The Pope's New Book: Has Anyone Read It?

 "Have you read my new book?"

I blame my parents.  I'm a product of a mixed marriage: my mother is Evangelical and my father Catholic.  While I was raised and remain a Catholic to this day, I would definitely say I have Protestant tendencies.  I guess this happens to the best of us.  These Protestant tendencies have made the idea of a pope a little uncomfortable for me.  So like the bad Catholic that I am, I usually don't get excited when the pope says something.  For me it's like a Charlie Brown episode: when the Pope speaks and all I hear is, "mwa mwa mwa." 

This changed recently when I read numerous good reviews about the Pope's new book, "Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times,”written by journalist Peter Seewald and Pope Benedict himself.  On the day it came out, I went to the library, confident that I would get a copy.  The joke was on me, because all of the library's copies were checked out!  Apparently I wasn't the only one interested in the Pope's opinions on woman clergy, dialogue with Islam, the clergy sex abuse scandal and condom use in AIDS prevention.

While I'm on the "waiting list," I feel like I'm waiting for Christmas to come. So if anyone out in the blogosphere has read the book, please comment on whether you enjoyed the book and some of the highlights.  In the meantime, I must learn that patience is a virtue.

                                                              

Muslim and Catholic Kinship

Have some tea and relax.

 Last night I was reading the Progressive Catholic magazine Commonweal and stumbled upon an interesting blog excerpt from Paul Moses.  Moses's blog "Wrong Then, Wrong Now,"  explores the similarities between the Anti-Catholicism of the 19th century with Islamophobia today.  Researching old newspapers, Moses stumbled upon several incidences of Anti-Catholicism that eerily compare with today's current events.

In 1880 William R. Grace, a Catholic, was running for mayor of New York City.  Protestant clergy across the city were warning that if Grace became mayor, New York would be controlled by the Vatican and democracy would perish.  Sound familiar?  Just turn on the radio or television and you will hear similar ideas about Islam.  I love our great country, but it is time we become more secure in our identity and not be so threatened by other cultures and religions.  Vive l'Etats Unis.