[NYer]

Lourdes became the most  visited shrine in Europe after Bernadette, a peasant girl, said she had seen a vision of a beautiful woman who described herself as the 'Immaculate Conception', a reference to her having been born without the stain of original sin.

[NYer]

Ecumenical ping!

[trad_anglican]

His visit, at the personal invitation of the Catholic Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Jacques Perrier, indicates that Anglican and Catholic leaders remain committed to closer relations in spite of differences over the ordination of women and sexually-active gay men as priests and bishops.

And it does this how, precisely?

He could show real commitment to closer relations by staying home and simply saying "No" to certain constituent members of the Anglican Communion. Oh, I forgot, when you have no convictions, it's tough to have the courage of them.