped in secrecy many of the victims and many of the refugees but the question is 'could he have raised his voice and would it have helped or not?'" Cohen said.
"We, as the victims, feel yes. I am not empowered by the families of the millions of deceased to say 'we forget, we forgive,'" said Cohen, who is chief rabbi of Haifa in Israel.
Pope Benedict's very religious parents were adamantly anti-Nazi, and his father even suffered as a consequence of this attitude -- one which was owed almost entirely to his strong Catholic faith.
Nevertheless, I am sure Pope Benedict understood the pain many Jews feel about this time, and as you can see, there were no hard feelings after the address.
For whatever reason, all I have to do is remember this story, to start laughing uncontrollably.
Ahead of the World Youth Day conference in Sydney, Australia, comes word that Pope Benedict XVI will be sending out his first ever mobile phone sms to the assembled youth.
It reads: "Young friend, God and his people expect much from u because u have within you the Fathers supreme gift: the Spirit of Jesus - BXVI."
I think it's a combination of imagining the Pope furiously texting with both his thumbs, like any Crackberry addict; his snappy usage of "u" for you; and his casual signoff, "BXVI".
(It's like you almost expect an extra little something after it, like maybe "BXVI Diddy")
Believe me, I am not just being irreverent, so much as pleasantly surprised at how sweet this man is -- how much he tries in his own shy little way, to be relevant, and to engage the youth he so evidently loves to interact with.
Far from being the cold, reactionary, ex-Nazi intellectual ogre he was predicted to be (mainstream media as ever misreading a Conservative for their own ends), he has quietly established himself as his own man with his own endearing qualities, which are human and therefore, excusable.
Today, after 3 years of sometimes seeing a photo of the late John Paul the Great and having to catch myself, as my throat constricts and I suddenly feel a wave of weepiness come over me, a similar phenomenon is occuring with Benedetto the Good.
It's like every time I see him, I just want to hug the guy, you know?
(Welcome Ann Althouse readers! One of the most neutral, pithy blogs around. A joy to read and welcome her readership. And welcome Kelly Clarkson Express fans! Saying hello to the Dawn Patrol readers!)
Having been absent until now for the Pope's visit, allow a spur-of-the-moment Live Blogging of His Holiness' Mass at Yankee Stadium.
My style, as ever combining the reverent and irreverent, will no doubt not be a surprise if this is your first meeting with it. Just know that beneath the blogger-cynic, is a faithful and very enthusiast Catholic penitent.
I start after Cardinal Edward Egan's speech (in both English/Spanish).
14:55 PM EST
Speaking as many languages as I do, I am hyper-conscious of accents. So let me ask you, what accent does Cardinal Egan have...in English?
He slurs his words at the end of every syllable, like an Ealing Studios actor launching into an one-liner.
The Pope was given use of the home team locker room. The band has the honour of the visiting team locker.
It is not known where the musical "acts" will be given sanctuary. They include, according to the NY Times Blog:
"The Harlem Gospel Choir, the Irish tenor Ronan Tynan, the Italian tenor Marcello Giordani, the Puerto Rican singer and guitarist José Feliciano, the Brooklyn-born rhythm-and-blues and soul singer Stephanie Mills, and the jazz and pop singer Harry Connick Jr."
José Feliciano gets around. I just heard him (or someone using his trademark guitar-driven songs) play at an Obama rally, last week.
At 5'5", he's just one inch shorter than the present Pope, one of the few who won't be towering over the Pope (I noticed he gets extra shy around very tall people).
Speaking of musical acts, not being an AI fan, I had no idea who that girl who launched into a very impressive Ave Maria was, yesterday. It was at the end of the St. Joseph's Seminary visit in Yonkers.
It was Kelly Clarkson. Not bad. The Pope himself looked pleasantly surprised.
The Homily has started. Everyone has noted how fluent the Pope is, perhaps remembering the halting, oft-times slurring efforts of John Paul the Great.
Perhaps, but the latter always had the ability to convey a lot with the few words at his disposal, often re-shouting the last line to great effect.
Who can forget, when during a youth rally thousands of voices shouted at him, WE LOVE YOU!
"And John Paul LOVES YOU!"
Pope Benedict is a teacher, not a showman. And like a teacher, often you have to rely on his eyes to convey his innermost thoughts.
Usually that would be the case. During the America visit, he's had a smile from ear to ear. I've never seen a man enjoy himself so much. It's like he's come home.
Back to the Homily, he's mentioning how in the country where personal freedom is so valued, obedience to faith are not easy words to utter. Good. Not by ignoring this American tendency will you get people's attention. Grab it, embrace it, challenge it.
If you know only one thing about Americans, it's that Americans love nothing more than a good challenge and plain-speaking.
Benedict XVI, from the moment he stepped on the ground, in fact, even before it, with his impromptu remarks on the plane, laid the foundation for just that during his visit.
15:35 PM EST
He mentioned the 300-pound gorilla for the first time, that I recall. Abortion. Short words, "child in his mother's womb", but the audience stopped him and clapped.
In fact, the audience is now into his Homily. This speech, more than any other so far, reminds me of his monumentally approachable speech during his Inauguration.
He has successfully engaged the audience, and broken the fourth wall.
Now in Spanish.
It's curious how his Spanish remarks are a little more formal, less personalised, and even a little perfunctory. I'm glad he's doing it. But it lacks the brio of the English ones, as he races through it.
The crowd launched into "Benedetto! Benedetto!" for the first time. A little tentative, but I fancy that'll change by the end. It is, after all, a Mass and not a baseball game.
The Profession of Faith is in full swing with a long queue up a ramp (in several languages).
15:54 PM EST
The dishy young Father Jonathan Morris, of Fox News, has said something very true.
Suddenly, people are starting to separate this Pope from his predecessor, by getting to know him better.
Although he mentioned how this Pope's idea of fun is holidaying whilst writing books/speeches/encyclicals, whilst the latter had "a lot of help" in writing his speeches, the fact that perhaps this Pope might have his own brand of charisma is being spoken of, at last.
I myself heard it from my mother, and her friends (some Jewish), who were surprised at how much they liked this new Pope. "He's not as scary as I thought he would be", said one lady.
That goes to show what happens when you look at him on your home ground, and excise the media's opinions of him, via their unrelenting bad coverage of the Catholic Church, vis-a-vis the sex-abuse scandals.
Take him for what he is, not what you believe him to be. At the ripe age of 81, he has so very much to offer.
16:08 PM EST
Resuming the comments after the Liturgy of the Eucharist is over.
16:25 PM EST
The Hymn: This is the Feast. Situation: Holy Communion is in full swing. The Scene: 550 priests giving Holy Communion to 58,000 to 60,000 Yankee Stadium congregants.
16:37 PM EST
The Prayer after Communion has been broken with shouts of love from the crowd. The Pontiff looks very amused.
Two items are being blessed on the altar, by the Pope. A cross and a cornerstone intended for St. John Neumann's chapel.
16:41 EST PM
Closing Remarks, as the Mass is officially ended.
I wish I could capture this little man's smile at the end of the Mass.
In the field where so many ghosts are said to inhabit, and where so many dreams have come true, it's almost as if the Pope has finally shed the spectre of John Paul II, and fulfilled some childhood dream.
You know there can never be a piece about New York without those words, "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere" rabble-rousing their way unto it.
But it's true.
There are many United States of Americas. Most are not Catholic, most are not even religious.
But in this one place and time, people in this stadium are bursting forth with a simple, and may I say, very palpable feeling of joy at being Catholic.
I hope the nightly newscasts will show this, but the cheers are unlike any I have heard (and I've heard many kinds for all types of people around the world).
These cheers are less about the man, as was the case with John Paul II, but more about the feeling of happiness to be Roman Catholics.
Don't think the public are any the less enthusiastic about the slight man before them. That smile is a living testament that he is astonished at the outpouring of love towards him.
The visit to America can be summed up with the words:
He's surprised. He's surprised others. And surprisingly, we all liked it.
Fox News' Shepard Smith is mentioning one viewer's email asking a very human question.
"Wherever he goes, people want to touch him. Isn't this oppressive to him?"
I'll tell you, shy people often crave physical touch without being able to say so. The German angle also gets overplayed too much. Germans are HUGELY emotional people, and hardly the automatons people take them for.
Given all these characteristics, stereotypes, and misunderstandings, isn't it wonderful that we got to see the man for almost a week -- without others telling us what to think about him? That includes people like me.
Take a good look at this guy. He's special. But come to all conclusions on your own.
I'm not sure what if anything will follow, or if this event is over, in which case I am closing the post -- but let me wish you a Happy Passover, should it apply.
This is one world, but there are all kinds of people in it. Let's be happy for our differences, as surely as we are happy for what we share in common.
IN THE COMMENTS: The aptly-named commenter, The Drill SGT, points Sundries to this beautiful rendition of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", sung by the US Army Chorus in the White House for this music-loving Pope.
The words "stirring" were invented for this Hymn.
Small wonder the half-American Winston Churchill bade it sung at his funeral, at the top of Kings' and Queens' voices.
ADDENDUM: Photos of the Yankee Stadium event.
Waiting for the "4" train to Yankee Stadium, a sight which a mere 30 years ago, wouldn't have been remarkable -- a nun waitin' for a train.
Just outside Yankee Stadium, at a sports bar, a guy is doing what I would've done. Take a photo of the plasma, showing Pope Benedict on telly. You take what life gives you.
Sports shop nearby closed for the day. I think we know where the owner'll be.
I was really impressed by the crowds. Perhaps because the event was free, a lot of minorities ESPECIALLY black Catholics were able to attend gratis. Awesome!
Yankee Stadium, as the Pope Mobile entered. What a cheer.
They're calling it "The Sermon on the Mound". Hehe.
You know when attitudes and enthusiasm are both relaxed? When Bishops in their mitres are waving frantically towards the Pope, at the same moment, whipping out their cameras just inches away from him -- just like the rest of us.
Instead of lacking dignity, I find that refreshing.
Like DC doyenne, Alice Frasier did when the Queen came to visit her home during the monarch's last visit Stateside, in 1991.
I'm not sure what makes this photograph so inestimably amusing to me:
The fact that the Queen has a priceless expression on her face, half-loving it, half-wishing she could die, -- or -- the fact that later in the day her hosts proferred up some fried chicken and potato salad to their royal guest.
And if her activities in American hospitality weren't enough, she later got to watch some Double Dutch jump rope exhibitions at a DC school.
Elizabeth II later said, "I had never seen that before", and boy that does have a certain ring of truth to it.
The Queen will have ample opportunity later Monday night, to savour more Merkin homecookin' as she is the honoured guest at the super-chic State Dinner, given in her honour at the White House by President and Mrs. Bush.
I'm guessing ribs, slaw and some very tasty collard greens will be featured. Don't forget the Pepto Bismol, Yer Majesty!
P.S.: As you can see, I am back on my beloved Sundries, but not quite just yet permanently. I am still sorting out some things, and I will not return full-time until I can at least devote the proper attention my blog, and its faithful readership deserve.
If you can forgive my absence just a little bit longer, I promise to reward your patience with some more posts of the nature above, quite soon.
Maybe, who knows, I'll do so for the Pope's trip to Brazil, which starts on the 9th May!! I can't wait.
More later! And thanks so much, guys. I miss you all more than I can say...
April 16, 2007 marks the 80th year of life of the current Pontiff atop St. Peter's Throne, and as such, I'm sure you and others will join me in sending Papa Benny many happy returns on the day.
As such, good Catlick that I am, I am declaring a legal holiday on Sundries for today!
Nothing glamourous awaits me, like champagne toasts either. It's just a heavy day of spring cleaning Chez Vic.
Tuesday brings a travellogue, though! Hopefully...
As per a reader's comments, those of you who might recall that Pope Benedict XVI's car was sold on eBay when he first became Pope, may be amused at this car's progress.
It has never been driven since that winning eBay bid, and in fact, is now being re-auctioned!
1999 Volkswagen Golf, 4-door sedan that once belonged to the
Pope of the Catholic church.
Just months before being elected head of the Catholic Church, this 1999 VW Golf registered to Cardinal Josef Ratzinger (his pre-Pope moniker) was sold to a German man for $10,000 euro.
The new owner, realizing the uniqueness of its history,
decided to sell this VW Golf, then a six-year old used car.
The car was then auctioned on eBay in 2005, when it was purchased by
the Golden Palace
for $244,000.00 (equal to €188,938.88 at the time).
The Golden Palace has put the car up for auction again,
and this time the proceeds will go to
Habitat for Humanity Great Britain
Not bad, not bad.
Even if I do provide some free linkage to that wretched Golden Palace site, which keeps sending streakers to harass the Duchess of Kent at Wimbledon (although you know she must peak).
Best sight during the Easter Sunday telecast from the Vatican, as Pope Benny gave his Urbi et Orbi speech?
Why, this precious munchkin, of course!
Although I must say the Esperanto-poster-wielding crowd at the back were a hoot, too. Did you notice how the Pope smiled and waved at them, when he said his Easter greetings in Esperanto?
I thought the Aramaic crowd looked particularly vexed, though.
P.S.: In harder news, it turns out that the Pope MIGHT have been the lynchpin statement which forced President Mahmood Ahmedinejad to release our British military personnel from their illegal imprisonment in Iran.
Just a few hours before the President gave back the servicemen (and one rather portly, disgustingly overfriendly servicewoman), the Pope sent over a message saying that releasing them would be taken as a great sign of "goodwill", especially notable if was done before Easter Sunday.
And so it was done.
Who knows what the reason was, or what prompted the disgraceful behaviour of the released prisoners of war, to act as they did.
No one in Colditz would have behaved like that, that's for sure.
If there's one good thing about a lazy Catholic, is that we will always remember God in the height of our miseries.
So there I was, lying nearly prostrate on my bed yesterday, sneezing, snuffling, dripping, when my mother handed me a package from...the Vatican!
Had Pope Benny finally written me back, thanking me for my considerate ascension letter email, wayyy back in May 2005? Alas, no. It was the next best thing, though.
A rosary!
I love rosaries. I used to collect them as a kid, begging my mother to send me a pound note to buy the glow-in-the-dark one from a catalogue company whose coloured treasures tempted me, as another child might be tempted by Smarties or Jujubees.
I also love chaplets, ring rosaries, saint cards, mantillas, scapulars, souvenir holy water bottles, statuettes of Virgin this and Our Lady of that and all manner of Catholic tschoke, as you'll recall my mentioning in the recent iPod blogpost.
The Church of Apple has nothing on the Holy Roman and Apostolic Catholic Church when it comes to accessories. NOTHING.
(Heh. Amusingly, just as I typed this, up comes a pop-up from Apple saying that there is a new update for iTunes and QuickTime, and would I like to install them now or later. Well, not now. I'm composing this piece! Like Catholicism, Apple CAN be a tad inconvenient)
As I child, being a lonely Catholic amongst the heathen Anglicans in my school, although very nice High Church Anglicans admittedly, I used to be excused one hour for private meditation which I could take either in my room, at the library, or (my favourite) out of doors under a big oak we had in the back of the school.
The other girls were pea green in jealousy, as they saw me traipse off with my tschokes in hand. I grew to love the half-heartedly bigoted cries of "Papist!" (the French girl in our form pronouncing it, 'pah-peest", which to this day makes me laugh), because to me, it meant I was different, therefore very special and very very lucky.
I could sit under a tree for an hour, "meditating", whilst they had to do calisthenics with our butch gym teacher and her ear-drum shattering whistle. Suckazz.
Of course, when I actually got to the tree, and meditated, I often cracked open a book quite unrelated to Catholicism, and to the devotions I was there to do.
Did I feel guilty? Of course I felt guilty. I'm Catholic, do pay attention!
But here's the sticky wicket:
Feeling guilty has never stopped a Catholic to date, from doing what they want.
So I took a bite of that forbidden apple, and immersed myself doing what I really wanted to do: read all the short stories from Saki, James Thurber and novels, especially of Conrad, Dostoyevsky and Mann, my own Holy Trinity.
So now you know why I love write so damn convolutedly.
Years later, opening up a package posted from the Vatican of a rosary I had purchased online brought back all these childhood memories, as if from a shower of rose petals from Lisieux.
Childhood is thorny, ready to prick you at the most unexpected of moments, making you rear you back in pain each time, sucking your hurt before the blood drips too noticeably.
But oh how fragrant is the memory for all that.
All I have to do is to close my eyes, and remember that oak, that meditation hour, and my glow-in-the-dark rosary, to remember how much I love being a Catholic, and no matter how lazy a Catholic I am, it's a collectible, truant, mesmerising religion of the best kind.
P.S.: And yes, like Cordelia in Brideshead Revisited, our nuns did "offer" us black goddaughters, which you could name for one.
Jesuitically, I balked at the practise, thinking it rather foul to impose so much on so distant a person, so there are no black or Chinese Victorias running around this world, at least not because some English girl plunked down money to have them so baptised.
This must have been the beginnings of my cafeteria Catholicism, although in my case it's more like a diner. I sit down, order stuff I like, and proceed to make fun of the waitress with the bouffant hair named Big Mildred.
Surely only Jews have more happy fun with their religion, than I do.
There are two, perhaps rather startling books on their way, you might be interested to know.
Startling not just for their content, but for whom the authors of these books are, if you go by popular impressions.
First:
Jenna Bush, the fairer of the twin daughters of current US President, George W. Bush, and generally considered the wickeder of the two, has surprised everyone by writing a book due out this fall, called Ana's Story: A Journey Of Hope.
Having followed in her mother, Laura Bush's footsteps as public school teacher (in Washington D.C.), she became an UNICEF intern in Central America this past September, specifically in Panama where she found the subject of her book, a young mother who is sadly HIV-positive, but struggling to live with the AIDs virus quite heroically.
Terms of the book deal with Harper Collins were not revealed, but it is thought that the publishing house won the bidding war at $300,000.
Jenna Bush has pledged that all proceeds of the sales of the book will go to UNICEF, and hopes the book will spark a "dialogue" about AIDS in all countries.
(I love how she used the word "dialogue", which is specifically a progressive catchphrase, not to mention an European idée fixe)
Well, well, well. This is a pretty rum state of affairs for Bush Derangement Syndrome sufferers, I must say.
From the President who has given more aid to Africa than any president before him COMBINED, to his daughter who has chosen to pen a book no one expected of her, because she was similarly thought to be an intellectual lightweight, same as he, and moreover, about such a controversial topic -- will this finally pry a kind word towards a Bush from the BDS crowd?
Here's hoping. Girl done good. And remind me what Chelsea Clinton has done in the past 7 years, again?
(Don't worry. I know. She's an Oxford grad, and that's plenty good for me)
Even I have to revise my estimate of Jenna Bush now, since before to me she was just a boozing, tongue-out wild child, and worse much, worse than that...a Boca Juniors supporter.
YEESH. Oh well, we all had our crazy youths.
Second:
Pope Benedict XVI might just pip Miss Bush to the publishing post.
He is known to have been working on a book about the Historical Jesus since 2003 (in fact, the preface has already been leaked) and apparently, is soon to have that published later this spring 2007, by Doubleday.
But could he also be working on a History of Karol Józef Wojtyła, AKA his beloved predecessor of happy memory, John Paul II, as well??
I hope Amazon are prepared for the avalanche of pre-orders that would surely follow, including yours truly on Day 1.
John Paul II...as recounted by the man who probably knew him best at the highest level, and almost as intimately as anyone save his closest friend, Archbishop Stanislav Dziwisz?
Oh mercy -- let's have at it now!
UPDATE: STOP THE PRESSES!! Pope Benedict has indeed written the book on the late great Pope, which comes out next Thursday, 15 March, huzzah!
But when you're MSM, having been given an advanced copy of this book, this can only mean one thing -- you go for the most salacious tidbit in the whole, no doubt rather unsalacious book.
The media outlets pounced on the fact that Pope Benedict disagreed with Pope John Paul's more populist touches, such as inviting recording artists like Alanis Morrissette, and Marisa Monte to Vatican-sponsored events because they sometimes don't toe the strict Roman Catholic line in their lyrics -- isn't it ironic? Or maybe he just doesn't like Chocolate...
As a Sundries friend wrote privately, Pope Benedict was especially chagrined, reveals the book, to find Bob Dylan singing his 1970s folk song ballads in the World Youth assembly in Bologna. He very honestly says he didn't think Bob Dylan and the Church were in symbiosis, saying he was a kind of "prophet" for the modern age.
See, those are the things that people don't like about Pope Benedict, and immediately point to his extreme conservatism (as they see it), especially in counterpoint to John Paul II.
I happen to like the way both Popes handle themselves, and I have to confess, I am no great fan of Bob Dylan either, and I don't care if he is known as Right-Wing Bob.
The thing of it is, John Paul was a VISUAL Pope, whereas Benedict is a PHILOSOPHICAL Pope.
John Paul II knew that young people had a plethora of images of popular culture thrown at them since childhood, and wanted to reintroduce Catholicism in their life, by becoming a PART of that tradition, in terms of pop culture.
Benedict XVI thinks there is a discordant note between pop culture and Catholicism, which he feels (rightly, in my opinion) our religion would be secondary in meaning (just an appendage to, if you will), if joined together.
But it's more than that -- it's about values, and attitudes, which John Paul II in his theatrical brilliance never felt badly about mixing.
One thing though: many of the reports about Benedict ixnaying the Bob Dylan idea in Bologna come to the knee-jerk conclusion that the German is too classically-minded musically, to care for "charismatic music".
The articles even infer that he has shunned the charismatic Catholic churches for their hi-fi style Masses.
Well, I don't know the truth, but what I have heard from all quarters in the know is that Pope Benedict LIKES the charismatic movement in the Church, and in fact, will mention that when he goes to Brazil in 2007.
They are currently the world leaders in that kind of synchopation between the old Church and the newer, evangelical ones.
Austria (confirmed, to Mariazell; also to Şibiu, Romania at the same time)
It's the Brazilian visit which intrigues me the most, despite the fact that I am overjoyed the Pontiff is coming to the US, sooner than later.
Carnival begins next weekend in Rio, and as you know, I love me some Rio-Carnaval.
But ahead of this dizzying date on the Brazilian calender of fun, comes word that the hardline stance of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the prohibition of condom use by its faithful, will remain in effect during the whole time.
I can see both sides, but for me, my duty as a Roman Catholic is clear. Why be a Catholic, if you will just flout its rules?
The whole argument of protection as sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church has, in any case, always struck me as a bit of a red herring.
Tell me, when has any rule regarding sexuality, ever really prevented people from doing what they will? Even in the narrowest of societies regarding sex, which pointedly, Brazil has never been.
People who want, no...more than that, DEMAND that the Roman Catholic Church relax or do away with its strictures regarding condom-use -- itself a smokescreen for a stance on outside-of-marriage-sex -- usually do not call themselves religious.
But it is THESE VERY PEOPLE who lead the cries of protest, as if they are seeking permission to do what they are going to do with or without approval anyway, merely wishing to bring the Catholic Church to its knees, doctrinally.
(Heck, I still avoid eating meat on Fridays. Mmm, fish and chips)
Just yesterday, Chancellor of the Exchequer and heir presumptive to 10 Downing Street, Gordon Brown, a vicar's son, extended a formal invitation to the Pope, to visit the UK at his earliest convenience.
The somewhat ponderous Mr. Brown also told the elderly, but affable German man, about his drive for vaccinations in Third World countries.
The Pope replied, "Almighty God will assist your endeavours to accomplish this important work", noting that he will pray for the families involved.
Maybe, who knows, the Pope will visit the UK, after his trip to Australia, the future site of World Youth Day in Sydney.
It's as good a primer as any, since Britain is almost without doubt in my mind, the home of the most a-religious people on the face of the earth.
The vast majority of my compatriots simply find religion, any religion, ridiculous.
In the words Evelyn Waugh put into the mouth of his anti-hero, Charles Ryder, in Brideshead Revisited, religion was "such a lot of witchcraft and hypocrisy".
(No doubt, it was this lack of regard and meaning, that propelled heaps of intellectuals, writers, and artists in Britain to convert to Catholicism, in a kind of desperate need to believe in SOMETHING outside of the Church of England's hopeless wafflings as to the importance of faith -- a lesson Brazilians themselves, would do well to remember)
So, let's hope the warmth and openness of the Australians, will serve to warm his cockles during his no-doubt frostier reception in England.
Of course, if Britain had a Catholic of the stature of Brazilian soccer god, Pélé, that might be different.
Somehow, I don't see bullish Manchester United and England star, Wayne Rooney, genuflecting in front of anyone, though he is an ex-altar boy and student of De La Salle School, in Liverpool.
Obviously, though, Britain is not itself a Roman Catholic country, whereas Brazil at least nominally, counts itself as 91% R.C.
You might know, though, that Brazil has been bleeding practioners of the faith, ever since the 1960s.
Already, many of its (mostly uneducated, black or white) citizens intertwined Catholicism with animist soi-disant religions such as macumba but also candomblé its gentler cousin, thus diluting the pull of the Church, even more.
Ironically, many Brazilians say that the laxness of Vatican II allowed the Catholic Church's power to wane, although there were other considerations as well.
Many saw the Church in Brazil as collusive with the military dictatorship, from 1964 to 1986, and historically, it was aligned to the elites much before that, as well.
This is also true of other South American countries, perhaps even moreso than in Brazil.
And since at least the 1990s, the rise of the charismatic Protestant/Pentacostal churches has garnered millions upon millions of converts.
Even more baffling is the fact that charismatic churches take a very hard line towards pre-marital sex, especially that of "camisinha" ("little shirt", as they humourously call condoms) prophylactic protection.
It doesn't make any sense, that if one Church is seen as weakened after Vatican II, and yet at the SAME TIME, inflexible about birth control, that people would suggest these self-same disillusioned, but also frustrated Catholics, would then rush headlong to the arms of even more stringent Christians.
This just goes to prove my point, that people who decry the Vatican's tough stance on these topics, are merely in it to foment trouble, perhaps then to give the Catholic Church in Brazil, and beyond, a death blow from which it cannot easily recover, IF AT ALL.
When confronted with this fact, the more cynical anti-Catholics pretend to be on the side of the Church, saying they are merely attempting to help to increase its numbers, if only the Pope would be more flexible with doctrine.
They intimate that then, with condom permission, with females ordained as priests, with greater permissiveness granted to premarital sex, perhaps all those good Brazilians would leave their charismatic churches, and return to the Catholic fold.
Right, because remind me how many practising and devout Protestants there are flocking to parish pews in Europe, where their churches are not as "strict" about these matters, as the Roman Catholic is?
Remind me what are the percentages of Roman Catholics versus Protestants being made, in regions such as Africa?
Remind me how many Protestant private schools sag with admission requests, versus Roman Catholic ones around the world?
And though all established Christian religions' priests, vicars, preachers, ministers have sunk in numbers in comparison to a mere 20 years ago, a condition which is of some worry to Catholics without a shadow of a doubt, it doesn't follow that if one religion's chastity policy is non-existent for its clergy, that there would be as much, if not more, of a fall in these vicar ordinations, in theirs.
To these people, I say, não obrigada.
You just want Catholics to be as lost, as dismissive, as non-practising, as the few remaining Protestants are, in the Old World.
We see your game, and we know there is much more at stake, than you just wanting to put some rubber on your willies during Carnival.
Ahh, carnival, though.
Such abandon! Such lascivious suggestive dances! Such lance-perfume fun!
What's a girl to do, but to submit to the will of the Sambodromo.
That's the only religion I practise during Carnival. Axé!
SEE VIDEO: This is a video from ABIA, the official educational AIDS department of Brazil, which ran on Brazilian television.
It shows three couples, a heterosexual one, a male homosexual one, and an elderly couple, who all are HIV positive, putting on condoms before their ardour gets the better of them.
NOTE: Not Safe For Workplace.
Can you in your wildest dreams, imagine this advert on US television?
But this is what the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil, is up against: cultural values represented by this frankness on sexuality, which are then projected into their television programmes.
To protest against this openness, and suggest -- as many religious organisations in Africa have successfully argued for, that the only true prevention for AIDS is abstinence, etc. -- is nearly hopeless, and thus the RC Church there, is defanged (read, discredited).
In due time, our Church will change its stance on condom-use, and this will be further proof to people that it is complete and utter nonsense, to follow the dictates of an illogical and yet still retrograde Church, scrambling to keep their membership up.
P.S.: The handsome and attentive young prelate is actually Pope Benedikt's 50 year-old personal secretary, Monsignor Dr. Georg Gänswein.
If our Holy Father was known as God's Rottweiler by uncharitable tongues, the dishy Father Georg has been given a much urbane nickname by the Italian press:
It is Don Giorgio, a keen tennis player, mountain climber and sometime pilot, who is credited with introducing the Pope to his unabashed (and slightly unexpected) love of the finer things in life, to whit:
Those red "slippers", traditionally the province of the Popes, but discarded by the husky Pope John Paul II -- the catch is that, of course, this Pope wears Prada.
(Oh, the joke possibilities make my head reel)
Actually, the Prada shoes story may be bogus as well, the product of fevered media minds trying to drum up, simultaneously, an "homosexual" and "materialist" hypocrite angle, but that he's wearing elegant shoes quite unlike previous Popes, there is no doubt whatsoever.
Those at-first-called Gucci sunglasses, which it turns out, are really Serengetti Classic specs. Please, like that's so different.
That floppy Nike hat which he was seen wearing, when he and Don Giorgio took their constitutional around Castel Gandolfo.
That plain, but stylish Cartier watch which he exchanged for a rather nerdy Timex thingie, when first elected Pontiff.
And is there any doubt that the Pope would have taken to his new 2 gig iPod as quickly before, as when receiving counsel from Dr. Gänswein?
In short, Don Giorgio seems to have the Pope's ear, and not content with that, he's also going for being resident fashionista and general arranger of Pope duds, as well.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, in the words of the immortal Voltaire.
But as my mother rather unwittingly observed during the Pope's Vatican curtain call at his Election, when a gust of wind blew his cassock over his face, and one of the two curates on either side of him, took the liberty to pat his clothes down:
"Aww, isn't that nice of him. Of course, the Pope has no wife, so what else is he going to do, but have these thoughtful, wifely things done to him by a priest?"
Erm, quite.
Later, she told me she was thinking of the way she combs my dad's hair so that his bald spot doesn't show (as much), something which a wife is supposed to do, she said -- looking out for the welfare of her husband's image, when he himself isn't aware enough to.
(Who amongst us can forget that famous photo of Mrs. Reagan covering the President's head, so that his own bald spot wouldn't be revealed in the photo op?)
