Dark Bilious Vapors

(or, rather, wouldn't be a saint if there were a heaven, which there isn't....) I had not heard of this particular incident, but I had heard of others like it, and John Paul's contempt for Catholic women--lay and religious--was very obvious during his papacy. From: Benedict XVI: Habemus papam, vivat status quo, by Jack Miles.

How will ordinary Catholics greet the election of an elderly, conservative, European pope? I find myself thinking back to 1979. When John Paul II made a typically spectacular visit to Chicago that year, I heard a sad little story from my mother. A cousin of mine, a widow with five children whose life was a long struggle with poverty, had been thrilled to hear that she would be among the lay Eucharistic ministers who would distribute Holy Communion when the pope celebrated an outdoor Mass in Grant Park.* For years, she had cherished nothing more than her weekly role in the liturgy. Every Sunday morning, reality receded for an hour as she put on a white surplice and assisted the priest in distributing the consecrated bread and wine. Doing this at the papal Mass, she said, would be the greatest moment of her life. But then a heartbreaking message arrived: In deference to the pope's sensibilities, no woman would be allowed to take part.

Len on 04.20.05 @ 08:15 PM CST