White outfit, wrong occasion, Cherie (Cherie Blair didn't wear black to meet the Pope)

UK Telegraph ^ | 4/29/06 | Malcolm Moore and Jonathan Petre

[wagglebee]

Cherie Blair provoked surprise in the Vatican and the ire of a Roman Catholic MP yesterday by wearing all-white to meet the Pope, a privilege normally reserved for Catholic Queens.

The Vatican convention is that females meeting the Pontiff should wear black, preferably with a black veil, or mantilla.

	Cherie Blair with Pope Benedict

When the Queen met Pope John Paul II six years ago, she observed the code meticulously.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, wore black, but omitted the veil.

By contrast, Mrs Blair, a staunch Catholic, chose to exercise the "privilege du blanc", usually granted only to the wives of Catholic monarchs.

Her breach of the protocol was surprising, since she has kept closely to the Church's dress code in the past.

Mrs Blair may not have worn a hat to the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales but she mourned the passing of John Paul II in a mantilla.

Technically, only three women should wear white in the presence of the Pope.

They are Queen Sofia of Spain, Queen Paola of Belgium and Josephine Charlotte, the wife of Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg. Queen Sofia exercised her privilege in a meeting with the previous Pope in 2003.

Ann Widdecombe, the former Tory minister and a convert to Catholicism, was scathing about Mrs Blair.

"Even the Queen wore black to meet the Pope," she said. "This shows that she has a very grand idea of herself.

"She is a Catholic. She knows what the tradition is when meeting the Pope.

"She obviously thinks she is the first lady.

"My message to her is 'You are not a Catholic Queen, my dear, and you never will be.' "

Mrs Blair was in Rome for a Church-organised conference entitled "Vanishing Youth? Solidarity with Children and Young People in an Age of Turbulence".

She was invited as an expert and remained afterwards for a private meeting with the Pope. A spokesman for the Vatican declined to reveal what they had discussed.

[William Terrell]

Well I sorta expect one who claims such should act such.

[hoosierham]

I was thinking of the Inquisition.Not realy sure what the connection is between the Peasant's and the KKK.One could note that churchmen were reported as no better nor worse as landlords so maybe the peasants had legitimate gripes.Personally, I have always avoided large crowds as the bigger the group the more likely an outbreak of violent stupidity.

Luther's evident hatred for the Jews in later years may have been his mind failing or just evil,I don't know.

The Crusades tended to be awfully messy and indisciminate in killing and pillaging,not too many actually made it to the Holy Land.

[William Terrell]

Luke 12:22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

Luke 12:23 The life is more than meat, and the body [is more] than raiment.

[Al Simmons]

Really? Well, that was the title of the Pagan Roman head Priest in Rome during the Republic and the Empire...makes sense that the Popes would have adopted it (the early church tried to co-opt many pagan holidays as well, the easier to bring the pagans into the fold...)

[Serb5150]

LOL!

[Jaded]

If you'd actually read the article, you would have noted that it was a British politican complaining, not the Vatican. Don't let that stop your condemnation of others, since you alone know the state of other people's souls.

[Ladysmith]

**Rolling eyes**

Not EVEN worth a comment.

[Past Your Eyes]

Maybe you should tell that to Taxachusetts Man who is convinced that I am an anti-Catholic bigot.

[FatherofFive]

the Roman Catholic Church concerns itself too much with appearances and ceremony and too little with preaching the Gospel

Your hatred is showing.

Did you see the picture? The pope smiling while greeting her? He didn't refuse to meet her. It was not the Church that made the statement.

[Jaded]

It was a while after that. Several years.

[Jaded]

There are many who can't keep their venom hidden today. And Sunday at that.

[wagglebee]

There are many who can't keep their venom hidden today. And Sunday at that.

I was thinking about how the threads with "biblewonk" used to be. He only chose threads that dealt with specific doctrinal issues (usually Marian), he never bashed any Catholics personally (he only addressed doctrine), he listened to your responses and on a personal level was very pleasant.

What we see here is ignorance from people who just choose to bash Catholics on any thread that discusses Catholicism, they don't even have the rudimentary doctrinal skills to argue, so they launch into personal attacks. Perhaps they should study their Jack Chick comic books a little more and then come back.

[Conservative til I die]

it sounds like only Queens who are Catholic have the "privilege" (not my words) to wear white. so queens who happen to be protestant or muslim don't get that privilege. since white is often associated with purity in Christianity, and the color black is often symbolic of sin or death, i think this privilege speaks for itself.

I'm going to say you're completely wrong, considering that the etiquette about wearing black also applies to Catholics that are non-queens. You may have missed it, but the entire point of the article was that Cherie Blair who is Catholic wore white.

[Conservative til I die]

Wow, it's like all of your ilk just copy-and-paste the same things over and over again. Seriously, do any of you have an original thought? Blah blah blah, pray to Mary, blah blah blah, pagan infiltration, blah blah blah...

[bigj00]

Oh NO!!!! She didn't worship the pope, she's going to hell!!!

[Conservative til I die]

What we see here is ignorance from people who just choose to bash Catholics on any thread that discusses Catholicism, they don't even have the rudimentary doctrinal skills to argue, so they launch into personal attacks

It's called total blind hatred.

[hoosierham]

I suppose by any of you,the reference is to all those who disagree with you personally?

There have been good men and bad in every church and good and bad spokesmen as well. I said the RCC as an institution is too concerned with impressing men;that the Catholic MP got excited about the color of the dress any person was wearing shows pettiness at best.

I sincerely hope Pope Benedict can clean the scandals troubling the RCC.

Not pagan infiltration,but misguided attempts to make the pagans more comfortable by preserving the form of old rituals.

Eventually we will all find out what He and His Father think of the various churches, all of which profess to be His.

[TaxachusettsMan]

Shut up????

As if - as if anyone would listen to your commands, let alone your bigotry.

Pathetic.

Do get some professional help working through your MULTITUDE of issues: family and personal, even before religious.

And you are still an anti-Catholic bigot.

[TaxachusettsMan]

You're still an anti-Catholic bigot.

[mckenzie7]

re thread number 172...You followed through this thread for quite sometime and so it appears that you 'care about this crap' also.
If my memory serves me correctly, there was a girl's sports team that visited the President and they all wore flip flops There was a big buzz about that also.
Proper decorum is what is expected, but as the news statement relates, she was invited to the audience unexpectedly, so that is the reason for mix up. No harm done there, but this sure has turned out to be a thread on anti-catholicism. Havoc certainly does need a lot of rosaries said for the saving of his soul and the enlightenment of his mind.

Hail Mary, full of Grace.......

Now look that one up, Havoc. It is purely biblical.