Street Prophets

The Guest of Honor Declines

by Rain

Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:14:47 AM PDT

Next week, our President is throwing a dinner party in honor of Pope Benedict XVI.  His Holiness won’t be there, according to Raw Story.

There are no conflicting engagements of a nature that would prevent him from attending, no explanations, according to the linked article above.  Even though it is the pontiff's birthday he will be meeting with American bishops that night rather than attending the White House fete in his honor, according to this one.

Earlier, the Pope will be meeting with George W. Bush to discuss other things – the war in Iraq among them.  And possibly this (from the first linked article):

Some experts also predict the Pope would criticize the "culture of fear" in the United States. The Rev. David Hollenbach, director of Boston College's Center for Human Rights, said recently that this culture is seen as integral to the US involvement in Iraq.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall.

More from the Connecticut Post.

According to the Raw Story article, a few days later, the Pontiff will be at the UN -- discussing why might does not make right.


Tags: Pope Benedict XVI, President Bush, Iraq, culture of fear (all tags)

Permalink | 45 comments

  • Please let me know (24+ / 0-)

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    that you came by.

    by Rain on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:17:30 AM PDT

  • Y'know, (16+ / 0-)

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    if I were the Pope, I would so much rather celebrate my birthday with my brother bishops, than at a state dinner hosted by a non-Catholic in a country that values the separation of church and state.

    I don't think we have to read anything critical of Bush into this particular incident. It's pretty clear that Benedict is a reserved and private person, certainly compared to JPII. Who would expect such a person to want to celebrate his birthday at a state dinner?

    The real story here IMHO is what idiot in the White House announced such a dinner before getting private agreement that the Pope would attend in the first place?

    Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

    by StarWoman on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 07:00:49 AM PDT

    • Planning has never been (8+ / 0-)

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      this administration's strong suit, as far as I can tell.  Still, it is interesting to me that George W. Bush will likely hear about the "culture of fear" from the Pope.  

      by Rain on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 08:27:33 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • One more example (11+ / 0-)

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      AAbshier, shermanesqe, Rain, shakti, Aunt Em, Thirst, StarWoman, Delia, waterdish, Kassandra, john2luke

      of imperial overreach.

      How many snubs does the pontiff have?

      I don't think it's just declining to have his birthday dinner with El Grandissimo Prezniti.  I think it's declining to sit down to break bread with him

      Meet, talk, cajole, badger, chide?  Sure.

      But break break with a man who is essentially a mass murderer and a global fear monger?

      I'm not a great fan of Benedict's.  But I think he has a moral core... and that he's not about to grant Bush the honor of dining with the Pope.  Let Catholics (and others) read into it what they will--the subtext is clear; the Pope has chosen to not eat in the company of Bush.

      Eating together is the fundamental communion.  Even before we dress it up in formal, ritual garb and make even more of it, eating together is an act of community.  Declining to eat with someone is... not a trivial act.

      Some will simply say that the Pope simply wishes to celebrate his birthday in the private company of other bishops.  That may well be a truth; the company of other bishops may be more congenial and attractive to him.  But he and the Vatican are no diplomatic slouches.  Aside from their own sharp minds, they've got over a thousand years of honing the fine points of diplomatic behavior.

      Note that the Bushwazee made the gauche assumption that they could just dictate the Pope's agenda.

      Smackdown.

      Note that the Vatican did not decline saying that there were other plans that had already been made that could not be altered, and perhaps another evening could be arranged.

      Smackdown.

      Benedict declined what was presented as a command performance, a fait accompli... the Pope will dine with His Fatheadness the Preznit upon the Pope's birthday.  He declined in the garb of civility; there was no papal "Fuck, no!"  But there was nothing more than the mere garb of a civil declining of the "offer" to remove the sting.

      There are no competing events listed on the pope's schedule, and the White House was unable to explain Benedict's absence from the dinner.

      Think about this.  What would it say if you held a birthday dinner for someone you knew, who was coming to visit... and they refused to attend?  You've announced it, invited all kinds of people who would normally be the people he'd want to be with at a formal occasion.

      Benedict's schedule does not indicate any events that would conflict with his ability to attend the 7:30 p.m. dinner that Wednesday.

      There is no conflict.

      None.

      No pretense is being made that there is a conflict.

      The Pope is expressing by act his personal condemnation.  To do so in words, directly, would be a gross affront that would unleash the Know Nothings to rant about the Pope and Catholics.

      But they can hardly make the case that the Pope HAS to attend a dinner that's being given in his honor.

      The act speaks volumes--for those who have ears to hear.

      You don't make state visits and decline to dine with the head of state.  It's not done.  Those kinds of events are de rigeur.  Bush would love to wrap himself in the implicit mantle of papal approval--and just got owned.  He's permitted the Pope to isue what amounts to a public condemnation of him... without having to pay the media piper.  Faux can't hyperventilate about the Pope choosing to spend his birthday as he sees fit.  But the message is out there.

      And it's not a subtle one.

      The light is at home in the darkness. -- Parmenides

      by ogre on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 10:07:55 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • There aren't many people (10+ / 0-)

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        in the world whose office has the stature from which to make such a pointed diplomatic statement to the "Leader of the Free World", either.  The Pope certainly does, however.

        by Rain on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 10:16:05 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        • One more example of the arrogance of Bush (11+ / 0-)

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          and those with him.

          These things are arranged behind the scenes, first.

          To some secondary Vaticano, a lackey suggests that the White House would like to hold a dinner in the Pope's honor, and suggests that since he'll be there on his birthday, what better time?

          The Vatican then agrees or declines, and does so in a time and place and way where there's no mojo riding on a demurral.

          Bushco put down a marker and tried to use the presumption that no one would decline a public "invitation."  Incompetents.  They handed him the perfect weapon with which to make his point.  Yes, you're the most powerful man in the world--and I would not want to spend my birthday with you.  I do not want to break bread with you.  I'll just go to a business meeting with my bishops and return to my embassy instead for a private dinner; maybe I'll have the papal equivalent of mac'n'cheez... rather than dining in your company.

          The list isn't that long, you're right.  Major heads of state could.  Mandela could.  The Pope is on the A list of that short list, and... well, it really tells us a lot about the state of the inside of the Bushco bubble.  They can't imagine how they're seen.  They could not imagine that the Pope would rebuff their "invitation." They could not see that there would be a downside possibility.

          Incompetents.  They've gone so far down the road that they cannot in advance imagine that their fantasies -- being welcomed with flowers as liberators -- won't come true.  And nothing will penetrate that fantasy world.

          The Greeks labeled it.  Hubris.

          They explained it well, too.  Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. (misattributed to Euripedes... but the sense of it is echoed in a variety of Greek sources)

          Stand well clear of them.  They have ascended the heights in arrogance, and their fall will be... thunder and avalanche.

          I'll cite (actual) Euripedes:

          When good men die their goodness does not perish,
          But lives though they are gone. As for the bad,
          All that was theirs dies and is buried with them.

          I'll offer the title:
          American Ozymandias: George W. Bush

          The light is at home in the darkness. -- Parmenides

          by ogre on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 10:37:19 AM PDT

          [ Parent ]

      • Thank God the Pope is willing to say no (5+ / 0-)

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        Rain, ogre, Aunt Em, Thirst, Kassandra

        Heavens, hardly anyone in the western world has had the moxy to do it up till now.

        You must be born from above (anothen)!

        by john2luke on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 11:23:24 AM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      • It's worse than that (4+ / 0-)

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        Rain, ogre, Thirst, Kassandra

        Ogre's right: you don't make state visits and then sit out the state dinner that's always at the heart of the event. It's just SO not done.

        There's another unwritten but universally-understood rule at work here, too. This one is broader: no matter who you are in the world, you do NOT refuse an invitation to the White House, especially one that involves a meal.

        The President invites you. You go. "No" is not an option -- unless you're trying to make a point that will stand for the ages, and also ensure you will NEVER be invited back again.

        (I know this because back in the 80s, I started my career as the secretary for a man who got invited to these events now and again. So did many of his friends. I have stories about the decks they had to clear, the things that were left hanging, the last-minute plane tickets that had to be arranged because Nancy summoned them to the Big House for lunch. It's hard to overstate how deeply ingrained this rule is among the world's rich and powerful.)

        So El Papa has just given the big fuck-off to our little Shrub. I lose no love on Ratzinger at all, but this strikes me as the best possible use of his moral authority. It's a good day to be Catholic, if you are.

        by Mrs Robinson on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 03:46:04 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

        • I can understand this (4+ / 0-)

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          There's another unwritten but universally-understood rule at work here, too. This one is broader: no matter who you are in the world, you do NOT refuse an invitation to the White House, especially one that involves a meal.

          The President invites you. You go. "No" is not an option

          for American citizens, but it strikes me as a peculiar "rule" for non-Americans, especially for visiting heads of state or equivalent.

          If this is really a universally understood rule, it sheds some light on the arrogance I see in the US administration (not only, but especially, this one) thinking it can pretty much have its own way, whenever, on whatever.

          Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

          by StarWoman on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:50:21 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

        • Incorrect (2+ / 0-)

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          Rain, Thirst

          It is done - skipping a state dinner - and for good reason.  Particularly, as one who is to be a representative for the poor and starving.

          It is not a snub, though I'm sure B16 could conceive of that as regards Mr. Bush (not the country).

          See my other note for detail...

          by Quaere Verum on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:59:49 PM PDT

          [ Parent ]

          • I Googled -- (3+ / 0-)

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            and I found this blogger's account that supports what you say:

            Traditionally, the Pope limits his dining companions to members of the Papal Household or prelates that discuss Church matters with him over a “working” meal. In the United States, it is sometimes difficult for us to comprehend the heritage of traditions associated with the world’s longest serving monarchy, the Bishop of Rome. While the Holy Father is the spiritual leader of over a billion Catholics, he is also the temporal ruler of the Vatican City State. Some of the traditions and customs that surround the Papal Court were established in the fourteenth century and have virtually unchanged until Pope Paul VI reorganized the Roman Curia in 1968.

            The fact that the Holy Father does not dine in public is often an issue that is more deeply rooted in traditions associated with a monarchial papacy. John-Paul II during his papacy often dined with people outside of the well-insulated Papal Household, but he chooses always to be the polite host and not the guest at the table. Such is the same with the present Holy Father. One needs to understand that for Catholics, Benedict XVI is the embodiment of temporal and spiritual authority in the Church, and as a result, wherever he goes, he brings the presence of the Church with him. Popes until John-Paul II usually dined alone. Blessed John XXIII compared this unique aspect of papal behavior as something compared to being punished.

            American culture needs to comprehend the fact that the papacy is an old and well-established institution that brings with it a variety of behavioral nuances. In addition to being a head of state, the Pope is also an absolute monarch in terms of authority over the destiny of the Catholic Church. American Catholics sometimes are unable to appreciate the fact that the Catholic Church is not a democracy in its form of government. Often, we want to apply the principles of the American Founding Fathers to the everyday life of the Catholic Church. However, our principles of a republic do not apply to the governance of the Holy See.

            That being said, there are, at this moment, many, many, many internet articles out there about the Pope skipping this dinner -- even Fox is carrying it.

            I'm thinking that there is another reality surfacing here -- a sort of disconnect  -- and maybe the media has become a message.  It may not have been His Holiness' intent -- but people are reading something into this that has its own truth for them.

            Ogre is right, though.  The White House screwed up in organizing this.

            by Rain on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 09:21:39 PM PDT

            [ Parent ]

            • Yes, and we have seen this so many times (4+ / 0-)

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              lately, no?

              people are reading something into this that has its own truth for them.

              The article is a great find of yours ;-)

              I think it really damages our society when so much distortion and 'spin' is tolerated, promoted, or perhaps worse, not recognized.  People have become so sloppy in their communication skills and analytical thinking, that public discourse becomes nothing but a stormy sea of emotional waves with no single, coherent direction or solid ground in sight!

              And yes, we can always bank on THIS from the Bush administration, can't we?

              The White House screwed up in organizing this.

              by Quaere Verum on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 01:42:33 PM PDT

              [ Parent ]

      • Maybe he confused the Pope with Tony Blair (3+ / 0-)

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        by Navy Vet Terp on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:27:14 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

      • It's protocol and precedent... (1+ / 0-)

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        Thirst

        Lavish dinners, just aren't done by modern (cough!) popes ;-)

        See detail here

        by Quaere Verum on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 07:03:09 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

    • I'm not sure that, as Pope, (7+ / 0-)

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      the man has much personal choice at all -- even as to what he would like to do on his own birthday.  He IS his office.  

      I agree with ogre downthread.  This is a diplomatic statement -- and I am racking my brain trying to think of another person with the gravitas to do this.  No one is coming to mind.

      by Rain on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 10:46:38 AM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • 'Gravitas' does not fit HH Dalai Lama (3+ / 0-)

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        Rain, Thirst, Kassandra

        but I remember being disappointed to see the cute guy sitting with Prez. the day before the latter went to Beijing a couple years back, and made attempts upon locked red doors.  There had been no saffron clad monks at the Faith-Based-Initiative photo-ops, and at this point, DL may be feeling a little used.  Benedict is wise to leave this one alone ya.  

        We make this!

        by waterdish on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 02:27:22 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  • Re: "Y'know" (14+ / 0-)

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    "The real story here IMHO is what idiot in the White House announced such a dinner before getting private agreement that the Pope would attend in the first place?" That's what I was wondering too!

    by Shelby Meyerhoff on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 07:58:53 AM PDT

  • ogre & shelby are right, but . . . (8+ / 0-)

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    . . . I can't resist a snark.

    Maybe His Holiness just doesn't want to dine with someone who talks with his mouth full and lets breadcrumbs dribble out.

    There is a crack, a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. --Leonard Cohen

    by Delia on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 10:23:22 AM PDT

  • The important question (4+ / 0-)

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    Will  The Pope  wear his red Pradas?

    "There ain't no sanity clause." Chico Marx http://wfmu.org/playlists/RX

    by Asbury Park on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 11:51:59 AM PDT

  • all I have to say is (7+ / 0-)

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    Miss Music Nerd: Music Appreciation that Doesn't Suck! http://missmusicnerd.wordpress.com/

    by virgomusic on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 12:07:38 PM PDT

  • Oh man! (2+ / 0-)

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    Thirst, Absit Invidia

    The Pope issues a total burn! Take that, Shrub!

    title=

    Seriously, I think the man has said more than he possibly could with mere words. Good on him.

    Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~~ Kahlil Gibran

    by Kassandra on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:13:47 PM PDT

  • More info... (3+ / 0-)

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    Rain, Thirst, Absit Invidia

    While I'm sure B16 is no fan Mr. Bush.... It is also protocol and precedent ;-)

    Benedict will skip a WH dinner in his honor in keeping with papal protocol -- which shies away from the Pope eating in public view,  -- and the precedent of his predecessors, who invariably declined the lavish expense of state banquets in their travels. The trip's opening event will be a mid-morning "diplomatic reception" featuring speeches by Benedict and Bush.

    by Quaere Verum on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 06:55:56 PM PDT

    • interesting - (1+ / 0-)

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      Thirst

      source, please?

      Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

      by StarWoman on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 07:06:35 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

    • Can't find that passage... googling... (4+ / 0-)

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      Rain, Thirst, StarWoman, Quaere Verum

      But did find this.

      It appears you're correct.

      Not that I'm sorry to have this urban myth out there ;-)

      But that only underscores the incredible incompetence of the Bush Administration.  This isn't a big secret, this is how the Vatican operates.  So the very act of making a public invitation and NOT understanding why it's not accepted -- and not having the Mouth of SauronBush's propaganda mouthpiece (who holds the toilet of Ari Fleischer these days... ah, yes, Perino is the Official Liar for the Bush Administration) cued up and able to explain that the pope is of course invited to this, but won't be attending because it's papal protocol and they never do this sort of thing...  that's incompetence.

      Rank. Incompetence.

      That's what a staff of professionals in the business of protocol and international affairs would know and have at their fingertips.

      Instead we have Regent U. summa cum mentitus grads and all hat and no cattle cronies.

      The light is at home in the darkness. -- Parmenides

      by ogre on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 07:42:47 PM PDT

      [ Parent ]

      • Hi Ogre! (2+ / 0-)

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        Rain, Thirst

        Per above, my info was insider based, personal knowledge as opposed to a press account ;-)

        And certainly, no argument here about just the latest in BushCo blunders! "Rank. Incompetence" through and through!

        Joy should come from a pop in the nose for Chimpy by B16 in his UN address, if the dullard can hear it!

        peace:-)

        by Quaere Verum on Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 01:50:23 PM PDT

        [ Parent ]

  • I'm also fairly certain that... (2+ / 0-)

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    Rain, Thirst

    Papa Ratzi will not be pleased with the planned 21-gun salute either... but we'll never know for sure!

    by Quaere Verum on Sat Apr 12, 2008 at 07:10:34 PM PDT

  • It's the Catholic neocons who have egg on their (2+ / 0-)

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    Rain, Thirst
    faces. Remember how Dubya gave JPII the Congressional Gold Medal? Much was made of it by the flacks despite John Paul's opposition to the war. You can't prevent a guest from giving you a medal, but the right never did talk about the war opposition.

    So Benedict would be mindful that this White House will use anything as a symbol. Just like they took advantage of diplomatic protoccol to give JPII a medal. Sheesh.

    I am sure the Catholic Republicans love the idea of Benedict visiting and ran away with it. And these people in the Administration are so full of themselves that they can't imagine someone refusing them.

    The rightists are treading on the Pope's general diplomatic niceties. In public he would probably say what he thought but would couch it so that they could twist it. He's not going to be rude or anything.

    So I think Dubya got faced in public, and the Catholic Right got faced. In effect, Dubya could turn to these guys and ask, "Can't you guys even produce?!"

    by Belvedere Come Here Boy on Mon Apr 14, 2008 at 06:15:06 AM PDT

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