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  • Pope Francis Gets Castro to Go to Church

    Pope Francis Gets Castro to Go to Church

    Wouldn’t it be funny if the history of relations between the United States and Cuba were bookended in history by two Catholics? On the one end, there is the Cuban Missile Crisis standoff that featured President John F. Kennedy. On the other end, it could very well end up being the Numero Uno Catholic in the world: Pope Francis.

    Like it or not, relations between the United States and Cuba are thawing. And the man who runs that country is placing a lot of credit at the feet of a man who has impressed many here in America too.

    After meeting with the Pope at the Vatican ahead of an upcoming papal visit to Cuba, Cuban President Raul Castro said at a news conference that he and the pope have something in common. ” He is a Jesuit, and I, in some way, am too,” Castro said. “I always studied at Jesuit schools.”

    But Castro went further. One of the last vestiges of what Americans used to call “Godless Communism” shocked the world.

    “When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his Masses, and with satisfaction,” Castro said. “I read all the speeches of the pope, his commentaries, and if the pope continues this way, I will go back to praying and go back to the church, and I’m not joking,” he said.

    In fact Castro showed Pope Francis’ influence is reaching pst him, all the way into the Communist Party in his country.

    “I am from the Cuban Communist Party, that doesn’t allow (religious) believers, but now we are allowing it, it’s an important step,” Castro said.

    Castro said he is “very impressed by [Pope Francis’] wisdom, his modesty, and all his virtues that we know he has.”

    Castro gave much credit for the recent improvement in U.S-Cuba relations to Pope Francis.

    “I thanked the pope for what he did,” he said.

  • Brittany Maynard Fights For Death With Dignity Beyond Her Own Passing

    The woman who chose to end her life after being diagnosed with a rare and debilitating form of brain cancer is still fighting for the right to death with dignity after her own passing on November 1. Brittany Maynard chose the date to end her suffering by ingesting prescribed barbiturates and would have turned 30 on November 19, but a video released by aid-in-dying advocates is helping her keep up the fight.

    In the video, recorded on August 2 and released on her birthday, Maynard urges others to campaign for death with dignity laws for the entire country. “I hope for the sake of other American citizens — all these people I’m speaking to that I’ve never met, that I’ll never meet — that this choice be extended to you… That we mobilize. That we vocalize. That we start to talk about it,” said Maynard in the video.

    Maynard’s choice to end her life in the face of a painful terminal illness has prompted responses from the Vatican. Pope Francis reportedly called assisted suicide “a false sense of compassion” in a recent meeting with the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors. Meanwhile, Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said on November 3, just days after Maynard’s death that her choice to end her life was “reprehensible.” De Paula reportedly said, “We don’t judge people, but the gesture in itself is to be condemned. Assisted suicide is an absurdity. Dignity is something different than putting an end to your own life.”

    Maynard’s mother, Debbi Ziegler, responded to the monsignor’s words with her own statement, believed to be the first from her family since her daughter passed away. “This word was used publicly at a time when my family was tender and freshly wounded. Grieving,” Ziegler wrote. “Such strong public criticism from people we do not know, have never met, is more than a slap in the face. It is like kicking us as we struggle to draw a breath.”

  • Brittany Maynard’s Mom Says Vatican Lumped Her in With Pedophiles

    Brittany Maynard chose to die on her own terms. The terminally ill woman moved to Oregon where she would have the option to end her own life without the interference of a local government. Maynard and her family got to work on her bucket list as the world watched. When her disease advanced far enough that she felt it would go downhill fast, Maynard took medicine that ended her life.

    Maynard’s decision became the subject of much scrutiny and judgment before she died. But once it was done, everyone thought it was over.

    Then Monsignor Ignacio Carrasco de Paula spoke out about her death. The monsignor is the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life

    “Brittany Maynard’s gesture is in itself to be condemned [other translations read: “reprehensible”], but what happened in her conscience is not for us to know,” he said.

    “This woman [took her own life] thinking she would die with dignity,” he said, “but this is the error. Suicide is not a good thing. It is a bad thing because it is saying no to life and to everything it means with respect to our mission in the world and toward those around us.”

    Now Maynard’s mother is shooting back at the Vatican over these comments.

    She decried “individuals and institutions that have tried to impose their personal belief system on what Brittany and our family feel is a human rights issue.”

    “To censure a personal choice as reprehensible because it does not comply with someone else’s belief is immoral. My twenty-nine-year-old daughter’s choice to die gently rather than suffer physical and mental degradation and intense pain does not deserve to be labelled as ‘reprehensible’ by strangers a continent away who do not know her or the particulars of her situation.”

    “’Reprehensible’ is a harsh word. It means: ‘very bad; deserving very strong criticism.’ Reprehensible is a word I’ve used as a teacher to describe the actions of Hitler, other political tyrants and the exploitation of children by pedophiles.”

    “This word was used publicly at a time when my family was tender and freshly wounded. Grieving. Such strong public criticism from people we do not know, have never met – is more than a slap in the face. It is like kicking us as we struggle to draw a breath.”

    “People and institutions that feel they have the right to judge Brittany’s choices may wound me and cause me unspeakable pain but they do not deter me from supporting my daughter’s choice. There is currently a great deal of confusion and arrogance standing in the way of Americans going gently into the good night. I urge Americans to think for themselves.”

  • Pope Francis Ready to Let Priests Marry?

    The question was originally asked when Pope Francis was first installed as Pontiff: Might this be the man to lead the Church away from a celibate priesthood?

    Pope Francis certainly has tackled some issues that many Catholics have been eager to see addressed, including corruption in the Vatican Bank. And he has spoken about the touchy issue of priesthood celibacy before.

    Again recently, Pope Francis pointed out that there are married priests in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Coptic Catholic churches.

    “The door is always open,” he said about the issue, “but we are not talking about it now as the order of the day,”

    Some are finding hope in the fact that Pope Francis is addressing this as a “problem.”

    “The problem certainly exists, but it is not on a large scale,”Pope Francis has said. “It will need time, but the solutions are there and I will find them.”

    It’s not just the rank and file faithful who are keen to see this dealt with. Priests are conflicted about it, as well.

    “Pope Francis is a breath of fresh air,” says one priest. “This is a fascinating time in church history because of him. He’s out there in the sunshine, tackling big issues, dragging the church into the 21st century, on the cover of Time, speaking to the young. Most older priests I know are open to optional celibacy. Look, we accept converted, married Anglican priests. The Eastern Catholic priests can marry. Why not all priests?”

    Proponents of losing the celibacy rule are quick to point out that Saint Peter, considered the First Pope, was married. And many don’t realize that celibacy was optional for priests until the First Lateran Council of 1123.

    In his 2012 book, Pope Francis wrote, “For the moment, I’m in favor of maintaining celibacy, with its pros and cons, because there have been 10 centuries of good experiences rather than failures . … But it is a question of discipline, not faith, and it could change.”

    The pope also wrote about a how a girl captured his heart when he was studying to be a priest. “I could not pray for over a week,” he said, “because when I tried to do so the girl appeared in my head.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Vatican Continues To Crack Down On Nuns

    Vatican Continues To Crack Down On Nuns

    The Vatican is officially cracking down on the largest umbrella group for U.S. nuns and Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, the Vatican orthodoxy watchdog, started by reprimanding officers of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for planning to honor a theologian who had been criticized by U.S. bishops.

    The Vatican has stated that since the group only hold status if the Vatican approves it, it must follow rules and act in a way that the Vatican says is appropriate. If the U.S. bishops do not approve of theologians, than the nuns are not permitted to honor them.

    “The LCWR, as a canonical entity dependent on the Holy See, has a profound obligation to the promotion of that faith as the essential foundation of religious life,” Mueller said, during a speech. “We are looking for a clearer expression of that ecclesial vision and more substantive signs of collaboration.”

    The Vatican has insisted that it does not want to be harsh with the group or try to control it, but only wants them to work with the Vatican. Mueller even apologized for being to blunt with his speech but said that he needed to get a clear message across to the nuns.

    The LCWR met with Mueller and said that the meeting was respectful and engaging, but still do not agree with the investigation that led to the decision to reform the group.

    In 2012, an investigation determined that the nuns were doing amazing humanitarian work but were too focused on social issues and less so on other things the Vatican feels are more important such as fighting abortion.

    The LCWR is planning to give its outstanding leadership award to Sister Elizabeth Johnson, a theologian and author of Quest for the Living God. The Vatican does not agree with some of the ideas in Johnson’s book and Mueller called the LCWR leadership award recipient choice “a rather open provocation.”

    The award will be given out in August but the LCWR will be required to submit plans for future awards and major meetings ahead of time to Seattle Archbishop Peter Sartain, who is in charge of the reform.

    Do you think the Vatican is being fair to the nuns or are they just trying to control the group?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Pope Francis Canonizes Two Pontiffs

    Pope Francis named two distinctive papal predecessors, John XXIII and John Paul II, as saints before a congregation of hundreds of thousands of witnesses in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sunday, during an unprecedented service that was attended by Pope Benedict XVI. Historically, two former popes had never been canonized together, and a retired pope and a reigning pope had never celebrated Mass together in public.

    Popes John and John Paul were revered by Catholic traditionalists and progressives alike, and Francis’ inclusion of Benedict during Sunday’s proceedings was symbolic of a sense of unity in the Catholic Church the present day Vatican strives to espouse. After resigning his post last year, Pope Benedict declared he would remain “hidden from the world,” but Francis was able to convince him to participate in the public life of the church.

    During the canonization ceremony, Pope Francis paused and took a breath before reciting a Latin prayer, and then announced, “we declare and define Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II be saints and we enroll them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole church.” Applause erupted from the crowd of almost 800,000, which spanned St. Peter’s to the Tiber River.

    Kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers from over 90 countries attended Sunday’s ceremony, and roughly twenty Jewish leaders from the U.S., Israel, Italy, Argentina and Poland also arrived, indicative of an appreciation of the forwards made in Catholic-Jewish relations under John, John Paul, Benedict and Francis.

    Image via YouTube

  • Floribeth Mora Attributes Life to Pope John Paul II

    Floribeth Mora was dying of an aneurysm in Costa Rica about three years ago. Doctors had determined it was inoperable.

    As Mora laid in her bed and waited to die, however, she noticed a photograph of Pope John Paul II in a Costa Rican newspaper someone in her room was reading.

    “Stand up,” Mora says the picture of the pope said to her. “Don’t be afraid.”

    Mora, along with her her doctors in Costa Rica and the Catholic Church she is a member of say her aneurysm disappeared that day in a miracle. That very miracle cleared the way for Pope John Paul II to be declared a saint. He will be named a saint on April 27th during a ceremony at the Vatican where Floribeth Mora will be a guest of honor.

    For Mora, the church-certified miracle was only the start of her incredible transformation from near death into an adored symbol of faith for not just thousands of Costa Ricans, but also for Catholics around the world.

    Floribeth Mora is 50 years old. She lives in a modest home in a Costa Rican neighborhood where streams of visitors bring letters for her to give to Pope Francis when she visits the Vatican. She accepts invitations to attend as many as four Masses every day.

    “With all of this going on I appreciate having my own business, because if I had a boss, they would have already fired me for missing so much work,” she joked.

    She says she ignores naysayers who don’t believe she was healed.

    “Everyone can think what they want,” she said during an interview. “What I know is that I am healthy.”

    Floribeth Mora was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and sent home to rest and take pain medication back in April of 2011 after her doctors said the condition was inoperable. Mora, who thought she was returning home to die, looked at the image of Pope John Paul II on May 1st, the day of John Paul’s beatification six years after his death.

    She says the photo actually spoke to her.

    She shocked her family members by walking around after her doctors declared her healed, and word spread quickly to her local Catholic church. From there, it made its way to the Vatican.

    Today Floribeth Mora says she was called by God to speak to others about her miracle. Some scoff at the notion, suggesting that perhaps she suffered from mental illness or a vivid imagination.

    “I’ve got so much to do that I’m going to dedicate myself above all to telling the world the story of God’s greatness and what it’s done for me,” she said.

    These days Floribeth looks tired, but says she feels great. None of her symptoms have ever returned. She knows she owes her life to John Paul.

    “It’s important for them to name him a saint, but for me he’s already a saint,” she said. “I never imagined I would become a part of all of this.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Atlanta Archbishop Selling Mansion

    Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory said Saturday that he’ll move out of his $2.2 million mansion and place it on the market in early May, after coming under harsh criticism for building such opulent digs. Gregory said he’ll contribute the funds from the sale back into the Catholic ministry.

    Lavish spending by higher-ups in the Catholic church has been under fire lately, due to Pope Francis’ disdain of wealth and economic inequality. The Pope is known for his affinity towards a more toned-down mode of living – he’s moved into a Vatican guesthouse, and does not ride around in a tricked-out Mercedes popemobile. During a recent trip to Brazil, he was driven in a Fiat, and has been seen in Fords and Volkswagons.

    In a similar scandal to Gregory’s, German Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst was forced to resign from his post due to his $42.7 million project to build a new residence. The Pope had initially refused to completely remove Tebartz-van Elst from his ministry in Limburg, though many associated with the Holy See had called for it. Pope Francis has commented, “Oh, how I would like a poor Church, and for the poor.”

    Gregory announced his decision during a meeting with members of several church councils including the Archdiocesan Pastoral and Finance Council, the Council of Priests and parishioners. In a statement, Gregory commented, “I want to thank those parishioners whose prayers, counsel and concern brought this issue to light and ensured that their Archbishop was properly attuned to the important symbolism of simple actions and the challenges faced by many of the faithful in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.”

    Here is a shot of the mansion to be sold:

    The Archbishop settled into the 6,000-square-foot home in Atlanta’s affluent Buckhead neighborhood in January. Gregory wrote on Monday in the Atlanta archdiocesan bulletin, “What we didn’t stop to consider, and that oversight rests with me and me alone, was that the world and the Church have changed.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Bishop Tebartz-van Elst Dismissed by Pope

    The Vatican announced Wednesday that the resignation of embattled Bishop of Limburg Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst had been accepted. Pope Francis had temporarily expelled the German bishop from his diocese back in October, due to his $42.7 million project to build a new residence. The Pope had initially refused to completely remove Tebartz-van Elst from his post in Limburg, though many associated with the Holy See had called for it.

    In a statement, The Vatican Press office to the administration said that the Congregation for Bishops has “carefully studied the report of the Commission requested by the Bishop and by the Cathedral Chapter, to undertake thorough investigations about the responsibilities involved in the construction of the Diocesan Centre ‘St. Nikolaus.’” Once Pope Francis had the report in hand, he’d accepted Tebartz-van Elst’s resignation.

    The Vatican has said that the Limburg bishop had resigned from his post on October, 20 2013, and has since appointed a sede vacante Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Manfred Grothe, to hold things down in the interim.

    Tebartz-van Elst is no stranger to controversy. He’d been criticized by local priests after recalling the dean of Wetzlar for blessing a homosexual couple in 2008. Tebartz-van Elst also attempted to suppress media reports of a first-class flight to India after he’d upgraded it in 2012. The cagey bishop was appointed on November 28, 2007, by Pope Benedict XVI.

    The Vatican went on to say that diocese of Limburg has fallen into a “situation that prevents a fruitful exercise of the ministry of Bishop Franz -Peter Tebartz-van Elst.” Though, the bishop will eventually be transferred. The press office added, “In due course (Tebartz-van Elst) will receive another assignment.”

    Pope Francis is known for his affinity towards a more toned-down mode of papal living – he’s moved into a Vatican guesthouse, and doesn’t ride around in a tricked-out Mercedes popemobile. During a recent trip to Brazil, he was driven in a Fiat, and has been seen in Fords and Volkswagons. Clearly Tebartz-van Elst’s actions have been seriously frowned upon.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Cocaine-Filled Condoms Sent To Vatican

    Cocaine-Filled Condoms Sent To Vatican

    A lot of strange things get sent through the mail and drugs are one of the most common. While drug dealers and users will go to great lengths to hide or disguise drugs, sometimes they slip up and most mail sorters and customs agents know what to watch for.

    Cocaine-filled condoms were recently discovered by customs officials at an airport in Leipzig, Germany. The package that contained the condoms was addressed to the Vatican Post Office, but not a specific resident. Anyone living within the city-state could have picked up the package had it arrived at the post office as planned.

    The cocaine was contained inside the condoms and the condoms were packed in between cushions that were shipped from South America. Condoms are a popular shipping choice for drug traffickers. The cocaine was found in January, but a report was not immediately issued. Officials planned to use the package to make an arrest.

    The officials in Germany made the Vatican aware of the package and a sting operation was planned to arrest whoever tried to claim the package. The package was never claimed and no arrests were made. Officials are not sure why nobody came to pick up the package but believe the intended recipient may have been tipped off.

    The amount of cocaine inside the condoms was estimated to be worth about $55,000. Officials believe the package was being shipped to a dealer and are not sure how the dealer was tipped off or whether the tip came from South America, Germany or the Vatican.

    Police in Germany and the Vatican are working together to catch the traffickers and although the package is no longer waiting to be picked up at the Vatican post office, the case is still open.

    Image via YouTube

  • Vatican Cocaine: Drug-filled Condoms Seized in Transit to Catholic City

    In January, German customs officials at Leipzig airport seized 340 grams (12 ounces) of cocaine packed into 14 condoms that were en route to the Vatican city.

    WHOA. PAUSE. SAY WHAT?

    According to the New York Post, a weekly report by Bild am Sonntag shared Sunday how the shipment of cocaine was packaged in pillow cushions, addressed to the Vatican Post Office.

    Officials say that the package could have been picked up by anyone in the Catholic city, which is home to 800 residents.

    Since there wasn’t a specified address labeled on the parcel, no one arrived to claim the narcotic. As a result, German officials were unable to arrest the intended addressee.

    Authorities believed that the purchaser might have been tipped off about the interception.

    The German Finance Ministry, which supervises customs, initially confirmed reports about the drug smuggle.

    Whether this was an intentional drug haul or just a subliminal message to the Vatican is unclear.

    However, what is evident is that the choice of packaging was quite creative-especially since the cocaine-filled condoms were being sent to a place where sex is morally forbidden.

    Discovery of the shipment definitely raised serious questions, but for others, it was quite amusing.

    The jokes made on Twitter made this story very laughable:

    The drugs apparently had a street value worth 40,000 euros ($55,000).

    Customs officials say that it was originally sent from South America. An investigation is still in progress to identify the drug traffickers.

    Image via Youtube

  • Pope Francis Celebrates One Year At The Vatican

    On March 13, 2013, Buenos Aires archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the 266th Pope. The announcement of a new Pope came at nighttime, as white smoke poured from the chimney and caused the crowd to cheer while waiting to see who has been chosen. The chimney had yielded black smoke two times before they had made a decision.

    Benedict XVI, Pope Francis’ predecessor, has just resigned a month before the new Pope took the seat. His cause of resignation was his declining mental and physical health.

    A New Pope Emerges

    During Pope Francis’ first appearance as the Pope, he asked the people to pray for him. The Pope also repeated the request on his very first tweet dated March 17, 2013, which read, “Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me. Pope Francis.”

    On the anniversary of his first year at the Vatican, the Pope again tweeted “Please pray for me.”

    Pope Francis has been making headlines because of his merciful and less judgmental approach. According to Father Joel Camaya, a priest from the Philippines, the people can expect the Catholic Church to be revitalized, as “he would continue to make it closer to those in the peripheries. It is an echo of the action of the other Francis, the man of Assisi, rebuilding the church of Jesus.”

    Pope Francis has shied away from the Vatican rules during the first year of his papacy. He does not use the papal limo and instead travels in a Ford Focus, and he does not reside in the papal apartments and lives in the Vatican hotel. He is also known to make phone calls to people who write to him.

    The Vatican marked the Pope’s first year by releasing an e-book that consists of quotations from the pope’s first year in office.

    Pope Francis: Rare Footage


    Image via YouTube

  • Pope Francis Marks One Year as Pontiff

    Pope Francis is now one year into his tenure as Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church as a whole. And what a year it’s been! The past 12 months have seen more news come out of the Vatican than any other in a generation.

    According to Fox News, the Pope tweeted a message on the anniversary of his election. It simply said, “Pray for me.”

    Almost immediately upon taking up the mitre of the papacy, Francis has been on a mission of remaking the Church in many ways, some would say, taking it back to its roots. And most agree that this is not just an image makeover. Francis has made the mission personal, putting his own energy where his mouth is.

    This past year has seen rumors of the pope sneaking out of the Vatican at night, going out in his old, plain priestly garb to run around Rome, helping the homeless.

    He has called other priests out for spending outrageous amounts of church money on their own personal homes.

    He has spoken out against unfettered capitalism, saying that it can be a force for good, but if not controlled, usually ends up taking advantage of poor people.

    He has set the example of humility and service for others, choosing to eschew some of the typical trappings of the papacy – the throne, the bright red shoes, the PopeMobile – in favor of simpler accommodations.

    He has encouraged others to use technology, including social media, to spread the Gospel and to help others.

    He has shown public concern for the poor and disadvantaged, touching and personally paying attention to children and the infirm.

    But it was the Pope’s launching of an investigation into the dealings of the Vatican Bank that really shook the standing system to its foundations. In the wake of that investigation, there have been indictments for money laundering, some cloak-and-dagger uncovering of plane trips with loads of cash, and a renewed determination of accountability regarding the bank’s activities, which have long remained shrouded in secrecy.

    Of course, not everyone is happy with the change in the air. Some see Pope Francis as liberal or soft on sin. But his positions and fearless commitment to change has certainly brought lots of “lapsed” Catholics back to church, as well as high praise from non-Catholics.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Roxana Rodriguez Is The Pregnant Nun

    Roxana Rodriguez Is The Pregnant Nun

    A pregnant nun sounds like something you might see in an Adam Sandler movie, but it is actually a real scenario. 31 year old Roxana Rodriguez was living a simple life in a convent, but all that changed one night when she started experiencing stomach pain.

    The pain got so bad that the nun went to the hospital where she learned that she was pregnant and in labor. “It’s not possible, I’m a nun,” she allegedly told doctors in Rieta.

    Rodriguez named her baby boy Francesco in honor of the Pope. The birth has shocked the Roman Catholic Church and caused harsh criticism for Rodriguez.

    According to a spokesman from Delio Lucarelli, the bishop of Rieti, the nun has been forced to leave the convent where she had been living and will be required to “lead a secular life with her baby, away from religious institutions.”

    Although Rodriguez denied knowing that she was pregnant, most people believe that she was lying and trying to keep the pregnancy a secret. It is believed that she may have gotten pregnant while visiting El Salvador in 2013.

    Although the sisters within the convent said they had noticed Rodriguez gaining weight, they did not think she was pregnant or feel that anything was wrong.

    “We noticed she had put on weight but recently she had kept herself to herself,” one said.

    Rodriguez has not released a statement about her plans for the future, but the local diocese and the mayor of Rieti, Simone Petrangeli, have offered to help her.

    Do you believe that Rodriguez did not know she was pregnant or do you think she was just keeping the pregnancy a secret?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Pope Wishes All World Peace, Included Atheists

    The 77-year-old Pope Francis is full of surprises since he became the new residing pontiff of the Catholic Church. In his first Christmas address from the balcony at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square he made a broad call to the entire world for global peace.

    He focused first on Syria and Africa to end their violence and even urged atheists and people of all religions to join together for the cause of world peace. The fact that he addresses atheists is something that the Catholic Church has never done.

    “I invite even nonbelievers to desire peace,” he said. “Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace.”

    Pope Francis delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” speech to more than 70,000 tourists, pilgrims and Romans giving Christmas greetings to the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and draw attention to issues that concern him, the universal desire for peace.

    He asked for all to share in the song of Christmas angels, “for every man or woman … who hopes for a better world, who cares for others,” humbly.

    And those places that are ravaged by conflict, Francis singled out Syria, which saw its third Christmas during civil war. He included South Sudan; the Central African Republic; Nigeria; and Iraq.

    The pope also prayed – God “bless the land where you chose to come into the world and grant a favorable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.”

    And spoke of his understanding of peace – “True peace is not a balancing of opposing forces. It’s not a lovely facade which conceals conflicts and divisions,” the pope said. “Peace calls for daily commitment,” Francis said, reading the pages of his speech as they were ruffled by a chilly wind.

    He added, “our thoughts turn to those children who are the most vulnerable victims of wars, but we think, too, of the elderly, of battered women” and others.

    Since Francis became pope, he has created a genuine excitement in the Catholic Church, as well as other religions, even the non-religious. His humble, nonjudgmental and modest motives are adored. His concerns about normally taboo issues like homosexuality, divorce and atheism have astonished and no doubt surprised many Catholics.

    As he gave the Christmas greeting, he was wearing a simple plain white cassock, keeping with the unpretentious demeanor he has set for his papacy.

    This pope is most undoubtedly becoming one of the most adored Catholic leaders of all time. People love him and his down to earth manner.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Pope Francis Preaches Mercy, Not Dogma, in Interview

    Pope Francis has made some bold moves since becoming Pope. First, he shunned his elaborate palace-like apartment in the Vatican in favor of the guest house. Pope Francis also got rid of the Pope-mobile, has washed the feet of others (including women and children), placed phone calls to average, everyday people, and has become a prolific Twitter user. Pope Francis has also gone as far as stating that atheists are redeemed if they live good lives, and that gays should not be marginalized.

    In a recent interview with Civilta Cattolica, an Italian-Jesuit journal, Pope Francis gave the world even more insight to his “controversial” beliefs. (By the way, the interview is 12,000 words. Apparently the Pope had a lot to get off his chest.) The Pope’s main message: The Catholic Church needs to preach more mercy and less dogma.

    Pope Francis says that he has often been criticized for not speaking out about the conventional Catholic hot-button issues of abortion, contraception, and homosexuality. However, Francis believes that “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods…But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context.”

    Many conservative Catholics are concerned that the Pope is not spending more time talking about these dogmatic issues. Bishop Thomas Tobin, of Providence, Rhode Island, has publicly stated that he is disappointed that the Pope has not addressed “the evil of abortion”. Jason Clendenen, a church administrator in California, has publicly criticized the Pope on Twitter for being too accepting of sinners such as gays and lesbians: “When we (believers) see sinful behavior that the Bible calls evil being called good, it should stir us to respond.”

    While Pope Francis asserted that “We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel,” he still threw a bone to conservative Catholics today. Francis released a statement in which he stated that he sees abortion as a result of today’s “throw-away” culture, and that he would encourage all Catholic doctors to refuse to perform abortions.

    This statement does not contradict the beliefs professed in his interview, though. In speaking on the issues of abortion, contraception, and homosexuality, Francis states that “The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.” It’s all part of the balance that he is hoping that Catholic church can find and establish.

    Another part of that balance is making females more involved in the Church: “We have to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman. Only by making this step will it be possible to better reflect on their function within the Church.” While Pope Francis still believes that women should not serve as priests within the Church (Based on the fact that Jesus did not have any female disciples. What was that you said about taking things in context, Francis?), he still believes that “The feminine genius is needed wherever we make important decisions.”

    Whether it’s the fact that he is the first Jesuit and Latin American Pope, or the fact that he is adapting to the ever-changing world rather well, it is fairly clear by this point that the “radical” Pope is here to stay. It will be interesting to note whether his influence spreads throughout the church and creates a more merciful Catholicism, or if his actions will provoke a backlash of conservative fervor. My wish is for the former, but my money is on the latter.

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  • Case of the Smuggling Monsignor Gets Deeper

    The story of the Vatican official who was arrested for attempting to smuggle money has gotten even more cloak-and-dagger.

    The official, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, 61, worked as a senior accountant in the Vatican’s financial administration. He is accused of colluding with others, including an Italian secret service agent Giovanni Zito and broker Giovanni Carenzio. The conspirators in the case were trying to smuggle the cash out of Switzerland and into Italy in a private plane. The cash never left the country due to suspicions and disagreements among the conspirators. But one of them insisted on being paid for his part in the plot anyway. He was written two checks by the Monsignor, one of which Scarano then reported stolen.

    EuroNews is now reporting that a 48-page judicial document that includes transcripts or summaries of wiretaps, emails, letters and cheques passed on to investigators by police, contains several shadowy details of the whole affair.

    It turns out that the conspirators had code words for what they were doing. A “book”, for example, was code for “one million euros cash”. False identity documents were called “bookmarks”. They also used the term “encyclopedia”.

    Here is an example of an exchange obtained by police.

    “I think the more books you can bring the better it is,” Scarano tells secret agent Zito

    Scarano: “Can you bring 20-25 books?”

    Zito: “Those for sure.”

    Scarano: “That is already a good goal, you understand, because it will allow us to do many things for ourselves.”

    Scarano also assured his broker partner that his Secret Service agent partner had everything in order for him.

    “The customs people will clear us on the plane for me. They won’t do anything to me. They’ll see my (official) passport and they’ll say ‘good day, sir, goodbye, everything is in order’”.

    The whole investigation started when Scarano called police to his home in Salerno to investigate a burglary. When they arrived they were shocked to find him living in luxury, with lots of valuable artwork in his home.

  • Vatican Scandal Prompts Resignations

    Late last week we brought you news that a Vatican official had been arrested for allegedly participating in a scheme to smuggle millions of euros into Italy from Switzerland. The arrest, which was part of a lengthy investigation, came just days after the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had ordered an investigation into irregularities at the Vatican bank (officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion, or IOR).

    Now it seems that the scandal has claimed two more victims. According to an announcement released by the Vatican today, Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulli, director and deputy director of the IOR, respectively, had tendered their resignations. While the rapidity of their resignations raises questions as to whether or not they were volutary, the Vatican statement said only that the two men had chosen to resign “in the best interest of the institute and the Holy See.”

    The IOR’s president, Ernst von Freyberg, has been named interim director of the Vatican bank while a new director and deputy director are found.

  • Vatican Official Arrested For Smuggling Money

    Earlier this week, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had set up a “Commission for Reference” or board of inquiry for the Institute for Works of Religion – the Vatican Bank. The IOR, as it is called, has been rocked by a number of scandals of the past few years.

    According to an announcement put out by the Vatican, the Commission “developed from the Holy Father’s wish to be better acquainted with the juridical status and activities of the Institute, so as to enable the said Institute to be more in tune with the mission of the universal Church and of the Apostolic See, in the broader context of the reforms it would be opportune to implement for institutions that provide assistance to the Apostolic See … The purpose of the Commission is to collect information on the functioning of the Institute and to present the results to the Holy Father.”

    Pope Francis wanted to know what was going on inside the bank. And his curiosity could not have reared at a more appropriate time.

    A senior Vatican cleric was arrested Friday for helping rich friends smuggle cash from Switzerland to Italy. The official, Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, 61, worked as a senior accountant in the Vatican’s financial administration. According to Reuters, the investigation that led to his arrest reads like a Dan Brown novel, including an Italian Secret Service agent, wiretaps, burned cellphones, and 40 million Euros in cash.

    An investigation of the Vatican bank on suspicion of money laundering led to the discovery of this plot. The conspirators in the case were trying to smuggle the cash out of Switzerland and into Italy in a private plane. The cash never left the country due to suspicions and disagreements among the conspirators. But one of them insisted on being paid for his part in the plot anyway. He was written two checks by the Monsignor, one of which Scarano then reported stolen.

    A Vatican spokesman has pledged their full cooperation in the investigation, but has said that no requests have come so far.

  • Sistine Chapel Closes Ahead of Papal Conclave

    In order to prepare for the upcoming Papal Conclave, the Vatican today closed the Sistine Chapel to visitors. As of 1 pm today, the chapel, famous for its renaissance frescoes, will be closed to the public until the process of choosing a new Pope has finished.

    From the Vatican’s statement:

    In order to accommodate the forthcoming Conclave, the Sistine Chapel will remain closed to the public from 1 pm on Tuesday 5 March until further notice. During the same period, the Borgia Apartment and the Collection of Modern Religious Art will not be included in visits to the Vatican Museums.

    The papal conclave is being convened in the wake of Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, the first such resignation since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. Benedict XVI cited his poor health as a reason for his resignation, saying, “both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”

    The Catholic Church’s College of Cardinals will now meet to elect the next Pope, who also serves as the Bishop of Rome. The Cardinals will lock themselves away in the Sistine Chapel, the site of papal conclaves since 1878, and will remain there until the next Pope is chosen. A two-thirds majority vote of the Cardinals is required to elect a new Pope.

    The beginning date of the papal conclave is still unknown, though Cardinals from around the world are arriving in the Vatican for the event.

  • Vatican Butler Ordered to Stand Trial

    Pope Benedict XVI’s former butler has been ordered by the Vatican to stand trial over a whistle-blowing scandal that has been simmering since May. Paolo Gabriele was arrested on May 25 after leaking many confidential Vatican letters addressed to the Pope. The letters alleged widespread corruption within the Vatican.

    This week, according to a Reuters report, a Vatican judge sent Gabriele to trial for the leaks. The judge, Piero Antonio Bonnet, also sent Claudio Sciarpelletti, a Vatican IT worker, to trial for helping Gabriele hold some of the leaked documents in secret. Bonnet stated that Vatican investigators are still busy hunting down other individuals involved in the leaks.

    The so-called “Vatileaks” scandal began when an italian journalist named Gianluigi Nuzzi published a book that exposes corruption within the Vatican. Nuzzi cited an unnamed whistle-blower as the source of his information. The book describes collusion between the Vatican and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s government to avoid the Catholic church having to pay property tax to the EU, as well as efforts to influence the Italian media.

    Gabriele confessed to stealing documents from the Vatican after his arrest in May. According to Reuters, Gabriele could face up to six years in prison if he is convicted. However, The Guardian cites a Vatican spokesperson as saying that the Pope might pardon Gabriele if he is convicted. That spokesperson also said the Vatican might still prosecute Nuzzi for publishing the book that began the scandal.

    (Photo by Andreas Tille)