BANKING ON A HIGHER AUTHORITY ... !

As the European economy falters, some say the Euro doesn't have a prayer.  Maybe that's why the Portuguese put their faith in a bank that's really "too big to fail," the only financial institution on Earth that answers to a higher authority, the Banco Espirito Santo.  "Yikes," I said passing a woman withdrawing some money, "Is that an ATM or a confessional?"  I watched closely, determined to see whether the machine dispensed Eucharists or Euros, but in the end I guess it doesn't really matter.  Between the media scandals surrounding the Vatican and the current state of the Portuguese economy, one wonders whether either stands a Holy Ghost of a chance ...!