It’s a wonderful thing that the current pope would choose a concert of classical music with which to celebrate his 80th birthday. Wonderful, I mean, only by comparison to the musical tastes of his predecessor, which seemed to incline towards tribal rhythms and the so-called “rock and roll” of the youth, which is obviously the music of Satan. (Don’t worry, I have this on good authority - not from Satan! - but from certain traditional priests.) I enjoyed in particular this picture from the concert: we can see Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, the Secretary of State and Camerlengo, as well as Georg Ratzinger, the Holy Father’s brother - notice the red piping of a monsignor on his cassock.

And yet why should it not someday be the purple piping of a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church? Leo XIII, of immortal memory, elevated his brother, Giuseppe, to the dignity of the sacred purple in 1879, in the second year of his pontificate. Giuseppe helped with the implementation of Leo’s idea to make Thomistic philosophy de rigueur for seminarians. Georg could plausibly be said to be taking a similar, though more limited, role in this pontificate as Benedict seeks the restoration of sacred music in the liturgy. In any case, I don’t see the harm of a little nepotism on account of fraternal affection by the gift of what would be only an honorary kind of perogative, the cardinalate. And being the elder in a pair of brothers, I do like to think that there is strong affection between them.

On an unrelated note, I wanted to make sure that this annual gathering and educational seminar received notice on our blog. The description sounds absolutely heavenly! I looked into going to this summer program, once upon a time, but Dr. Rao was only able to offer a most modest “scholarship”, i.e. a small discount off the not significant costs. Ah, but if you have the money to go! A friend and I spent a few nights one summer north of Milan, at Lake Como, another destination in the Italian pre-Alpine region. It’s beautiful. To have that scenic beauty combined with the daily offering of the Old Rite, great food, and daily trad rants - I can’t imagine a more lovely vacation.

Summer Symposium June 28 - July 9, 2007

A ten day Summer Symposium in Gardone Riviera, on Lake Garda, in northern Italy, to introduce participants to a full sense of the Catholic life. We explore the historical development and character of Christian Civilization of Christendom during the Carolingian Era (751-896) The daily program consists lectures with ample time for discussion and Holy Mass, according to the 1962 missal (Tridentine Mass) Beautiful setting, breakfast and dinners and excursions to Venice and Borromeo Island (Lago Maggiore)and private boat trip on Lake Garda included.

Accomodation and lectures for the Symposium at Gardone are at the Locanda agli Angeli, on Lake Garda, in the foothills of the Alps in northern Italy. Rooms are mostly doubles, with bath. A limited number of singles are available. The Locanda is located in Gardone Sopra, a ten minute walk from the lakefront, where free, clean beaches with a number of amenities can be found. The Angeli offers a beautiful swimming pool and garden on its premises as well. Meals are taken both there and at a trattoria, Da Mario, several minutes walk away. Mass is in the parish church, also within a few minutes walking distance.

Roman Forum Institute, Lake Garda, Italy

Contact: The Roman Forum/Dr. John Rao
11 Carmine Stret, #2C
New York, NY 10014 USA
dvinstitute — at —- aol.com
The Roman Forum