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Pope Francis Tag

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on April 24, 2016 24 Comments
Apparently, Pope Francis shares Obama's view of Middle Eastern Christian refugees.  Despite the State Department's reluctant statement that ISIS is committing genocide on Christians and on other Muslims throughout the Middle East, the Obama admin has been deporting and denying refuge to Middle Eastern refugees . . .  those who are Christian, that is. Pope Francis has also decided to open the Vatican exclusively to Muslim refugees. The Daily Mail reports:

A Christian brother and sister from Syria say they have been 'let down' by the Pope after he left them behind in a Lesbos refugee camp despite promises they would be given a new life in Italy.

Roula and Malek Abo say they were two of the lucky 'chosen 12' refugees selected by the Vatican to be taken from the desperate camp and housed in Rome.

But what seemed like the chance of a lifetime was cruelly snatched away when they were told the following day they couldn't go. Instead three Muslim families were taken.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on March 06, 2016 9 Comments
Europeans are facing a serious set of problems associated with the influx of Middle Eastern migrants and refugees. You can read LI's coverage here.  Following are some additional developments:

German Water Park Forced to Segregate Men and Women

Following a series of sexual assaults at its facility, a German water park has developed a plan to segregate men and women. The Daily Mail reports:

A German water park that has been the scene of two sex attacks by migrants have announced plans to segregate men and women.

The plan will involve banning men and teenage boys from using the waterslides at certain times when only women, girls and very young boys will be allowed access.

It comes days after police arrested two asylum seekers from Afghanistan for a sex attack on two girls on the slides at the Arriba water park in Norderstedt in the Schleswig-Holstein region.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 22, 2016 8 Comments
The drama that ensued over Pope Francis' remarks about wall-building, Donald Trump, and Christianity last week overshadowed another intriguing papal statement about contraception. Catholic doctrine bans the use of artificial contraception. In remarks to the press, Pope Francis suggested that some forms of birth control may be used to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.
Pope Francis indicates that women exposed to the Zika virus may be permitted to use contraception to avoid pregnancy. Speaking to reporters on the papal plane on Thursday, Francis says: ‘Avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil’ and in certain circumstances it may be permitted - he referred to the exceptional dispensation issued by Pope Paul VI, who allowed Catholic nuns in Africa to take birth control pills in the face of the risk of being raped."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 19, 2016 13 Comments
While Pope Francis' remarks about Donald Trump were off target, a laser attack during his flight to Mexico was not.
The airline that carried Pope Francis to Mexico says the plane carrying the pontiff was hit by a laser light from the ground as it arrived on Friday. Alitalia says no one was hurt and the aircraft landed safely. It said Wednesday that the crew notified the Mexico City airport's control tower of the incident. Officials around the world have been increasingly concerned about people training laser pointers on jetliners. In some cases, crewmembers have suffered eye damage.
There is no indication Trump was involved.  (Joke) The number of attacks have dramatically increased, hitting 5,300 last year. However, as demonstrated by a recent flight from London that was mere days before the papal trip, the boldness of the attacks has escalated.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 18, 2016 106 Comments
Asked about Donald Trump Thursday, Pope Francis responded to a reporter saying, "“A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.” Pope Francis' full remarks are here: pope francis full remarks The news reached Trump shortly before a press conference. He responded by calling Pope Francis, "disgraceful."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 19, 2015 21 Comments
It was only two short months ago that Pope Francis was touring this country and promoting his climate change encyclical, having made this issue a key one in his papacy. In the wake of the Paris attacks, his priorities seem to have been shifted. Unfortunately, he blames the weapon sellers instead of the weapons users for the start of a "world war" in his most recent homily.
Pope Francis has denounced arms traffickers who are fueling what he calls the piecemeal “world war” raging around the globe, saying they are “damned” delinquents interested only in making money. Francis delivered one of the most pained homilies of his pontificate Thursday during morning Mass in the Vatican hotel chapel. He didn’t mention the Paris attacks by name, but referred to little wars being fought around the globe. ...He continued: “Those who make war are damned, they’re delinquents. War can be ‘justified’ for many reasons. But when the whole world is at war, as it is today … there is no justification. And God weeps.”

Posted by William A. Jacobson on September 30, 2015 16 Comments
Pope Francis' tour of the U.S. turned normal alignments upside down. Liberals -- who spare no effort to denigrate the Catholic Church -- all of the sudden found the Pope's progressive economic and immigration pronouncements to be just dreamy. At brunch on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and in Brooklyn, kind words were spoken in the same sentence as "Pope" and "Catholic." Eyes did not roll. We can now return to the prior alignment of the political universe. The Pope met secretly with Kim Davis, via NY Times:
Pope Francis met privately in Washington last week with Kim Davis, the county clerk in Kentucky who defied a court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a Vatican spokesman confirmed on Wednesday. Ms. Davis, the clerk in Rowan County, has been at the center of a nationwide controversy over whether government employees and private businesses have a legal right to refuse to serve same-sex couples. She spent five days in jail for disobeying a federal court order to issue the licenses. On Tuesday night, her lawyer, Mathew D. Staver, said in a telephone interview that Ms. Davis and her husband, Joe, were sneaked into the Vatican Embassy by car on Thursday afternoon. Francis gave her rosaries and told her to “stay strong,” the lawyer said. The couple met for about 15 minutes with the pope, who was accompanied by security guards, aides and photographers. Mr. Staver said he expected to receive photographs of the meeting from the Vatican soon. On Wednesday, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, confirmed that the meeting took place, but he declined to elaborate. “I do not deny that the meeting took place, but I have no other comments to add,” he said.

Posted by New Neo on September 30, 2015 22 Comments
I've noticed that we seem to get the popes that match our times---a harmonic resonance between popes and other public leaders of the day. That doesn't mean that popes are overtly political, although there’s really no way for a pope to retreat completely from politics, unless he speaks on ritual matters only and never ventures into more general statements. To paraphrase Madonna (not the Madonna, but Madonna Ciccone), we are living in a political world. No matter how hard a Pope tries to speak non-politically, politics enters the equation nearly every time he opens his mouth, unless he's talking Church business. Even then, what he says can have political repercussions. That said, I think that Pope Francis got somewhat political on his recent visit to the US. As the first pope ever to address an American Congress, what he's said about politics in the past seems relevant:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 26, 2015 8 Comments
Pope Francis continued his American tour, touching down in Philadelphia this morning to ride by Fiat-motorcade to the downtown Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul and celebrating Mass for about 1,600 people. In his homily, the papal homily encouraged a greater role for women and laity:
The pope stopped by a nearby seminary for a rest after presiding over a Mass at Philadelphia’s cathedral in the morning, where he called on women and youth to play a greater role in strengthening the Catholic Church in America, while keeping the institution’s existing authority in place. In his homily, the pope singled out the story of Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia-born heiress who became a nun and then, after her death, a saint. Pope Francis told the story of how Drexel had asked Pope Leo XIII for help with American missions and the pope replied, 'What are you going to do?' At Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis repeated that question in Spanish, “y tu?” — and what about you? — again and again as he reflected on the church’s role in a changing society and urged the faithful to support women and youth.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 24, 2015 31 Comments
Pope Francis has accomplished something that is truly miraculous in this country: He has managed to bump Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton from the spotlight for a brief time. For that, I am truly grateful. I have been mulling over my thoughts about the Pope's American tour and his various statements, and I have come to the conclusion I need to view him like I view my local priest: I will listen politely, avoid getting emotionally attached, and do what my own conscience (after prayerful reflection) dictates. When I became Catholic in 2010, my sponsor warned me about getting emotionally attached to any priest. Why? Priests tend to move around quite a bit, but every one of them has something to teach you. I must admit, I'm getting quite a lesson in expectation setting and patience. Pope Francis is the first pontiff installed since I joined the church, so in that way, he is special to me. I must admit, I caught "Francis Fever". Given his humility and sincerity, it was hard not to be moved.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 23, 2015 25 Comments
Regardless of what your thoughts might be on Catholicism, the Pope, or politics, I believe we can all agree that the decision to view everything through a political lens is a great way to miss some of life's best offerings. This has never been more apparent to me than it is today. This morning I watched the fanfare around Pope Francis' historic visit to the US. You can watch Pope Francis' remarks here. They're brief, less than ten minutes. https://youtu.be/nAJiyDvCbyw

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 23, 2015 34 Comments
President Obama, Vice-President Biden, and their families greeted Pope Francis with smiles when he landed at Washington, D.C., obviously looking forward to the historic visit that includes a gay-activist filled dinner at the White House and addresses to Congress and the United Nations. With the tumultuous start to the 2016 presidential election cycle, the media is eager to politicize the event so that it is bad news for the Republicans:
Francis has blasted gun manufacturers, likening them to hypocrites. And in a series of tough speeches, Francis has railed against global capitalism, even calling it a "subtle dictatorship." Such comments make many Republicans cringe.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 22, 2015 4 Comments
As the United States is preparing for the visit of Pope Francis, security efforts are focused on a potential terror plot:
On the eve of Pope Francis' historic first visit to the United States, law enforcement officials are concerned terrorists could disguise themselves as police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians to carry out attacks, according to a report from NBC News Monday. A memo titled "First Responder Impersonators: The New Terrorist Threat," from the Pennsylvania State Police's Criminal Intelligence Center and sent to law enforcement, warned that terrorists could falsely identify themselves as first responders to enter secure areas and carry out attacks. "The impersonators' main goals are to further their attack plan and do harm to unsuspecting citizens as well as members of the emergency services community," the memo read, according to NBC News.
This contrasts to a security incident that occurred in 2013, during the papal visit to Brazil:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 20, 2015 18 Comments
Pope Francis stopped in Cuba on his way to a Tuesday arrival in Washington, DC.  While there, the Holy Father took a victory lap for the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Pope Francis landed in Cuba on Saturday, quickly calling on the communist nation to "open itself to the world," while praising its recent restoration of diplomatic ties with the United States. Francis was greeted by President Raul Castro at Jose Marti International airport in Havana, where the pontiff urged Cuba to grant its people the "freedom, the means and the space" to practice their religion, an implicit criticism of the sharp restrictions the country has placed on faith.
Obama should be grateful to the pontiff, who helped the President achieve a very rare foreign policy "success". If he is, the Obama sure has a strange way of showing it.
In a stunning show of political indecorum, Obama has invited a series of individuals who publicly flout Catholic teaching, including a pro-abortion religious sister, a transgender woman and the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, along with at least two Catholic gay activists.
Truly, this is the sort of SmartPowerTM move we have come to expect from the White House.
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