Loose Lips in the Loggia (Saint Martina Edition)

This past Saturday, the Holy Father released two doves as a gesture of peace, in the face of political unrest in Ukraine. The birds were immediately set upon by a crow and a seagull. It wasn't a pretty sight, but for those who can handle it, click here.

Meanwhile, here's what's bouncing around the bandwidth of True Believers lately:

• Speaking of doves, Saint John Chrysostom reminds us of the equal importance of the cleverness of snakes. Oh yeah, there's an angle on that too. [Catholic Radio Dramas]

• Brian Brown knows what the Church really needs, and it may not only be more priests. Has someone been reading to much (into) Tolkien lately? [Aleteia]

• In Connecticut, writer and mother-of-nearly-a-dozen Kristin Bothur announces that she has started yoga classes, and defies the prospective reaction of any traditional Catholics who believe her to be dabbling in Eastern spirituality as a result. She ends her commentary with the salutation “Namaste!” This is a common form of greeting among Buddhists and Hindus, and means “I bow to the divine in you.” Who are we to judge? You go, girl! [11 On My Own]

• You'll never guess who's complaining about “what's it like to be a glamorous, highly paid, and sexy Catholic writer?” Yeah, like Mark Shea is the only one who gets weird emails about how the Pope is kinda sorta the Antichrist. What a crybaby! [Catholic and Enjoying It!]

• If Steubenville wunderkind Marc Barnes keeps writing stuff like this, he may need to retitle his blog "Bad Theology." We'll talk more about that next month. For now, see if you can find the source of his badness. [Bad Catholic]

• Finally, Pope Francis might take comfort in the knowledge that he (also) made the cover of ... [Rolling Stone]

• Even more finally, it is reported that the Vatican is not amused by the “surprising crudeness” of the aforementioned write-up. Personally, I'm surprised that they're surprised. And besides ... Who are they to judge? [Catholic World Report]

Well, that's our story and we're stickin' to it. Remember to attend Holy Mass this Sunday. Until the next chattel of church chat, stay tuned, and stay in touch.