The root of the rose?

When I brought a bouquet to my old friend Gösta the other day, he asked: "Where is the root of the rose?" Typical Gösta, I thought to myself. We see the patterns of the blossom, the leaves, but the root? At age 98, Gösta remains full of questions. That's why I like to visit him at the assisted living facility in a suburb of Stockholm.
Since he's been reading Bhagavad Gita and Granth Sahib of late, he's particularly curious about Vox Pacis, and the cantata, "A challenge to humanity", which I've been rehearsing intensively these past few weeks. He talks about the challenges of ecumenism and his concern about the Church, for which he is personally so grateful as his own life draws to a close, for its inability to alter its approach to dialogue in the face of globalism. He emhasizes the challenges of "ethics versus loyalty".

Only the week before, I had taken the afternoon off from my regular job to rehearse together with solists and ensembles representing the major religions of the world. With no time for lunch, I grabbed an ice cream cone on the go, and was just finishing it when I caught site of one of the priests in my parish.
I noted that he was examining with delight the front end of a German tourist bus parked in front of the Swedish National Museum. Since his behavior reminded me of that of my brothers, I stepped off to the side to allow myself to be fascinated by his all too familiar boyish fascination. It was a German vehicle, and everything from the license plate, to the grid, tire, and the half-hidden front suspension, appeared of interest. In the process of observing him, I had evidently become an unwanted witness, because when he lifted his sight from the chassis and I could attract his attention long enough to say hello, the otherwise friendly priest became suddenly abrupt, in a hurry, and unable to refrain from a caustic comment about the luxury of my indulgence. I got the hint and moved on.
Ethics versus loyalty?
A couple of days later, one of his colleagues, another priest asked: "Är du fast här nu." ("Are you fixed/solid/attached/stationary here [in the Catholic Church] now?). I couldn't help disclose my dumbfoundedness: "Fixed, solid, attached?", whereupon the priest responded: "Well I haven't seen you here for such a long time and was wondering." It seems that some men become troubled when they're not sure when and where a female is going to turn up. "Such a long time" happened to have been just two weeks, but that seemed like superfluous information.
Loyalty vs. ethics?