Pope Francis Current Events Part 2


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What a wonderful meeting between two men that have captivated my heart because of their openness of being. It was fantastic to just watch the facial expressions on Pope Francis' and President Higgins' faces as they meeted and greeted each other. One could tell it was not just a photo op between heads of states but between two people that genuinely wanted to be there.
 
Yes indeed and I'm sure President Higgins will give Pope Francis a warm welcome during next years planned Papal Visit to Ireland which will probably be the last one of Presidents Higgins 7 year term before he steps down in November 2018.
 
Must have been an interesting meet to say the least :whistling:

Perfect example of heads of state like the pope or queen who handle state visits with total class, even when they don't agree with visiting dignitaries.
 
If we look at the sets of pictures from two different days and two different heads of state meeting Pope Francis, although the settings and the chronological order of the meetings were almost identical, one can certainly pick up that the warmth and friendliness between President Higgins and the Pope were clearly missing in the meeting between President Trump and the Pope. This isn't demeaning by any means as its well known that the Pope and Trump have different stances on different things and I'm sure the meeting was quite productive.

The sense of this being a strictly protocol based meeting between the heads of states was more markedly shown in Melania's dress. She covered her head and wore a black veil with her headpiece. With Sabrina Higgins being bareheaded it added to the more relaxed, friendly and warm meeting.

Sometimes people have to do what they have to do. Sometimes they enjoy it and sometimes they don't.
 
Osipi said:
If we look at the sets of pictures from two different days and two different heads of state meeting Pope Francis, although the settings and the chronological order of the meetings were almost identical, one can certainly pick up that the warmth and friendliness between President Higgins and the Pope were clearly missing in the meeting between President Trump and the Pope. This isn't demeaning by any means as its well known that the Pope and Trump have different stances on different things and I'm sure the meeting was quite productive.

The sense of this being a strictly protocol based meeting between the heads of states was more markedly shown in Melania's dress. She covered her head and wore a black veil with her headpiece. With Sabrina Higgins being bareheaded it added to the more relaxed, friendly and warm meeting.

Sometimes people have to do what they have to do. Sometimes they enjoy it and sometimes they don't.
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I am glad Melania followed protocol and dressed accordingly to meet the Pope. I wish Queen Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Cornwall had followed the Fisrt Lady's example in their recent visits to the Vatican.

I am looking forward now to the meeting between the Trumps and the King and Queen of the Belgians tomorrow in Brussels.
 
Mrs Trump looked lovely indeed. Dolce & Gabbana's lace clothes are amazing. At the same time, selective adherence to the protocol rules (suits with trousers in Saudi Arabia) indicates unalloyed hypocrisy the western enlightened individuals/regimes are infected.
 
Al_bina said:
Mrs Trump looked lovely indeed. Dolce & Gabbana's lace clothes are amazing. At the same time, selective adherence to the protocol rules (suits with trousers in Saudi Arabia) indicates unalloyed hypocrisy the western enlightened individuals/regimes are infected.
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I think the rule of thumb really should be that when in Rome, do as the Romans do. The "western world" is pretty relaxed and both women and men can and do wear what pleases them but there are certain times when visiting a different country such as one in the Middle East, its just polite to respect their customs and rules for attire however archaic and foreign it may seem to a person not used to it.

One thing that has never struck me though is Pope Francis being a stickler for protocol and convention. To him its the person that matters more than what that person is wearing. Its one reason I find HH to be such a wonderful person. He, himself, has stepped away from some of the pomp and prestigious trappings that usually go along with the office of Pope. He's really a down to earth kind of guy.
 
Osipi said:
I think the rule of thumb really should be that when in Rome, do as the Romans do. The "western world" is pretty relaxed and both women and men can and do wear what pleases them but there are certain times when visiting a different country such as one in the Middle East, its just polite to respect their customs and rules for attire however archaic and foreign it may seem to a person not used to it.
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Just recently, the German minister of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen, went to Saudi Arabia, wearing a pant suit and no head scarf (dressing the same way people know her to dress in Germany). It would have been strange (to put it mildly) to see her wearing a long dress or headscarf because it would have been seen as a gesture of being submissive. Same goes for Angela Merkel, unthinkable she would abandon her usual jacket and pants.

I think there is a difference if an elected official travels who depends on voters who could scream 'hypocrisy' or 'submissiveness', it would be a big deal in the media for elected women politicians to appease the Saudi system, or for some people even to accommodate the Vatican, at least in Germany.

Women like Melania Trump or Michelle Obama are basically free to wear what they want as at the end of the day they are only the arm candy to the powerful man who visits. The public or media may like or not like their choices but there are no consequences.
 
if there is someone who can tell trump how things are done, it is the current pope. he knows a thing or two about leading, about mercy and about standing up for people who need a voice.

onto more frivolous things, i have to disagree on the first lady's appearance today. the veil looked most awkwardly placed and, simply, just not flattering. veils have the opportunity to make the wearer look sophisticated and elegant, yet this is not the impression i get from melania. ivanka's wasn't much better.

apparently the pope spoke to melania in italian, which means she must be fairly fluent in it from her modelling days.
 
His Holiness has a sense of humor indeed..he present Trump with a copy of his encyclical on....CLIMATE CHANGE!:lol:;)

And he overlooked candidate Trump's nasty personal insults directed at the pontiff during his campaign.

Gracious man.

I am happy to see that Melania stuck to protocol and tradition in her outfit. I don't like casual attire at the Vatican even though I know that's the new wave. I just can't get into it.
 
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Melania is supposed to be fluent in 5 languages, Italian is one of them.


LaRae
 
IMHO both Trump ladies looked very nouveau riche but it is nice they kept up standards, as does Queen Silvia and some other ladies. Fortunately they did not wear sun glasses. They obviously are not used to wearing veils, but of course most people are not.

Is Mrs. Trump a catholic, as is the majority of Slovenians?
 
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When she has been asked she says Christian, she has not, to my knowledge stated any specific Church. However seeing is how she is the third wife of a man with 2 wives still living...not likely she is a practicing Catholic.


LaRae
 
:previous:I thought so too Marengo, but no Melania Knauss was not raised Catholic.

She gave an interview shortly before the 2016 election and said that she and her son Barron attend an Episcopal church and Barron was christened Episcopalian in the same Episcopalian church where she married Donald.

Most Slovenians are Catholic but since Melania was born during a period of Communism and her father was an active member of the Party at one point, she might not have even been baptized until she became an adult.
 
I like American ladies following protocol when they visit the Pope. And they looked lovely.
 
Pranter said:
Melania is supposed to be fluent in 5 languages, Italian is one of them.


LaRae
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It was stated once in an interview by Ivanka that her step-mother spoke 5 languages fluently and another 2 semi-fluently with heavy accent.... Funny how some of the media still considers her a dumb model. Wonder how many of them have university degrees and can converse in 5+ languages...............how absurd some people are.
 
I agree..she's a fairly accomplished woman and because they don't agree with her choices they try to write her off as dumb and as some sort of clueless character.

Very insulting.

LaRae
 
:previous: Melania doesn't have a degree and her official bio on the WH site doesn't mention her speaking 5 languages, so I'm not sure if that rumor is true.

Pranter said:
Melania is supposed to be fluent in 5 languages, Italian is one of them.


LaRae
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carlota said:
apparently the pope spoke to melania in italian, which means she must be fairly fluent in it from her modelling days.
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She didn't speak Italian. The Pope's interpreter translated what he said and Melania answered back in English. She also had an event later in the day and she spoke English. She might know a few words form her modeling days, but it doesn't appear that she's fluent in Italian.

While it's good to see that both ladies stuck to protocol, I didn't particularly care for their outfits. I especially disliked Ivanka's veil.
 
I'm a skeptic, but I am coming to believe Melania has hidden gifts. Sorry if this is a repeat - but accounts here told that after His Holiness met with Trump that Il Papa walked out and asked Melania what she "was feeding him? Was it rich Slovenian cake?"
It made me appreciate the Pope, that he made a gesture to speak with a woman that takes a fairly silent, background role.
I'm becoming a Melania fan. I've always been a Pope Francis fan. ;)
 
soapstar said:
:previous: Melania doesn't have a degree and her official bio on the WH site doesn't mention her speaking 5 languages, so I'm not sure if that rumor is true.
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Widely talked about during the campaign. I've not seen anything disproving it ...seemed like it was common knowledge but possible it's wrong.


LaRae
 
Yeah I did see the rumors, but never heard anything concrete from her or the campaign.

Her WH bio mentions her hobbies, her jewelry line and details about her modeling/tv appearances. If she spoke multiple languages, you'd think they would want to highlight that. I mean, that's way more impressive than the fact that she once co-hosted The View.
 
My son recently visited Slovenia and told me that most spoke a few languages. In fact Wikipedia says 71percent speak at least two languages, usually English,German or Italian depending on their ages. It is a beautiful country, a "poor mans switzerland".
 
I thought her veil was not well placed and unattractive.her step daughters veil looked ridiculous, like a doll.
 
Winnie said:
It was stated once in an interview by Ivanka that her step-mother spoke 5 languages fluently and another 2 semi-fluently with heavy accent.... Funny how some of the media still considers her a dumb model. Wonder how many of them have university degrees and can converse in 5+ languages...............how absurd some people are.
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dislaimer: i am not discounting melania by any means, but trying to be realistic here. melania has no degree as she never finished it. she became a model instead. 7 languages... i don't believe that either. one does not learn 7 languages with a 'modelling career' - you learn them by living in the place for many years or being in contact with speakers frequently. i suspect learning 7 languages would take several years in close contact with those languages and i would not classify the travelling career a modelling can have as something that would allow you to become fluent in not one or two but 7 languages. she most likely knows some words, and perhaps enough to get by and perform some daily tasks in those languages (like order at a restaurant and the like), but fluency? mmm. furthermore, as posters said below, if the white house does not include this in melania's bio, then she is probably not fluent in more languages than her native and english - even her english is heavily accented.
 
https://archive.org/details/FOXNEWS...th_Greta_Van_Susteren/start/1085.2/end/1128.1

She doesn't say she is fluent, simply that she speaks it.

Not sure about German, but she modeled about seven years in Milan and Paris before she moved to the states. It wouldn't be unthinkable she picked up a nice amount of both in those years.

But also as she said in the interview, it's been English and only English the last years. When you don't use a language you tend to start losing some. Between the amount of years since she lived in Italy, and her knowledge level of the language to start, not odd she would need the translator.
 
It really doesn't matter to me what background Melania has or what languages she speaks or doesn't speak. What matters to me was that she was the First Lady of the US with the President meeting Pope Francis.

I'm sure Pope Francis really didn't give a hoot either what her background was. Pope Francis embraces everyone as a brother or a sister and recognizes the presence of the Divine in each and every human being. Doesn't matter if they're billionaires or a street urchin begging for their next meal. As all are His children in God's eyes, that's how Pope Francis sees them. He not only talks the talk but he walks the walk.

Imagine a world where everyone treated each other as the Pope treats all he meets. This planet would be a totally different place.
 
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