A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Rocco takes a look at the appointment of nuncios around the world and the Holy See's new philosophy under Benedict:

As with the Blume appointment, we can see the roots of a new trend: diplomatic postings being given to prelates with first-hand experience in the places to which they're sent. This turns on its head the previous State convention that the nuncio should be an unblemished arbiter free from prior connections with the place which would affect his objectivity.

It's nice to see that the Vatican is finally figuring out that experts with on-the-ground experience are more likely to get done what needs to be done effectively rather than guys who've made a name for themselves in the Curia. Hopefully, Sodano's successor will be of the same model. The Vatican can't risk any more 'insensitivities'.
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Papabile continues his coverage of the Pope's meeting with the Society of St. Pius X. This is interesting:

While I [Papabile] won't reveal all details in this, I do think it's strange that he demanded the SSPX recognize the validity of the election of the Pontiff. They do that on the front page of their web sites, and mention the local Bishop and the Pontiff in all their Masses.

This may be more of a detail item regarding the Priests, a small minority of whom are crypto-edevacantist.

Various sources have suggested that any rapproachment between the SSPX and the Vatican could possibly lead to a break-up of the SSPX as its more radical members refuse to compromise. We'll see how that plays out as mid-level discussions continue.
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The always well-informed Amy Welborn looks at Father Richard O'Brien's moonlighting as a consultant to The Da Vinci Code movie production:

It's sort of like a bad, ironic joke

...that Fr. Richard McBrien is the hired gun consulant on the DVC movie. Perhaps it's a natural step for him, who can say? Nevertheless, news of his work was published in the Notre Dame magazine last spring.

I wonder if Father O'Brien will get a role in the movie like Father O'Malley S.J., who was one of the principal consultants for The Exorcist and at the same time played Father Dwyer, the best friend/confidante of Jason Miller's Father Karras...

On a side note, I recommend the book American Exorcism by Michael Cuneo. Aside from its in-depth look at the various forms of exorcism in the United States, Cuneo's book also talks about the role of The Exorcist in creating the 'hero-priest' mystique that remains with us to this day (in contrast to Bing Crosby's sweet, laid-back do-gooder image).

The Catholic Church would do well to consider the impact of Father Karras on its image and what it could do to try to recapture some of that magic. Posters of Neo-as-Priest are one thing... A movie with Jason Miller and Max von Sydow quoting the Roman Ritual is quite a bit more powerful.

A picture of a so-called Adonis

beach bunny vaticanista has had the above picture posted for awhile. As she's not updated lately, everytime, I check her out, it's still the top post. So I thought I'd post it here.

The picture is of course Msgr. Georg Gänswein, the personal secretary of Benedict XVI.

For now

I direct everyone over to the right to the links under Daily Readings, especially Papabile. Just about everyone has info on the meeting today between Benedict and the superior-general of the Society of St. Pius X.

The word on the street is that a universal indult is going to be granted for the pre-1970 Roman Missal Mass (I'm not going to jump in and call it the Pian rite).

Along with that, there is also speculation that the 'Pian rite' may be a topic at the upcoming Synod of Bishops. But as I said, Papabile has the scoop, because as Rocco keeps saying over and over, it's P's story.

Making up

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano is meanwhile reported to have said that while the omission was accidental, the Vatican could have been more sensitive.

Yah think?

Read the complete article Sharon settles row with Vatican from BBC News.

The gift of the Magi

In a concise essay, Pietro De Marco examines the theology behind the symbols used at World Youth Day and how they call for catechesis among Catholics.

ROMA, August 26, 2005 – In the the kontakion on the nativity of Christ by the greatest of the Byzantine religious poets, Romanos the Melodist, the Child Jesus instructs the heart of his Mother on the meaning of the Kings and Magi who were asking Mary to permit them to adore her Son: "Welcome those who have welcomed me. I am in them as I am in your arms; I did not leave you, and yet I came with them."

The kontakion proceeds: "And she opens the door and receives the company of the Magi. She opens the door who is the unopened door through which Christ alone has passed. […] She opened the door, she from whom was born the Door, a little child, God before the ages."
[...]

Read the complete article Felix Colonia: More on the Epiphany of the Catechist Pope from www.chiesa.

Magister: WYD and Constantinople

Sandro Magister takes a look at World Youth Day and upcoming events, namely the trip to Constantinople.

On World Youth Day, Magister notes,

And he kept this promise, too. From August 18-21 in Cologne, Benedict XVI did not bestow upon the crowd a mere theatrical gesture, or nothing more than a striking phrase. He led the young people to look, not at him, but always and only at the true protagonist: that Jesus whom the Magi adored in Bethlehem, the “House of Bread,” and who is now concealed in the consecrated host.

Joseph Razinger took a big risk in Cologne. Cardinal Angleo Scola, one of the many bishops who came to catechize the young people during the first three days of the vigil with the pope, thought he would win them over with a ten-minute recitation from “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac. Benedict XVI, on the other hand, challenged everyone’s attention span with a difficult explanation of “the different nuances of the word ‘adoration’ in Greek and in Latin. The Greek word is ‘proskynesis’. It refers to the gesture of submission, the recognition of God as our true measure. [...] The Latin word is ‘ad-oratio’, mouth to mouth contact, a kiss, an embrace, and hence ultimately love. Submission becomes union, because he to whom we submit is love.”

The now-famous tangent into linguistics will certainly be a hallmark of Ratzinger's papacy along with everything else. Aside from his message to the youth of the world, Magister examines the message to the Jews and the Muslims.

On the Jews, as Magister notes, there was no reference to Israel, simply the two faiths. It is an important distinction that all too often gets lost amid calls of anti-Semitism when anyone criticizes Israel. On the Muslims, Magister quotes an Algerian Muslim university teacher:

Khaled Fouad Allam, an Algerian Muslim with Italian citizenship who teaches at the universities of Trieste and Urbino, wrote in the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference, "Avvenire":

"Benedict XVI's words are a big, healthy jolt for us. At a moment in which the wicked teachers seem to be raging within our communities, his words are an encouragement to bring forth true educators, who exist and are active, but who are not able to make their voices heard as they really need to be. The pope is right when he says that there can be no room for apathy and neglect. We need the courage to denounce and isolate those who use inflammatory speech and incite violence by using the name of God."

In his look at the visit to Constantinople, Magister notes the warm relations between the top theologian of the Patriarchate and the former top theologian of the Roman Church. They have been working to reinvigorate the commission on Catholic/Orthodox dialogue. Magister also mentions the Protestants and Benedict's concern:

What deeply concerns Ratzinger is the silence – or surrender – shown recently by many Christian authorities, especially Protestant ones, over attacks in various countries against the inviolability of each human being's life, from conception to natural death.

As I've noted here before, the best chance for reconciliation is between Rome and the Orthodox. When it comes to so many of the Protestant churches, the chance is simply not there, as so many of them are too far gone. Instead perhaps, we should look to them rather as crucibles of faith, where men and women can find their way eventually to the Catholic Church and the fullness of God's truth.

Anything else would either be a compromise of that truth or simply something too cosmetic to have any real meaning.

The September shuffle

If you read my more esteemed colleagues in the world of Vatican watching, you'll know that there is a big shuffle coming in September as far as retirements, new appointments and basically the reorganization of the Curia to suit Benedict XVI's tastes.

I shall not prognosticate, as I have no material with which to do so.

Aside from the filling in the slots with names, the question remains of how Benedict will organize his administration of the Holy See.

If you're familiar with the basic theories of government, there are two primary models that political scientists normally use. The first is the 'wheel' model. The seat of power is in the middle and spokes extend outward to the world at large in direct lines. This model is for those who are interested in hands-on governance.

The second model is the classical pyramid model. The seat of power is at the top and there are various ever-widening layers of bureaucracy between the top and the real world. The best example would perhaps be John Paul II. His entourage were certainly there to limit access and filter the flow of information. In the Holy Father's last years, this was augmented especially by Sodano and the Secretariat of State.

Which of our two models (or some form of them) will Benedict choose? Looking back at the fact he's risen from being the prefect of CDF, it may be useful to look at his administration there. But on the other hand, as it's been noted time and again, being a department head is a bit different from sitting at the head of the table.

Some factors to consider:
1. Benedict is pushing eighty. He seems to be in good enough health, but will he choose a model that will be less time and energy consuming?

2. Benedict is more hands on. As it was noted at WYD by observers, the Holy Father was not inclined to say a few words to those he spoke to, but rather to take a moment and have a brief little conversation. He's very hands on with the people he meets.

3. Trusted advisors are on hand. Benedict XVI has his trusted secretary and several others who we've grown familiar with since April. He trusts them, but will he be willing to allow them to shield him?

4. On the same line as 3.: Will Benedict be able to find enough subordinates to fill all the slots that need filling so that he can rest easy with the fact that he is not being undermined or will he have to keep his friends close and his enemies even closer and keep a firm hand on things?

We'll see how the shuffle turns out when the music stops.

Down the road: Sydney

The ever on-top-of-things Amy talks of World Youth Day in Sydney.

I doubt I'd want to go, although I'm sure the experience would be worth it. But hopefully next time around, I'll have cable to watch it on TV/web feed.

Maybe I'll have to start a fund for anyone who would wish to contribute for possible pilgrims to Sydney in 2008...

It is done

World Youth Day wrapped up yesterday. Check out the other Vatican watchers for more info. They covered it much better than I.

The main topic covered here over the last few months also concluded yesterday, when the Greek Catholic Church in Ukraine moved its seat from Lviv to Kiev. Protesters protested and promised to keep protesting.

As we see again here, this move is pretty much exclusively opposed by the Orthodox of the Russian Church:

The service was attended by head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church Lyubomyr Huzar, Greek-Catholic archbishops from all parts of Ukraine and abroad, and representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church.

The other two Orthodox churches in Ukraine have no problem with it. We'll see if they are able to keep up the protests as promised. Husar, strengthened by the move, will be pushing for the elevation of the UGCC to patriarchate status here. Then the conflict really begins.

Not all Orthodox are upset

Blah, blab, usual story that we've seen for the half year or more, with added protests and police present to keep the peace. However...

The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev patriarchate Filaret said that the decision on shifting Guzar’s residence to Kiev is the domestic affair of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. The Russian Orthodox Church lashed out at the shifting of the residence of the Guzar’s church to Kiev.

The Orthodox Church is split in three in Ukraine. There's those loyal to Moscow, those who are loyal to an independent Kiev patriarch and those loyal to /another/ Kiev Patriarch. Notice that it's only the ones loyal to Moscow who are making a stink about this move.

Read the complete article Protests against shifting center of Greek-Catholic Church to Kiev from ITAR-TASS.

Fashion faux pas or calculated move?

Angela Merkel, who is bidding to become the German chancellor in elections next month, appeared to breach protocol yesterday when she met Pope Benedict XVI with her head uncovered.

By contrast, Doris Schröder, the wife of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, wore a black lace veil over her blonde hair as she chatted to the Pope on his return to his native Germany.
[...]

Read the complete article Black lace for Mrs Schröder, but pastor's daughter Angela Merkel welcomes the Pope bareheaded from News.Telegraph.

Mrs. Schroeder, despite being a protestant and the wife of a social democrat, benefited from the experts of the foreign ministry. I was reading the other day at Speigel Online about Ms. Merkel's fashion sense and how the German press has been all over her for some candid photos taken when she was on vacation. They were not impressed with her baggy trousers with elastic band, plain white tennis shoes and frumpy-looking shirt. Could this be another fashion faux pas or perhaps some kind of move to make the CDU more hip?

More on the visit to Turkey

According to the Turkish Daily News, the Pope will be visiting November 28th through the 30th.

However, "as of yesterday it was still not clear whether this would be an official visit."

November 30th is the Feastday of St. Andrew, the patron of the Constantinople Patriarchate, whose relics it held until the relics were removed to St. Andrews in Scotland by Divine guidance.

Tomorrow's the big day

Not much time to post much this morning. I have Confession in a couple hours. But as it is nearly Sunday the 21st, the media is picking up the impending move to Kiev.

It's afternoon in Ukraine and Sunday (liturgial Sunday) is but a few hours away.

From CWN: Ukrainian prelate defends controversial move to Kiev

But the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church insisted that the move "is not aimed against anybody, and is motivated by the real needs and development of the Byzantine Catholic Church." Cardinal Husar has explained that the Ukrainian Catholic Church-- which suffered brutal persecution during the Stalinist era, and has emerged with new vigor since the collapse of the Communist regime-- deserves representation in the country's cultural and political center.

From the BBC: Ukraine church move fuels rivalry

A Kiev-based group, calling itself the Union of Orthodox Citizens, has declared that it would "defend Kiev as the mother of Russian cities and New Jerusalem - which cannot exist without the Third Rome (Moscow)".

[...]

According to Vatican sources, Pope Benedict XVI shares the opinion of his predecessor, the late John Paul II, that in view of the persecution the Uniate Church has suffered, its ambitions are understandable - and will have to be addressed sooner or later.

However, the Vatican also prefers a cautious approach and does not like being "bounced" by the Uniate leadership.

There is, on the face of it, not much the Vatican can do about the planned move to Kiev on 21 August.

However, giving the Uniates a Patriarchate is another matter.

The holiest job fair you'll ever attend

COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Young priests in sharp suits and sunglasses are turning heads and winning hearts at the Catholic World Youth Day festival in Cologne.

They are the type of men Pope Benedict hopes will secure the future of the Church and inspire youngsters to choose a religious life, which may be why he has insisted on addressing seminarians personally during his four-day visit to Germany.

Read the complete article Dashing young priests turn heads at Youth Day from Reuters.

I'd particularly like to see this:

The more dashing young priests at World Youth Day seem to have an entourage of adoring teenage girls.

That young people are asking questions of those who they see as their peers, that certainly goes a long way. Asking 'stodgy old men and women' how they get along without a wife, children or S-E-X is just something teens today are not going to do. Teens don't even talk to their parents about sex. Handsome young seminarians on the other hand...

From "Off the Record"

I don't usually link to "Off the Record, but this is hilarious:

NCR's John Allen on WYD:

"As Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, he was like the church's bulldog," said Pedro Russell, a 21-year-old from Bitteroot Valley, Montana, who cuts quite a figure -- tall, with bright green hair, and a rosary around his neck.

"He was puttin' the smack-down on heresy," Russell said. "Personally, I'm looking forward to that. There was a lot of slightly misguided teachings that I grew up with. Knowing that there's somebody up there who's made his entire cardinal's career out of straightening out those heresies and defending the true, solid teachings of the church is something I am very, very excited about for the youth. He'll be able to deliver a strict, simple answer that will lead them to deeper life. "

NYT's Ian Fisher on WYD:

"As Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger he was like the church's bulldog; he was putting the smack down on heresy," said Pedro Russell, a 21-year-old Montanan who had both green-dyed hair and a rosary around his neck.

"Personally I am looking forward to that," he said. "There were a lot of slightly misguided teachings that I grew up with. Knowing that there is somebody up there who has made his entire cardinal's career out of straightening out those heresies and defending the true solid teachings of the church is something I am very, very excited for the youth."

Did Russell give a press conference?

Anti-Semitism

(CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI, visiting a synagogue in Germany, has warned of a rising wave of anti-Semitism.

"Today, sadly, we are witnessing the rise of new signs of anti-Semitism and various forms of a general hostility toward foreigners," the pope told members of Germany's oldest Jewish community Friday.
[...]

Read the complete article Benedict warns of anti-Semitism from CNN.

From CWN:

Cologne, Aug. 19 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) encouraged "sincere and trustful dialogue" between Christians and Jews, and condemned the "unimaginable crime" of the Holocaust, during an August 19 visit to the synagogue in Cologne.

To the sound of a ram's horn, and the traditional Hebrew greeting, "Shalom alechem," Pope Benedict became the second Roman Pontiff ever to visit a synagogue. He used the occasion, on the second day of his visit to Germany, to underline his intention to pursue close relations with Judaism, noting that this was "a path on which Pope John Paul II (bio - news) had already taken decisive steps."
[...]

Unconfirmed: Benedict to visit Turkey

Istanbul, 19 August (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI - head of the Catholic church - will visit Turkey on 28-30 November, according to the Turkish daily Milliyet.
[...]

Read the complete article VATICAN: POPE TO VISIT TURKEY from AKI.

The article goes on to detail past efforts at inter-religious dialogue and John Paul II's efforts that Benedict promised to continue. The article also puts much stock in the idea that Benedict is coming as some kind of "reassurance to the Turkish population of the Vatican's efforts in inter-religious dialogue and its support for the country's EU membership bid." Cardinal Ratzinger has said in the past that he opposes Turkey's EU membership as a dilution of European identity.

As far as the visit goes, the Holy Father was invited to Turkey by the Patriarch of Constantinople soon after his election and inauguration. If in fact he is going, Benedict is simply taking the patriarch up on his invitation, though he will no doubt address the Turkish question when he arrives in Constantinople.

(Factoid: Road signs in Greece still refer to Istanbul as Constantinople.)

Navarro-Valls categorizes the Pontificate

Pope Benedict's first day of his first foreign trip led Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls to draw a comparison.

"John Paul expressed himself in gestures; this pope gives great space to words. This will be a pontificate of concepts and of words," the spokesman said.

Read the complete article Young people on banks, in Rhine, give pope rousing welcome to Germany from Catholic News Service.

The Brotherhood in Germany

Magister examines the control that the Muslim Brotherhood exerts over many and the most important of the Muslim organizations in Germany and across Europe.

ROMA, August 18, 2005 – The penultimate event of Benedict XVI's visit to Cologne, before the vigil and Mass with the young people of World Youth Day XX, will be a Saturday, August 20 meeting with the "representatives of some of the Muslim communities."

The meeting will take place at the residence of the city's archbishop. The Muslims asked the pope to visit a mosque, but Benedict XVI declined the invitation.

His prudence is understandable. Cologne and Munich – where Joseph Ratzinger was archbishop from 1977 to 1981 – are the cities in which the Muslim Brotherhood, which has for decades been the main ideological and organizational source of radical Islam in the world, has gained control of most of the mosques and of active Islam in Germany and in Europe.

Mahdy Akef, an Egyptian now residing in Cairo who is the present murshid, or supreme guide, of the Muslim Brotherhood worldwide, is an explicit supporter of the suicide terrorists in Iraq. From 1984 until 1987, he directed the most dynamic Muslim center of Germany, in Munich, with its great mosque in the northern part of the city.

Munich was the birthplace of the Islamische Gemeinschaft in Deutschland, IGD, one of the largest Islamic organizations in Germany. The IGD is under the full control of the Muslim Brotherhood and has sixty mosques spread throughout the country.

For a few years, its organizational headquarters has been located in Cologne. The president of this body is Ibrahim Al Zayat, a 39-year-old Egyptian, the charismatic leader of a network of youth and student organizations that are linked to the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, WAMY, the largest Islamic youth organization in the world. WAMY is financed by Saudi Arabia, bears a strong, rigorist Wahhabi imprint, and produces vehemently anti-Jewish and anti-Christian publications.

Curiously, the commitment to young people on the part of the Roman papacy, which is celebrating one of its key moments in Cologne during these days, has in that same city a parallel in one of the leading centers in Europe for promoting radical activism among young Muslims.
[...]

Read the complete article From Cologne to the Conquest of Europe: How the Muslim Brotherhood is Challenging the Pope from www.chiesa.

Of key interest is Magister's look at the various Muslim leaders whom various Vatican officials have met over the years. Many of these leaders are well connected to radical Islam:

This is the same kind of misunderstanding that has compromised the dialogue between Vatican authorities and Muslim representatives a number of times.

One memorable occasion was the audience on October 13, 1993, held at the Vatican by John Paul II and Hassan Al Turabi of Sudan, who at the time was the leading ideologue in the world for radical Islamism, an inspirer and protector of Osama Bin Laden.

But in more recent times, and after the shift that took place on September 11, one can recall the meeting in Doha, in Qatar, from May 27-29, 2004. On the one side were Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the previous foreign minister for the Holy See, and Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and on the other were the leading imam of the Al Azhar mosque in Cairo, Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, and one of the most widely followed leaders of Sunni Islam, Youssef Al Qaradawi.

Both prior to and since this meeting, Tantawi has repeatedly justified the Palestinian suicide terrorists. As for Qaradawi, he justified such acts even outside of the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Qaradawi completely embodies the stance of the Muslim Brotherhood, and is the de facto Islamic "maestro" with the greatest audience among the Arab people. But Qaradawi also has a broad audience among Muslim immigrants in Europe, where he founded the European Council for Fatwa and Research, which is headquartered in Ireland, in 1997.

The interreligious meetings organized every year by the Community of Sant' Egidio, with the participation of numerous cardinals and bishops, are another example of murky dialogue.

Last July 24, the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference, "Avvenire," criticized the fact that at the 2004 meeting in Milan, authorization to speak had been granted to another apologist for the suicide terrorists: Ahmad Al Tayyib, the rector of the Al Azhar university in Cairo.

"Avvenire" also defined as "imprudent" the fact that some Italian universities – including the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, which is affiliated with the Pontifical Gregorian University – have signed last June 15 an agreement to collaborate with that same university, Al Azhar. This is the most influential university in the Sunni Islamic world, with 400,000 students from 92 countries, and is under significant control from the Muslim Brotherhood.

One would think that the Vatican intelligence organs could get some serious information on these guys before they ended up meeting with various members of the Curia and at times the Holy Father himself.

Stranger in a strange land

When Pope Benedict XVI lands in Cologne for World Youth Day, he will be arriving in a country that has become foreign to him. The churches are empty, the politicians are non-believers and the people in the east are complete strangers to God. And now organizers of the biggest religious festival of the post-war era plan to turn it into a launching pad for a new religious awareness.
[...]

Read the complete article WANTED: PIOUS PEOPLE: When the German Pope Returns Home, He'll Find an Un-Christian Land from Spiegel Online.

This article is chockful of depressing factoids. Let's take a look...

Two-thirds of young people say that it's cool to believe in something.

Only 32 percent of Germans surveyed said that they had great or very great confidence in the church.

Pope Benedict XVI fares only slightly better than the church as a whole, with an approval rating of 36 percent. But he isn't especially popular among 18 to 29-year-olds, who are even less likely to express confidence in the pope than the general population.

Just under two-thirds of Catholics -- and less than half of all Protestants -- believe in life after death, a central tenet of Christianity.

Twenty-seven percent of the faithful say that God is not all-powerful, a concept that also deeply contradicts Christian teachings.

In the East, the pope would find cities and villages filled with nonbelievers, places where only one in three people believes in God.

In 1992 there were still 19,266 Catholic priests. In 2004, this number had shrunk to 326. In the whole of Germany, 210 trainee priests were accepted into seminary last year.

Every 75 seconds, a Christian leaves the church. In 2003, 180,000 Protestants left the church. Only 60,000 joined.

According to the report, the number of Catholics has decreased every year since 1974. The latest figures for 2003 show that around 65,000 more Catholics were buried as were baptized.

This meant in 2003 there was a "decision to join negative," as they put it in the report, of 117,000. Fewer Catholics were baptized in 2003 than at any time since 1960. There were exactly 205,904 Catholic baptisms in 2003. That's 3.5 percent lower than the previous years and 31 percent lower than in 1990. In other words, Catholics are dying out.

And finally:

The Germans have irrevocably moved into a post-religious world. They would like to believe. They suspect that it might help and therefore they respect anyone who is able to believe. But they themselves, for the most part, can't do it anymore. They read Peter Hahne, because Ratzinger is too hard for them. They still say "the pope is right, that's how it should be." But if a politician starts seriously talking about God, they roll their eyes and change the channel.

The pilgrimage paths on Our Lady's field will be deconstructed in an environmentally sound fashion. The components are biodegradable. Only the 3,000 chalices made by ThyssenKrupp pose a slight problem. They have been built to last an eternity and cannot be recycled. And very soon there will no use for them in this country. Only the papal hill will remain. It will be a reminder of an unreal event. Something which is almost impossible to believe.