Comments on Barbara Alfaro: The Golden Pompous

Excellent reviews, Barbara. I'm not too tempt...

2011-05-21T14:21:39.451-07:00

Excellent reviews, Barbara. I'm not too tempted to take a break from my steady diet of B westerns at the moment to watch either film, though.

I love the way you love film and story and yet can...

2011-05-21T13:05:45.899-07:00

I love the way you love film and story and yet can remain critical (in the best sense of the word) as you think about specific films or stories.

Hi Phanto, Yes, your comments apply to any large o...

2011-05-20T07:04:47.452-07:00

Hi Phanto, Yes, your comments apply to any large organization whether a church, school, boy/girl scouts, etc.

That's interesting about "God bless you" being an ancient custom. I remember hearing that your heart stopped when you sneezed and that's why people asked a protective blessing.

I don't think it is a situation that applies t...

2011-05-19T17:40:45.370-07:00

I don't think it is a situation that applies to the Catholic Church because it is the Catholic Church. I just think that within any hierarchical organization that has grown a lot and become important, people at different levels of the hierarchy have a tendency to become insular and take actions within the hierarchy or bureaucracy even in detriment to its founding principles. This is part of what led to the current scandal with regards to the child-abuse by priests. But this happens to all sorts of organizations all over the world and then others pile up on them. It's the human condition.

As to saying "God bless you" after somebody sneezes, I think this is a very ancient custom. It has to do with the belief that if you sneeze hard enough you can expel your soul from your body and if the devil is around he will snatch it. So then you say "God bless you" (in Spain and Latin America they say "Jesus") to keep the devil away long enough to allow the soul to get back in. I always make a distinction between religion and the cultural values or practices that have their roots in religious ideas. The latter can be accepted by everyone including atheists.