My latest posting on Gadling.com has raised some hackles–and tickled other readers pink. Isn’t that what blogging is about? Here are two excerpts from emails I’ve received regarding the piece, followed by the story’s first paragraph and a link.

“There ARE Romans who join religious life, and I can show them to you… And that priests are “expected” to be homosexual is more an outcome of the secular press than a result of real life.”

“A refreshing break from the workman-like politically correct prose that gets thrown up on blogs most times. Just came back from from Italy, so it was especially easy to empathize.“

Letter from Rome: The view from the Janus Hill (or, How some Romans think of Rome)

A few minutes before noon Saint Peter’s begins caroling its bells. This tintinnabulation began at the beginning of time and presumably will continue until the end of it. The Vatican’s bells are followed by 900 other lunch bells ringing from 900 lesser churches scattered among the city’s Seven Hills. As the ringing reaches noontide paroxysms, a cannon springs out of a bunker atop Rome’s highest hill and blasts a single deafening shot. It silences the bells for a second, perhaps two. READ MORE
[Photo: Flickr, click link to Gadling for more information|