by Michele on April 5, 2012
Roger Cohen, a long time foreign correspondent and New York Times columnist, is delighted in the confidence he sees in the Brazilian economy — where some pizzas sell for $45 a twirl!
Let me be clear, he’s not advocating for 45 dollar pizza. Still, he is saying that Brazil, even with an overvalued currency, is rolling along on confidence, even swagger, and that is what the US needs too. He says Mr. Obama is Mr. Competence and he needs to be Mr. Confidence which he could be if our economy were stronger, not burdened by wars ... (read more)
by Michele on March 28, 2012
This week I found “gold”.
I’m always looking for information about what I think of as Dorothy’s part of the world – the Brazilian Rainforest in the state of Pará. Dorothy and her Sisters worked mainly in the county called Anapu, the town of which is on the Anapu River. There is still a community working there.
When I read that a team from the Nature Conservancy is located in Belem, the capital of Pará, and goes out to the most deforested part of the State, I know more or less where they are. In fact South ... (read more)
by Michele on March 13, 2012
I was sitting in a restaurant with a friend and talking about the situation of women in the Catholic Church. At one point I said, I wondered if we will ever see women as priests and I mentioned a progressive Catholic organization of lay men and women, priests and nuns.
I said I was interested in knowing more about that group.
My friend, about 10 years older than I, shook her head and admitted she sometimes fears for the Church as the pendulum has swung so far to a conservative side. Still, she is ... (read more)
by Michele on February 17, 2012
It has been seven years this February that Sister Dorothy Stang was shot and killed in the Amazon state of Pará, Brazil. At that time I did not know her or anything about her.
About a week after her death, I read a short news clip about her and I was compelled to find out more. Eventually, I plunged into her world in Brazil, her world in Ohio, I met her Sister- colleagues of the Notre Dame de Namur order and I read her letters and wrote about her.
In the last few days, stories have poured ... (read more)
