What I find most suspect about this tract is the Protestant-like tendency to think that "all the answers are in Scripture" -- whereas the Saints, famous mystics, etc. are not referred to at all.

A lot of what this guy says is QUITE a stretch.

   Here is an interesting article that affirms some of the info this Vietnamese Catholic offers. What troubles me more is the Catholic tendency to disregard all scripture and follow the apparition de jour. Well , here is docuмented foul (fowl) rain on the infallible parade. (is that a cosmic pun ?)

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http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19941218&slug=1947858

Sunday, December 18, 1994 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

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Bird Droppings Blanket Vatican Area

AP

ROME - There's plenty of "white stuff" in Rome this holiday season - but it's not making anyone feel festive.

Thousands of birds taking roost near the Vatican have blanketed blocks with snow-white guano and turned the area into a showdown between human ingenuity and birds' natural urges.

The birds are winning.

Cars are speckled within minutes. Many residents have begun toting umbrellas as protection.

Others improvise. "I don't read the sports section so I use it to shield my head," said Patricia Luca, sheltered under the morning edition as she waited for a tram.

The slop of droppings reached the crisis point this month after a rain storm. Dozens of cyclists lost control in the slush. Merchants complained of losing loyal customers.

The city closed off the worst area - a main thoroughfare and several adjacent streets - and street scrubbers went to work. Bird experts were called in for flock removal.

They tried rattling them with loudspeakers and tapes of rifle blasts. They then moved on to sounds mimicking a bird distress cry. The birds - mostly palm-sized starlings - were unfazed.

"We're looking at the possibility of chasing away the starlings with ultrasound," said the city's animal division chief, Bruno Cignini.

Forget the gentle approach, some demand - bring in the chain saws!

"Cut down the trees. It's better to kill them than the people," said Adele Calcaterra, a shop owner.

Some residents have taken clubs and pounded the tree trunks to try to unsettle the birds. It helped work out frustrations, but little else.

Starlings and Romans usually coexist without problem. The birds' tight formation in flight - zig-zagging over the rooftops - is as much part of the urban landscape as piazzas and outdoor cafes.

The birds usually move around and many head to more southern points as the weather cools. The dense concentration in one neighborhood surprises the experts. Some think the birds have delayed their migration because of unusually mild weather and picked the tree-lined zone near the Vatican because heavy traffic and public transportation make the streets a few degrees warmer than surrounding areas.

The feces fallout reaches its peak in late afternoon after birds return from feeding in the countryside.

"From five to seven it's almost impossible to go out without getting hit," Carlo Artigini said. "We're prisoners of the birds."

About the only one profiting from the mess is the neighborhood car wash, whose sign rests atop a guano-covered car.

Copyright (c) 1994 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.