I think the Prez. won't mind me calling him "W," now that we've had breakfast together. Just W, Hubby, me, and 1700 Catholics at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. W's remarks were good; it was heartening to see him and to hear how enthusiastically he was received. The MC, Austin Ruse, referred to him after he left as our "second Catholic President" (Hey, if Bill Clinton is the first black Prez. . .) At which I'm certain half the room must have joined me in thinking, "First." I thought it; Hubby said it, and I think --not sure-- that Ruse might have said it as an off-mic aside, too. Besides the serious stuff, he [W, not Ruse] had a funny line, it being a Friday in Lent. Greeting the Cardinals in attendance he said:
I'm so thrilled to be here with the cardinals of the church. Cardinal McCarrick I know is here, and Cardinal Bevilacqua -- must make you feel good to see there's not a slice of bacon around.
Here are his remarks. Also giving a short presentation was Raymond Arroyo of EWTN, who told a great story about Mother Angelica, and showed off his amazing impersonation of her. Everybody loves Raymond, and I would too, but for his discomfiting resemblance to Peewee Herman, which I just can't get past. It's my problem, not his; he seems to be a prince of a fellow.
The highlight of the breakfast was the speech on the dictatorship of relativism by Bishop Morlino of Madison, WI. I've never heard anyone address the topic so succinctly, humorously and deeply at the same time. He's my intellectual hero of the day, but more on him when they post his speech, as I assume they eventually will.
