Happy Guy Fawkes Day
Or as it was referred to in colonial America, Pope's Day.
Colonial America was almost entirely Protestant Christian. Anglicans to the south and Puritans to the north. One of he things they had in common was hatred of the Catholic Church. On the 5th of November they celebrated the failure of Catholic terrorist Guy Fawkes to murder the royal family of England in 1605. The celebrations included bonfires and burning the pope in effigy.
During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington needed every man he could muster to defeat the British army and Catholic recruitment was kinda rough with a majority of the soldiers being as openly anti-Catholic as much as anti-British and going around burning the pope's effigy on 11/5 every year. Washington forbade the practice amongst the soldiers and that was pretty much the beginning of the end of the celebration of the day in America.
Even, after the Revolution, Catholics didn't have full rights in America. Today, Catholicism is largest Christian denomination in the US and Catholics enjoy all the rights any American might enjoy.
John F. Kennedy was the first Catholic president of the US. Yesterday we elected Joe Biden as a Catholic vice president.
Right wing fundamentalist politicians have stacked the Supreme Court with a majority of Catholics, largely in a singular effort to restrict women's reproductive rights. Catholic politicians generally gain much support from these groups, too. In California Catholic groups have banded together to deny homosexuals marriage rights under Proposition 8.
Boy, have we have come a long way !
Happy Guy Fawkes Day, everyone !

Faith and Politics forum at Wittenberg University
"On Sunday, Oct. 26, representatives of the local Christian, Muslim and Jewish community will join a multi-generational panel to discuss how people of faith form political world views, frame issues and support candidates."
I guess it's just for mainstream religions. I can't imagine Wittenberg won't have a Luthie rep & being held in the Shouvlin center, a Catholic rep would be in order.
I guess that, even with the rise of India and China as major economic world powers, there is no reason to invite Hindus or Buddhists. Considering how Martin Luther's split from the Catholic church kinda opened the floodgates on a lot of occult teachings previously hidden from Catholic scrutiny, there is still no reason to have any occultist/Kabbbalist types. Hell, just the timing being so close to Halloween, you'd think they would want a witch.....
oh well, it's free and open to all.

Noose Son story here.

Pope condemns 'pagan' love of money, power
oh, this is good,
"Pope Benedict XVI condemned unbridled “pagan” passion for power, possessions and money as a modern-day plague Saturday as he led more than a quarter of a million Catholics in an outdoor Mass in Paris."
Perhaps he wants to go back to a kinder gentler time, like When King Philip the Fair pretty much bought and sold the papacy under Pope Clement V.
Or maybe he is thinking of getting back into the lucrative indulgence racket.
We have,
"The pope urged the faithful to “shun the worship of idols."
ah, but then,
"The late-morning Mass ended peacefully, with followers pressing for a chance to touch the pontiff’s robes"
uh, yeah-
About that.....
I don't know as this love of money and idols is so "pagan". Seems to be a pretty traditional Catholic pastime.

Story here.