Gala Placidia's activity

Sorry, Ram, but you are not telling the whole story. Although the lawyers used that argument, the Catholic Church immediately reacted stating that what the lawyers said was "moraly wrong". The Church cannot control what lay lawyers may say in order to win a court case; however, they quicly reacting condemning it. The Church is made of human beings and we do not really know whether those lawyers were practising Catholics or not. In any case, they did not have the approval from the Church to make such a statement, which is contrary to its teachings.

Both Italy and Spain are experiencing the same problems. Austerity alone, although welcome, will not help to improve thesituation. And the current political crisis in Italy is damaging further the economy, which urgently needs incentives. As you said, the current struggle that small and medium businesses, generally run by families, is heartbreaking. I have also seen how many of these businesses have been forced to close their doors in Tuscany. Unless something is done quickly, the future of those families looks very bleak.

SirTK, have you thought at another possibility? Perhaps Catholicism is gaining more adepts in the Third World because the Catholic Church is the only one that cares for them? And this includes education and health. Perhaps this may also be the reason why most of the new vocations originate there. In any case, the current Pope is a good example of someone who really cares for the poor. The Catholic Church is also the largest provider of health services in the world. Many Third World people depend on that care.

Thank you, Angie. It is a fabulous movie and a source of inspiration. And Morricone's music is magnificent. For those still in doubt about the name adopted by  the new Pope, the Vatican, through Father Lombardi has clarified the matter http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/03/13/174237155/pope-francis-a-... The Pope himself has decided to drop the numeral and this goes along with his humble approach in everything he does. Also, besides adopting the name of Francis because of Saint Francis of Assisi, most unusual as Jesuits and Franciscans do not see eye to eye, I am sure that he also thought at two other Jesuit saints who had that name, Saint Francis Xavier and also Saint Francis Borgia (yes, a grandson of Pope Alexander VI and member of the notorious family). Google his biography and I am sure that you will find that it is not such a wild guess.  P.S. Thank you, Steve.

Ram. this is the latest on those rumours and I do believe that the Vatican version is correct http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21802684 Even Argentine Nobel Prize Pérez Esquivel has agreed that the current Pope had done everything in his power and under very difficult circumstances. You had to live in Argentina at the time to realize what a terrible situation they had to endure. Also, the Peronist government does not like Cardinal Bergoglio and is certainly behind some of the nasty comments and rumours. They usually do that. Quite a challenging country for anyone. I lived there for quite a few years although I left in 1973 when the real trouble had not started. I still have plenty of friends there. Sir TK, we are 1,200,000,000 Catholics around the world within a figure of over 1,500,000,000 Christians. We can't be that wrong! I am not going to convince you, but you are not going to convince me. On the other hand, and as it is the case with you, I also worry about the growth of the Muslim followers, but not the tolent ones but the fundamentalists. Nothing wrong with any religion, fanatism and power struggle are the real enemies. Flip, you are not worth an answer, but let me remind you that both yourself, Karen and your group have had their membership cancelled several times, both here and in the Old Forum. You had your own Forum and you lost it. Then, you came here to start again to annoy and cause disturbance. All those of us who know your animosity against this Community and the old Forum, and there are many of us, are sick and tired of you. And you systematically blame others for the sins you commit regularly. In the old Forum, we all know who was your victim. She is no longer here, so you have to find a new victim and you want me to take her place. Sorry, you are not going to move me one inch. Say whatever you want, I could not care less. So why don't you pack up and go. Create your own Forum and all the trolls can meet there. I promise you I will not join.

Maggi, I would agree with the alternative mentioned by pass55. Have you considered driving to Italy? We do that from Spain twice or three times every year and we find it very convenient. We always stop overnight and try to visit different towns to provide variety and make it more interesting. We also don't have too many choices as we travel with our elderly doggy and flying is not a good alternative. A bit more homework for you... think about it and make a few calculations. 

It is true that Italian bank fees are high. On the other hand, you have to consider convenience and certainly, having all your bills on direct debit gives you peace of mind. If you are not a resident, you save yourself time and money by having this kind of arrangements. You have to do a bit of homework and find out which is the most convenient solution. I think that we also pay about 120 or 150 € in bank charges every year, but we are happy with our arrangements and we know that we can call or email our bank if we need assistance on matters that we cannot fix through net banking.

Ram, you really can't imagine what went on in Argentina during the Junta dictatorship. To say anything , even to complain, was the equivalent of signing your own death sentence. The Pope helped and begged authorities to release people. He has no crimes in his conscience. He went as far as hiding and giving a fugitive his own ID documents to help him scape. So the British press is wrong in trying to implicate him in anything like that. As for the Malvinas/Falkland, you have the British point of view. THe large majority of Argentinians will maintain that the Malvinas are Argentinian and that is not going to change. Check the history of the islands and most of us will agree that they are an anachronic colony in the South Atlantic which are located on the Argentinian continental shelf. And in order to occupy the territory by force, the British had to displace a very small Argentinian garrison that was already on the Islands. That happened back in 1833. Then, the British government proceeded to introduce population in the area that had no natives. There had only been small settlements of French fishermen from St Malo (Malouins, hence the name Malvinas), Spaniards and the last Argentine garrison. And they did not grant full British nationality to those born in the islands until after the Falklands/Malvinas war. And in case you had any doubts, I do not condone the Argentine invasion of the Islands. This was a crazy plan by the military Junta which only caused harm and deaths. Many young Argentinians, who were conscripted, found themselves fighting an impossible war, ill-prepared, abandoned by their own officers, dying not only by bullets but also because of the extreme conditions and hunger. It was un unforgivable horror caused by coward fascist dictators. The new Pope is a man of peace and humility. No warlord. No Julius II. Rest assured of that. P.S. Sorry, I had problems writing my original message with a tablet and had to correct some mistakes. Also, I wanted to add that anyone wanting to know more about the Jesuits and their work in South America should watch a movie called "The Mission", winner of multiple prizes and awards and with actors such as De Niro and Irons. The music by Ennio Morricone is heavenly. And it is a film based on facts, not fiction. Actually, Father Julian who is thrown from the top of the Iguazú falls to his death was the brother of one of my ancestors and he did exist. He was Father Julián de Lizardi, SJ, the protomartyr or first martyr of Paraguay. He was not thrown down the falls, this was done as it looked much better on the movie, but was killed by a rebel group of Indians while celebrating Mass with the Indians of his mission. In a way, much like the last scene where Father Gabriel dies. I strongly recommend you to watch it.

Thank you, Fillide.  I think that he will be a breath of fresh air in the Vatican. The only problem is that he is not very young and he may not have enough time to do everything he would like to do. He is a great man, very interested in the welfare of the poor, humble and very intelligent. He refused to live in the Archbishop's palace in BUenos Aires, never used official cars or had bodyguards, travelled by bus and subway to visit the "villas" or shanty towns and even now, on his first day in office, he refused to use the papal limousine. His choice of name reflects his philosophy and his admiration for two other "Franciscus", both Saint Francis of Assisi, the saint of the poor people and Saint Francis Xavier, a Jesuit missionary. We can expect great things from him, although he will not be as "colourful" as the Borgias, Borghese or Della Rovere popes. But there will be plenty of "plotting" in the Vatican. You can bet on that.

I do not think that it is a simple matter of making a few calculations. All aspects of taking up residency in another country should be taken into account. And keep in mind that once the NHS entitlements will be transferred to Italy, should you decide to go back to the UK you will have to wait some time (I think it is about 6 months, but someone may know better) before being able to have those entitlements reinstated.