Does Your God Approve of This?

Exceptionalism is tricky, it doesn't solely reside within the realms of the privileged, successful, affluent, or well-connected. It manifests in various guises.

This is an Easter story. I decided to take you on my religious trip with me. No formatting, no research; just plain ol’ heavenly stuff. A little necessary background, first. I hail from probably the most Catholic place on Earth, second only to the Vatican itself. At times, the place I come from tries to be a bigger Pope than the Pope. The city where I was born has a population of less than 200,000, yet it boasts over 20 churches and cathedrals. Given, my family isn’t religious.

My parents were born 5 years after WW2, and their God were the Yugoslav Partisans. They had a good life under the socialist self-governance, a unique brand of socialism developed by their leader who managed to run the European country while famously associating himself with the recently decolonized countries of the so-called Third World.

Tough act to follow.

One of my two nephews is the only member of our family who got christened in the Catholic Church. This decision was influenced (read, bullied) by my mother, …