ROME — An Italian priest backtracked from his idea to organize an online beauty pageant for nuns, saying Tuesday he had been misunderstood and incurred the protests of the faithful and local religious authorities.
The Rev. Antonio Rungi had thought of the beauty contest to give nuns more visibility within the Catholic Church and to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour. The "Miss Sister 2008" contest was supposed to start in September on a blog run by the priest, who is a theologian and schoolteacher from the Naples area.
But he changed his mind after seeing reports that suggested nuns would be metaphorically put on a catwalk. He said what he had in mind was not just external beauty but what he called "overall beauty."
"I wanted to make a blog on vocations, one where everybody could bring their own experiences," Rungi said by telephone from his town of Mondragone, about 35 miles north of Naples. "I wanted to create a showcase for the pastoral experience of nuns."
"Instead, they made it look like it was a catwalk a la Miss Italy," he said. "I have been misunderstood."
The reverend said attacks against him, phone calls and e-mails prompted him to cancel the plan, as well as reported unease of his religious superiors over the idea.
Still, Rungi said he hopes the idea can be revived in the future, if he can bring on board local religious authorities.
This Canadian article is hilarious! The headline, however, is misleading; the creator of Facebook has nothing to do with it, rather they're challenging a girl who created a group on Facebook:
Creator of Facebook site that questions beauty ideals wins P.E.I. pageant
A young woman from Souris, P.E.I. who began a Facebook group that was against the fashion industry's definition of beauty has won a pageant.
Heather Ross, 18, was crowned "Queen of the Furrows," an annual pageant that takes place at the Dundas Agricultural fair. The contestants sport evening wear and are asked impromptu questions, but in a unique turn they must also exhibit a high degree of skill riding a tractor, and plowing.
"Most of the girls don't know how to ride a tractor until the day before, when we get training. It's the most Island thing possible," said Ross.
Ross started a Facebook group called "Beauty versus Industry" earlier this year, which encourages members to define beauty in their own terms.
There's no contradiction between her fashion industry campaign and being crowned Queen of the Furrows, she said.
And finally:
LOS ANGELES - Ever wonder what happened to Tara Conner? It looks as though 2006's troubled Miss USA has come a long way from her days of battling a drug/alcohol addiction to now teaching other young women to act like ladies.
Pop Tarts has confirmed that Conner (who has kept a very low-profile for months now) has signed on to host MTV’s upcoming reality show, which has the working title of "LaDette to Lady."The self-betterment show is set to start filming in London this fall, and Conner's role will be to transform a bunch of gals from problematic to prim and proper while exposing details of her own tough times.
But the reformed rehabber had a little help scoring the hot hosting gig — her BFF Donald Trump. The mogul (who co-owns the Miss Universe Organization) made headlines in December 2006 when he allowed Conner to keep her crown despite her dangerous habits and even brought her back to Trump Towers to star in last year’s reality television program "Pageant Place." Trump Productions is behind this new show.
"Trump and Tara have a very close relationship," an inside source told Tarts. "She still doesn’t drink at all and rarely ever even goes out."
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