Antiquitopia

I am pleased to announce that Illinois College has approved the proposal submitted by Emily Adams (in French) and myself to take students to hike the Camino de Santiago de Compostela (the Way of St. James) in France in Spain next summer. The travel course - or in Illinois College's parlance, "Breakaway" - is called "Journey to the End of the Earth: Hiking the Way of St. James in France and Spain" I am very excited to have this opportunity to lead this trip.  Here is a description: Hiking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela – the Way of St. James – has recently become the most recognizable and most traveled pilgrimage in modern Christianity.   While recently touted as a symbol for European unity, the Camino has a long history and provides extensive opportunities to see medieval churches, castles, palaces, ancient ruins, as well as stunning views of the countryside.   Hiking the Camino offers a multifaceted experience.   This trip would be ideal for stud...

According to the London Times , the Spanish Catholic Church with the backing of the Vatican has come out completely against the celebration of Halloween. The article quotes an earlier, more lenient position taken by the Vatican as follows: The Vatican appeared previously to take a more lenient position. Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s chief exorcist, once said: “If English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year, that’s not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm.” But the Spanish hierarchy begs to differ. Wearing skeleton suits, dressing up as vampires, witches or goblins or slapping on fake blood is not far removed from communing with the Devil, according to the country’s bishops. However, the bishops, with Vatican backing, have reserved their venom for the millions of parents who allowed their children to celebrate this “pagan” festival. Father Joan María Canals, the director of the Spanish Bishops Conference Committee o...

The NYTimes has an interesting article on the battle between Church and State in Spain. Spain famously has been a major Catholic stronghold for the past few centuries or so, but now the Vatican is hoping just to maintain a foothold. January 6, 2009 For Vatican, Spain Is a Key Front in Church-State Battle By RACHEL DONADIO VALLADOLID, Spain — The Macías Picavea primary school hardly looks like the seat of revolution. But this unassuming brick building in a sleepy industrial town has become a battleground in an intensifying war between church and state in Spain. In an unprecedented decision here, a judge ruled in November that the public school must remove the crucifixes from classroom walls, saying they violated the “nonconfessional” nature of the Spanish state. Although the Roman Catholic Church was not named in the suit, it criticized the ruling as an “unjust” attack on a historical and cultural symbol — and a sign of the Spanish state’s increasingly militant secularism. If the judg...