Leo did it again--or rather, he didn't. What's so bad about waving, instead? It's an acknowledgment, isn't it? True, but an acknowledgment of what kind?
He did it again--or rather, he didn't. Appearing in public after surgery, the man the world calls Leo XIV was met with cheers. Dressed in white, ready to read something, evidently, he raised his hand and . . . wait for it . . . waved at everybody. Punto. Those of us who were watching intently the first time this man appeared after the conclave on the loggia felt a familiar, nauseating sense not only of disappointment, but also of betrayal. Disappointment, because as a Catholic one is profounding longing for, and reasonably expecting, a blessing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Betrayal, because this guy isn't the Prom Queen. He's supposed to be the Pope. The transition from supernatural to natural, from vertical to horizontal in the "lived experience" of the institutional Church is just about complete. What's so bad about waving, instead? It's an acknowledgment, isn't it? True, but an acknowledgment of wha...
