It’s safe to say that other than the validity of the sacraments and church teachings, there is little or nothing that your Tatler is in agreement with Pope Francis. Until now. In an excellent piece by Christopher J. Scalia of the National Review, he writes on the sorry state of reading in this country, that the percentage of those who read literature and poetry regularly has been sharply declining the last several years.
Scalia, when confessing his own decline in book reading, which Bickerstaff alas shares, attributes the decline, correctly, Bickerstaff thinks, to increased reading on the Internet; that there is more and more decent reading found on it and that takes away from our more traditional reading.
Scalia has a surprising ally, Pope Francis. In a Papal letter released on August 4th, His Holiness writes,
Often during periods of boredom on holiday, in the heat and quiet of some deserted neighbourhood, finding a good book to read can provide an oasis that keeps us from other choices that are less wholesome. Likewise, in moments of weariness, anger, disappointment or failure, when prayer itself does not help us find inner serenity, a good book can help us weather the storm until we find peace of mind.
Quite so, and His Holiness presents many other good arguments for reading good literature, making it worthwhile to read the whole Papal letter.
So salve, your Holiness. Bickerstaff takes back all the mean things he has said about you–today, anyway.
The Taos Tatler 