Pope Francis, Catholics, and Christians in the news worldwide
Deafening silence here on the Pope's decision to lift the veil of "Papal Secrecy" for clerical sex abusers. The non saint Fulton Sheen must be spinning in his grave.
NPR: Pope Francis Ends 'Top Secret' Status For Sex Abuse Cases, Promising Transparency
I find the bit about the Vatican's decision to change the definition of Child Pornography at the end of the NPR piece puzzling. I mean, its obviously the correct decision but why wasn't this always the working definition of Child Porn? I tried to look for some context and, from what I can see, this definition, which limited it to porn involving the abuse of children under the age of 14, was originally instituted by John Paul II.
Troubling......
Klinker said:
I find the bit about the Vatican's decision to change the definition of Child Pornography at the end of the NPR piece puzzling. I mean, its obviously the correct decision but why wasn't this always the working definition of Child Porn? I tried to look for some context and, from what I can see, this definition, which limited it to porn involving the abuse of children under the age of 14, was originally instituted by John Paul II.
Troubling......
I thought about this, too, when I first about the Pope's ruling earlier in the week. Then I wondered about the various ages of 'adulthood' in world religions: the ages of bar and bat mitzvah, ages of confirmation, and of similar rites of passage in other religions, as well as the rites that mark physical maturity etc.
Acknowledging that physical change is not the same as fuller life experience (especially these days) is a marked improvement.
I heard quite a good radio discussion on the Pope's changes that basically said it's fancy window-dressing because it doesn't really address canonical law, and he could have done that if he wanted to.
Poping is hard.
Behind the scenes on set of #TheTwoPopes ...@NetflixFilm premiere TODAY! pic.twitter.com/lDbp4utmHf
Klinker said:
For a minute, I read that as "pimping".
You know it's hard out here for a Pope
There are times he’s just wonderin’ how to cope
Huntin’ down the clerics who grope
Tryin' just to give his people hope
Actually the wearing of red shoes is interesting as well as somewhat morbid.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_shoes
For those of us in other faiths, I’m not sure how someone in such a position could continue to wear the official uniform and remain sane. (No offence intended)
Thanks Joanne —Interesting read....
The Papal shoes were the red leather outdoor shoes worn by the Pope. They should not be confused with the indoor Papal Slippers or the Episcopal sandals, which are the liturgical footwear proper to all ordained Catholic bishops of the Latin Rite.
As did many noblemen, the Pope wore slippers (pantofole) inside his residences and leather shoes outside. The indoor Papal Slippers were made of red velvet or silk and were heavily decorated in gold braid, with a gold cross in the middle.
Throughout Church history, the color red has been deliberately chosen to represent the blood of Catholic martyrs spilt through the centuries following in the footsteps of Christ. The red papal shoes are also linked to Christ's own bloodied feet as he was prodded, whipped, and pushed along the Via Dolorosa on his way to his crucifixion, culminating in the piercing of his hands and feet on the cross. The red shoes also symbolize the submission of the Pope to the ultimate authority of Jesus Christ. Beyond this, it is said the red papal shoes also signify God’s burning love for humanity as exhibited during Pentecost when red vestments are worn to commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles as tongues of fire rest upon their heads. [1]
The papal shoes, along with the camauro, papal mozzetta, and cloak (tabarro), are the only remnants of the former red color of the papal garments. Pope Pius V (1566 - 1572), who was a Dominican, changed the papal color to white by continuing to wear the white color of his Dominican religious order, and it has remained so since.
Before 1969, the Pope, like all bishops and prelates, wore episcopal sandals during the Mass. The color of the Episcopal sandals varied to match the liturgical color of the Mass.
The Papal outdoor shoes were made of plain red Morocco leather and had a wide cross in gold braid. The cross once extended across the shoe and down to the sole. In the eighteenth century the ends of the cross were shortened, as shown in the photo of Pius VII's shoes. This old-fashioned type of dress shoe is very thin-soled and is sometimes called "pantofola liscia" or smooth slipper model.
After 1958, Pope John XXIII added gold buckles to the outdoor papal shoes, making them similar to the red shoes worn by cardinals outside of Rome. Pope Paul VI eliminated the gold cross and completely discontinued the custom of kissing the papal foot. Paul VI can be seen wearing red buckled shoes in photographs from his 1964 trip to Jerusalem. In 1969, Paul VI abolished buckles from all ecclesiastical shoes, which had been customarily required at the Papal Court and for prelates. He also discontinued the use of the indoor velvet papal slippers and the Paschal mozzetta and shoes. Paul VI wore plain red leather shoes throughout the rest of his pontificate. Pope John Paul I, who was pope for only 33 days, continued wearing the plain red leather shoes worn by Paul VI. Early in his pontificate Pope John Paul II wore red shoes; however he later adopted wearing brown shoes. Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II were buried in the red leather papal shoes.
Pope Benedict XVI restored the use of the red papal shoes, which were provided by his personal cobbler, Adriano Stefanelli of Novara, who has several pictures and documents in his shoe-shop attesting the fact.[2][3] In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI also restored the use of the white damask silk Paschal mozzetta, which was previously worn with white silk slippers.[4]
The current pope, Pope Francis, has chosen to wear black shoes, forgoing the tradition for his papacy.[5]
mtierney said:
Pope Benedict XVI restored the use of the red papal shoes, which were provided by his personal cobbler, Adriano Stefanelli of Novara, who has several pictures and documents in his shoe-shop attesting the fact.[2][3] In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI also restored the use of the white damask silk Paschal mozzetta, which was previously worn with white silk slippers.[4]
Luke 12:33-34
mtierney said:
Pope Benedict XVI restored the use of the red papal shoes, which were provided by his personal cobbler, Adriano Stefanelli of Novara, who has several pictures and documents in his shoe-shop attesting the fact.[2][3] In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI also restored the use of the white damask silk Paschal mozzetta, which was previously worn with white silk slippers.[4]
The current pope, Pope Francis, has chosen to wear black shoes, forgoing the tradition for his papacy.[5]
Oh, I used to be the Pontiff
Now I sit back and I’m bemused
You can comment if you want, if
Francis doesn’t wanna wear my red shoes
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/world/europe/notre-dame-christmas-services.html
The Notre Dame devastating fire reverberates anew this Christmas Eve...
But we still can rejoice, believing all things are possible with love and prayer...
The story of Jesus and his family is, perhaps, more relevant today than it has been at any time in the last 80 years. The path to moral action is plain for anyone with the eyes to see it.
This picture has been in a corner of a page in the church bulletin at St. Joe’s in Maplewood all during Advent.
The Pope’s Christmas message was interesting reading. Not quite sure what to take from it - no doubt that’s the fullest intent. Reminded me a lot of my school’s emphasis on Gd noting and loving ‘even the meanest fallen sparrow’.
A beautiful Christmas gift for those of us invested in Justice and basic human decency. Vatican insiders are reporting that the quest to.....beatify fascist sympathizer Fulton Sheen is effectively dead.
“The shock of this is so visceral,” said Rocco Palmo, the editor of Whispers in the Loggia who has done his own reporting on the Sheen story. As he also relayed on Twitter, Palmo told me that his Vatican sources have informed him that the Sheen cause is effectively dead. The Holy See never responded to his request for official comment.
Patheos.com: Fulton Sheen was supposed to have been beatified today.
Pathos update:
“We cannot confirm independently that the accusation against Sheen is actually part of a real lawsuit. The information contained in the text which includes the allegations against Sheen appear to come solely from Hoatson’s account of what he says various sex abuse survivors told him. Hoatson was using these stories in his $5 million lawsuit.
In summary: There is no actual evidence that a crime occurred or that there is a victim, and there is no evidence that Hoatson or anyone else contacted the cause for Fulton Sheen and was ignored, as is asserted. The allegations of abuse and cover-up, and the allegations that the Cause didn’t respond, come entirely from a text that has yet to be verified, by a source and his attorney who both have significant credibility problems.”
“When the will loves anything that is below it in dignity, it degrades itself.”
― Fulton J. Sheen, Life is Worth Living
There are reports from the state and the Church that are due out the will address these issues but, for now at least, Fulton Sheen's sham sainthood is as dead as the political prisoners murdered by the fascist dictators he supported.
This is, undoubtedly, a real blow to the Peoria diocese which was counting on using Sheen's moldering corpse as a cash cow which they could use to claw their way out of the bankruptcy brought by lawsuits related to the dozens of rapes committed by their priests.
Regardless of what the lobbyist from Peoria manage to achieve, Fulton Sheen will never be a real Saint and, it now appears, that he will not be a fake one either.
You can put lipstick on a pig, but you can't make it a Saint.
mtierney said:
“When the will loves anything that is below it in dignity, it degrades itself.”
― Fulton J. Sheen, Life is Worth Living
A puzzling quote from a Trumpkin. I wonder what Stormy Daniels would say.
Klinker said:
mtierney said:
“When the will loves anything that is below it in dignity, it degrades itself.”
― Fulton J. Sheen, Life is Worth LivingA puzzling quote from a Trumpkin. I wonder what Stormy Daniels would say.
I think Stormy would apologize for having associated with a creature below herself in dignity.
Hundreds Of Accused Clergy Left Off Church's Sex Abuse Lists: AP
https://patch.com/us/across-america/hundreds-accused-clergy-left-churchs-sex-abuse-lists-ap
On this Feast of the Holy Family...
From today’s NYT...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/us/prison-mothers-children.html
A familiar refrain here is the lament of the United States “putting children in cages” , but the mothers in this account are the prisoners, while their children pay a penalty, too.
How many social issues are at play in this scenario? For starters: Lack of education, poverty, racism, secularism, breakdown of family, lack of job training, pay inequities, need for incarceration alternatives for those guilty of other than capital crimes, and the proliferation of generations of out of wedlock births.
Finger pointing, or political attacks on one another are not solutions — more the problem, actually.
What would you do?
How can this reality in America be fixed? Perhaps before we “fix” the world, we should fix ourselves. We have the ingenuity. We need the combined will and strength of our government and our citizens to focus on the task
mtierney said:
A familiar refrain here is the lament of the United States “putting children in cages”
Have you ever stopped to wonder why that is?
Jasmo said:
Hundreds Of Accused Clergy Left Off Church's Sex Abuse Lists: AP
https://patch.com/us/across-america/hundreds-accused-clergy-left-churchs-sex-abuse-lists-ap
I wish I could say that this shocked me. What we know for certain now is appalling enough but there is abundant evidence that it is only the tip of the iceberg.
Happy 2020!
Good New Year resolution....
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-on-new-years-eve-listening-is-an-act-of-love
The New Year is a good time to focus on putting an end to the evil that is being done in our name.
Klinker said:
The New Year is a good time to focus on putting an end to the evil that is being done in our name.
Along those lines -
https://justiceforimmigrants.org/take-action/national-migration-week/
For nearly a half century, the Catholic Church in the United States has celebrated National Migration Week, which is an opportunity for the Church to reflect on the circumstances confronting migrants, including immigrants, refugees, children, and victims and survivors of human trafficking. The theme for National Migration Week 2020, “Promoting a Church and a World for All” draws attention to the fact that each of our families have a migration story, some recent and others in the distant past. Regardless of where we are and where we came from, we remain part of the human family and are called to live in solidarity with one another.
Unfortunately, in our contemporary culture we often fail to encounter migrants as persons, and instead look at them as unknown others, if we even notice them at all. We do not take the time to engage migrants in a meaningful way, as fellow children of God, but remain aloof to their presence and suspicious or fearful of them. During this National Migration Week, let us all take the opportunity to engage migrants as community members, neighbors, and friends.
Mixing religion and politics in a diplomatic challenge — worth a try?
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Stephen Whitty Presents - Hometown Movie Stars: The Celebrated Actors Of CHS
May 6, 2024 at 7:00pm
Well, tonight my brother sent us all scans from a self-published book just given to him by an old schoolfriend. The book was bought at a garage sale, and is a collection of interviews by high school students of Holocaust survivors after a tour of the Melbourne Centre. Our mother was a Guide there, and her story is in the book, retold with some details I didn’t remember. The book was published in 1987, not quite ten years before she died.
My brother’s birthday is later this week.
Feels a bit like a miracle