It has been funny to watch the media of secularity deal with Benedict XVI's presence of massiveness. Garrison Keeler spoofed the Pope, a blogger posted goofy inanities under the Pope's name, and the headlines proclaimed "Us readies rock star welcome for Benedict XVI." In a culture where news is entertainment and entertainment is the biggest news, no one knows what to do with the man whose message is the gravity of truth.
But it could have been worse. Had this visit been delayed, the president greeting (or refusing to greet) the Pope could have been Obama or Clinton. Bush's unprecedented move to greet Benedict at the airport and his admiring words of sincerity were the highlight of when America of the mainstream encountered the vicar of Christ. "Awesome speech", the President said in his American way, and I think he meant it.
The thought of Hilary Clinton camera smiling toward the pope reminds me of the time Bill Clinton did meet John Paul II at the stadium in St. Louis. Bill was good enough to bring the great Msgr. George Tribou to meet John Paul II personally. (Tribou was principal at the high school I attended.) When the moment came, Bill motioned Msgr. Tribou forward and said, "Your holiness, this is Msgr. Tribou--he never votes for me."
Whatever else you might say about Bill Clinton, he knew how to compliment a priest in front of the Pope.
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3 comments:
Wow. That's a pretty charged comment from slick Willy. I don't read that as a compliment. He might have just gone ahead and filled in the rest by saying: and hey, I was elected twice without him and the kind of right wing religious fanatics that he represents. So basically, your Holiness, no one really cares about what religious leaders say. It's the economy, stupid. Welcome to America
Yes, I was being facetious about the "compliment". But it may well have been meant in good humor; BC was not one for holding political grudges, from what folks in my home state say.
um, yeah. I can be so thick sometimes.
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