Friday, April 15, 2005
Laugh or cry?
I honestly don't know if I want to laugh, cry, scream, or once again hunt for a barf bag, so I think I'll just let this doozy of an article speak for itself. Makes me sick. I wonder which deity, exactly, this idiot prays to? Concerned Women for America - Planned Parenthood to Host Homosexual Bishop at Prayer Breakfast
Jodi Centonze--did she know Schiavo before Terri's "heart attack?"
Seems insurance agent Jodi Centonze, who has been involved in several car accidents during her lifetime that resulted in unknown amounts of $$ being paid to her, could have met insurance agent Michael Schiavo before Terri Schindler's witness-free collapse in February, 1990. Also, Michael, who knew CPR, admitted to not having administered it to Terri when he found her facedown on the bedroom floor. In my own experience, I tried CPR on my brother for 20 minutes while waiting for the ambulance in 2003--he'd been dead for hours by then. And yet, I tried...Curioser and curioser, Michael, curioser and curioser...And it all just makes Jodi look so much better, doesn't it? This article is a must read.
The latest
-- Nelson Mandela has said that Michael Jackson inspired him while he was imprisoned on Robbin Island. Now, where did I put that barf bag....
--Monaco's Prince Rainier is being buried today beside his wife, actress Grace Kelly.
--Federal judges are once again telling the United States government what it can and cannot do. Federal judges have lifted the FDA ban on ephedra, saying that it's been used safely for millennia. True, but just wait 'til football playing college students and major league baseball pitchers start dying again..
--Monaco's Prince Rainier is being buried today beside his wife, actress Grace Kelly.
--Federal judges are once again telling the United States government what it can and cannot do. Federal judges have lifted the FDA ban on ephedra, saying that it's been used safely for millennia. True, but just wait 'til football playing college students and major league baseball pitchers start dying again..
Universi Dominici Gregis
For those who are interested in what exactly is going on behind closed doors at the Vatican with regard to the upcoming Conclave (set to begin Monday April 18) this link will take you to the document that is literally governing the Cardinals' every move in this matter. It's a Papal encyclical entitled "Universi Dominici Gregis," and details John Paul II's desires for the way such things as his own funeral and the Conclave are to be handled. Other Papal writings can be found at Papal Documents which is part of the official Vatican site.
Cardinal Ratzinger
More and more, it's being widely predicted that Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger of Germany will be our next Pope. He's the one who led the funeral Mass for John Paul II on April 8, and was a close confidant of the late Pope. He would likely uphold most of the late Pope's teachings. The only thing that makes me uncomfortable about Cardinal Ratzinger is the fact that, at the age of 12, he was an admitted member of the Hitler Youth. He didn't have a choice in the matter, and is definitely not pro-Nazi, but I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the press will drag this poor man through the mud on this issue. He is not anti-Semitic, and that must be remembered by anyone who is watching this coming Papal election.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
The faithful mourn
A different view--looking out from the crypt of Pope John Paul II toward the mourners paying their respects, April 13, 2005. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters photo.
For the curious, the Latin on the marble says "IOANNES PAVLVS PPII" followed by the date, in Roman numerals, of Pope John Paul II's pontificate, "16 X, 1978-2 IV, 2005." Beneath this is the symbol for Christ, the interlacing X and P.
For the curious, the Latin on the marble says "IOANNES PAVLVS PPII" followed by the date, in Roman numerals, of Pope John Paul II's pontificate, "16 X, 1978-2 IV, 2005." Beneath this is the symbol for Christ, the interlacing X and P.
Of the next Pope, and a movie
I fully believe that Cardinal Ratzinger is going to be our next Pope. Just a feeling I have.
And Mel Gibson apparently dispatched a film crew to the Vatican to film the Papal funeral, which likely means that he is at work making a movie about the life of John Paul II. I personally hope he does--"The Passion of the Christ" was a moving, heartwrenching film, and Mel would do justice to the Pope's life as well.
For those interested in trivia, Mel is the youngest of eleven children, and his full given name is Mylot Columbcille Gerard Gibson.
And Mel Gibson apparently dispatched a film crew to the Vatican to film the Papal funeral, which likely means that he is at work making a movie about the life of John Paul II. I personally hope he does--"The Passion of the Christ" was a moving, heartwrenching film, and Mel would do justice to the Pope's life as well.
For those interested in trivia, Mel is the youngest of eleven children, and his full given name is Mylot Columbcille Gerard Gibson.
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Placido Domingo
In a very moving tribute to the late Pope John Paul II, Placido Domingo plans to sing some of the Pope's poetry. Rome is supposedly making plans for another type of tribute to the most-traveled Pope in history--they're planning on renaming the largest train station in Rome, Stazione Termini, after the pontiff.
Vacant See stamp
The Interregnum stamp issued by the Vatican after the death of John Paul II. It will be illegal to use this stamp once the new Pope has been elected. It has already become a collectors' item.
Crypt of John XXIII
This is an AP photo taken on June 3, 1993, of Pope John Paul II praying at the tomb of Pope John XXIII. John XXIII's body was moved into the main basilica when he was beatified. This is the very crypt which now holds the body of Pope John Paul II.
Blonia Field, Poland
This picture was taken by my dear friend Agnieszka in Blonia Field in Poland. Her description is better than mine could ever be:
There was a White March in Cracow today, similar to the one organised after the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981. People dressed in white, wearing white ribbon lapel pins, carrying candles and white flowers.. We gathered in the Main Square and walked to the large Blonia field, where Papal Masses were celebrated in the past. As I found out later, today's Mass was attended by about 1 million people.
There was a White March in Cracow today, similar to the one organised after the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981. People dressed in white, wearing white ribbon lapel pins, carrying candles and white flowers.. We gathered in the Main Square and walked to the large Blonia field, where Papal Masses were celebrated in the past. As I found out later, today's Mass was attended by about 1 million people.
Vatican sets date for public visits
The Vatican has set Wednesday, April 13, 2005, as the date when the public will be allowed to visit the crypt of Pope John Paul II, according to Catholic Online.
"The Vatican Grottoes will open beginning next Wednesday, April 13, at 7 a.m.," said the director of the Vatican press office. He proposed a special visit for journalists on Tuesday afternoon.
"The Vatican Grottoes will open beginning next Wednesday, April 13, at 7 a.m.," said the director of the Vatican press office. He proposed a special visit for journalists on Tuesday afternoon.
Fears of spying
With less than a week to go now before the Conclave officially begins meeting at the Vatican, there are wide-ranging fears of security breaches in the form of electronic spying. CBS News has an in-depth review of the problems, some of which are listed here:
Computer hackers, electronic bugs and supersensitive microphones threaten to pierce the Vatican's thick walls next week when cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel to name a papal successor. Spying has gotten a lot more sophisticated since John Paul was elected in 1978, but the Vatican seems confident it can protect the centuries-old tradition of secrecy that surrounds the gathering.
And in this high-tech world in which we live, this world so vastly different in so very many ways from the world of 1978, the internet will also be certain to play its part. News of the election of a new Pope will spread rapidly from one end of the earth to the other via the new technologies. When I was a young girl anxiously awaiting the white smoke for the second time in a year, we had television and radio. My own young daughter could very well find out who the new Pope is by checking her e-mail at school.
Along with spying, Italian security forces are, of course, very concerned with the possibility of violence. New technology has also bred new ways to spread terror, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one who held their breath throughout the Pope's funeral, praying that nobody decided to drop an airplane on St. Peter's Square. Al Qaeda was already foiled once during Pope John Paul II's record-smashing visit to the Philippines where he drew a crowd of over 4,000,000 people at once. We can only hope that terrorists do not see the Conclave as an opportunity.
Computer hackers, electronic bugs and supersensitive microphones threaten to pierce the Vatican's thick walls next week when cardinals gather in the Sistine Chapel to name a papal successor. Spying has gotten a lot more sophisticated since John Paul was elected in 1978, but the Vatican seems confident it can protect the centuries-old tradition of secrecy that surrounds the gathering.
And in this high-tech world in which we live, this world so vastly different in so very many ways from the world of 1978, the internet will also be certain to play its part. News of the election of a new Pope will spread rapidly from one end of the earth to the other via the new technologies. When I was a young girl anxiously awaiting the white smoke for the second time in a year, we had television and radio. My own young daughter could very well find out who the new Pope is by checking her e-mail at school.
Along with spying, Italian security forces are, of course, very concerned with the possibility of violence. New technology has also bred new ways to spread terror, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one who held their breath throughout the Pope's funeral, praying that nobody decided to drop an airplane on St. Peter's Square. Al Qaeda was already foiled once during Pope John Paul II's record-smashing visit to the Philippines where he drew a crowd of over 4,000,000 people at once. We can only hope that terrorists do not see the Conclave as an opportunity.
