Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

In an echo of what is currently happening on the other side of the Atlantic with the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers, John Allen, author of the must-read weekly "Word from Rome" writes that "if the Catholic left fears the new pope will translate his ideas expressed as a cardinal into policy, many on the Catholic right seem to fear that he won't." All that's by way of saying that our Word for the wise © this week begins with P.

pope became a hate word in English in the days of King Henry VIII and this fanatical usage persisted until quite recently. Indeed, 5 November was termed "Pope Day" at least until 1903. In the verbal armoury of English bigots, pope meant the effigy burnt on Guy Fawkes Night (5 November), a celebration to commemorate the successful foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. A nursery rhyme popular in Northern Ireland goes:

Remember, remember, the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot

In the week or so preceding 5 November a rag-stuffed figure representing the pope is taken about the streets by children begging for fireworks money ("a penny for the Guy"). On the night itself, also known as Bonfire Night, bonfires are lit in which, traditionally, the effigy, or Guy is burnt.

The Gunpowder Plot was led by a group of Catholics wishing to restore civic rights to members of their faith. They allegedly planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament and so rid England of its Protestant rulers. Gunpowder had been stored in a vault under the House of Lords and Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, was to set the fuses alight. One of the plotters, however, warned a relative, Lord Monteagle, who revealed the plot to the authorities. On the night between November 4 and 5, 1605, the cellars underneath Parliament were searched and Guy Fawkes was arrested and tortured until he named his alleged fellow conspirators. The conspirators were tortured and then executed, and the hopes for Catholic Emancipation received a severe setback.

Next week, we're at "Q". Candidates include "quack" and "queer".