Posted on 04/13/2007 6:54:57 AM PDT by Frank Sheed
Two years into his reign, Pope Benedict XVI is finally poised to make a major mark on American Catholicism with a string of key bishop appointments and important decisions about the future of U.S. seminaries and bishops' involvement in politics.
Benedict's election on April 19, 2005, shook liberals and comforted conservatives who expected a doctrinal hard-liner. So far, they have found an easier hand - and someone who has not made the United States much of a priority.
When Benedict has gained attention, it has mostly been on the world stage, focusing on the re-Christianization of Europe, Islam and mending relations with Orthodox Christians. He also has stressed universal themes of faith and reason.
``The last two years have been much quieter years as far as the papacy is concerned because you have a very different personality'' than John Paul II, said Monsignor Robert Wister, chairman of the church history department at Seton Hall University's School of Theology.
``Many Americans were surprised - some happily, some disappointed - that he did not turn into the pit bull of dogma. He is taking a very pastoral approach, and I think people resonate very positively with that.''
Yet America's turn may be coming. At the top of the list is a looming generational shift among the nation's bishops, whose decisions at the local level greatly affect Catholics in the pews and can carry national weight. For instance, church leaders recently closed parishes in Boston and New York, while the St. Louis archbishop has clashed with a heavily Polish parish over control of its assets.
Key appointments are expected in New York, Baltimore and Detroit, where cardinals have reached retirement age - 75. And retirements or appointments are likely in at least seven other archdioceses...
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
We are warm but not stifling. That will wait until June.
Oh gee, I didn’t think about the pet food stuff, I guess many people are cooking for their animals, I sure would.
You mean you’re going to have hot and sticky on The Mellow Girl’s Day?? We probably will have humidity, too. ;(
Guess what? The magic only grows as you learn to play.
(Fortunately faster than the frustration, else there'd be no new pipers. *\;-)
But seriously, there is quite a bit of lore one inherits as a piper. 10-1/2 years ago I visited the site of the "College of Piping" on the Isle of Skye, where the art was kept alive in secret through the English repression.
Not much to see (the buildings are long gone) and even the way there is almost secretive; a small obscure sign by a break in a fence in a pasture by the road with a footpath leading to some place out of sight -- and when you get there there's only a lonely Skye windblown landscape featuring a cairn with a plaque (only) in Gaelic telling what the cairn represents. Every piper is "expected" to make this pilgrimage (few do), but sufficiently prepared it's an experience.
I played my pipes there, though it was very far from my best performances.
Do you have peculiar involvements with Wax-billed Finches?
*sigh* -- Nobody wants to do dishes around here.
At least my hands have that "You're soaking in it" smoothness. I got through the winter with hardly any chapping.
Hums, floats, makes peculiar gestures, and talks to his mother ship on my pocket calculator (i.e., “number-beeber”). Wednesday called him a lawyer, so there’s definitely something really weird going on.
Howya!? You’ve happened by the Undead Thread, where you may be met by the eponymous Frank Sheed. If not, there are plenty of other deceased Catholics about.
Have a Guinness!
The only time we don’t have humidity is when the temperature is under 30...
Usually runs 80-90% in the summer.
Good old river valley.
The humming is a bit unusual. I suspect his shield harmonics are a little out of adjustment.
The finches are right to be concerned. He could build up a bit of a static charge.
I used to terrify my Army buddies with that.
You paint a lovely scene with words.
Sounds like you love the instrument .
Good point. I'll suggest to Anoreth tomorrow that she needs to refibrillate Pat's electronics. It should keep her busy while I'm getting my hair cut.
Have you ever written a poem about dishwashing?
Man~ana, Morgen, Oichdhe mhath, y'all. (NnBob, see ya t'morrow.)
If you request the Large Print version from your library, you can get ahead of the line of folks who think they're too young for Large Print!
And on that presbyopic note, goodnight, all! (And I've lost my wine ...)
— “Have you ever written a poem about dishwashing?” —
I wrote one about house cleaning.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1390576/posts?page=331#331
(Taking a break — I have to fetch my daughter.)
Thank you.
An American would say "I am a piper." Vague: it means "I can play the pipes."
The Gaels have two different ways of putting it: "I am in my [piperness]" (roughly, "I am performing as a piper"), roughly similar to the American expression.
But there is another: "There is a piper in me", to wit, being a piper becomes part of one's identity. Applies to teachers, engineers and many other professional categories.) Now there are folks who learn to play the pipes in the former sense, lots of them, but I've seen that it grabs some in the latter sense, where you'll find all the best pipers.
Very cute...Cute lil trailor too.
Some people have the art..some have the heart..
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