The Papal Road Show

So B16 went to Bari yesterday, his first trip outside Rome since the election. Great photos, great syntheses are out there, but here are two nuggets I found -- both from today's NYTimes brief on it.

First off, a beef: Ian Fisher calls the eucharist "the sacrament of bread and wine." Period. Why is something so ridiculously simple to describe even in objective terms the biggest tongue-twister for the secular press? AP had to issue a correction about the same thing last week; Amy told us this.

And now for the fun stuff.... The new pope's approach has been described as "businesslike," but this is warmer than business:

"About halfway home, though, his helicopter dropped low over the town of Duronia and hovered as he blessed a crowd gathered on a soccer field.... The pilot was from the town."

Imagine it: you're watching a game, hanging out on a soccer field, and out of the heavens descending, it's the Pope. That's hot.

And then Benedict asked what could well be called The Question, one we often don't ask ourselves enough:

"How can we communicate with the Lord if we don't communicate among ourselves?"

That's why this setup exists.... I'm grateful for the papal plug.

-30-