Hmmmmmm

When I was in the monastery, we used to laugh at all the conservative Catholic books that were published, all featuring a large photograph of the author (sometimes holding a copy of the book) shaking hands with a smiling pontiff, with the caption that the pope was blessing the ministry and/or writings of the author. Mention usually was made of the fact that this was at a private audience.Ooh, aah! Impressionable folks lapped this up. The whole event had been arranged by the publisher or author, of course.

As many people knew, a so-called private audience with the pope usually consisted of several hundred people being ushered into a large room where the pope spoke a few words. Everyone then stood in line and shook the pope's hand while a photograph was taken. A rosary was a typical gift on these occasions. My nieces may recall that I brought them rosaries blessed by the pope after my visit to Rome in 1998. (My nephew got a Pope John Paul II key ring instead.) It had as much theological, political or ecclesiastical weight as a photograph of your kid with Mickey Mouse would have if you tried to use it to get into Disney World free the next time you were in Orlando.

Just sayin'. 

For the record, I have a beautiful calligraphy papal blessing bestowed on me by Pope [now Saint] John Paul II on the occasion of my ordination in 1979. Perhaps I should use a photo of that as the cover design for one of my books to see if it would bump up the sales.The question is, should it be on the back of Wacky in WhoVille?