Tag: Catholics

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CONSERVATIVE CRITICISM INTENSIFIES AGAINST POPE FRANCIS

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BY NICOLE WINFIELD
ASSOCIATED PRESS

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Conservative criticism of Pope Francis intensified Saturday after his intervention in the Knights of Malta order, with posters appearing around Rome citing his actions against conservative Catholics and asking: “Where’s your mercy?”

The posters appeared on the same day that Francis cemented his authority over the Knights by naming a top Vatican archbishop, Angelo Becciu, to be his special delegate to the ancient aristocratic order.

Francis gave Becciu, the No. 2 in the Vatican secretariat of state, “all necessary powers” to help lay the groundwork for a new constitution for the order, lead the spiritual renewal of its professed knights and prepare for the election of a new grand master, expected in three months.

The Vatican’s intervention with the sovereign group had provided fuel for Francis’ conservative critics, who until Saturday had largely confined their concern with his mercy-over-morals papacy to blogs, interviews and conferences.

https://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_VATICAN_KNIGHTS_OF_MALTA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-02-04-12-23-33

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Pope Francis decries the loss of Priests and Nuns going into the Catholic Church

Mount Carmel
January 29,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, in recent comments, Pope Francis said he is concerned about what he calls a “hemorrhage” of priests and nuns from the Catholic church. For decades, the Catholic church in many developed countries has seen the number of priests and nuns on the decline.

The pope on Saturday told participants at a Vatican gathering on religious life that the loss of clergy is weakening the church.

Pope Francis said that first among the factors causing nuns and priests to quit their vocations is a society that discourages lifelong commitments. Francis later lamented that many conduct their lives based on “a la carte” choices.

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Cardinal Tobin Installed as Sixth Archbishop of Newark

Cardinal Tobin

January 6, 2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Newark NJ,His Eminence, Joseph William Cardinal Tobin, C.Ss.R., was installed as the Sixth Archbishop of Newark this afternoon before an overflow crowd at Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, at a Mass attended by six Roman Catholic cardinals and some 60 archbishops and bishops from throughout the country. Some 500 priests and deacons from the Archdiocese, neighboring New Jersey and New York dioceses, and the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, as well as civic leaders and representatives of New Jersey’s Jewish, Protestant and Orthodox communities, were in attendance. Some 2,000 people attended the standing-room-only service.

Also in attendance at the Installation were members of Cardinal Tobin’s family and guests from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, where he had served previously as Archbishop.

The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Newark, welcomed all guests to the liturgy on behalf of the priests, religious and laity of the Archdiocese. Immediately following the welcome, the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, The Most Reverend Christophe Pierre, read the mandate of His Holiness, Pope Francis, authorizing Cardinal Tobin to take canonical possession of the Archdiocese of Newark, a faith community of some 1.5 million Catholics in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties.

Reverend Monsignor Michael A. Andreano, KCHS, Chancellor of the Archdiocese, presented the mandate to the College of Consultors of the Archdiocese of Newark, who examined it and affixed the archdiocesan seal. Cardinal Tobin then was led to the cathedra, the throne of the bishop of the diocese, and presented with the staff, the sign of his pastoral office.

Those in attendance greeted him with thunderous applause after the formal seating, and representatives of diocesan groups, leaders of religious communities, and government officials extended personal greetings to Archbishop Myers.

Those not able to be present at the installation were able to view the ceremony via a live broadcast of the entire liturgy provided by NetTV, the media arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn, and aired on EWTN and other Catholic television networks, as well as streamed live by News12.com.

Pope Francis named Cardinal Tobin to lead the Archdiocese of Newark, one of the largest archdioceses in terms of population in the United States, on November 7, 2016. The Archdiocese extends over 511 square miles, and is geographically the smallest archdiocese in the United States. Some 877 priests serve in the various parishes and other ministries in this local Church of Newark. Permanent deacons, religious Sisters and Brothers total 1035. The Archdiocese of Newark encompasses 214 parishes, 96 private Catholic and parochial schools, four Catholic universities colleges, three Catholic hospitals, and almost 40 health care, ancillary care and medical centers, sanatoriums and hospices, homes for the invalid and aged, and centers for other human services. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese is considered the largest non-governmental social service agency in the state of New Jersey.

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Conservative cardinals challenge Pope over teachings on family

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By Philip PullellaNovember 14, 2016

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Four conservative Roman Catholic cardinals on Monday made a rare public challenge to Pope Francis over some of his teachings in a major document on the family, accusing him of sowing confusion on important moral issues.

The cardinals – two Germans, an Italian, and an American – said they had gone public with their letter to the pope because he had not responded.

The pope has clashed before with conservatives who worry he is weakening Roman Catholic rules on moral issues such as homosexuality and divorce while focusing on social problems such as climate change and economic inequality.

At issue are some of the teachings in a 260-page treatise called “Amoris Laetitia” (The Joy of Love), a cornerstone document of Francis’ attempt to make the 1.2 billion-member Church more inclusive and less condemning.

In the document, issued in April, he called for a Church that was less strict and more compassionate towards any “imperfect” members, such as those who divorced and remarried, saying “no one can be condemned forever”.

Most critics have focused on what the pope’s letter said about the full re-integration into the Church of members who divorce and remarry in civil ceremonies.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/conservative-cardinals-challenge-pope-over-teachings-family-135235466.html

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Rev. James Martin speaks in Ridgewood

Father James Martin

NOVEMBER 20, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Rev. James Martin, a renowned writer and former businessman, made an appearance at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church on Nov. 10, speaking about his new novel and other contemporary issues.

With approximately 200 listeners sitting at attention, the Wharton School of Business graduate offered background for his new work, “The Abbey,” before commencing one of the few parts of public speaking with which he has little experience: a book reading.

“We’re going to do a book reading tonight, which I’m new at,” Martin confided to the crowd. “It’s a little bit of a different presentation for me.”

The novel, which was written as a result of a dream that Martin had, explores the lives of various individuals and their experiences regarding a nearby abbey. Though he does not normally keep track of his dreams, Martin admitted that this one resonated with him.

“This particular dream that I had was a fully-formed story … so I forced myself up at 2 a.m. and wrote it down in a journal,” he said. “In the dream, the names of the characters were there, the name of the monastery was there, and the whole story was there.”

Not wanting to waste such an opportunity to share his dream and aware that any work he does raises funds for his Jesuit community, Martin decided to turn his work into a short story, and eventually into a full-fledged novel.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/religion/popular-jesuit-writer-signs-his-latest-book-at-mount-carmel-1.1459339

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Catholic bishops adopt Pope Francis’ call for a more welcoming church

Mount Carmel

OCTOBER 24, 2015, 4:28 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015, 11:53 PM
BY NICOLE WINFIELD AND DANIELA PETROFF
ASSOCIATED PRESS

VATICAN CITY — Catholic bishops called Saturday for a more welcoming church for cohabitating couples and Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried, endorsing Pope Francis’ call for a more merciful and less judgmental church.

Bishops from around the world adopted a final document at the end of a divisive, three-week synod that exposed the split in the church between conservatives and progressives over how to better minister to Catholic families today.

In a win for the progressive camp, the document emphasized the role of discernment and individual conscience in dealing with difficult family situations, especially the vexing issue of whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.

Conservatives had resisted offering any wiggle room on the issue, since church teaching holds that such Catholics are committing adultery and are therefore barred from receiving the sacraments. While the document doesn’t chart any specific path to receiving Communion as originally sought by the liberals, it opens the door to case-by-case exceptions.

“We are so happy that we could give this to the pope,” said German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who spearheaded the progressive camp on the issue. He called the document a “historic step.”

Through a spokesman, Newark Arch­bishop John J. Myers declined to comment on the synod document, saying he had not yet read it Saturday evening. The final report was released by the Vatican in Italian and will be translated later into other languages.

“When bishops have had a chance to look at it, he’s going to give it a lot of thought,” said Jim Goodness, an archdiocese spokesman.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/catholic-bishops-at-synod-call-for-a-more-welcoming-church-1.1440630

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Pope Francis : “flee the temptation of narcissism”.

Vatican Pope Youths

Pope Francis asks U.S. bishops to welcome immigrants, take care of priests

Susan Miller and Gregory Korte, USA TODAY6:47 p.m. EDT September 23, 2015

WASHINGTON — Pope Francis urged his fellow American bishops to take care of the spiritual needs of priests and to welcome new immigrants into the United States, gently admonishing them to “flee the temptation of narcissism.”

In a tone more fraternal than scolding, Francis encouraged the bishops as spiritual shepherds but also urged them to confront the issues of the world: The response to abortion, childhood hunger, immigration, the elderly, terrorism are “essential aspects of the Church’s mission,” he said. “It is wrong, then, to look the other way or to remain silent.”

Francis also sought healing for the victims of the priest sexual abuse scandal. “I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims — in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed — and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated,” he said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/23/pope-francis-asks-us-bishops-welcome-immigrants-take-care-priests/72685614/

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Pope Francis: I am not a “Liberal”

Pope Francis waves as he delivers a "Urbi et Orbi" message from the balcony overlooking St

Pope Francis: I am not ‘left-ish’
September 22, 2015, 04:45 pm
By Jesse Byrnes

Shortly before Pope Francis touched down on U.S. soil for the first time on Tuesday, he assured journalists that he is not a liberal, according to reports.

“Some people might say some things sounded slightly more left-ish, but that would be a mistake of interpretation,” Francis said aboard his flight from Cuba to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

“It is I who follows the church … my doctrine on all this … on economic imperialism, is that of the social doctrine of the church,” Francis added,according to Time.

Francis arrived to cheers and chants welcoming him to the U.S. when he landed outside Washington, D.C., where he will address a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday, with speculation running rampant about what he might discuss.

The pope shook hands with President Obama, the first lady and their daughters, as well as the vice president and his wife after he landed.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/254558-pope-francis-i-am-not-left-ish

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Ridgewood Knights of Columbus – Annual Stickball Tournament.

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Ridgewood-NJ-September 21, 2015: The Ridgewood Knights of Columbus Council #1736 is once again proud to be hosting their annual stickball tournament, now in its sixth year, on Saturday October 10, beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Passaic Street in Ridgewood. The entrance fee is $100 for a team of four. There will be trophies for first place for seniors and juniors.

Refreshments, hotdogs, and hamburgers will be served at the Hall after the games.

Proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to the Street 2 Street Inner City Youth Basketball program. Street 2 Street specializes in helping kids almost everyone else has given up on to believe they can rise above their circumstances to make a positive impact on their world.

Local organizations are encouraged to sign up and join in the activities.

For an application or questions, email:

richpal@optonline.net or tony.lupo@ymail.com.

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If Pope Francis Wants to Help the Poor, He Should Embrace Capitalism

popeselfies

Markets and globalization have lifted billions out of poverty and lessened global inequality. So what’s behind the pope’s agenda?

Stephanie Slade| Sep. 21, 2015 6:00 am

He has been called the “slum pope” and “a pope for the poor.” And indeed, it’s true that Pope Francis, leader to 1.3 billion Roman Catholics, speaks often of those in need. He’s described the amount of poverty and inequality in the world as “a scandal” and implored the Church to fight what he sees as a “culture of exclusion.”

Yet even as he calls for greater concern for the marginalized, he broadly and cavalierly condemns the market-driven economic development that has lifted a billion people out of extreme poverty within the lifetime of the typical millennial. A lack of understanding of even basic economic concepts has led one of the most influential and beloved human beings on the planet to decry free enterprise, opine that private property rights must not be treated as “inviolable,” hold up as the ideal “cooperatives of small producers” over “economies of scale,” accuse the Western world of “scandalous level[s] of consumption,” and assert that we need “to think of containing growth by setting some reasonable limits.”

Given his vast influence, which extends far beyond practicing Catholics, this type of rhetoric is deeply troubling. It’s impossible to know how much of an impact his words are having on concrete policy decisions—but it’s implausible to deny that when he calls for regulating and constraining the free markets and economic growth that alleviate truly crushing poverty, the world is listening. As a libertarian who is also a devout Roman Catholic, I’m afraid as well that statements like these from Pope Francis reinforce the mistaken notion that libertarianism and religion are fundamentally incompatible.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/09/21/if-pope-francis-wants-to-help-the-poor-h

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Pope’s visit will produce largest security operation in U.S. history

Pope Francis 2

By David Nakamura and Peter Hermann September 18

Federal authorities are mobilizing one of the largest security operations in U.S. history ahead of Pope Francis’s arrival Tuesday, an effort that is straining law enforcement resources in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

Hundreds of thousands of onlookers are expected to gather in all three cities for a glimpse of the Catholic Church leader, whose unrivaled global popularity and proclivity to wade into public crowds has added to security concerns. Thousands of federal and local personnel will be deployed to keep the pontiff and the public safe.

The challenges are immense.

The pope’s five-day tour, his first in the United States, will include appearances at the White House and Congress, a parade on Constitution Avenue in Washington, a Mass at Madison Square Garden, a procession through Central Park in New York, and an open air Mass with up to 1.5 million people in Philadelphia.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/popes-visit-will-produce-largest-security-operation-in-us-history/2015/09/18/642ca250-5d47-11e5-b38e-06883aacba64_story.html

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Castro praises Pope’s anti-capitalism stance

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By ROBERT KING • 9/19/15 4:29 PM

Pope Francis has arrived in Havana this afternoon and starts a historic 10-day visit to Cuba and the United States, according to reports.

Cuban President Raul Castro welcomed Pope Francis in a long speech at the airport. In his speech, Castro said the communist government has “founded an equitable society with social justice” in Cuba and he praised the pope’s critiques of the global economic system that has “globalized capital and turned money into its idol.”

Castro thanked the pope for facilitating negotiations that led to a detente between the United States and Cuba. Castro is also calling for the end of the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, which he called “cruel, immoral and illegal,” and the return of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Castro praised his country’s socialist model for building a society “focused on human beings and the family” and said he’s “firmly determined to … build a just and virtuous society with high ethical and spiritual values.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/castro-praises-popes-stance-on-capitalism/article/2572475

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To see the pope, Ridgewood faithful settle for humble habitat

Mount Carmel

JULY 26, 2015, 11:33 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2015, 11:36 PM
BY JEFF GREEN AND MONSY ALVARADO
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD

They’ll be sleeping on the ground among bugs and birds, near lions and tigers, but the parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood decided they’d do it if that’s what it took to see Pope Francis.

With hotel room prices shooting sky-high as far back as a year ago, Cathy Hunt, the church’s director of religious education, sought out, in Francis fashion, humbler lodging. After a little negotiating with the Philadelphia Zoo, the group cemented plans to roll out sleeping bags inside two buildings that contain the insect and bird exhibits.

More than 60 families of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are signed up for the church’s late-September pilgrimage to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia — the capstone of Pope Francis’ five-day visit to the U.S., his first as pope.

Parishioners expect to walk several miles back and forth  between the zoo and the festival site, but at $120 per person, including transportation, it’s a bargain as reservations get tougher to come by with only two months to go before the festival.

At least two other Bergen County congregations also made plans well ahead of time to travel to Philadelphia, where North Jersey Catholics may have their best opportunity to see the pope and hear him speak. Besides Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., the pope is visiting Manhattan, where he is to say Mass at Madison Square Garden and lead a multi-faith service at Ground Zero. But the Archdiocese of New York announced last week that its limited tickets for those events will be available only to its own parishioners.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/to-see-the-pope-ridgewood-faithful-settle-for-humble-habitat-1.1381272

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Defrocked priest finds strength in new followers

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MARCH 30, 2015, 10:35 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015, 10:36 PM
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Archdiocese of Newark is on the defensive in a dispute with a small but growing sect of Catholics over the defrocking of a former Bergen County priest who the church says “abandoned” the ministry, a term his defenders say was used to sow doubt about his conduct.

Anthony Lipari worked as a Roman Catholic priest for years in Bergenfield and Ridgewood parishes, and as a deacon in Dumont, becoming a popular youth minister with a loyal following. But in 2003, while he was an assistant priest in Nutley, he and a high-ranking archdiocese official agreed he should leave the church as his differences in theology became clear, Lipari said.

Lipari, 54, has just launched a ministry at the Jersey Shore, affiliated with a new, liberal sect of Catholics, and he, like some church experts, is questioning the announcement this month by Newark church leaders stripping him of the priesthood.

The defrocking has created new critics of Archbishop John J. Myers, who in recent years has faced a firestorm of publicity over his treatment of a sexually abusive Bergen County priest, and pushback from parents amid continuing school closings and an archdiocese takeover of education finances. Last year church donors mounted protests over revelations that Myers expanded a lavish countryside home for his retirement.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/defrocked-priest-finds-strength-in-new-followers-1.1299258