Not in France. They usually are in a car, sometimes (very rarely) on horse. In some places, like pedestrian town centers, I’ve seen them on Mountain BikesYears ago, they used bycicles (see old movies).
That applies to the Balkans too. They never forget anything, and definitely not the offenses. « They suffer from too much history », said Churchill.Works for the Corsicans too, in my country.
@drds2 I believe the claim of infallibility doesn’t apply generally to the Pope, but only in limited instances when he speaks on doctrinal matters, ex Cathedra (i.e., not as an individual, but as Pope, head of the Church – Scoot S will love this one…).The Catholics believe that in these instances, he is inspired by the Holy Spirit, as Peter was in his own time. They also believe that the cardinals are guided by the Holy Spirit when they elect a new Pope. I can think of a few instances, though, when they must clearly have had serious understanding issues…For transparency purposes, I am a Catholic too (but not very assiduous in practice).By the way, I enjoy the discussion!
@drds2 is actually right. Popes were initially simply Rome’s bishops, enjoying some added respect because of Rome imperial status. There were other popes, such as the Patriarch of Alexandria (and today Coptics Christians’ Patriarch in Egypt is still called a pope).It’s the Catholics that insisted that Rome’s bishop, as Pope, have authority over all other bishops, even the Patriarchs of Constantinopolis (by then capital of the Empire), Alexandria or Jerusalem. That led to growing tensions, leading to the Great Schism between Catholics and Orthodox in the 11th century.Trying to out-pedant you, @drds2 ;-)
Both in fact. At least in France: we have many artificially planted woods, which aren’t viable without human care, but as agriculture has become more intensive, and therefore abandoned less productive regions (usually in mountains), natural forest has also gained significant ground. I think the same is true in the US, especially in the North-East, which used to be heavily cultivated until the 19th century, when intensive agriculture switched to the Midwest. You often see stone walls in the woods, which used to be field boundaries.
Maybe it’s not obvious for Americans, but Boche was French slang for Germans during both World Wars, and between.