Elizabeth Lev’s column on constrasting sites in Rome this week:

Talk about angels and demons … this week has treated us to a fascinating study in the sacred and profane life of the Eternal City.

The first odd coupling this week was the juxtaposition of Rome’s first international film festival the same week as the canonization ceremony of Bishop Rafael Guízar Valencia, Mother Théodore Guérin, Father Filippo Smaldone and Sister Rosa Venerini.

snip

As newspaper headlines assaulted Romans with the burning dilemma of who had more sex appeal — the Nordic Nicole Kidman or the Mediterranean Monica Bellucci — another kind of beauty was being showcased at St. Peter’s.

From a certain point of view, there exist certain similarities between the saints and the stars. Like Mother Théodore, Nicole Kidman left her native country to find success in the United States. Like Kidman, Mother Théodore had to deal with an unhappy and unfruitful relationship with a man possessed of unsound religious views. Kidman was, of course, married to Scientologist Tom Cruise, and Mother Théodore had endless difficulties with the bipolar bishop of Vincennes.

But while many may argue that Kidman has found the fountain of youth with her teen-age good looks at the age of 40, Mother Théodore has found eternal life in heaven and left a greater legacy today in her schools and Christian witness than any filmography will ever match.

…and the other contrast?

A more sobering form of this urban schizophrenia manifested itself elsewhere in Rome this week. As lawyers, doctors, theologians and scientists gathered in the shadow of St. Peter’s dome to discuss the dignity of motherhood and the practice of obstetrics, a little further up the road, the International Federation of Professional Abortion and Contraception Associates was meeting.

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