The Death of Giulio Andreotti, the Political Giant Who Went to Mass Every Day, Marks a Milestone in European Hisory

Andreotti, who has died aged 94, was nicknamed the ‘Eternal One’ of Italian politics. He was the opposite of bunga-bunga loving Berlusconi

By Father Alexander Lucie-Smith

Giulio Andreotti, right, would 'never tell you what he was thinking' (Photo: PA)

The death of Giulio Andreotti, at the age of 94, marks a milestone in Italian, indeed European, history. Andreotti dominated Italian politics for decades, and was nicknamed l’eterno, the “Eternal One”. With its plethora of parties and its endless revolving door governments, Italy’s first republic seemed terribly unstable, but this was all smoke and mirrors: every one of those governments, up until 1992, contained Andreotti, either as Prime Minister (a post he held seven times) or in some senior position, or else several members of il corrente Andreottiano, his faction of the Christian Democrat party, which was nicknamed the gens Julia, the Julian clan. By happy coincidence, Andreotti’s wife was called Livia, a name all fans of Robert Graves will be familiar with.

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'Arrivederci, Roma'

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Will popular democracy bring down the New World Order?

A fair question. For Western peoples are growing increasingly reluctant to accept the sacrifices that the elites are imposing upon them to preserve that New World Order.

Political support for TARP, to rescue the financial system after the Lehman Brothers collapse, is being held against any Republican candidate who backed it. Germans and Northern Europeans are balking at any more bailouts of Club Med deadbeats.

Pope Responds to Concert Given by Italian Republic for 5th Anniversary of Pontificate

From Catholic World News

The study of music "can open minds and hearts to the spiritual dimension and lead people to raise their eyes to heaven, to open themselves to absolute Goodness and Beauty which have their ultimate source in God," Pope Benedict XVI said after a concert at the Vatican on April 29.

The Pope made his remarks following a performance by the Italian Youth Orchestra of the Fiesole School of Music. He praised the venerable school for its decades of service to young people, helping to promote the appreciation for beauty and artistic performance.

The concert-- featuring works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Sammartini-- was sponsored by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to mark the 5th anniversary of Pope Benedict's election.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

• Concert for Fifth Anniversary of Pontificate (VIS)