[Lion in Winter]

I once went to a funeral of a fellow with whom I had some really serious disagreements. I went because my wife asked to go as she felt sorry for the man's long suffering wife. The fellow was a long time gambler and trouble maker in his neighborhood.

I have long been of the opinion that people go to funerals (and weddings for that matter) for various reasons.

And sometimes the reasons are NOT because they liked, agreed with, respected or even cared for the deceased.

I wonder if some of the people going to this funeral are going becasue they consider going to be to their ADVANTAGE POLITICALLY... or such.

What a shame.

[Kolokotronis]

Oh, I've known people to go to funerals for far less noble reasons than political advantage...like just making sure the *?/x#* is really dead.

With the EP, though, I suspect its a mixture of things, not including the foregoing. Given the state of relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople and the canonical precedence of each, it would be unthinkable in this day for the EP not to go, quite aside from the fact that the two did get along quite well and each found in the other a willing interlocutor.

[muir_redwoods]

A woman who came to my wife's wake hit on me. Really. No $hit. My sister and my oldest daughter were there and wanted to take the creep out but decorum was preserved and reason prevailed.

It's a strange world.