March 14, 2013
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Pope Francis 1
Pope Francis 1
#Religion and world affairs
Last night the world watched the stature of a new Pope appearing on a balcony. Before his appearance many speculated who it would be and what the impact of this man would be. I was more interested than in the past…not because I am more interested in Roman Catholism but I am more interested in the spiritual state and well being of humanity as a whole. Pope Francis seems to come with a promise of highlighting and showing compassion to the plight of the poor not only in words but in action. He seems to start of on a humble tone by asking for the people to pray for him. He chose Francis as name referring to Saint Francis of Assisi, who is well known for his humble approach to power. His critics were quick to point out that he argued with the Argentinian goverment on the question of gay marriages and the distribution of free condoms. Weighing the focus being placed on poverty against a conservative approach to sexual practices it seems overall more positive than negative. In my country rape and abuse of woman and children are common occurences and maybe we are in dire need to be more conservative in terms of our sexual practises. For me personally a conservative approach is not wrong when it is a personal choice but it is a problem when it is inforced on the masses with a lack of compassion and tollerance.
Irrespective from a mystical point the entrance of a new Pope as religious head of 1.2 billion people is of significance. There is always the hope that a man in such powerful and influential position will use it to advance humanity’s spirituality. I prayed for the Pope and my my prayer for him was that he truly will complete his full term, remaining true to his conscience.
Comments (5)
Thank you for your message about our new Pontiff, and I thank you for your prayers for him and thus for our Church. I was fully humbled by this gracious man, and what he did by asking for our blessing was truly, as Jesus became, an act of a servant to his people. I think of the hungry, the tired, the poor, and those suffering from grave end of life issues. I think of famine, war where Christians are targets, and it makes me highly offended that the idiocy of the media was to hop on all of this; Views on gay marriage, issues of birth control, and other such topics which are so hotly and selfishly debated as the human condition, and that this man is and has demonstrated his concern for the poor, the disenfranchised, the lost, all issues and articles of faith. Leave it to CNN to have hardly seen the white smoke before they are on to all of the issues of gays, and Anderson Cooper has come out as Gay, Good for him, finally, but the truth is that we have some more serious matters to discuss, such as the abused adults and children, and how to get down on our knees and to beg the church cleans house of all of those who ever even vaguely participated in covering for Priests who were involved. That is where this man comes in, not to jump on the social bandwagon of all of the agendas which are already doctrine. We have many gays in the church in San Francisco. We do not ask at the front door who they slept with the night before, for we are there to share and participate in celebration of Christ redemptive message, that living life as he has asked us to can lead us to eternal life. Even if we did not show faith, the Bible gave us an incredible example of how to live our lives, and I am the first to tell you that I fall short of the mark constantly of doing all which I feel that needs and ought to be done. I pray for this gracious man to resolve one problem in the years he is among us, not to rewrite scripture which is what doctrine is based on. I, personally, would beg him to beg any sexually abused person to Rome for his personal blessing, and to let the church embrace them. I would also, of the doctrine which could be changed which I know would make for a better church, that he would allow marriage to anyone who wished to be an ordained Priest as well as to open the Deaconate to women. That would be a huge start. Will people just give him a chance, for he has certainly given more to this world already than he has taken. Bless you my friend. Barbara Everett Heintz
Remember, the Pontificate is essentially a political office as it has evolved over the past couple of millennia
Pope Francis is in a position to make meaningful and much needed chances in the political aspects of the curia, but his reputation is mostly that of a rather politically conservative, though caring and compassionate, Jesuit. My guess is that he was selected by his peers in the hope that he would not “Rock the boat”.
The new Pope seems nice. I hope he will be a good one.
The message from those Cardinals “Sworn to secrecy”that is dribbling out is that Frances’s election was a sort of revolt against the “Italian wing”of the church in hopes of settling the political and financial problems without changing any basic dogma. Apparently the North American and African Cardinals led the mini-revolt.
@tychecat - Politics play a big role even with men of faith. Lets hope the revolt brings about a positive change.