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You tell me: Pope-worthy gift?

By Catherine Toth Fox • June 4, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

When NBC’s “Today” co-anchor Matt Lauer visited the Vatican on Wednesday, he slide the Holy Father a small box. It in was this $850 Steuben glass cat.

It’s widely known that Pope Benedict XVI is a cat lover — but was this the best gift to present?

I’ll be honest: I wouldn’t know what to get the Holy See — and I’m a recovering Catholic! But I did find the pricey glass cat figurine to be, well, a bit decorative for someone who took an oath of poverty.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a stylish cat. I’m sure cat collectors around the world would love this. But the pope?

I don’t know, you tell me.

Benedict XVICurious Catglass catHawaiiMatt LauerNBCPopePope-worthy giftSteubenToday
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Catherine Toth Fox

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20 Comments

  • Reply Terry June 4, 2011 at 12:57 pm

    Ah, but popes dwell in the lap of luxury, not poverty. For that matter so do most cardinals and bishops.

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm

      I know. But TECHNICALLY…

  • Reply David Jackson June 4, 2011 at 1:06 pm

    I think it would have made more sense to give it to you 🙂 Recovering Catholic eh?

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:20 pm

      I deserve a chocolate rosary 🙂

  • Reply oldshoes June 4, 2011 at 1:07 pm

    A dust collector…..for the Pope? The guy is a moron. Tacky,classless,and clueless.Suprised ‘ol Matt didnt give the German Shepard a framed 8×10 of himself. A firm handshake,big smile,and a few kind words—>priceless.

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:21 pm

      Unless the Pope really does love figurines… Who knows!

  • Reply Nicholas Augusta June 4, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    As a Catholic I was wondering the same thing. Of course a gift of art such as a glass cat by Steuben Glass is appropriate as it signifies what mankind which is God’s greatest creation can create. There is beauty in giving no matter what or to whom. I’m sure the Vicar of Christ and a man who happens to collect cat figurines was pleased. No doubt that this figurine will end up in the Vatican Archives as do all gifts presented to the Pontiff.

    Makes me wonder what I would have given?

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:21 pm

      True. It’ll be in a museum somewhere. Or Planet Hollywood.

  • Reply hawaii2000 June 4, 2011 at 1:56 pm

    Oath of poverty? You’re joking, right? Can I take that oath? The wealth of the Vatican is estimated to be somewhere between 10 and 15 billion dollars (US). Yet so many of the most heavily populated Catholic countries are dirt poor with their followers living in abject poverty.

    As if I needed another reason for being an atheist. If I see him, I would like to give him the gift of a subpoena to appear in front of an international court to face charges ranging from sex trafficking to extortion.

    Just saying.

    • Reply Nicholas Augusta June 4, 2011 at 3:05 pm

      Actually the Pope and parish Priests do not take a vow of poverty. The Pope also recieves no salary. His expenses are paid by the Vatican.

      Of course you do realize that in some of these impoverished countries in Latin America and Africa the only source of charity and aid comes from the Catholic church itself.

      • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm

        Is that right??? Don’t priests and nuns take that oath?

        • Reply WildeOscar June 6, 2011 at 3:51 am

          Cat, true. Members of religious orders take vows that include poverty. The current Pope, and most of the Church’s top heirarchy, entered the church as diocesan priests. It gets complicated, but Franscans (OSF), Domincians (OP), Benedictans (OSB), Jesuits (SJ), and many other orders take oaths of poverty. The individuals may be priests, nuns, brothers, or have other roles. Your average parish priest in many places has the same basic religious training as a priest who is a member of a religious order, but he doesn’t take an oath of poverty. He isn’t going to amass wealth from this work, but he may inherit property, such as from his parents. Usually, diocesan priests will everything to the church when they die, with maybe small items or amounts to specific relatives when they die, but in a religious order, everything that comes in, goes straight to the order.

  • Reply MaxMaxMax June 4, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    Ummm, well, should anyone care what the Pope or Catholic church thinks? The problem with religion today is that something like this would even matter. Good ol’ Benie can either take the gift or leave it I say!

    LOL!

    What do you mean by “recovering Catholic?” Meaning, you’re recovering “from” being a Catholic all your life, or recovering from being away from the church? (hopefully the first.)

    If everyone lived by the golden rule of “Do unto others that which you would have done unto you,” there’d be no need for religion. What a happy planet that would be, eh?

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm

      I don’t think you can ever LEAVE the Catholic Church. The guilt stays forever. 🙂

  • Reply Annoddah Dave June 5, 2011 at 5:26 am

    CAT: I wonder if the gift would be worthy of the Dalai Lama who also has an oath of poverty.

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:22 pm

      Or Ghandi. Maybe I would’ve given him a plate lunch.

  • Reply Cody Zamboni June 5, 2011 at 10:26 am

    Glass cat gift for the Pope. I got no problem with that. I think the NBC brass also made sure Matt presented the Pope with a dignified gift. Today Show is changing anchors. Ann Curry is getting promoted. They cannot risk any ratings loss. Over 80 years of broadcasting, NBC has one golden rule. Don’t disparage Catholic viewers. The most hate mail NBC ever received was when Sinead O Conner ripped up a picture of the Pope on SNL in 1990. Bottom line : it’s all about money.

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:23 pm

      I wonder what Ann Curry would’ve given him…

  • Reply WildeOscar June 5, 2011 at 12:12 pm

    I’m not much of a cat lover, glass or furry. I’m about as indifferent to cats as they are to most people. If the Pope doesn’t want the gift though, I’ll take it. A gift like this is a gesture of politeness from Matt Lauer and NBC (who have some resources) to the Pope who doesn’t need more knick knacks.

    Perhaps if the Pope really likes the cat and needs to make room for it in the Vatican Library, I’ll take a bound illuminated manuscript…just to do a favor and make some shelf space.

    • Reply Catherine Toth June 5, 2011 at 6:23 pm

      I agree. At least Lauer did something. And he seemed genuinely thrilled to meet the Pope.

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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