โJoe, you see this? The Kardashiansโthese Americanosโare begging for reality show competition. Theyโre bored down there. Thatโs why I endorsed **Kim Kardashianโs **Skims clothing line. You have to get their attention somehow.โ
โCompetition?โ he says. โNelly, those people live in billion-dollar mansions in **Los Angeles. Iโm not living in no palace like that.โ
Nelly smirks. โSo whatโs your dream then, Prime Minister Joe?โ
Joe points out the window toward the neighborhoods of **Vancouver.
โMy dream is simple. I want every Canadian to have that old-school dreamโthe **Vancouver Special. You know, the classic 1970s house. Two floors, mom and dad upstairs, maybe the grandparents downstairs. A little yard. A place for a barbecue.โ
Nelly laughs.
โSo instead of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, you want Keeping Up with the Canadians?โ
Joe nods.
โExactly. No gold-plated sinks. No 40-car garages. Just a decent house, a garden, and enough money left over so people arenโt drowning in debt. Thatโs the real reality show.โ
Nelly grins.
โWell Joe, if thatโs the showโฆ the Kardashians might actually have some real competition.โ
Joe speaks quietly to Nelly, almost like heโs thinking out loud about Europeโs future.
โLook, Nelly,โ Joe says, โpeople always argue about what Medjugorje means. Some say the message is only prayer and fasting. But I think itโs bigger than that. Europe is falling into a demographic abyss. Churches are empty, villages are aging, and the next generation is disappearing.โ
He gestures toward the horizon.
โOur Lady appeared there in a small village in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the message could be for all of Europe. Maybe the renewal starts with faith again. Maybe priests and nuns shouldnโt just guard the old traditions โ maybe they should help lead people back to life, to family, to children.โ
Nelly raises an eyebrow.
Joe continues:
โIโm not saying change the Church overnight. But look at history. Even Pope John Paul II always talked about the โculture of life.โ Europe canโt survive if nobody is born anymore. Faith communities used to build families, villages, and entire civilizations.โ
He smiles slightly.
โMaybe the message from Medjugorje is simple: prayer, hopeโฆ and the courage to rebuild a future. Otherwise Europe turns into a museum.โ
Nelly thinks for a moment.
โSo youโre saying,โ she replies, โOur Lady isnโt just calling people to prayโฆ sheโs calling them to rebuild civilization?โ
Joe nods.
โExactly. Out of the demographic abyss.โ ๐โจ
โJoe, you know something?โ she says. โIf that were possible, Iโd sign up tomorrow.โ
Joe looks confused.
โA nun?โ he asks.
Nelly nods.
โYes. I mean it. I love the idea of devotion, community, prayerโฆ all of that. The beauty of the Church. But Iโm also a woman. I would want a family too.โ
She pauses for a moment.
โYouโre talking about saving Europe from a demographic winter. Well, how can that happen if the most devoted women in the Church are asked to give up motherhood?โ
Joe thinks about it.
Nelly continues:
โIf I could be a nun and still have a husband and childrenโserve God and raise a familyโI would do it. That would be a powerful example for people. Faith wouldnโt look like renouncing lifeโฆ it would look like embracing it.โ
Joe nods slowly.
โYou know,โ he says, โthat sounds a little like the early Christians.โ
Nelly smiles.
โExactly. People forget that. The Church wasnโt always organized the way it is now.โ
She glances toward the hills.
โMaybe the message of Medjugorje is simply reminding people that faith should bring life back into the world.โ
Joe chuckles.
โSo your plan to save Europe,โ he says, โis married nuns?โ