Rome

December 14, 2020 Well, we are already in the third week of Advent. I have been in Rome for these weeks, and last Wednesday we began our general definitory meeting (which in December is always longer than normal). We go through the end of this week. The weather is cool, but not really super cold. Last week there was quite a bit of rain, which is normal for this time of year. There are a lot of covid regulations given the situation in the country, which is not as bad as the States but nevertheless not all that good. Restaurants, for example, must close at 6 PM, which is very odd for in Italy most people don't eat their evening meal til around 8 PM. We have had some interesting news in these weeks. The custos of Assisi was named a cardinal, and a friar in Turkey was named the archbishop of Izmir in Turkey (Smyrna in the Bible). Both of these men are really fine people. I have been writing a series of six articles for one of our magazines in Kenya. I should finish the project today. Then I have two or three shorter projects to complete. I have finished some reading: City of Light, City of Poison by Holly Tucker This is an account of a series of poisoning murders that occurred during the reign of King Louis XIV. It is possible that his own concubines were involved in some of the plots, including even the possibility of a plot against the king himself. This book also outlines the beginning of an investigative police force in the City of Light. It is quite interesting, but at times seems to devolve to scandal mongering (although given the morality of the time, this does not necessarily mean that what it presents is inaccurate). Midnight at Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham This is a thorough account of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. It deals with the Communist system and how the inefficiencies of that centrally run economic system led to design errors which largely caused the disaster. It deals with the individuals who set off the disaster through their mistakes or their own inefficiencies. It deals with the aftermath of the disaster in terms of the effect on the public and the government response. The book offers a number of personal portraits which makes its reading quite satisfying. The author does not spare the horror of it all, but presents everything calmly and fairly. Jomiini by Charles River Editors This is a short biography of a Swiss expert on warfare who first fought with the forces of Napoleon and then allowed his services to be bought by the court of the Czar in Russia. He was a contemporary of Clausewitz and while some of their theories correspond, others seem to have purposely been proposed in contrast to those of the other. Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong by Paul Offit This is a study of some of the proposals made by scientists that have proved to be most damaging. One of the most obvious was the tendency to perform lobotomies on people in the hope to make them more manageable. The author attacks Rachel Carson’s presentation of the dangers of DDT, saying that its banning produced many, many more deaths through Malaria. Interestingly, he says that the proposal that vaping is dangerous is inaccurate, which theory itself has proved to be inaccurate in these past couple of years. The author is not really anti-science, but he is anti-sensationalism. His bottom line theory is that we have to follow the data. Imperial Twilight: the Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age by Stephen Platt This is a very good account of China in the period leading up to and during the two Opium Wars, wars that Britain fought for free trade (but also largely to permit British traders to import opium into China). What I truly appreciated about the book was that it did not get bogged down on war details, but rather painted an extensive picture of the society both of China and of the British traders. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the era. Before Darkness by Michael Dean This is the story of how the industrialist Walther Rathenau succeeded in business, then as an organizer of material that Germany needed during the First World War, and finally in government after that war as a minister in the Weimar Republic. He was often attacked for the fact that he was a Jew and he was gay. He was eventually assassinated by the far right which saw his actions as a betrayal of Germany at the end of the war (the famous stab in the back theory). May the rest of your Advent be peaceful. Shalom fr. Jude

Assisi - Rome - Ellicott City

June 10, 2013 Peace and Good, This has been a week of meetings. The General Definitory travelled up to Assisi for a week of meetings with the Presidents of the various conferences of friars throughout the world. The order is divided into provinces, and each geographic area (e.g. North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean) are organized into conferences. Each of these has a president who works together with the Assistant General of that area to organize activities and projects. Once a year, they come to Rome for a week long meeting with the General Definitory to plan for the year. This year we decided to have the meeting in Assisi to remind us of what we are all about. The meetings went very well, and it was good to see the men again. We had just finished our General Chapter at the end of February, and this meeting helped us to plan how to put into effect all of the decisions we made during the Chapter. We got to visit a couple of the local friaries as well. One of them is called Rivotorto (which literally means the meandering or crooked stream). This was the site of Francis and his followers' first dwelling, a hut in which animals were often kept. That hut, or a reproduction of it, is now kept inside of a parish church which we run. We travelled back to Rome on Saturday morning, and I flew out yesterday. The scene at the airport of Rome was chaotic. I think that they must be having work slow downs, because the last time I came into Rome there was a long, long, long line at customs control, and this time there was an even longer line at security. Fortunately, I always arrive very, very early so I can relaz at the airport before the flight. I will be in the States for a couple of week, here, in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Then it is off to Canterbury for a week. I will not be back in Rome until August 2nd. I finished a few books: The Greater Journey by David McCullough The author of this book is a famous historian who has written masterpieces upon Truman, the Panama Canal, the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, etc. I have read a number of his books and have always been satisfied. This book covers an unusual topic: the travel of Americans to Paris during the 19th century. Almost from the beginning of our nation, Americans have been fascinated by Paris and many, many have gone there to live, to study, to produce art, etc. Some of the first Americans who went there were medical students for there was hardly any organized form of medical education in the States (one was mentored by someone who claimed to be a doctor) while Paris had a highly organized form of medicine. Then there were the authors (e.g. James Fennimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William James, etc.). There were also the artists who came to Paris to learn and perfect their trade, including John Singer Sargent, Augustus St. Gaudens, James Whistler, Mary Cassatt, etc. One of the most endearing portraits he presents is that of our ambassador to France during the Franco Prussian War: Elihu Washburne. He saved any number of lives of his own citizens as well as Frenchmen and Germans who had been working in Paris when the war began. The book is really a series of vignettes which give a wonderful sense of what Americans found and loved in this city of lights. Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941 by William Shirer This is a fascinating book written by William Shirer while he was a correspondent for a radio network in Berlin at the beginning of World War II. He is there until December of 1940, and he described what he knows of what is going on in the totalitarian state that Hitler created. He describes the lives of the Germans around him and how they believe the great lie dished out by the state. He is the author of the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. The book is well done, and reads as an adventure which happens to be a true story. The Camel Club by David Baldacci The Camel Club is an organization in Washington D.C. which is composed of what society would consider to be a group of losers, but who nevertheless are able to ferret out the truth about a conspiracy against the government by some members of the administration. This includes Muslim terrorists as well as North Korean operatives. The book is well written and an enjoyable read. Have a good week. Shalom fr. Jude

Ellicott City - Rome

March 10, 2013 Peace and Good, I arrived back in Rome on Thursday. I was not sure that the plane would get off the ground on Wednesday due to the snow storm that was coming in from Chicago, but by the time it reached Baltimore it was not all that serious. It was an uneventful trip back, except that on the London to Rome flight a man became very aggressive and had to be quieted by the stewardess who warned him that he would be arrested when they landed if he didn’t calm down. She handled the situation very well and should be commended for defusing a messy situation. Rome is abuzz with papal fever. The conclave begins on Tuesday, and there are actually people going around with figures of how many cardinals are for one candidate or another. I think a lot of it is pure speculation. Cardinal Scola, the Archbishop of Milan, who is the prime Italian candidate had Mass this morning in our Church of Santi Apostoli (this is his titular Church). The place was packed with people from the newspapers and TV networks. We start a definitory tomorrow which will go through Friday. This is very much a follow through with some of the decisions we made right after our General Chapter. We have to see how many of the friars we proposed for various responsibilities are available and willing. Then we will have to go back to the drawing board for certain assignments. I suspect that some positions will not be filled for at least a few months. My frozen shoulder has been unfreezing. I had a cortisone shot and did three sessions of physical therapy in the States. They taught me a series of stretching exercises to loosen up the muscles. It seems to be working. I can now move my arm much farther than I could for the past few months. I will probably have to keep up the exercise for at least another month, but things are looking up. I have finished a few books: The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux It is not often that I read a book with a major figure who I so dislike. This was the case with the cautionary tale of a man who takes his wife and four children down from Hatfield where he was working as a handy man on a farm to Honduras, the Mosquito Coast, to start anew. He believes that everything in the States is falling apart and he wants to set up his own Eden without government or God, etc. He is a very clever inventor, but not a very nice person. He is highly opinionated, a bully, a liar, a narcissist. His older two sons only slowly discover how twisted his ideas are. He even lies to the family telling them that America had been in a war and destroyed just so that he could control them. He does build a settlement with all sorts of clever inventions, but then accidentally destroys it when three armed men come and intend to stay. He moves the family to a mud flats during dry season, and they are flooded out during the first rainy season (something the locals had warned him of but he was too stubborn to believe). He ends up badly, after almost destroying everyone in his family. The Best American Short Stories of 2011 by Geraldine Brooks This is an interesting collection of short stories about any number of topics. It includes the story of a Nigerian businessman who is thinking of getting in contact with an old lover, a married couple that are trying to adjust to each other and her pregnancy while on a honeymoon in Rome, a young man who tried to commit suicide and his relationship with his friends and his eventual foolish death, there is the story of a Holocaust survivor. There is the story of a Russian émigré who has just gone through treatment for cancer and his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. There is one of a teacher who becomes a nanny and her relationship with the family and boy who have entered her life. There is a story of the appearance of phantasms is a town and the confusion they cause. There is one in which a young woman buys an odd book and how the book and the woman change over the years. There is the story of how prisoners are part of an experiment to see how various chemicals would affect their feelings and knowledge and conduct. There is a story about a group of children who play video games and their relationships. One of my favorites was of how an entire town in Minnesota goes to sleep during the snowy season, a type of a hibernation. It is a good cross section of themes, and some of the stories were very enjoyable. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst I have listened to a few of Furst’s books already. They all deal with the period just before the Second World War and at the beginning of the war. The previous books I have read dealt with the situation in the Balkans, that in Poland, and that of the captain of a ship trying to avoid the Nazi navy. This volume deals with an American actor who had born in Vienna and who was now in Paris for the shooting of a film about a Slavic soldier who was trying to find his way back home from Turkey after the First World War. The Nazis were trying to use him for propaganda purposes, but the actor decides to offer his services to the Americans to perform some spying activities for them instead. Furst in incredibly talented in bringing this period of history to life. One can hear about the various political parties secretly fighting and seeking ascendency. One can see how difficult it was to figure out who was telling the truth, and what the truth meant in such charged times. It is a very, very good book. Have a good week. Shalom Fr. Jude

Rome - Geneva - Rome

November 29, 2012 Peace and Good, This posting is a bit late this week because I had to leave on Monday to fly to Geneva at a last minute’s notice to take care of some business up there with Franciscans International, the NGO lobbying organization sponsored by the Franciscans at the UN. I flew back last evening after the meetings had concluded. The weather in Geneva this time of year is not great. It rained from the moment the plane touched down until it was time to go to the airport to return. I cannot believe how expensive everything is up there. It is sometimes double the prices down here in Rome, and Rome is already at least 50% more than in the States. This past week was spent trying to get ahead with articles, web scriptural reflections, etc. I have managed to get into a position where I am several months ahead with the articles and have finished the reflections until after the New Year, so I am in good shape. Tomorrow I will begin translating some important documents for the General Chapter. We usually have another translator for documents, but these are documents produced by the Minister General and the General Definitory, and I was present when they were written. I know what we were trying to say, so it was thought that it would be best for me to do these particular documents. There will be about 150 pages of them, so I will quite busy with them for the next ten days or so. I have also been hosting some friars who came through from our province, including our minister provincial, fr. James. We all went out for pizza Thanksgiving evening (and no, they didn’t have turkey pizza anywhere). I have finished a few books: David King Death in the City of Light: The Serial Killer of Nazi Occupied Paris This was a very interesting book about a mass murderer in the city of Paris during the Nazi occupation. It seems as if the man involved, a doctor, Dr. Maurice Petoit, convinced people that he could transport them to safety to the unoccupied part of France and eventually to Argentina. He offered these services to those who were desperate to escape: Jews, criminals, just normal people. He killed people in one of his properties and was only caught when the smell coming out of the building tipped people and eventually the police to the fact that he was burning bodies. There is no clear idea of how many people were actually killed. It might have been more than one hundred. The author speaks about the situation in Paris, the life of the doctor, and the eventual trial and death of the murderer. The irony was that the Nazis were killing hundreds and thousands of French in their death camps at the exact same time. The investigation into the deaths actually began during the occupation period, and only ended after the liberation. It was complicated by the fact that many of the people involved in the investigation were removed from their responsibilities because they were being accused of collaboration with the Nazis. This was a good book, although it is messy and troubling. Yalta: The Price of Peace by SM Plokhy This conference was one of the most infamous of gatherings of the leaders of the World War II allies. It resulted in the surrender of most of Eastern Europe to the communists for most of the rest of the century. This book surveys what really happened at that encounter. The book is well documented and not a difficult read. It deals with the motivations of Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. It deals with many of the accusations that have been put forward concerning that meeting. It asks what could have been done to save Poland when it was already occupied by Soviet forces. The only real alternative would have been a new war when most of the world was incredibly exhausted from the war that was not yet over. I like the realistic tone the book takes. Stalin comes across as a shrewd manipulator of the other two main negotiators. One sees how much he controlled the government and army of his country. His underlings did not dare propose anything to the allies without first passing it by him. I would definitory recommend this book for anyone interested in World War II and Cold War history. Barcelona Betrayal by Steve Kenning This is a detective novel that takes place in Barcelona. The heroes of the story are a couple of soon to be married detectives. They are both beautiful and highly intelligent. All the other police in the story come across as incompetent or corrupt or both. The story dabbles with idea of multiple personalities, but the psychological information seems to be mistaken and confused. It is a good presentation of the environs of Barcelona, but the heroes come across as two dimensional and I wouldn’t recommend this particular author. Hope you have a good week. Shalom Fr. Jude