In nomine patris ~

to William Shakespeare

"we are everlastingly grateful to ye"

New York Times

Paris, January 19, 2005

From a News Report by Elaine Sciolino

This gesture to the mothers of France seemed to shake the sacred pillar of patriarchy. New Year’s Day quietly ushered in a change in France’s law on last names. It abolished the centuries-old obligation that parents give the patronymic, or name of the father, to their children. That means that a couple will now be able to give its newborn baby either the mother’s last name, the father’s last name or both names in whatever order the parents choose.

Please forgive my irreverent spin here, the devil made me do it:

While this change in the law will make it easier for mothers to name their out of wedlock children (45% of the children in France) the law could cause widespread consternation and confusion, especially if the practice becomes universal throughout Europe. Conjure for a moment the following scenario: Pope Paul in Rome, bestowing his blessing on the multitudes of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square:

In the name of the Father, or the Mother, or the Mother and Father, or the Father and Mother . . . and the Son and the Holy Ghost . . . Amen