Fwd: Pope announces priests to become taxonomists

Wed Apr 2 10:25:35 CST 2003

I was told a similar story in Brazil re: the capybara, a large rodent.  The
Pope declared it a fish (it does swim rather well?) so it could be eaten on
Friday and during Lent.  Don't know if it's true or apocryphal.

At 10:14 AM 4/2/03 -0600, Beach, James H wrote:
>Normally topics of religion don't fit well with a taxonomic mailing list,
>but the Polish Pope April Fools item forces me to come forward with this
>intersection of the two realms.
>
>In the land of my childhood, "Downriver" Detroit, there is a large community
>of Polish Catholics in the city of Wyandotte which sits on the banks of the
>Detroit river. In order to accommodate a particular gustatory fondness, a
>past Pope (so the story goes --I've not been able to track down which one.)
>decreed that the muskrat was a water animal--akin to a fish, in order to
>allow the Polish Catholic citizens of Wyandotte to eat muskrat on Fridays
>during Lent.  To this day, if you visit Wyandotte, one can dine on muskrat
>on Friday night.  I haven't tried it, but understand muskrat is now farmed
>to ensure quality.
>
>It makes me wonder what other interesting "one-off" classifications the
>Catholic Church may have in their annals.
>
>Jim B.
>
>--------------------------------
>James H. Beach
>Biodiversity Research Center
>University of Kansas
>1345 Jayhawk Boulevard
>Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
>Tel: 785 864-4645, Fax: 785 864-5335
>Televideocon: (H.323): 129.237.201.102
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: John Noyes [mailto:jsn at NHM.AC.UK]
> > Sent: 02 April, 2003 3:48 AM
> > To: TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
> > Subject: Re: Fwd: Pope announces priests to become taxonomists
> >
> >
> > Doug,
> >
> > I wonder. Look at the date!
> >
> > John
> >
> > At 10:00 AM 4/1/2003 -0800, Doug Yanega wrote:
> > >This one is an eye-opener. Is there hope for us yet?
> > >
> > >>Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2003 09:32:04 -0800
> > >>To: dyanega at pop.ucr.edu
> > >>Subject: Fwd: Pope announces priests to become taxonomists
> > >>
> > >>>----------
> > >>>From Rueters:
> > >>>
> > >>>April 1, 2003
> > >>>
> > >>>      In a stunning announcement, Pope John Paul today proclaimed
> > >>>that he intends to make taxonomy, the science of naming and
> > >>>classifying organisms, one of the Church's highest priorities, and
> > >>>called upon his priests to turn to the practice of
> > taxonomy as "a way
> > >>>of realizing their Divine calling." Citing the Book of
> > Genesis, the
> > >>>pontiff explained that the first and only task that God
> > gave Adam to
> > >>>perform was the naming of all the earth's creatures, and further
> > >>>noted that he has been advised that "most scientists believe that
> > >>>less than 10 percent of the world's species have actually
> > been given
> > >>>names as of today." The Pope went on to suggest that the
> > scientists
> > >>>will never complete this "Divine mission", and that only if the
> > >>>Church turns its vast resources and manpower to this problem "can
> > >>>God's first directive to mankind ever be realized." He
> > asked that his
> > >>>priests make it a goal of their lives to undertake the
> > naming of as
> > >>>many new species as possible, and to coordinate their efforts "by
> > >>>forming a Commission whose aim is to identify gaps in present
> > >>>classification, and delegate responsibility for filling
> > those gaps."
> > >>>The Pope further invoked the names of St. Francis of
> > Assisi and the
> > >>>monk Gregor Mendel as examples of holy men who felt an
> > affinity for
> > >>>God's handiwork as expressed in the natural world,
> > referring to the
> > >>>practice of naming creatures as "the world's oldest profession," a
> > >>>remark which his advisers later apologized for as an unintended
> > >>>phrasing based upon their translation from Polish to English.
> > >>>----------
> > >--
> > >
> > >Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology
> > Research Museum
> > >Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
> > >phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are
> > mine, not UCR's)
> > >   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
> > >         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Entomology Department, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell
> > Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD, UK
> >
> > Tel. +44 (0)207-942-5594  Fax: +44 (0)207-942-5229
> >
> > INTERNET: jsn at NHM.ac.uk
> >
> > Interactive catalogue and biological database of World
> > Chalcidoidea on CD:
> >
> > Contact the publisher: DickyS._Yu at telus.net, or Dicky S. Yu,
> > P.O.Box 48205, Bentall Centre, Vancouver B.C., V7X 1N8,
> > CANADA; see also www.taxapad.com
> >
> > Encyrtidae of Costa Rica:
> > http://www.nhm.ac.uk/science/intro/entom/project2/index.> html
> >
> >
> > Course on taxonomy and biology of parasitic
> > Hymenoptera: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/entomology/hymcours
> >

Thomas G. Lammers, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor and Curator of the Herbarium (OSH)
Department of Biology and Microbiology
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901-8640 USA

e-mail:       lammers at uwosh.edu
phone:      920-424-1002
fax:           920-424-1101

Plant systematics; classification, nomenclature, evolution, and biogeography
of the Campanulaceae s. lat.

Webpages:
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/Lammers.htm
http://www.uwosh.edu/departments/biology/herbarium/herbarium.html
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Resort/7156/lammers.html
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Today's mighty oak is yesterday's nut that stood his ground."
                                                               -- Anonymous