A friend of mine texted me this morning from England to tell me that the Pope was sending blessed oil to the earthquake victims in Italy this week. After confirming the story online I couldn’t help but feel like it’s nothing more than an empty jester – As my friend put it in his morning text, “what they really need right now is fancy lube.”
The oil is apparently a tradition in the week leading up to Easter and the Pope is sending it to L’Aquila in an effort to help gather the faithful. The region has been devastated and the death toll is nearing 300. They are going to be rebuilding for a while and the lack of infrastructure means delays in real necessities. Why can’t the Vatican reach into it’s pockets and send some financial aid, send something that will actually do some measurable amount of good? I am sure Pope has considerable financial resources available to make a meaningful contribution to the rescue efforts in Italy.
