In case you missed the story on CNN, in the effort to construct a parking structure, The Vatican recently unearthed an early pagan burial ground, with perhaps several hundred tombs, including that of the personal slave of Emperor Nero, who according to the report was also the chief set designer at the theater where Julius Ceasar was killed. Taken this way, if your mind is prone to going all conspiracy theory, it looks as if The Vatican did its best to sweep things under the rug in times past. Seen in the light of The Vatican actually having made a discovery of this sort, it speaks well for them that it has made the relics available for public viewing. Progressive thinking is a good thing. I suppose if we really wanted to, we could credit the spirit infused into Catholicism by John Paul II for such a wholesale change of heart from times past. As long as Benedict doesn't view this as a situation where spin control is necessary, everything's hunky-dory, as far as I can tell. It's worth asking if in view of discoveries like this, and what we know of the sometimes-ugly humanity of Catholic priests, even more of a change of view might be coming in the future. In some circles, this will probably brand me a heretic, although I will still embrace my Catholicism, if indeed the church will still embrace me. Without actually claiming it, I guess I've kinda captured a little bit of the spirit of Buddhism, which is to say that I'm not here to hurt anyone, irritated though I can tend to be by some people. Life and death are really pretty circular, and the larger effort should be made to make the world a better place. Spiritually, at this point, I think I've finally kinda "looked down," and realized just exactly how far I've managed to vault myself. Wow. It still remains to be seen, of course, how I stick the landing, but this counts as progress.