Thoughts on Santa Chiara and the New Pope

Ok, so first let me offer some thoughts about what's been going on here with the selection of the new Pope. I think it's worth mentioning that the excitement about the Papal selection and whatnot is not limited to Italy, and in fact probably is much higher in South America than in Europe. At this point in time Europe is no longer a Christian state, the vast majority of people here are agnostic, aetheist, or new-age. In fact the assorted new-age movements are the hot commodity right now, finding the right flavor of hindu, buddhist, or islamic teachings to center your life around your yoga schedule and your favorite drugs is the most popular religion of this continent. That said the people do respect the old catholic traditions, which they view as another flavor of spirituality from which you can draw some historical perspective and a tiny bit of wisdom, in general they feel you should ignore most of the doctrine but pay attention to the character qualities of Jesus and Mary and emulate those character qualities. So the excitement here is much along the lines of the excitement one would feel in America at the moment. People are chatty about this, but its a hollywood story, not real news. The exception to that is of course in Rome, which is a bit more religious than most Italian cities, and of course at the Vatican (which is completely over-run by South Americans at the moment).

In general people's reaction to the Papal selection is one of mixed feelings. Everyone is aware that this Pope is not going to live 25 more years (or at least we wouldn't expect him to) so he is not going to match the legacy of John Paul II, nor is he even going to try to. Rather he is going to do the best he can to emulate John Paul II while sort of reinforcing the traditional values of the church. Most people feel that's sort of unfortunate, because the Catholic church today is floundering miserably and in my opinion needs a dramatic re-examination of its doctrinal practices in order to get back on solid footing. One of the biggest dissapointments amongst the people in Italy is the fact that this Pope is not going to repeal the celibacy requirements for priesthood or do anything to encourage the role of women in the church liturgy. Personally I don't know what role women should play in the liturgy. I'm inclined to say they should be allowed to do whatever they want, but specifically in the Bible the women are assigned roles outside the pastoral position which in my mind means we should keep it that way. As for the celibacy requirement, well I know I'd never consider being a priest so long as that requirement is in place. Of course I'm protestant so it doesn't matter, but the fact is that the protestant church has been much more succesful at growing its membership and its clergy over the last century while the catholic church is dissapearing. A major reason for the emergence of the protestant clergy over the catholic clergy is the fact that protestant clergy are allowed to be married. Furthermore the scandals of homosexuality and child molestation that occured in the catholic church are not occuring in the protestant church because nearly all pastors are happily married and therefore are not in the biologically frustrating and emotionally lonely position of the catholic priests. So the fact that Benedict XVI is not going to do anything about these longstanding catholic doctrines that most people feel are out of touch with present culture and possibly out of touch with the Bible itself is sort of a sour point to contrast his otherwise warm reception.

Because of Benedict XVI's hardline stance against issues like women in the liturgy, homosexuality, contraceptive use, and marriage of the clergy he has been potrayed as a cold person, or at least as not very personable in comparison to John Paul II. The very poor translation job done on CNN I think enforces this idea. I, however, think Benedict XVI will end up being a very good Pope if his opening adress (as properly translated) shows anything. Here is the address as it should have been translated:

"Dear brothers and sisters, after our great pope, John Paul II, the cardinals have elected me, a simple, humble worker in God's vineyard. I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and how to act, even with insufficient tools, and I especially trust in your prayers.
"In the joy of the resurrected Lord, trustful of his permanent help, we go ahead, sure that God will help. And Mary, his most beloved mother, stands on our side."

These, in my mind, are not the opening remarks of a cold, stubborn man. I think that Benedict XVI recognizes the role he will play in the church is probably a short, transitional one, and that he needs to take on some very serious problems that have emerged in the church so that the next Pope can have a solid starting position from which to rebuild the catholic faith.

One thing that was really interesting was the natural phenomenon in Castiglion. It had been hazy and rainy all day, but about the time the cardinals made their selection the sun began to shine. Just after the new pope was announced on CNN the church bells in town began ringing, and a large double rainbow appeared from the hazy in the valley. I took some pictures of the afternoon...

Castiglion on Monday evening, this is the church by our center


The view out of my hallway window on Monday Evening


The double rainbow that appeared when the new pope was announced Tuesday


More of the rainbows


Double rainbows in the valley


More of the rainbows over the valley


Montecchio Castle on the horizon

So it was an interesting experience being in the center for this piece of history.

But with regards to the center, I've decided it's really bad for people to be living in this kind of closed environment for very long. People here are starting to get really sick of eachother, which seems to happen in life whenever there is no way for the people who aren't having that much fun to get away and do something else. There has been a lot of drama around the center, a lot of people have done really stupid stuff, partly because they're tired of each other and also because some of them are drinking more right now than any sane individual ever would. There is no doubt in my mind that it is bad for people to drink like crazy the way some of the kids here are. So many people have gone nuts over here, I don't know exactly what it is that does it. I know that I am living a little bit more adventurously than I would in College Station, but the majority of the reason is that I'm on a four month vacation, people always act a little bit more adventurous on vacation.

Four months is too long, also. I mean, it's a good experience to go through but despite the fact that this is supposed to be fun and that everyone is doing things that are vacation-esque, at this point I've been ready to go home for about a month. I don't think that anyone really enjoys being lazy for this long. I mean seriously I feel like I'm getting out of touch with reality over here.

I think some major changes to the way the center is built would help alot. If we all had private rooms with a desk, that would help a lot. It could be a tiny little shack, just big enough to fit a desk with a bed in a loft up above, it would still be a massive improvement over what we've got going on right now. Also I think the student population here could stand to be a lot bigger. If there were more students here the cabin fever wouldn't be quite so bad. It's sort of a wierd thing, but the fact is that not being Italian means we're all pretty isolated here, like we're stuck on an island or something. I can't even comprehend what it must be like to not speak any Italian. I think I would die. I don't know how the people here who speak no italian are even surviving.

Well this afternoon we're leaving for London, where we'll be for the next five days. Should be an excellent breather, nice chance to get some place where they speak our language and get away from the island we're stuck on at the moment. Then when I get back its like 10 days until Texas. I think it's pretty sad how different the excitement levels have been on this trip from what people predicted... I wasn't excited or nervous or counting the days or anything in advance of the trip. I was totally numb, as if it wasn't even happening. Meanwhile now that I'm here I've been thinking about going back to Texas a lot, counting the days (with the help of Jackie, Elisha, and Katheryn) since last month. There is no comparison. I can barely contain my excitement to be getting out of this place.

The only sadness I feel about it is that Italy really is incredibly beautiful. I like Texas as well, but the ammount of traveling we've done here has allowed us to fully absorb the Italian peninsula in more depth than I've ever absorbed any one area in America. Outside of the Austin/College Station area I don't know Texas as well as I know Italy now, and I think that needs to change. Most of the people here have had similar feelings, and I'm pretty sure there will be a large number of road trips spawned by this little adventure. I for one intend to travel my buns off from now on and enjoy the good old US of A to the fullest extent possible.

The greatest thing all of us get from this trip is the amazing appreciation of our homeland which we never could have had before we had been forced to live elsewhere. I think that this program should be mandatory for all A&M students, because it's probably the best motivator I've ever experienced. Being over here really puts into perspective how incredibly amazing the American people are, and what things we could do to improve ourselves. But even with the problems America has, I realize more and more every day how wonderful our country is. We live in the most beautiful, blessed land in the entire world, and we walk around ignorant to the majesty around us. Our government is an amazing gift from God, maintained by the vigilant work of the people who believe in it, and to take that for granted is a horrible travesty. If I got anything out of this trip it's an indescribable appreciation for the greatness of our nation, and the pride I felt for our government has more than doubled.

Like I said, I can't wait to come home. But first, LONDON!!!

Mind the gap! - Andrew