PHOTO When in Rome.

[Jackeens]

[Lerkfish]

1. probably an awkward photo for ratzo, the former hitler youth

[NYdemocrat089]

12. That comment was not necessary.

I'm not a big fan of the Pope, but lets be fair and not ignore facts. Hitler's Youth was compulsory for all 14 year olds when he became a member. He then deserted and returned to his home near the end of the war. That membership in no way implies he is in favor of eugenics or a racist.

[Posteritatis]

38. I doubt folks will ever drop that one

It's comforting to them to assume that involuntary service in the Hitler Youth as a young teenager is exactly the same as being an officer in the Einsatzgruppen.

[phleshdef]

14. Right because a 14 year old kid being forced into something by his government had a choice.

There are plenty of reasons to criticize the Pope, but BS like that detracts from the actual important stuff and wreaks of a whole other type of bigotry. But go ahead, ignore the facts and the circumstances. Republicans do it all the time and they seem to get away with it.

[Lerkfish]

35. well, I guess that makes me a bigot against nazis, then.....

I can live with that.

[Posteritatis]

39. So do you hate every German male of or near his age? (nt)

[Lerkfish]

45. was I inaccurate in anything I said?

[Lerkfish]

49. I pointed out he was in the hitler youth. am I wrong?

where does hate come into this?

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lerkfish]

48. really? that's an odd conclusion.

were all catholics in the hitler youth?

[Brooklyns_Finest]

2. Realy nice

That is a really nice picture. I like the way Michelle looks.

[YOY]

3. This jaded Agnostic quasi-Catholic loves those shoes.

No not Michelle's.

Faboo!

[Jackeens]

5. LOL. Altogether now: "Put on your red shoes and dance the blues"

[Jennicut]

6. The red shoes are something else, huh?

[monmouth]

24. I believe they're Pradas....n/t

[CTyankee]

58. I read somewhere that He has his own shoemaker way up in northern Italy

near the Austrian border. Here is a tidbit from NPR on the "red shoes": http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89732516

[beac]

40. Pope Palpatine loves his Pradas, yes he does! n/t

[alsame]

4. One reporter said the girls were there too but were not

photographed with the Pope. But he gave them each a special blessing. I wonder if he also blessed POTUS and FLOTUS.

[sundancekid]

7. still wearing $500 Ferragamo or Prada shoes I see ... the Pope that is!

Calls for a twist: I complained I had no Prada's until I met a man without ANY shoes ... some of these Church High Ups disgust me when they preach the Gospel of Jesus and live their lives full of luxurious comforts ... what a sham, if we notice their "example" ...

ON THE OTHER HAND, we have a President who leads by example in his own life ... Thank You.

[WeDidIt]

8. I'm sorry, but I gotta say it

The way this Pope looks FREAKS ME THE FUCK OUT!

He reminds me of some character from a Karloff film.

[Myrina]

37. Yep - he looks 1/2 Pope, 1/2 Zombie from a bad horror flick

:scared:

[elleng]

51. And his major pre-Pope job caused me to dislike him.

Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the most important offices of the Roman Curia. . .

On 25 November 1981, Pope John Paul II named Ratzinger Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly known as the Holy Office, the historical Inquisition. >>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI

[FrenchieCat]

9. You can put Michelle into a Nun's outfit, and she looks totally Fab!

What a gorgeous woman our gorgeous President Married!
(I see she's sporting her Star Treck belt! :rofl: )

[Jennicut]

10. LOL. I like that belt, even if the Prez doesn't.

[shireen]

11. she is stunning!

i've never really paid much attention to first ladies, but Michelle is utterly fascinating. Not just the fashion (not that i'm interested in fashion!) but everything about her just makes me smile.
Michelle, :yourock:

[truth2power]

13. Could someone point me to a definitive answer

as to why it's protocol for women having an audience with the Pope to wear black? There have been lots of assumptions, but does anyone know for sure?

It's just a matter of curiosity. thanks.

[Blasphemer]

27. Didn't see your question... I asked the same below... I'm also curious... nt

[Phx_Dem]

36. I don't know the answer, but I know many staunch Catholic women

often wear headscarves to church. Rose Kennedy always did, and Jackie often did. Rose was such a strong Catholic she probably slept in hers.

[truth2power]

56. Back in the day, women always wore a head covering in both the Roman Catholic and

the Episcopal (Anglican) Church. Episcopalians no longer follow that custom. I don't think Catholics do either.

I was wondering about the black attire. I haven't been able to find any answer on Google.

[Clio the Leo]

57. Is a hat ok?

Or does it have to be a veil?

That's my question ...... 'cause I would have rocked a perfectly modest and tasteful Sunday hat ..... if I had the option.

[gauguin57]

15. Sorry, but Michelle's mantilla gives me bad Catholic-girl flashbacks.

I still see my mother putting that Kleenex on her head in the '60s, when she'd forgotten to pack a hat on vacation and had to cover her head for mass.

But Michelle does look good ... in her BURQA! (sorry ... I'm so very, very lapsed).

[alsame]

17. We must have

the same mother :rofl:

In an emergency, any piece of cloth would do! She finally bought one of those small head veils (with bobby pins) that folded up very small and kept it in her purse.

[Cleita]

20. No you are right. She got the wrong fashion advice on this.

A nice lavender color for that outfit would make it secular looking and still proper to be introduced to the Pope.

[Jackeens]

23. So did Jackie, it seems!

[Cleita]

26. My memory said white lace. That was fifty years ago.

Remind me not to have an opinion around here anymore. Hey, they both look like penguins, okay? Everybody happy?

[PA Democrat]

28. And Laura Bush

[CTyankee]

55. "more black lace than a Goya duchess" to quote Christopher Buckley

(said about his mother's audience with the former Pope...I forget which one).

[incapsulated]

30. She has to wear *black*

The Vatican has it's own customs and this is one of them, you break it for "fashion" at your peril, unless making headlines for all the wrong reasons is something you desire.

[hedgehog]

43. I am very ambivalent on this. I'd dress appropiately in someone else's

house, but I resent the rules written by the celibate clerics running things in my house. Much of the Vatican protocol goes back to the notion that the seizure of the Papal States to form the modern state of Italy was a terrible injustice.

[Aristus]

16. "Tell me, Your Holiness: what did you Nazis have planned for the 'schvartzen'? "

...sotto voce...

[MilesColtrane]

18. Nice red shoes there, papa.

If he gets tired on one of his world tours does he close his eyes, click the heels together, and say, "There's no place like Rome. There's no place like Rome."?

[Cleita]

19. Why is Michelle dressed like a nun? Some one gave her bad fashion advice on this

one. Jackie Kennedy wore a lovely white lace mantilla, which was quite feminine and not at all religious looking.

[Jackeens]

21. ??

[incapsulated]

22. Exactly, I was going to say it *reminded* me of Jakie

Michelle has a sheer one and Jakie's was lace.

[Blasphemer]

25. Is there a specific reason why she is wearing black?

Not knowing much about Catholicism beyond the basics... I'm curious.

[incapsulated]

29. It's Vatican custom

"The rector procures from the master of the chamber the necessary card of admission. Amongst the instructions printed on this card are those regulating the dress to be worn on such occasion: for priests the cassock with a large black mantle (ferraiolone), such as Roman secular priests wear; for lay men, evening dress with white cravat; for ladies, a black dress with black lace veil on the head."

Everyone does it. Those who don't raise eyebrows.

[Retrograde]

32. When in Rome....

It's called protocol, just like taking off one's shoes when visiting a mosque (see the Cairo visit). If the Pope came calling at the White House the Obamas can set the dress code.

Ob fashion observation: black is not Michelle's best color, IMHO. She carries off bright colors so well.

[incapsulated]

34. Yeah, it's not a good color for her but...

Neither is it the time to make a fashion statement, you just don't want to screw up in that sort of straight-jacket of a situation.

However, I doubt the Obamas could make the Pope wear short-shorts just because. :P

[JayMusgrove]

31. I think the title of this thread is just right. When in Rome, any world

leader MUST visit the Pope. I don't know why, but they just MUST.

I'm curious as to the comments of all 3 with each other, if the Pope said anything significant, etc.

[incapsulated]

33. 24% of Americans are Catholic

Over a billion worldwide.

And there is one guy at the top.

Doubt he said anything meaningful, though.

He will always be Ratzinger to me. :D

[beac]

41. And after this photoshoot they all went out to the Olive Garden.

I hear the one in Rome has the BEST Italian food!



:hide:

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

42. Boo hissssssssssss! n/t

[and-justice-for-all]

53. LOL!! nt

:rofl:

[Sultana]

44. ........

[JI7]

46. Obama looks like he is trying to hold in some laughter

[mnhtnbb]

50. Sure does make the point that the Pope is quite the narcissist, doesn't it?

Hey, look at me in my red and white and everybody else gets to fade into the background in their black.

[and-justice-for-all]

52. Nice dress ratzo....

evil little bastard.

[CTyankee]

54. I was DREADING this photo of Michelle! I had hoped, tho, that it would be more understated

than what she has on. The long veil is just too much.

I won't unrecommend this thread because it is a recorded fact. I'm just so unhappy that Michelle felt compelled to be so over the top with the headpiece. I think a simple black lace "doily" would have sufficed. After all, unlike Jackie, Michelle is not Catholic. It is one thing to be diplomatically correct; it is another to have a veil the length of a nun's habit.