The “German Shepherd”
in America

What is the “decisive action” that is being asked from political leaders by the president of Ceneco? Several people we asked had the same answer: Support for his controversial contract with KEPCO.

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Of course this will be denied by the Ceneco people, but it looks as if consumers in its area are now so disgusted with the service they are getting from the cooperative (is it one already, by the way) that one can’t blame them for being skeptical, if not suspicious of any justifications being trotted out to explain the frequent brownouts. Already many are complaining about their damaged appliances, and I have a very personal and very likely to be expensive experience in this.

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Some of the people who harp on the KEPCO affair may be doing it with tongue-in-check, but there are also many who suspect that the brownouts could be one way of arguing for it. I guess that is like the way people continue to suspect that the so-called rice shortage is not a real one but a ruse to make people forget about the ZTE-NBN deal and the swine affair, etcetera. It’s so sad to think that many of our people do not know what to believe anymore.

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His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI should be ending his visit to the United States by now, but he has surely left vivid memories of his sojourn in the country. It is to his great credit that even hard-boiled members of the American media have conceded that, while he is different from his charismatic and lovable predecessor, Pope John Paul II, the pope from Germany has a charm and sincerity of his own that shines through, which was noticed by all those who saw him. Some reporters even pointed out that Pope John Paul II had been an actor and communicator, so relating to people was second nature to him.

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It is to be recalled that the former pope had been much younger than this one when he began his peregrinations to all those countries. I can’t recall exactly how many but I think he had made more than 90 trips abroad during his papacy. Pope Benedict XVI is already 81, he even celebrated his last birthday in the White House, and it will be too much to expect him to attempt to match the record of Pope John Paul II.

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But the octogenarian seems to have stood up well to his very busy schedule during the past six days. He has said mass for thousands of people in some of the biggest venues in the United States, as well as in the 150-year-old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. He has also met with the church leaders in the country as well as some religious orders. The visit started very auspiciously, with no less than the President, George W. Bush and his wife and daughter breaking protocol by meeting him at the airport, and then hosting him at the White House.

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But probably the most moving among his appearances was his visit to the site of 9/11, now referred to as “Ground Zero”. What a dramatic moment it was when the famous Popemobile, preceded by a security vehicle, rolled over the bridge leading to the place where a “reclinatorio” or kneeler, had been placed with a single candle in front. Colorful flags from several countries – I understand they presented those who had citizens among the victims of 9/11 – flapped and billowed by the side of the bridge and behind them stood the men and women who had survived the atrocious terror attack on September 11, 2001.

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The Pope prayed silently for a long while, and a bishop had to remind him of the next rite, which was to light the candle, and then to recite the special prayer he had prepared. It was beautifully worded, and very touching, so that when the survivors were later presented to him one by one, some of them were teary-eyed, other crying. And he did not just shake their hands, he exchanged words with all of them, each time looking directly into their eyes. Most of those presented genuflected to kiss his ring, but when he noted that some were elderly, or had difficulty moving, he held them up and would not let them kneel.

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Later some government officials also went forward to greet him and he also talked with them. I noted that the new governor of New York also genuflected and kissed his ring. It was lovely to listen to the bagpipes playing, first “Going Home” and then “The wearing of the Green” to identify themselves. It also looks as if he also connected with the young people who honored him in their own way. Some wore T-Shirts with the words “Property of Benedict XVI” or, in text lingo “only B16”. One even said irreverently, albeit affectionately, “I love my German Shepherd”. I’m sure that made his eyes twinkle.*

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