Dear Diary,
For the first time I refused an assignment from His Holiness. Father Supercilium told me that the Pope wanted me to write a tweet praising the Chinese authorities for their good treatment of Cardinal Zen following his arrest. My first reaction Diary was to say some of the barnyard epithets that my dear Daddy is so fond of. I restrained myself and simply said, “You have to be joking Father!”, although I have never noted an iota of humor in Father Supercilium.
Father Supercilium: I never joke about the commands of His Holiness.
Me: Well, I will not do it.
Father Supercilium: Am I hearing you correctly?
Me: I can say it slower Father if my Italian was hard to follow.
Father Supercilium: You understand this could end your assignment at the Vatican?
Me: (That was my deepest hope.) I simply nodded.
Father Supercilium: Well Sister, I cannot pretend that I am not disappointed.
Father Supercilium left in a huff and I began to pack. Beloved Nashville convent, here I come!
Father Supercilium came to see me a few hours later.
Father Supercilium: The Pope was not upset. He said, “I expected that from the young ninny. Tell Parolin to praise the Chinese. He will do anything I tell him.” You dodged a bullet today Sister. Don’t make a habit of it.
I was so upset Diary after he left that I punched Mrs. Boo and knocked some of her stuffing out of her. I have repaired her and as penance I am going to read Mark Shea’s twitter feed for a week. Life in the Vatican is the pits!
When I place nothing in the basket I feel better knowing I don’t help support such stupidity. Zen needs no friends like this fellow Cardinal. Last weekend in Cincinnati, my wife and I were denied communion on the tongue by an EM who was worried we might infect her with the China Flu. Her health was more important than my soul. Someday I’m gonna have to punch out an EM just for fun. The second coming can’t come soon enough.
Dave–Try going to St. Lawrence in Price Hill. Fr, Mark Watkins and Deacon Tracy Jamieson have no problem with Communion on the tongue. In fact, Fr. Watkins told me last year that no priest has the right to deny you. However, once I went to an EM there and he plopped his thumb as well as the Eucharist on my tongue. Ugh!
the last couple of yrs have been a doozy. I have heard, ” I am only doing what the Bishop told me” too many times to count. Each priest hears with his own ears what he wants to hear. Thanks for the tip on a church to attend. Our daughter lives in Blue Ash so we have gone to All Saints in Montgomery since it is close by. I emailed the parish as to their communion on the tongue policy but have heard crickets in reply. It is long past time to give up, “we are all gonna die” mentality.