It's hard to believe but Normandy is still having a very White christmas. The Christmas creche stays up in Thiberville until February 2nd so we can still pretend it's Christmas. The temperature tonight is negative 6 degrees celius and dropping. We drove in from Paris this afternoon - fortunately under sunny skies - but even Paris is freezing.
That didn't stop some SERIOUS shoppers from being out in the Boulevard St. Germain district (yours truly included) except that I was there to buy a book at the Village Voice bookstore - the first part of the Stieg Larsson trilogy "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".
But we had to get back to Normandy soon because I was already having dreams about the cows - that is one cow - or one bull that got out of the pen and was creating havoc. Thank goodness that our dear friend Freud is long gone. He would have a heyday with my dreams.
In the meantime, what transpires in Thiberville is much more interesting. Our closest major burg, Thiberville has been in the news this past week,especially since last Sunday (Ephiphany Sunday). The bishop came to town to celebrate Mass and the Mass was boycotted.
Normally 'manifestations' in France are associated with left-wing labor unions, but this wasn't the case in Thiberville. The parishioners of Thiberville are dismayed that their parish priest, Father Michel, is being transferred after 23 years of service in the community. When the Bishop of this department (Eure) arrived to say Mass, after 10 minutes, the church-goers stood up and left. Wow!
I'm what's called a 'lapsed Catholic'. And having grown up in a town where the town parish had its own share of 'controversy' none of this comes as great surprise. Catholic clergy of course are human beings with all their foibles. But, the response of the community is not just about the anger and outrage of uprooting a priest who is obviously an essential part of that community - but anger and outrage over a pervasive evisceration of ALL community rapport.
The local bank has the same policy as the church - keep transferring people so that no one can ever get 'attached'. Even though we are newcomers to the part of Normandy (only 20 years now), we have memories - attending a Mass conducted in Latin with friends Michel, Jeanne, Huguette and Jean Pierre, attending the marriage of our mayor's daughter Valerie and her husband Eric, and most recently watching the Palm Sunday procession in the streets of Thiberville. These are the kind of traditions that hold a community together. Clearly, the world no longer wants us to be connected to our neighbors. The banks don't want you to have a 'relationship' with your local banker. And apparently the church also views that keeping priests in one parish for too long is 'unhealthy'.
I guess the reason Thiberville's parish priest's story interests me is the same reason our local elected officials are concerned - what is the future of small town communities - if the fabric that holds these towns together is undone - no more local businesses, no more churches, no more family farms, no more regional products.
Of course, this is just one part of the story. There's always another side, but that will be for another post!
Yes, large institutions seem to have an innate antipathy towards community solidarity -- guess if no one has anyone to compare notes with, than folks are less likely to complain -- that would explain the bank's point of view. It's always hard to decipher the church's point of view.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely that the creche remains until February! I always thought that the holiday season should be a bit longer -- we've taken the wreath down from the door, but it's very hard to put away all the lights and cards.
English tradition has it that if you keep your Christmas decorations up after January 6th, it brings bad luck.
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