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Pope John Paul II, it is now clear, put enormous effort into covering up the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, which enabled it to continue. Then the Vatican invited Cardinal Bernard Law, of all people, to lead one of the Pope’s funeral masses: a great honor to Law, a rebuke to those who dared criticize him for actively covering up child molestation in his archdiocese of Boston, and an unmistakable message that he had the late Pope’s full approval. And now the church, including Pope Benedict, is rushing to make John Paul II a saint.
“Saint” has a very specific meaning in the Roman Catholic Church. To be canonized, one must be a confessor of the faith, martyr and/or miracle worker. But even so, the word also carries its common meaning of “person of extraordinary virtue or benevolence.” Apparently that meaning is being suspended in this case.
Another day when I felt like I wasn’t hitting a groove, but now that I look at these, especially the third one, I think I actually did. It has a subtlety of shading I’ll have to study again before next time. That won’t be next Monday, because Joy and Munchkin have the day off, so it will be a family day.
This past Monday’s was definitely a session when I did not seem to be able to make the kind of marks I wanted to. The charcoal seemed either too hard or too soft, which may have been true, as I was using some different charcoal than usual, and/or the too-hardness and too-softness might have been in the hand. And yet hand and charcoal and model did connect in that torso of (c). Moments of grace.
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- Barely more than a gesture (what was I doing for seven minutes?), and the proportions are off, but the gesture is right and I like the right hand and right knee.
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- This ghostly little figure ended up being one of my favorites for the day, and my favorite bit might be that especially-ghostly left arm.
Sermons in Stones 
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