My dear readers must judge for themselves whether I have calmed sufficiently to avoid a rant.. I am glad to see that Mulier Fortis agrees with me about the ridiculously short notice we have been given if we wish to have the slightest chance of attending the first Vatican blogging conference. In my turn, I agree with the other points Mac offers about expense and the difficulty of making arrangements at this late stage.
The Vatican seems to have launched this initiative on the basis of some questionable assumptions. 1. that we can all afford to go to Rome at the drop of a hat. (There seems to be total unawareness that many of us blog simply BECAUSE it is a CHEAP way of keeping in touch with the Church at large, and of sharing out views. 2. that many of us will be in Rome anyway for the Beatification 3. that many of us do not have jobs which preclude any chance of our being there 4. that the majority of Catholic bloggers are 'young'. (see Rome reports video on Bones' blog) Of coursse the Church must attract and look after the 'young'. They are the future. But if you are between 40 and death, do you ever feel that the Church has forgotten about you?) 5. that in the terms they give, the Vatican thinks that with a full capacity of 150 (worldwide and from several different language groups) it can select a truly representative assembly.
SEVERAL QUESTIONS ARE BEGGED. According to the Catholic Herald 'hundreds' have applied already. Who is doing the sifting and how thoroughly? Will a list of the successful applicants be published? Why the haste? How can such an event be properly organised within such a short time frame?Rome is usually much more cautious and thorough than this. It shouldn't be surprised that many of us are sceptical. Congratulation to Hilary White for efforts to organise and independent bloggers meeting, again in Rome. Personally I think Reluctant Sinner has made the best suggestion. More about that in the next post. (It's Monday, and shopping day here! Have to go.)
2 comments:
Maybe the point of the short notice was to exclude thousands of potential candidates. Kind of like when employers ask for a Bachelor's degree when all you really need is a high school diploma. It helps reduce the number of applicants.
Suzanne: You have a point. But if one takes it, then it doesn't encourage belief in the Vatican's desire to know the real extent and possible power of the Catholic Blogosphere. Whether they want it or not, and short notice notwithstanding, I think they will have a fairly good inkling now. Perhaps they were just 'fishing'. In the meantime, do consider joining Reluctant Sinner's new initiative for a Catholic Blogger's Guild.(see my blog if you need a link to him.
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