Posted on 01/28/2015 11:21:28 AM PST by Gamecock
On Sunday in St. Peter's Square, balloons were released as a gesture of peace instead of the traditional symbol of flying doves.
This comes one year after an attack by a seagull and a crow on the symbolic birds ignited protests by animal protection groups.
Ever since Pope John Paul II started the tradition of releasing doves on the last Sunday of January every year, children have been at a window of the papal studio overlooking the square with the pope, setting free a pair of doves for world peace, according to the Associated Press.
In 2014, the act of goodwill turned ugly when the birds were attacked mid-flight.
After the children, alongside Pope Francis, tossed a pair of doves from the window, a seagull swept down, then a crow got into the action, and the doves were attacked.
Animal rights advocates demanded the church put an end to the dove releases.
They appealed directly to Pope Francis himself, who is the first pope ever to take the name of Saint Francis of Assisi, a holy man known for his adoration of birds and other wild creatures.
When children in the square let go of their balloons pope Francis said, according to the Associated Press, "Here's the balloons that mean, 'peace.'"
Many gulls make their nests atop the colonnade of St. Peter's Square, not far from the Tiber River, and there they look for garbage. For an animal advocacy group, this meant putting the dove's lives at risk by freeing them.
After the seagull and crow incident, there were all kinds of Tweets and Facebook posts using words such as "demonic," "omen" and "apocalypse" to describe what the attack on the doves meant.
So, why did the seagull and crow attack the doves?
The National Geographic put it simply by saying the doves were attacked because they were "bred to be unnaturally white."
A good lesson here. Symbolism is meaningless. If you want peace, you have to kill the aggressors. Don’t bother throwing birds or balloons into the air - kill evil people before they kill us. Do something that will make a difference.
I hoped he’d take this as a message (about his silly “peace with Islam” fantasy) but he’s too full of himself to listen to anybody, including the Holy Spirit.
A message from God, I’d say. Switching the dove to a balloon won’t change things.
Because none of this had anything to do with perhaps God sending a message.
First off, Jesus said he wasn’t here to sow peace.
The attack on the dove was from a sea predator and a land predator.
The attack on the dove was from a white bird and a black bird.
The attack was coordinated. If you’ve ever had any experience feeding birds, the ‘pecking order’ is seagulls, then crows, then the smaller birds, ending with the chickadees and such. They seemed to work in concert.
He’s the Pope, right? Something like that happens to him and there’s no significance to it?
I guess hot CO2 (hot air) going up, with strings attached, and in a colorful package is as symbolic as you can be.
The hot air becomes as lofty as it can before it pops - the pressure of it ultimately overcoming its physical limitations (reality). In the winter, they sink, littering the ground, getting stuck in trees, coming to rest on the thorns.
The only symbol the Chruch needs is Christ on a crucifix. I can’t think of a more fitting symbol in a year with so much Christian martyrdom.
Deut 14
11 “All clean birds you may eat. 12 But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.
Coming soon - balloon animals from the Pope.
Balloons are environmentally malign in that they are indigestible by animals and persist in the environment. Sea life, turtles especially, are harmed and can perish when they ingest balloons.
Excellent post!
Very good analysis.
Let’s just be glad he didn’t substitute the Dove Drop with the Turkey Drop.
Could an eagle or hawk be trained to defend the doves?
You are right. Balloons are dangerous for birds, they ingest the pieces, they get tangled with the strings etc. On top, these doves are raised in captivity, they get released in ceremonies, they have no sense of behavior in the wild and they are easy prey to other birds. Cruelty, IMNSHO
Yep Frankie is the gift that keeps on giving
Ah, that Fabio moment. I remember it well!
I rode in that same “Apollo’s Chariot” seat at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg just a few days after that nose-to-goose contact incident.
I thought we weren’t “supposed” to release balloons because seagulls choke on them?
Maybe the “peace” gesture should be little kids blowing bubbles. No harm to birds, and a little soap on the pavement is not a bad thing.
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