Pave: Mercredi des Cendres

Le jour 267 de Sarko

In sudore vultus tui vesceris pane donec revertaris in terram de qua sumptus es quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris.

[In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.]

Genesis 3:19,
the seminal text of mortality
Latin Vulgate (Top)
King James (Bottom)

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the Christian season of repentence. The lay faithful are distinguished by a cross of ash marking the forehead. Although the craft may vary -- a cross may be nicely rendered, it may be smeared or smudged, while still others might elaborately map the entire forehead -- it is hard to mistake besooted Christians today. It is a public chastisement. It is intended to be noticed.

All of which puts us in mind of this 2004 French law:

Dans les écoles, les collèges et les lycées publics, le port de signes ou tenues par lesquels les élèves manifestent ostensiblement une appartenance religieuse est interdit.

[In schools, colleges, and public high schools, the wearing of signs or dress by which pupils conspicuously express a religious membership is prohibited.]

[We look up Fifth Avenue where ashen crosses dot the bobble-head pedestrian sea.] It doesn't get more conspicuous.

Are little Catholic Frenchies being turned out of their classes for manifestent ostensiblement their religious confession? We cannot find a single report. [Pause.] Why not? To apply the law fairly, the Catholic écolier must be denied the Church's soot or be booted from class.

France's "prohibited dress" law was written generally (and sloppily and confusedly) as to appear fair, but was intended to target young Muslim girls wearing prescribed Muslim dress. And young Muslim girls were targeted because the French government had no stomach for targeting young Muslim boys, who under the guise of "unidentified youths" soon put France to flame (and this), armed themselves, battled and shot police, attacked the defenseless, and destroyed public and private property (oh, and this follow-up).

If you click on the first link in the paragraph above you can back link to our arguments against this law's conceptual defects, its misplaced intent, its feeble craft, and its clumsy execution.

PFFT (What is this?): Freedom of religious expression 0 | Rayonnement français 0