"WE ARE NOT AMUSED"

Queen Elizabeth looks rather grim, and she is not wearing black.

From the News Blog at the Guardian - random quotes:

So far we haven't seen much of the pope's celebrated private secretary Georg Gänswein otherwise known as Gorgeous Georg. But a picture has emerged of Georg helping the pope with unruly cassock blowing in the wind.
....

So after the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, got mistaken for the head of the Church of Scotland at the Edinburgh welcoming party, where was the man in question the Rt Rev Christie?
....

Site crew at the location for the Pope's visit in Birmingham are spraying the grass a brighter shade of green. This is at the taxpayers' expense.
....

There's no red carpet (it's too windy) but there are two rows of pipers dressed in kilts and lots of grinning clergy. The 83-year-old pope walks carefully down the airline steps and is greeted by the 89-year-old Duke. The pope's white cape briefly blows into his face. The pope didn't kiss the tarmac.

The quotes go backward in time sequence, with the earliest quotes last.

FOR SHAME!

Please go read Lisa's story of her experience in junior high school at My Manner of Life. The title of her post is "Confessions of a Junior High Idiot". Lisa is not the idiot in the story. Not all young people are survivors. Not all young people can bear the pain of such treatment, but thanks be to God, Lisa was strong and survived appallingly cruel behavior, in this instance, not from her peers, but from adults in her school, persons who had the responsibility of caring for her and keeping her safe.

CARDINAL KASPER AGAIN!

From Ruth Gledhill in the Times UK:

One of the Pope’s senior advisers today pulled out of the visit to Britain after describing the UK as a Third World country marked by “a new and aggressive atheism”. A day before the Pope’s state visit to Britain Cardinal Walter Kasper made a series of embarrassing remarks in an interview with the German....

Sorry, that's all you can read without a paid subscription to the online version of the newspaper. Cardinal Kasper is at it again. Ruth Gledhill is about all I miss from the Times, but I do miss Ruth. Well, I'd love to read the article, but I won't pay.

That Cardinal Kasper! He has a knack for saying just the right thing, don't he?

Thanks, Lisa.

Oh wait! All is not lost. The Telegraph covers the story, too.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, a senior aide to the Pope, has pulled out of the Pontiff's visit to Britain after saying the country resembled a “Third World country” where “aggressive new atheism” is rife.

Although officials insisted that the 77 year-old had dropped out of the trip for medical reasons, as he had been ill “for some days”, his comments represent another embarrassing PR blunder for the Roman Catholic church at a critical time.

The[y] are all the more embarrassing because the Cardinal's position makes him responsible for promoting Christian unity around the world.

The Vatican, the hierarchy in England and Wales and the Government are all desperate for the first-ever state papal visit to Britain to be a success.

Count me out from amongst the desperate.

The cardinal’s abrupt withdrawal from the trip prompted speculation in Rome that it was linked to an interview he gave this week to a German news magazine, Focus.

In an article headlined “A Third World country” he was quoted as saying: “When you arrive at Heathrow you think at times that you’ve landed in a Third World country.”

His secretary, Mgr Oliver Lahl, said the remark was a reference to the diverse, multi-cultural population of Britain, which the Cardinal has visited three times in recent years.His secretary, Mgr Oliver Lahl, said the remark was a reference to the diverse, multi-cultural population of Britain, which the Cardinal has visited three times in recent years.

Well, Monsignor, that changes everything. We all understand why the cardinal would want to avoid the multicultural hoardes.

Meanwhile one of England's most senior Catholics, The Most Rev Peter Smith, Archbishop of Southwark, has warned that "crackpots and lunatics" may try to disrupt the papal visit.

The Protest the Pope coalition has promised its rally will be peaceful and that no attempt will be made to arrest Benedict for alleged "crimes against humanity".

For better or for worse, tomorrow is the big day. In all sincerity, I pray that the protesters and the police will exercise restraint and that the protests during the pope's visit will be non-violent.

UPDATE ON JCF'S FRIEND CATHY

JCF said...
Wot Cathy said.

Some good news from Cathy (my friend suffering from lung cancer Cathy, or "Cath"):

I received a message from my oncologist yesterday afternoon (Monday) and the MRI I took last week shows no current evidence of brain mets!

I'm battling the side effects of last Friday's chemo, but the MRI news has been a relief and a morale boost.

JCF: Yes, I'm coming on the second anniversary of the diagnosis of Stage IV Non-small cell lung cancer in a nonsmoker. I'm glad of the anniversary, but would sure as hell rather be celebrating a different topic. Thank you.

Yay, no brain mets! [I really can't IMAGINE anything more terrifying, than having one's cancer spread to the brain :-( ]

If any of y'all want to read Cathy's entire Cancer Story, it begins here. [It's on a Xena-based board, though, so be prepared for a lot of references to The Warrior Princess! :-)]

OLD LITURGICAL DRESS STYLES

Sr. Guendaline de Raymond, in religion Mother Marie Veronique Giuliani, 1873.

The formality of the setting – the damask covered table, the rich crucifix – correspond to her rank as abbess, shown by the long train, an emblem of jurisdiction.

This nun, definitely a beauty, strikes a melancholy, elegant and romantic pose. Note the curious style of her shoes, of the same material of her dress.

The abbess is beautiful and elegant, indeed.



Cardinal Giuseppe Ugolini (1783 + 1867)

The Cardinal is wearing the red tabarro edged with gold braid and red silk stockings, and wears his coat unbuttoned, as usual in the 18th century. Note the elegant, worldly nonchalance of the Cardinal’s pose, and the coiffure à la Brutus, that had been fashionable in his youth.

The cardinal is.... Sorry. I'm speechless.



Unidentified cardinal.

The ferraioletto is attached to his shoulders; note the red silk lining of his coat, and the large three cornered hat with red cords and tassels on the table.

Hmmm. The shoes - and the elegant show of the leg....



Canon Albini, Vigevano

A canon of the cathedral of Vigevano.
Again, while wearing the cassock and ferraiolo, this canon from Vigevano has the traditional three cornered hat, but smaller in size than the enormous Roman ones.

I wonder. Is the canon a visionary?

From New Liturgical Movement.

A series of historical photographs have recently come to light, coming from the papers of a Roman princely family and taken between 1850 and 1880 by the famous Roman photographers, D’Alessandri. These photographs show not only members of fashionable Roman society, but also include photographs of a number of prelates and ecclesiastics, almost all of whom were of noble birth. Most of these wear the traditional abito corto, while several others wear either the new abito Piano, or formal choir dress.

The old pictures in the series truly are marvelous. Even as I laughed, I found the old photographs fascinating. Customs and fashions change, and, no doubt, future generations will howl with laughter at the fashions of today.

Thanks to Lapin for the link.

HOW MANY DEATHS WILL IT TAKE...? - PART 2

Billy Lucas didn't even say he was gay. He was just different and didn't fit in.

I'm sorry, but I feel sick, and I can't write about Billy. Read the story by Timothy Kincaid at Box Turtle Bulletin and weep.

May Billy rest in peace and rise in glory. May God give comfort, consolation, and peace to all who loved Billy.

Lord, have mercy on us all.

ONE LINERS

The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it's still on the list.

If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.

I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted paychecks.

A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it.

I didn't say it was your fault; I said I was blaming you.

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

I blame Susan S., but that doesn't mean the post is her fault.

JESUS AND MO

Author says:

Today, Moses has some thoughts on the nature of identity. I think he has a point.

Peace and blessings,

J&M

I agree.


Click on the picture for the larger view.

From Jesus and Mo.

HIS HOLINESS STILL DOESN'T GET IT

For a couple of days, I didn't post the link and quote which follows. Although I was sickened by the story, I find it more and more difficult to write on the subject.

From The Huffington Post:

Hundreds of sex abuse victims have come forward in Belgium with harrowing accounts of molestation by Catholic clergy that reportedly led to at least 13 suicides and affected children as young as two, a special commission said Friday.

Professor Peter Adriaenssens, chairman of the commission, said the abuse in Belgium may have been even more rampant than the 200-page report suggests.

"Reality is worse than what we present here today because not everyone shares such things automatically in a first contact with the commission," he told reporters.

Adriaenssens, a child psychiatrist who has worked with trauma victims for 23 years, said nothing had prepared him for the stories of abuse that blighted the lives of victims.

"We don't just talk about touching. We are talking about oral and anal abuse, forced masturbation and mutual masturbation. We talk about people who have gone through serious abuse," Adriaenssens said.
....

Friday's report said 507 witnesses came forward with stories of molestation at the hands of clergy over the past decades. It says those abused included children who were two, four, five and six years old.

Family members or friends said 13 victims committed suicide that "was related to sexual abuse by clergy," the report said. Six other witnesses said they had attempted suicide.

"It is notable how often one issue comes back in the witness reports: the high number of suicides," the report said.

The subsequent link which follows persuaded me to post on the story.

From Fox News back in June of this year:

Pope Benedict XVI lashed out Sunday at what he called the "deplorable" raids carried out by Belgian police who detained bishops, confiscated computers, opened a crypt and took church documents as part of an investigation into priestly sex abuse.

Benedict made a rare personal entry into the escalating diplomatic dispute with Belgium, issuing a message of solidarity to the head of the Belgian bishops' conference and other bishops who were detained in the June 24 raid.
....

Belgium's justice minister defended the searches on Sunday, saying the bishops were treated normally and that the search warrant was fully legitimate.
....

Benedict said he wanted to write to Belgium's bishops "at this sad moment" to express his solidarity "for the surprising and deplorable way in which the searches were conducted." He noted that the monthly meeting of the bishops was set to discuss clerical abuse.

The pope didn't get what is truly deplorable in Belgium and around the world. Poor bishops. How they suffered at the hands of the law enforcement authorities. What about the children, your Holiness? What about the suicides, your Holiness? What about the families and friends who lost their loved ones, your Holiness?

In addition to being sickened by the stories of what took place in Belgium, I'm sickened by the pope's response to the raids.

Lapin sent the links.

OUR WEDDING ALBUM - SEPTEMBER 13, 1961

 

My brother-in-law, Frank, Tom, me, my sister Gayle

For years, I had no idea in which of our many photo albums to look for the snapshots of our wedding, but after a persistent search through a good many albums, I found them a few months ago. Tom and I married in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John in the bishop's private chapel. The small chapel was the perfect setting for our wedding, because only a very few were in attendance. Fr. Francis Friend presided over the ceremony, and he was a true friend. Because we were not members of their parishes, the other Roman Catholic priests whom I approached to do the honors, refused. We wanted to do the right thing, but we could not find a priest to make an honest woman out of me until I discovered Fr. Friend.

 

The bride and groom

Fr. Friend worked at the Cathedral office of the Marriage Tribunal, which generally handled annulment cases, but, in our case, he agreed to preside over our wedding ceremony. Present were my sister, Gayle, my brother-in-law, Frank, my niece Donna, Frank's sister, Chally and her two children, Cindy and Don. After the ceremony, my sister had a surprise wine and cake party for our small group. It was lovely, and I would not change a thing.


The happy couple once again...

After I finished graduate school at Louisiana State University in early August 1961, I went to stay with my sister in Charleston, South Carolina, because Tom was on active duty in the US Army at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. He came to visit in Charleston on weekends until he was released from active duty to the US Army Reserve at the end of August or early in September. Since we wanted a small wedding, we decided to get married in Charleston. My family was large, and there was no way to have a small wedding in New Orleans without hurting the feelings of a good many people.

 

...and again - sipping champagne

Tom and I both had jobs waiting in Mobile, Alabama, and after a honeymoon that lasted a night and a day in St. Augustine, Florida, we headed to New Orleans and New Roads, Louisiana, to pick up our few possessions before we went to Mobile to our jobs. We had very little money and none for a longer honeymoon.

 

Me, my niece, Donna, and Tom

On the way to New Orleans, my car the, 1953 Chevrolet hard-top convertible pictured behind us, began to make a terrible noise when we turned curves. We were able to complete the trip to New Orleans, with the grinding sound on every curve, and we knew that we likely had expensive repairs facing us. I'd purchased the car used several years before, and, in those days, car dealers routinely turned back the mileage on used cars, so no telling how many miles the car had run. Instead of paying for the repairs, we decided to buy a new car.

We purchased a 1961 Ford Falcon, with no money down, only my old car as a trade-in and proof that we both had jobs. We loaded all our possessions into the Falcon (Those were the days of the simple life!) and started out on our new life together in Mobile.

And here we are, 49 years later, hardly changed at all.