So the Abbé Pierre died today, and all of France is in mourning. I dont know if you'll hear about him in the US but he was a catholic priest of sorts who created the humanitarian organization Emmaus and became very involved in aiding the cause of the homeless after WWII. I honestly didn't know much about the guy before watching the news tonight but I was taken aback by his compassion over the past 60 years. He was tough yet sincere and got really angry at people in public for not doing more to help the less advantaged. Just consider the headlines of Le Monde today: "Death of the Abbé Pierre : 30 % less hope for people in misery".Sad and hopefully not true, but a true reflection of reverence.
posted by Jake at 1/22/2007 04:31:00 PM
2 Comments:
i first heard of abbe pierre 10 yrs or so ago when he was ridiculed for questioning the validity of the holocaust, though as it turned out he was just defending a friend who'd been doing the questioning.
others have called him mother teresa with balls.
he musta been close to 100. a long and useful life.
wonder if he'll get to go to heaven?
jake, heard no mention of pierre on TV or radio, including NPR, but there was a very positive and thorough obit in the NY Times.
he was 94.
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