Here's a bit of 'much ado about nothing' based on a questionable feature of a guide put out by the papal visit organizers for the benefit of non-Catholics and non-Christians, it appears.
Not quite as tacky as pop Masses and far less objectionable because it is not part of any liturgy, the above glossary seeks to translate terms familiar to Catholics in language that might be more understandable to seculars.
The objection by some Catholics appears to be that it equates a Mass to a pop concert and the Pope to a rock star. Why the Daily Mail should fall in with these objection is beyond me - when for almost 40 years now, they havenot cared at all that many pop Masses are a travesty of liturgy, and when for a quarter-century, they have blithely referred to John Paul II routinely as a rock star.
The glossary does not equate the two categories at all - it draws an analogy. It says 'Similar terms often used', not 'equivalent terms', because clearly, they are not!... And why the Daily Mail should 'cringe' at this glossary, when it has not cringed at all in reporting slanderous, or at least derisive, articles about Benedict XVI, is yet another show of sanctimony that is really intended to ridicule!... And after you have seen the glossary page and read the story below, it is readily apparent how MSM can so cavalierly misrepresent fact to suit their chosen narrative.
The Pope star, headlining at a gig near you:
Catholic bishops under fire for
'cringe-making' guide to the Papal visit
By Jonathan Petre And Nick Pisa
12th September 2010
Catholic bishops have likened the Pope to the headline act at a series of gigs in a ‘cringe-worthy’ guide to his visit this week which insiders fear exposes the Church to ridicule.
In a list of ‘useful terms’ in the
official booklet on the papal visit, the three open-air Papal masses – the most solemn occasions of the historic trip – are referred to as ‘shows’ or ‘gigs’, terms normally associated with rock concerts.
[Since the document in question is later described as an eight-page leaflet, it is clearly not the 'official booklet' on the Pope's visit, of which there are three (and all far more than eight pages):
1) 'Heart speaks unto heart', 32 pages of introductory material about the Church, the Pope and the visit; 2) the official program, which is sold online for 10 pounds, and which is clearly intended for Catholics; and 3) the Magnificat booklet (of which one million were printed), which is an excellent 400-plus-pp booklet of prayers and liturgies for the faithful covering the days preceding the visit, the visit itself and several days after the visit - and distributed free in all of the UK parishes. Both the first and third booklets can be downloaded from www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/
The Church is distributing
thousands of copies of
the glossy, eight-page pamphlet produced by the Papal Visit Team, overseen by Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols. Its cover carries the official slogan of the visit – the first to Britain since 1982 – Heart Speaks Unto Heart.
[Note the 'thousands of copies', compared to the one million ordered for the Magnificant prayer book!]
The document compares the clergy who organise services – known as liturgists – to ‘performers’ or ‘artists’.
It refers to the ‘Holy Father’ and the bishops as ‘headline act(s)’ and says congregations are often termed ‘audiences’ or ‘crowds’.
Injecting even more showbusiness style, the leaflet translates weighty terms such as ‘sanctuary’ into ‘stage’ and the distribution of Holy Communion into ‘giving out’.
Religious words such as ‘spiritual’ and ‘uplifting’ become ‘enjoyable, fun, exciting’.
The unusual glossary raises fresh questions over the handling of Pope Benedict XVI’s four-day visit, which starts on Thursday and has already been mired in controversy.
Insiders said the pamphlet is aimed at workers from companies arranging events, police officers, broadcasters and journalists who may not be Catholics and are unsure about the Church’s rituals and beliefs.
But copies have also been circulating around Government departments, including Downing Street, where one senior source said it had prompted ‘a rolling of eyes’. The controversy comes after a diplomatic crisis in April when a Foreign Office memo mocked the trip.
[A real act of stupidity compared to the relative harmlessness of the glossary, as silly as the choice of some of the popular terms are, and as it may all seem to these freshly-minted sticklers for propriety!]
In the memo, staff who were asked to propose ideas for the ‘ideal’ visit suggested the Pope could launch a range of ‘Benedict’ condoms, open an abortion clinic or back a Miss Developing World beauty contest.
To defuse the furor, the Foreign Office issued a grovelling apology and the British Ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Campbell, met Vatican officials.
A senior Catholic insider said last night: "This booklet is most unfortunate because it risks exposing the Church to ridicule once again. I suppose the idea is to give non-Catholics an idea of what Catholics believe in easy-to-understand English, but the result makes me cringe.
"It seems like an attempt to be trendy, but it just undermines the dignity of the trip and I can’t understand how the bishops can have approved this.’ [See, there's sanctimony on both sides. This 'senior insider' appears so ready to find fault with the Church even on such a trivial matter. It is trivial because it has nothing to do with the liturgies themselves, and has no impact on them whatsoever. And it has nothing to do with Catholics for whom the terms do not need to be dumbed down, and who will probably not be recipients of this pamphlet anyway!]
But Church officials defended the way the guide was written. A spokesman said: ‘We are explaining to the Government, police and the technical people involved in the events that even though some of the services are in the open air, they have to be treated as if they are in a cathedral. We have used language familiar from their own experience while emphasising the reverence of the occasion."
Unfortunately, the official papal visit site does not have the 8-page pamphlet online, so we can better judge. But on the basis of the above glossary, I'm not cringing at all.
The Daily Mail does have an innocuous newsfeature today on the Pope's visit:
The bullet-proof Popemobiles
12th September 2010
At several points during his visit to Britain this week, Pope Benedict XVI will drive past the crowds in his famous ‘Popemobile’.
There are in fact two specially-adapted vehicles, one to be used in Scotland and Birmingham, while the other will remain in London.
They were packed on to a lorry at the Vatican last week and driven across Europe to arrive at a secret location in Britain this weekend.
Each £75,000 vehicle is designed to give a clear 360-degree view of the Pope to the faithful on his tour, first in Edinburgh, where he will arrive in Britain on Thursday, and then in Glasgow, London and Birmingham.
The design of the Popemobile has moved on significantly since Pope John Paul II sat on the back of an open-air truck more than 30 years ago on a visit to his native Poland.
A Popemobile for the Vatican itself, usually without the glass roof, at a recent night event for the Pope.
Today the Vatican garage has an array of vehicles to choose from, depending on security in the country being visited. For one viewed as safe, an open-topped vehicle is used.
If safety is a doubt, a Popemobile with bulletproof glass is preferred. However, on a trip to Turkey in 2006 security was so tight Pope Benedict travelled in a blacked-out limousine.
The Popemobile to be used this week is a modified Mercedes-Benz M-Class sport utility vehicle with a special glass-enclosed cabin built into the back.
The Pope enters by a rear door and climbs several steps. He then sits in a chair which is raised by a hydraulic lift up into the glass-enclosed space, where there is also room for two aides to sit in the area in front of him.
In the front, in addition to the driver, there is room for one passenger, usually a security agent.
In theory, the car has a top speed of 160mph, but in Britain it will do a more sedate 6mph. The bulletproof glass windows and roof, armoured side panels and reinforced chassis provide security.
Describing the vehicles, Dr Alberto Gasbarri, the Vatican official responsible for organising all the Pope’s trips, said: ‘The two for this trip were sent to Britain and are currently in a secret location.
‘Both use green petrol and the driver will be British and chosen by the local authorities in Britain. He will have to be a competent driver and he will get a chance to accustom himself to the Popemobile.
‘Each Popemobile has about 5,000km on the clock which for an eight-year-old car is not bad at all.’
The more I think of it, the more objectionable and inappropriate I find the 'rock star' simile applied to a Pope, whose 'popularity', if you can call it that, transcends the popularity of any other mortal, including the President of the United States, or the most famous sports figure or pop artist in the world. (That is why I found it significant that the Scotsman story today on papal promo merchandise says it would be the envy of any rock star.)
Who else but the Pope would require a Popemobile so the greatest number of people can see him 'live'? Yet, what stops real rock stars and their kindred pop celebrities from showing themselves to the public in something similar? I suppose, the fact that they want to have fans pay for the privilege of seeing them, not allow them to see their 'idol' for free and then opt out of buying concert tickets.
Or why doesn't the President of the United States, even if he is someone like Barack Obama who until recently, his followers believed could walk on water? First and most obvious, the security nightmare it would mean. And second, consider that his party has to go to great lengths now to put together a crowd to listen to him when he comes to town to give a speech! The charisma of politicians is only as good as their current poll numbers.
On the other hand, people do not flock to the Pope because he is a celebrity, or is on top of the polls, but because, whoever he was before he became Pope, he is now, for devout Catholics, the Vicar of Christ on earth and direct Successor to St. Peter. Seculars who do not understand that will forever under-estimate the transcendent reason behind the drawing capacity of a Pope.
An attraction that is immeasurably enhanced by the actual spiritual dimension to the experience of 'seeing' the Pope or meeting him that one hardly associates with any mortal other than rare living persons who radiate genuine holiness.
So enough already of a 'rockstar Pope'! Even if we are not likely to ever see a celebrity of whom it will be said that he/she draws 'Pope-like veneration' from 'papal-event-sized crowds'!
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/09/2010 20:59]