Paul Luvera Journal

The news reports that Pope Benedict has named Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis to the Vatican Supreme court. As a result he will be made a cardinal and move to Italy. I am not surprised that Pope Benedict picked the nation’s most conservative, right wing Catholic Bishop for the position and has decided to make him a cardinal. They think alike. I have expressed my opinions about Pope Benedict and Archbishop Raymond Burke both of whom have exhibited ultra conservative moral…

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I had hoped that since we did not have a Catholic running for president this year we would be spared the ugliness of political tyranny by the Bishops in dictating to American Catholics which candidates to vote for as they so blatantly did during the Kerry vs Bush campaign. Saber rattling threats about denial of communion and what constituted a "good Catholic" influenced the outcome of political races. However, it  appears the “wafer war” has not disappeared. We have the example of registered Republican…

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I came across a book George Plimpton wrote some time ago Mad Ducks and Bears which I read on our trip. It discusses football with a lot of time devoted to Alex Karras and John Gordy stories. I’d always admired Karras as a player. It turns out Karras had been selected in high school as All State four times during his playing in Indiana. What’s even more remarkable was he was selected each year in a different position in football:…

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I'm not a real fan of bullfighting because I can't get past the problem of the cruelty of the sport. However, ever since reading Ernest Hemmingway's 1932 book Death in the Afternoon I have been a huge fan of the courage, skill and art of the matador. My favorite quote from the book deals with timing and courage. Hemmingway writes about the concept of "Ver Llegar" or "to watch them come" which he describes as the ability to watch t…

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We are home. We left London on a sunny afternoon. London is eight hours ahead of Seattle time so, we arrived on a overcast cold afternoon in Seattle, tired and jet lagged. I have piles of newspapers to thumb through (I’m afraid I might miss something important) lots of mail to read and accumulated bills to pay. There are also suitcases to unload and contents put away. Dirty clothes to be washed and unfinished business to be faced. Unfortunately, the computers…

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Today is Sunday June 1st. This will be brief because on this French key board the A, W and M are all in different places then our key board so it is one finger typing for now. Our drive from Paris was pleasant with Alan who lives near here and speaks very good English. The hotel is a very old farm remodeled into a hotel outside of town. We ate in the hotel last night: The food is very good…

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Today is Friday May 30th and we are in Paris staying in the wonderful George V hotel. Our suite has a narrow balcony area with a view of the Effile Tower and the city.. Last night we ate at the Le Cinq restaurant in this hotel which is worth visiting Paris for by itself. A modified menu in which each small course is accompanied by a wine and all of it delicious. Waiters dressed in tuxedo's with tails. The lobby…

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We left Ravello on Monday morning and were driven across the mountains to Puglia and our hotel Masseria San Domenico. It was a three hour drive through grape, olive and wheat area. It was 93 degrees outside and was beautiful. Our driver had trouble finding the hotel – stopping in the middle of the road to check his map with lights flashing. He also drove between 95 and 100 mph on the autostrada so we kept and eye open the…

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Sunday >May 25, 2008. We went to Mass this morning at the church in  the square. It was 1st communion day and the steps were full of parents. Women dressed up and men in suits. Boys with a white monk robe and girls in white dresses. Each girl was given a large Easter Lilly. The priest gave the children a talk (too long) at the top of the stairs and led the children inside where the sat on each side…

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