A Catholic Blog for Lovers |
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A celebration of beauty, truth, and goodness, and, of course, love...and perhaps a little nastiness 
My Buddy, ONION"I agree with about 99% of what you blog" Johannes Paulus II "This is my favorite blog and wish it were mandatory reading for all" Joseph Ratzinger "I even read your blog from heaven" Mother Teresa "I wish I were alive to publish every word you write in The Catholic Worker" Dorothy Day A Catholic Page for Lovers Praise of Glory *Great* Books Center Some Catholic Blogs: "St Blog's" MY BLOG HOMEPAGE email Gerard N.B. Many of the images posted will be removed after a few weeks; the text will remain as is. Archives 
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Saturday, June 01, 2002
Building Boom at St Blog's? Just added a "site meter" (counter) and hope to get up a "comments" option shortly. Hard to keep up with the parishioners of St Blog's! More than a mere coincidence? Catching up on other blogs I discovered that Mark Sullivan had already beat me to the punch by his recommendation of Magnificat. His was posted on Thursday and my own high recommendation on Friday. I had no idea Mark had already mentioned Magnificat. So that means that if you don't already you should take a look at MAGNIFICAT and I suspect you'll want to subscribe after you see for yourself. June and the Heart of Jesus Being quite "old-fashioned" I still keep the seasons as I grew up with them: May for Mary, June for the Sacred Heart of Jesus. So I hope, during this wonderful month, to post a few items dealing with this great theme: the Heart of the Savior. (I will have a lot of cutting and pasting to get those hearts in red! Ugh! But it's a tradition now and you know how we traditionalists can be.....Sorry, Eve!). At any rate, as this new month begins I wish each and every one of you the fulfilment of your own heart's desires according to the Heart of Jesus, the Heart of the world. And one of my favorite prayers: Father of mercies and God of all consolation, You gave us the loving Heart of your own beloved Son, because of the boundless love by which You have loved us, which no tongue can describe. May we render You a love that is perfect with hearts made one with His. Grant, we pray, that our hearts may be brought to perfect unity: each heart with the other and all hearts with the Heart of Jesus... and may the rightful yearnings of our hearts find fulfillment through Him: Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. (Collect from St John Eudes' Mass, Gaudeamus, 1668) Friday, May 31, 2002
"With empty hands" - St Therese of Lisieux Following are the remarks of former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland Friday evening, May 31, 2002:  Dear Friends in Christ, I come before you today to apologize and beg forgiveness. I know - and I am sure you do too - that the Church to be authentic must be a community that heals. But I also know - and you do too - that there is no healing unless it is based on truth. In my remarks I will do my best. I apologize to all the faithful of this Archdiocese which I love so much, to all its people and clergy, for the scandal that has occurred because of my sinfulness. Long ago, I placed that sinfulness in God’s loving and forgiving heart, but now and into the future I worry about those whose faith may be shaken by my acts. The early Church was wise to declare that God can use imperfect instruments to build the Kingdom and that the effectiveness of the sacraments does not depend on the holiness of the minister. For me that thought brings some, though meager, consolation. It does not in any way diminish my need to beg forgiveness of all of you. I acknowledge and fully accept my responsibility for the inappropriate nature of my relationship with Mr. Paul Marcoux. I apologize for any harm done him. At that time, 1979, I did not understand that responsibility in the same way as I do now. I have come to see and understand the way in which the power of the Roman collar can work in such relationships and, even more so, a bishop’s miter. There is an understandable concern about the money paid out in the settlement agreement of 1998. I understood the settlement agreement in question as compensation for Paul Marcoux because of the claim that I had interfered with his ability to earn income. Rather than spend the money litigating this claim, I agreed to an out-of-court settlement. In hindsight I can see why it has the appearance of “hush-money.” Perhaps I should have handled this situation differently. If I had done so, there would still have been sizeable costs to the Church, but at least it would have been out in the open. One of my fears in not accepting the settlement was the prospect of scandal and embarrassment for myself and for the Church. For that lack of courage, I apologize. This money did not come from the Stewardship Appeal or from any diocesan funds designated for charitable or pastoral work. In my mind, the money I had given the Archdiocese was more than the settlement amount. To my continued embarrassment, I now am told that is not true. In my remaining years I will continue to contribute to the Archdiocese whatever I can and, of course, the Archdiocese will receive whatever effects I own on my death. People who are concerned about me ask how I feel at this moment. The best nouns to describe those feelings would be: remorse, contrition, shame, and emptiness. This final word reminds me of an insight from St. Therese of Lisieux. She once wrote that she wanted to go to God empty-handed. I think I know now personally what she meant by that phrase. I have learned how frail my own human nature is, how in need of God’s loving embrace I am. Empty-handed for me now means a willingness to accept my humanity totally, just as Christ accepted that same human nature out of love. But for me it also means to be fully receptive to whatever God wants to place in those hands, to be ready with empty hands to receive new life. But I am also aware much self-pity and pride remain. I must leave that pride behind. Each day I will try to leave room for God to enter into my life more and more. Ultimately I understand that the humanity God so loved and sought to redeem, including my own humanity, will be transformed by his loving embrace and grace. Again I apologize to all of you. You have been so extraordinarily loving and caring to me during these years and now during this crisis for me and for you. I want to take this occasion to say how very grateful I am to all of you for the zeal and vitality of faith you have demonstrated during the time I have been privileged to minister here. I also thank the groups of professionals who have contributed their skills and insights to that vitality. I thank all of you for the wonderful support shown me through the years and at this moment. In the future I count on your prayers as I hope for your forgiveness. And now Archbishop George Pell of Syndey accused! When will it ever stop? How long, O Lord, how long? Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered! Let Grace come and this world pass away! Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus! MAGNIFICAT If ever I could put together the liturgical aid of my dreams, it would be like MAGNIFICAT - only it wouldn't be as good! When I got the first issue of MAGNIFICAT (for December 1999 I think it was) I had the distinct sense of "ah, at last...what I've been hoping and waiting for!" Simply put, MAGNIFICAT is magnificent! It is beautiful to look at, comforting to hold, and filled with awesome riches for each day of the year. It includes essays and extra prayers and blessings, a workable morning and evening prayer, the Mass of the day, notes about saints, and daily reflections from the saints, poets, and good writers. It has each month, too, an art essay, which I appreciate. Its covers are often gorgeous. The picture of the Visitation in the posting below this is from the May 2000 MAGNIFICAT I am sure some of you know of it, others use it. But especially for those who may not yet have heard of it, why not go to the Magnificat website and order a free sample or take the plunge and order it for a year or two. I can honestly say I think you will love it too. Already it has around 150,000 subscribers! Not bad for a few years. And MAGNIFICAT is even having an upcoming Conference in New York City. I can't recommend it highly enough. I LOVE MY MAGNIFICAT! THE VISITATION AND LAST DAY OF MAY Traditionally May is "Mary's month" and May comes to its fulfilment in today's beautiful feast of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. That scene, so unforgettably portrayed by the evangelist Luke, in which the chosen mothers and the fruit of their wombs leap for joy in the Holy Spirit, praising and magnifying the Lord who has done great things and who has mercy especially on the lowly and hungry. The charity of Our Lady by rushing to her cousin's side, the faith of Elizabeth, praising the trusting faith of Mary and blessing the Child of her womb, the first recognition by the infant John of the One Who comes after Him - all these elements and more make this a rich and deep feast. So many artists, too, have captured a glimpse into this joyful mystery such as this lovely minature from the Book of Hours of the Duc de Berry:!)  One great Catholic/convert poet expresses all the faith of the Church in several magnificent poems. Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote the great Marian poems of The May Magnificat and The Blessed Virgin Mary Compared To The Air We Breathe, and here's a few excerpts from this wonderful poem of praise of Mary, the Mother of God and our Mother, as an offering to celebrate the last day of Mary's month: "I say that we are wound/ with mercy round and round/ as if with air: the same is Mary, more by name/ She, wild web, wondrous robe,/ Mantles the guilty globe,/ Since God has let dispense/ Her prayers His providence....... Through her we may see him/ Made sweeter, not made dim/ And her hand leaves his light/ Sifted to suit our sight./ Be thou then, O thou dear/ Mother, my atmosphere;/ My happier world, wherein/ To wend and meet no sin........ Stir in my ears, speak there/ Of patience, penance, prayer:/ World-mothering air, air wild,/ Wound with thee, in thee isled/ Fold home, fast fold thy child." THE TWO GREAT MARIAN POEMS OF HOPKINS Still waiting... Remember a while back the reports, even on some Catholic blogs, that an actively gay Cardinal was about to be outed and that this would happen "any day now." It was "the talk of the town." Many days later, I am still waiting..... Was it just part of a sort of feeding frenzy fishing for more "stories" and more "gossip" and not at all helpful to the Church? Did it perhaps damage the good reputation of some Cardinals or at least lead to some unwarranted suspicions? I tend to think so. At any rate, I'm still waiting...... BACK TO A GROWING ST BLOG'S Well, I got my new faster larger PC and can already tell the difference. No snags yet, thankfully. One problem: there's no port for my trusty HP Scanjet 4P so I ordered a new scanner too. I love the HP because it can scan up to 14" while the new one won't compare. But I think I needed a new better scanner anyway and can sacrifice some inconvenience for better quality work. I am impressed at how much lower the prices are now than just a few years ago. While I was offline and doing chores that needed to be done, St Blog's registered a few new parishioners of which I am aware. A warm welcome to Lane Core, Karen Marie Knapp, Cacciaguida, Michigan Catholic, and Timothy Mason. Tuesday, May 28, 2002
A Short Break from Blogging Today I take this old computer to the shop and will get a new, much faster, larger one (though not very expensive at all). All the old data on this PC will be transferred to the new one so it will take a few days. So I won't be able to add anything here for a while. But maybe you can look over some of the older entries and, while you do, say a little prayer for me. I do pray each day for those who visit this "blog." More St Blog Parishioners: Before signing off for now a warm welcome to new bloggers: Pat Tyler and Terrence Berres. P.S. A request: if anyone learns of a new Catholic Blog, could you kindly email me the information. When I get back online it will be a feat to read all the Catholic blogs to find any notices of new Catholic bloggers. There is only one *The* The Church: Despite our many troubles and even The Situation, no Church is nearly as fascinating, interesting, "catholic" as the Catholic Church. I was just reading a relatively new blog, this one an Orthodox Blog by newly ordained Father Nectarios Trevino, billed as "a weblog of American Orthodoxy." Seems to me it blogs a good bit more about the Catholic Church than the Orthodox Church! When all is said and done, there just is nothing like our messy and beloved Catholic Church. I have said to non-Catholics over the years: Show me a sinner in your church. I'll show you a better one in mine! Show me a saint in your church. I'll show you a better one in mine! A Church of sinners called to be saints. And there is nothing that compares, in my opinion, to the great Catholic saints. Of whom we are in great need now...... A good and fruitful and happy week to all! In Praise of My Church I wrote the following piece on May 5, 2002 and after reading some bloggers comments about the Andrew Greeley piece on The Apologetics of Beauty, thought I'd post this today: 
All politics is local, Tipp O'Neil used to say. In some ways, all "Church" is local. Most of us, anyway, it seems to me, experience the Church most powerfully at and in our own parishes. (Here I am not speaking of our "being the Church and Body of Christ" in our everyday lives, which is most basic and perhaps most vital of all). Today there's a good bit of "bad news" about the Church. I'd like to say a few good words on behalf of the Church as I know best these days: my own parish - Saint Benedict on Wilkens Avenue in Baltimore MD. As a rule I only get to my parish church once a week, for Sunday Mass (I am semi-"disabled" and thus can't get around too much). But the time I spend there are among the best hours of my week! There is a "feel" in the air as soon as I get out of the car at St Benedict's. The grounds are magnificent and especially in season are bursting with color and scents, already welcoming me in that area touched by beauty. Upon entering the large, Romanesque church, the sights and smells continue the warm welcome. That special aroma of candles and incense. The lights are dimmed and focus for now on the large Tabernacle in the back center of the sanctuary. How warmed I am as I pass this Dwelling Place of the Lord (and I use my wheelchair here only because it is more comfortable than a pew; I could walk it actually). The church is always decorated with great taste and loveliness for each and every season. These Paschal Days there are wonderful flowers everywhere (you can see pictures of much of what I describe on the parish website and I'll give the URL at the end of these rambling thoughts). There is a shrine of the Risen Christ to the side as well. And now with May there is a shrine to Our Lady in the sancturary as well (the church and sanctuarey are large and thus not crowded at all). I am amazed at how the appointments and decorations of each season are always so exquisite and match perfectly! Our pastor, the beloved Father Paschal Morlino, OSB, has a great eye for such things and seems able to bring back treasures for St Benedict's from his various trips to Italy especially. Father Paschal, as I said, is much loved. He has done a fantastic job with a dying parish. The area, once a haven for blue collar workers, mostly Catholic, has changed a good bit and is rather "rough". Attendance plummeted. But Father Paschal, with lots of enthusiasm, zeal, and talent, and an ability to tap into the enthusiasm, zeal, and talents of many parishioners, has helped St B's become a stable community with new members from various sectors of town. Some are drawn by the beauty of the liturgical life of this special parish (and others like the social outreach and joyful spirit of the parish itself). Fr Paschal, by the way, tends the beautiful gardens around the property and assigns plots to over twenty parishioners as well. He rolls up his sleeves for all the many chores around the church and grounds. And he really is loved and reverenced in the best sense and when he's around there tends to be a lot of smiles and laughter. He is no slouch or minimalist! I am utterly amazed at how much he offers us at St B's. He has daily Mass, of course; but also *daily* Noon Prayer and daily Vespers! Often there is Benediction and Solemn Vespers on Festivals and sung Night Prayer as well. There are many concerts throughout the year. For Christmas and Easter and New Year's there are Vigils.... and we will be in church for almost three hours for any of these! He doesn't cut back! Even when there are things going on, like baptisms, first communions, RCIA events, etc. he will give the usual homily with its touches of home-spun wisdom and cut back nothing! So it is not unusual for Sunday Mass to go for almost an hour and a half! But what a Mass it is! The music is superior. There is a fine choir with a talented choir director and organist and excellent cantors. The choice of music, too, is so perfect for the most part (I can't say how often it has brought tears to my eyes). The congregation can sing too! And wisely the choice of music for the congregation doesn't change every week so we get to know it real well and sing it for a long time. (And each season has its uniqueness here -- for example, for Lent we sing the Kyrie in Greek, and the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin). For the *entire* Easter Season we have the bells ringing during the Gloria at the 11o'clock Mass -- that includes the bells in the bell tower, bells ring by acolytes, and even Father Paschal playing something like a zither from his place in the sanctuary. Simply beautiful. The bells. And the smells. Oh, the sweet clouds of incense at St B's! I have never known a church (and this includes even Orthodox churches) that uses more incense than St B's. From the opening procession the sweet aroma begins to fill the spacious church and my sense of smell is caught up in the act of worship! There are wonderful incensations of the altar and of the people as well. How touching to be reminded of my dignity as a son of God by being incensed at every Mass I attend. I can't imagine anymore being in a church without that sweet fragrance and feel sort of sorry for those who hardly ever experience this lovely expression of prayer and worship from the Catholic tradition. Speaking of Orthodox churches, St B's even has its own beautiful Byzantine chapel within its interior. Now how many churches can say that? One thing I love about St B's is that its worship is so God-centered. I get the sense of really and truly "blending voices with the choirs of angels in heaven".... Holy! Holy! Holy! Yet there is the human touch, the joy, the sense of family and familiarity. I love how Fr Paschal, in the prayers, will mention so and so who is so sick and so and so whose cousin just died, etc. And more personally than I say it. I love it that while there is such attention given to the beauty of worship yet on the communion rail there will be piles of gifts for the poor and needy! I recall, too, how when I was sick last year for a long time, Father Paschal and others from the parish visited me often and brought me Communion and made me feel very cared for by a praying community. Yes, that's it: St B's is a praying parish! I am so thankful that I have found such a home as St B's. Here I find the fulness of the Catholic tradition in ways I thought were no longer available on a parish level. St B's, with all its inevitable imperfections and foibles, is truly a holy place of both beauty and joy. At St B's I find both the beauty of holiness and the holiness of beauty. Because it is ultimately centered on the God of Love! I know I speak inadequately and leave so much unsaid..... Blessed be God, Thrice-Holy! Saint Benedict has a website (and I am webservant!)  Monday, May 27, 2002
The Pope and the Young: A Miracle of "Rapport" "There is only one sadness: not to be a saint" (Leon Bloy)  Bulgarian Youths Urged to Be "Light" to the World PLOVDIV, Bulgaria, MAY 26, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Winding up his 96th international trip, John Paul II urged youths in Bulgaria to be "salt and light" in the world. "Jesus does not simply ask you to say or do something; Jesus asks you to be salt and light! And not just for a day but for your whole life," the Pope told the youths who gathered for what was his most festive appearance in Bulgaria. At the end of the celebration, the Holy Father improvised a few words in Polish and sang on his own in Polish the canticle to the Virgin of Czestochowa, in response to the young people who sang to him in Bulgarian. "Our meeting is the last. I think that young people look very far into the future. I don't know if I will be able to return to Bulgaria. I hope to be able to meet with you before the end of my pontificate," he said in Polish. His words were almost inaudible amid the constant applause. "I hope for your people that your tomorrow will be the most beautiful day. Jesus be praised for the new Bulgaria!" John Paul II added. In his address, delivered in Bulgarian and read in part by a priest, the Holy Father left the youth with a message of French writer Léon Bloy (1846-1917): "There is only one sadness, that of not being saints." The papal address was centered on the theme for Toronto's World Youth Day, "You are the salt of the earth ... you are the light of the world." The young people responded, crying out "Long live the Pope!"; "Holy Father, we are with you," and "We'll follow you with respect and love." ...With the words "I embrace you all with love and bless you," the Pope concluded his address to the young people. An idea on The Situation The latest unfoldings in the Catholic Church in the United States are complex and not simplistically addressed. One thought, though, has come to me (among a few others). Could one of the problems be the lack of any real "supervision" of priests and even religious? In almost every profession I know, a new practitioner is under direct supervision for some years and then there are the annual or semi-annual evaluations, etc. (I am sure some more effective than others). As far as I am aware, there is nothing even close to this in the priesthood and religious who exercise priestly ministry in the Church. Without it, many priests are giving exemplary service and leading lives of authenticity and goodness. But some apparantly have not been so faithful. And these seem to have answered to no one all along the way. If a priest is not interested in being a good and holy priest, is it too easy to get away with it? Would a good system of supervision and evaluation help by perhaps discerning signs of trouble and "warnin-signals?" Would a good system of evaluation help priests become more effective ministers of the Word and dispensers of the Mysteries of the Lord? Those who supervise must be supervised as well (doesn't episkopos mean overseer?). The U.S. Cardinals admitted the failure of their episcopal oversight when they write in their recent Letter to Priests: We regret that episcopal oversight has not been able to preserve the Church from this scandal. As for those who evaluate why not have not only fellow priests, but proven lay persons, and a good representation of a parish or of those who are directly affected by the priest's ministry? This is an unfinished idea but one that pops into my head a good bit lately.... I would be eager to get your feedback, both lay persons and priests. Thank you. +REGGIE C. 
Now Catholic World Report publicizes the bizarre emails of a Catholic Bishop in good standing. As the article states, higher ups have known of this for some time now -- to no avail. Indeed as the article in CWR states, Bishop Cawcutt has been "promoted". When I first came across these rather disgusting emails, I contacted Bishop Cawcutt and had a rather extended conversation. He claimed he was only in the "St Sebastian Angels" group to encourage gay priests and religious to be celibate. He never really commented on his own emails, other than to imply they were not trustworthy. Read the CWR article, Warning: Offensive Material. As some say: We report, you decide! LITURGICAL INNOVATION AS RESPONSE TO LITURGICAL INNOVATION Karl Schudt at Summa Contra Mundum writes: "I went to a Catholic wedding yesterday; no blue stone toads except that the priest said "thank you" after we said "and also with you." Of course, Father is just being "nice" but it really is a misunderstaning, I think, of ritual and liturgical prayer. I often wonder who trained those who improvise and force their own preferences? I can be a bit "nasty" at times and I find these ridiculous "thank yous" after "and also with you" (which is bad enough as a translation of "et cum spiritu tuo") spur me on to my own innovation and creativity. As loud as I am able I reply: "You're Welcome!" From Rod Dreher of The National Review: Attention Catholic Bloggers! I'd like to draw your attention to the following link: It's a pastoral letter written by a brilliant satirist priest, who must remain anonymous. Absolutely hilarious stuff. It's been going around the e-mail circuit today (5/26). Spread the word. Sunday, May 26, 2002
THE MOST BLESSED TRINITY 
The Preface of the Holy Trinity As perfect a prayer as Rublev's icon It is very meet, right and profitable for our salvation that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee, holy Lord, Father Almighty, Everlasting God: who together with thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Spirit, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by thy revelation of thy glory, the same do we believe of thy Son, the same of the Holy Spirit, without difference or inequality. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, we shall adore distinction in Persons, unity in Essence, and equality in Majesty, which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and the Seraphim do praise, never ceasing to cry out with one voice: SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS HOLY! HOLY! HOLY! Stength Renewed Like the Eagle's: Long Live the Pope! 
POPE JOHN PAUL II ENDS VISIT TO BULGARIA 26 May 2002, Sunday. United Press International By Vlad Lyubomirov PLOVDIV, Bulgaria - Pope John Paul II ended a three-day visit to Bulgaria on Sunday during which he narrowed a millennium old split between the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and exonerated the former communist country from lingering suspicions that it was involved in an attempt on his live 21 years ago. The culmination of his visit was a Holy Mass on Sunday in Plovidiv, Bulgaria's second largest city, home to most of the country's 80,000 Catholics. The clearly exhausted but resolute Pope, suffering from Parkinson's disease and arthritis, celebrated Mass in Bulgarian, which aides said he had learned especially for the trip. In an apparent move towards reconciliation, senior Bulgarian Orthodox clergymen sat on the open-air stage during the Mass and a Bulgarian Choir performed Orthodox chants, something that does not contravene the canons of the two Churches, which separated in 1054. During the two-hour ceremony the Pope beatified three Catholic priests, executed by the Communist regime in 1952. "The Pope's visit to is a blessing for Bulgaria and is an important bridge between our Church and the Catholics," said Maya Ilieva a 36 year-old teacher who had spent 5 hours waiting in Plovdiv's central square for the Papal mass to begin. John Paul's deteriorating health was in full view thought his taxing timetable that included meetings with the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Maxim, President Georgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, former King of the small Balkan country of 8 million, who returned last year from 50 years of exile in Spain to enter politics. Bulgaria's politicians were delighted by the Pope's statement that he "never believed in the so called Bulgarian connection." "It is a historic day for Bulgaria. Now we can truly say that the Bulgarian Easter has finally arrived," the prime minister said after hearing the Pope's statement on Friday. The exoneration came 21 years after a Turkish gunman, Mehmet Ali Agca shot and seriously wounded John Paul on St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981. Italian authorities charged three Bulgarians, allegedly members of the communist secret police, with complicity in the crime. They were later acquitted for lack of evidence but the stain on Bulgaria remained. It is the Pontiff's sixth visit to a predominantly Orthodox country, preceded by trips to Romania, Greece, Georgia, Ukraine and Armenia. The Bulgarian Church is particularly close to the Russian one and his visit here is seen as one more step towards melting the ice with Russia's Alexei II, who has so far adamantly opposed a visit by the Bishop of Rome to world's most populous Orthodox nation. A visit to Russia would greatly aid John Paul's ecumenical efforts towards Christian unity, which have marked his Papacy. In all his statements in Bulgaria the Pope stressed that Christ is one and that the division between the two sister-churches must be overcome. "I fervently hope that my visit will serve to increase our knowledge of each other so that, with God's help and on the day and in the way that pleases him, we shall live united in the same mind and the same judgment," said John Paul at the outset of his visit. Judging by the fact that even Patriarch Maxim relented from his original intention not to greet John Paul and finally decided to attend the welcoming ceremony, receiving the Pope at his seat of power, the Holy Synod, on the following day and by the unexpected warm reception he was accorded by most of the country's senior Orthodox Bishops, it would appear that the Pope's hopes have been justified. John Paul was visibly pleased by the reception in Plovdiv, telling his hosts before departing for Rome that "today we can give thanks to God that the bonds between us have been much strengthened." |