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In terms of the amount of public Holidays for religious reasons, Bavaria is on top of the list in Europe. Above the traditional Catholic countries of Spain and Italy. Holy Mass, solemn Prayer and good food and song and dance afterwards, have always gone hand and hand, and are deeply ingrained into this culture. Those Holidays are reserved for religion, tradition and fun and are fiercely protected by the Church and the Bavarian State from attempts by the mighty German Industrial Production Machinery to cancel some of those Holidays to be even more efficient and productive.

My point is: condemning lay women and nuns for wearing make-up in public, or keeping Papal household members discreetly in the background is practically considered bigotry in Bavaria. Completely unthinkable.

Ob2, thank you for your comments.

It must be said, however, that in previous Papacies, it was the norm for Papal household members to remain discreetly in the "wings", so to speak. Far from being "kept" in the background, they understood that their roles would entail such discretion. I hope, therefore, that the observance of such circumspection shall not be considered as akin to bigotry on the part of the Italian culture and Italian Catholicism, in which Popes such as Pius XII, John XXIII, and Paul VI, as well as their staff, were raised, or the Polish culture and Polish Catholicism, which gave us John Paul the Beloved and many of his staff.

Bavaria and the Bavarian people are certainly well-known for their cheerfulness and zest for life. That being said, it must be pointed out that the examples of religious holidays and religious life in Bavaria and what they reveal about the character of Bavarian Catholicism and the Bavarian character, are not at issue here, and I really don't think we can compare them to the concert attended by the Pope. That particular event is, in a very real sense, a formal occasion in which the Pope is present not just as the Supreme Pontiff, but most assuredly as the Head of State of Vatican City. There is a world of difference between the board games Cardinal Ratzinger used to play in the kitchen with his staff at the Archbishop's Residence in Munich, and a concert at the Paul VI Hall, where the state orchestra of a foreign country performed, and which was attended by the members of the Roman Curia, members of the Holy See's diplomatic corps, and in all probability, officials from the Italian Government and the City of Rome. The former is a private activity, undertaken in the privacy of what was then Cardinal Ratzinger's home. The latter is an official activity, undertaken in a public assembly hall that is definitely not part of the Papal Apartment.

Let us not forget that the Pope is also a head of state, as well as the head of a very large, multinational organization, and in light of such a fact, there are the dictates of protocol - and yes, the need to abide by the standards of deference and formality due an employer from his employees - to be observed during public, official occasions in which the Pope is present as Head of State. On such occasions, I would most assuredly expect to see the Pope's immediate kin (i.e., Msgr. Ratzinger, and if she were still with us, Fraulein Maria Ratzinger) and the ranking members of his official family (i.e., Cardinal Bertone, Cardinal Levada, Cardinal Lajolo, Bishop Boccardo, Msgr. Gaenswein, etc.) seated with him. It is for this same reason that we see the Duke of Edinburgh, the Royal Family, and in all probability, the Prime Minister and his wife, together with members of the Cabinet, at the Queen's side during the Royal Variety Performances, but not the household staff of Buckingham Palace; and First Lady Laura Bush seated with President Bush and some Cabinet Secretaries at the Kennedy Center Honors, but without the Oval Office staff and the household members of the White House.

I am certain that for all the generosity of heart of the Bavarian character, their famous appreciation of good food and good company, and their long Catholic tradition, we won't see the household staff of Prime Minister Günther Beckstein sitting close by him and his wife during a performance of the Bavarian State Orchestra. None of this is considered bigotry, and is simply part of the very real practice of keeping an appropriate separation between the private and public aspects of life for a person of distinction, and maintaining a degree of decorum in the employer-employee relationship.

Now, as for the "merits" of remaining in the background, well, I cannot help but recall that Thomas a Kempis, in his immortal "The Imitation of Christ", has this to say:

A man who loves You and recognizes Your benefits, therefore, should be gladdened by nothing so much as by Your will, by the good pleasure of Your eternal decree. With this he should be so contented and consoled that he would wish to be the least as others wish to be the greatest; that he would be as peaceful and satisfied in the last place as in the first, and as willing to be despised, unknown and forgotten, as to be honored by others and to have more fame than they. He should prefer Your will and the love of Your honor to all else, and it should comfort him more than all the benefits which have been, or will be, given him. (The Imitation of Christ, Book 3, Chapter 22, Par. 5)

There are far too few women who hold prominent positions in the Vatican or in the Church, and featuring those who do is a very good idea.

On this, I quite agree, Rcesq. It's long been said that the "glass ceiling" is very much in place at the Holy See, and I, like you and our fellow female members, and indeed, like most women, would also like to see the day when women - be they lay or religious - will hold prominent positions in the Curia and the Governorato.

I'm afraid, however, that featuring the Memores Domini women - who, whether some people like it or not, do perform the so-called traditional jobs at the Vatican, i.e., household work, as Benodette has observed - would only serve to reinforce the perception that that is all women at the Vatican will be allowed to do: household work. This is not to say that it is not important that the Pope has an efficient staff who makes sure that his meals are hot and well-cooked, his cassocks well-pressed, and his rooms kept neat and tidy.

However, if we want to get the message across that women are being given more "line responsibility" in the work of salvation, so to speak, at the Vatican, then by all means, let's see women like Sis. Enrica Rosanna, the under-secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; or Prof. Alicja Grzeœkowiak, the only woman who sits on the Governing Council of the Pontifical Academy for Life; or the excellent Sis. Judith Zoebelein, the Vatican's resident techno-wiz, who aside from being editorial director of the Holy See's Internet Office, is the creator of the Vatican website (which gets a million -- yes, a million! -- unique hits per month! Talk about the Word of God on the Internet!), seated near the Pope at concerts and other public events at the Vatican. Their work is certainly very important in proclaiming the Gospel -- which is certainly Il Papa's most important task -- their efforts are certainly greatly appreciated by him, and their presence will surely go a long way in proclaiming to the world that the "feminine genius" is indeed playing an increasingly important role in the operations of the Holy See.

I wouldn't dream of stepping out of the house without my "face" on. To my mind the working woman who does not wear makeup is making a statement about her female-ness that is negative: "I don't want to be all dolled up because I think that makes me a sex-object and I want to be like men who don't bother with their looks."

Hmmm … strange, but that isn't the way I see it. You see, I don't wear make up. Yes, you read it right: I don't wear make up. So, what does that make me, I wonder?

I have only worn make up, and not much of it, for very special, very formal occasions. Other than that, I'm afraid I really don't wear make up at all. Make-up or no make-up, I would never be mistaken for a sex object, and I do not, by any stretch of anyone's imagination, want to be like a man - I'm quite happy being female! I am simply a person of very simple tastes who has never really bothered with make up; I was always too busy at school and at work.

Also, I have very, very sensitive skin, and I do not care to risk a skin allergy by trying different brands of make-up; I even have to be careful about the soap I use. My hair is equally sensitive, and will not take kindly to most hair care products (hair color, hair spray, hair gel, you name it) - I have to be very particular about the kind of shampoo I use. My skin also does not react well with perfume (it gives me a rash), and yes, that includes the lightest eau de toilette - so, I'm afraid make-up, hair products and perfume are wasted on me.

Even if my skin and hair were normal, however, I daresay I would still prefer a very simple approach to my personal grooming - and it definitely has nothing to do with the denial of my femininity, and everything to do with my priorities in life. So you see, not all of us who don't wear make-up don't give a whit about our femininity. I'll admit that I'm rather fortunate in that I have reasonably good skin, and thank God, no wrinkles, but as far as I'm concerned, although I may be no beauty by any stretch of the imagination, I am quite simply, happy and content with what God gave me by way of looks.

I do, however, appreciate good grooming in a woman, and in this I mean a woman who appears with her hair neatly combed, her face clean and her teeth brushed, dressed in clothes that are clean, pressed, well-fitting, tasteful and most definitely appropriate for her age (don't anyone get me started on women in their late 40s and early 50s who wear things that a twentysomething would wear!). There are other ways for a woman to honor her femininity.

Do I object to women wearing make-up? Certainly not, and no, Mag6, I would never advocate the "pastor's wife syndrome". My sister wore make-up, and wore it well, but she applied it with a very light hand, and she never wore eyeliner. There is, however, a difference between the use of make-up by women who are truly laywomen, so to speak, and women who live in communities that are a few steps away from being religious orders. One such example are the female "numeraries" of Opus Dei, who take vows of celibacy, live in all-female "centers", and devote the majority of their income from their professional lives to the Opus Dei. Although they do not take the formal vows of a religious, the women who pledge themselves to such a commitment are, I daresay, expected to maintain a much simpler lifestyle, and yes, that means less "obvious" makeup than their sorelle who are not part of their communities - some wear none at all, based on my recollection of some female numeraries of Opus Dei who I chanced to meet a few years ago, but they certainly did not look like they were grey specters dressed in sackcloth. They looked precisely what they were: quietly yet properly dressed women who clearly lived a more conservative, and quite evidently, a more simple lifestyle.

On a separate note:

I've just returned from my fifth RCIA, although it is not known by this abreviation in my country.

Mag6, allow me the very great pleasure of expressing my profound delight at this news. I cannot wait, my dear friend, to say "welcome home" to you, and I hope that I shall have that joy very soon.

I just earned the one the Pope granted for those making a pilgrimage to Lourdes on the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady. So now I feel freer to be contrarian on the forum. After all, I've gotten some breathing room in Purgatory!

Ah, congratulations, Rcesq!

Hmmm ... I should really try for that Plenary Indulgence for making a pilgrimage to Basilica di San Paolo Fuori-le-Mure, so that I can also continue to be just as contrarian as well!