EDITED: Correcting misinformation I inadvertently included in this post:

The Pope's titles do not include "Vicar of Rome" - I see from a re-read of the article that the Pope is "Bishop of Rome" but he appoints a "Vicar of Rome" to carry out the Bishop of Rome's duties as the Pope himself is busy being Pope and can't fulfill the usual duties of a Bishop as well.

As I mention in my post (below), when I first saw the title of the article I thought it referred to the Pope.

Thank you to bona dea who drew my attention to my error. (That's what I get for reading and posting in a hurry). Partly too, I made the error as I have always thought the Pope's titles included Vicar of Rome but I see it's actually Bishop of Rome and the Vicar of Rome is an appointee to help out the Bishop.

It's a lot to keep track of. :)

In any case, I hope for a speedy and uneventful recovery for everyone afflicted with this awful virus and hope the contagion numbers start going down quickly. It's getting scary out there currently.


My original post:

"ROME — Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Pope Francis’ vicar for the diocese of Rome, on Monday became the highest-ranking Catholic official known to test positive for coronavirus.

De Donatis’ office said he was tested for the virus after feeling unwell and was admitted to a Rome hospital. His closest aides had gone into voluntary quarantine as a precaution, a statement said.

A pope is also the bishop of Rome but appoints someone to act as his vicar to administrate the vast diocese.

De Donatis, 66, is not believed to have had personal contact with Pope Francis recently."

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health-pmn/senior-italian-cardinal-papal-vicar-for-rome-has-coronavirus


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Over 11,000 people have died of CV in Italy, nearly one-third of all the deaths world-wide.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/31/2020 01:59PM by Nightingale.

I was wondering how many people he could possibly have come into contact with before he became symptomatic.

Like the US priest who apparently, inadvertently, shared his viral load with 500 other folks. Yow. He said he felt bad. No kidding. That would be a heavy conscience to walk around with. Even though he obviously didn't do it on purpose.

I was a bit startled when I first saw the headline that the Vicar of Rome was CV positive. I thought they were referring to the Pope who, we know, has been under the weather recently. Turns out it's not him but a priest with that same title. (The Pope is too busy to carry out the required duties of being the actual Vicar of Rome so he appoints a stand-in, I read today. I am not au courant with all the ins and outs of the CC but I do find it interesting).

Kiss my ring of office, that I drag across my nose and lips with some frequency!

Ora pro nariz

Ewwwwwwwwwwww EOD. Unpleasant visual.

I don't think it'll be easy from now on and forever for any of us to forget germ theory and how our bad habits encourage little critters to jump around from one to another on a regular basis. Maybe we will never want to close the 6 foot gap ever again in our lifetime!

It reminds me of that printed precaution in the train stations I frequented in Britain: Mind the Gap.

I certainly DO mind the gap. The six foot gap that's our new normal in protecting ourselves and our community.

Interesting news. I was commenting to my friend today that this CV seems to be attacking humanity very differently than the way previous diseases affect us. It's the prominent, wealthy, and famous that are getting attacked. While those of us of more modest means who live in boring places, that are not cosmopolitan, are squeaking by safe, so far.

I wonder if that will last.

macaRomney Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's the prominent, wealthy, and famous
> that are getting attacked. While those of us of
> more modest means who live in boring places, that
> are not cosmopolitan, are squeaking by safe, so
> far.

I have noted too that it seems plenty of wealthy and well-known people are coming up positive for CV-19 but I wouldn't say the rest of us are "squeaking by safe" so far. There are more than 800,000 cases worldwide as we speak. Over 40,000 deaths have been reported. By far, the majority are *not* prominent, wealthy or famous.

The virus doesn't know your ethnicity, the country in which you reside, your political opinions, religious beliefs, favourite pastimes, the last novel you read or what you ate for breakfast. It's just looking for a host to attach itself to and any body, literally, will do fine to meet its voracious and deadly needs.

I wouldn't take solace in the fact that I am a regular workaday citizen living in the midst of a bustling community as a predictor that I'm safe from CV. Rather the opposite. If I were rich I would likely have a huge home in which to nestle far away from crowds, the means to hire a personal shopper so I wouldn't have to mingle with the rest of humanity on a quest for my next meal, and abundant free time in which to select the next movie to while away the time. Instead, I'm dashing out now to secure a meal or two before the store shelves empty out yet again, leaving me with dregs of unappetizing canned food as the only option.

That may be what I would do were I rich - I don't mean in any way to mock well-off folks or to indicate that most of them didn't or don't work hard for what they've achieved. I've just visualized all the stereotypes and thrown them together in that last paragraph. A little levity to lighten the mood. I'm on edge even going out today after overdosing on news and scaring myself with all the worst case scenarios. I've been reading advice about washing packages and cans before you store them away in your cupboards. I have always rinsed off the tops of cans before opening them but now they're advising washing packaging, including cans, in soap and water, *before* you even take them into your kitchen. It's enough to put me off eating altogether. That's not the best long term plan though.

So, here I go... shopping local, and fast. As if I can outrun the nasty little virus. I'll give it a good try though.

I think the pope is the Bishop of Rome and the Vicar of Christ. I don't think Vicar of Rome is one of his titles although I could be wrong.

I have corrected my opening post to indicate that, as you say bona dea, the Pope's titles do not include Vicar of Rome but rather he is the Bishop of Rome. I had thought he held both titles.

I appreciate the opportunity to correct my error. Accuracy is a lofty goal and I strive to reach it always.

But hey, we're only human after all - I know that's a refrain in a song but I forget which one. It's pretty accurate as we are bound, by definition of being human, to not always be right.

Thanks again, bd.

Maybe he said “Thy Kingdom come” one too many times.