Tag: Pope Francis

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Conservative Roman Catholic theologians accuse pope of spreading heresy

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AP

Several dozen tradition-minded Roman Catholic theologians, priests and academics have formally accused Pope Francis of spreading heresy with his 2016 opening to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

In a 25-page letter delivered to Francis last month and provided Saturday to The Associated Press, the 62 signatories issued a “filial correction” to the pope — a measure they said hadn’t been employed since the 14th century.

The letter accused Francis of propagating seven heretical positions concerning marriage, moral life and the sacraments with his 2016 document “The Joy of Love” and subsequent “acts, words and omissions.”

The initiative follows another formal act by four tradition-minded cardinals who wrote Francis last year asking him to clarify a series of questions, or “dubbia,” they had about his 2016 text.

Francis hasn’t responded to either initiative. The Vatican spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment late Saturday.

None of the signatories of the new letter is a cardinal, and the highest-ranking churchman listed is actually someone whose organization has no legal standing in the Catholic Church: Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the breakaway Society of St. Pius X. Several other signatories are well-known admirers of the old Latin Mass which Fellay’s followers celebrate.

But organizers said the initiative was nevertheless significant and a sign of the concern among a certain contingent of academics and pastors over Francis’ positions, which they said posed a danger to the faithful.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-conservative-theologians-pope-heresy-20170923-story.html

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Pope Francis Shifts Power From Rome With ‘Hugely Important’ Liturgical Reform

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By JASON HOROWITZSEPT. 9, 2017

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, who has used his absolute authority in the Vatican to decentralize power from Rome, made a widespread change Saturday to the ways, and words, in which Roman Catholics worship by amending Vatican law to give national bishop conferences greater authority in translating liturgical language.

“It’s hugely important,” said Rita Ferrone, a specialist in Catholic liturgy who writes for Commonweal, a liberal Catholic magazine. She said that by loosening Rome’s grip on the language of prayers, Francis had restored the intention of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and erased some of the rollbacks of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. “It was especially astute that he put it into canon law because it makes it official.”

Francis has not been shy in efforts to reform the church and has tread on some of its most delicate subjects, from challenging the Roman bureaucracy that runs the church to emphasizing acceptance of gays and the divorced.

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N.J. teen admits terror plot to kill Pope Francis in Philly

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By Thomas Moriarty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on April 03, 2017 at 5:31 PM, updated April 03, 2017 at 8:22 PM

CAMDEN — A Camden County teen admitted in federal court Monday to plotting to kill Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia.

Santos Colon, 17, of Lindenwold, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden to a charge of attempting to provide material support to terrorists, according to court records.

Colon, also known as Ahmad Shakoor, had tried to recruit a person he thought was a sniper to join him in his plot, which involved shooting the Pope during his Papal mass and setting off explosive devices, according to a statement from Acting U.S. Attorney William E Fitzgerald and Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord.

Authorities say the “sniper” was actually an undercover operative for the FBI, which arrested Colon after he scoped out possible targets with an informant, who Colon also instructed to purchase bomb components.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/04/nj_teen_admits_plot_to_assassinate_pope_francis.html#incart_river_index

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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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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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Mother Teresa has been declared a saint in a canonization mass held by Pope Francis

Mother Teresa

September 4,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Vatican City, Mother Teresa has been declared a saint in a canonization mass held by Pope Francis in the Vatican.Pope Francis delivered the formula nun’s canonization before huge crowds of Catholic pilgrims.Two miraculous cures of the sick after Mother Teresa’s death in 1997 have been attributed to her intercession.

Fr. James Martin, SJ commented on Facebook, “Just canonized this morning by Pope Francis, I believe her to be the greatest saint of modern times. Why? Because other saints have done what she did–lead a life of heroic sanctity, serve the poor and found a religious order. But all of them had the benefit of a rich prayer life. Mother Teresa, as letters published after her death, would show, did not. She suffered from a feeling of distance from God for the last 50 years of her life, after an earlier series of mystical experiences. She did what she did on an empty tank, relying on those earlier experiences. Her life, then, was a remarkable and unprecedented act of fidelity. St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!”

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

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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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Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Group to Sleep at Philly Zoo in Order to See Pope

Mount Carmel

By Jen Maxfield and David Chang

While some people are spending as much as $600 a night at hotels for Pope Francis’ highly anticipated visit to Philadelphia, a North Jersey church group is spending less money on a far less luxurious place to stay: the Philadelphia Zoo.

“The zoo makes it a little more down to earth because it’s more like a pilgrimage,” said Melissa Peters, a congregant at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood, New Jersey. “We’re not gonna be staying in a hotel room where we have showers or where we have continental breakfasts and things like that. Instead we’re sleeping with animals in order to see the pope.”

Peters and 220 other parents and children from the church will sleep on the floor of the Philly Zoo buildings housing the bird and insect exhibits during the Pope’s visit to Philly for the World Meeting of Families in September.

“A pilgrimage is very different from a vacation or a trip,” said Cathy Hunt, another congregant. “A pilgrimage is a prayer experience and any discomfort that you’ll feel the excitement will be tenfold that.”

Read more: https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Philadelphia-Zoo-Pope-Francis-Visit-Ridgewood-WMOF-318717981.html#ixzz3mf9YuWrr

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Pope Francis : “flee the temptation of narcissism”.

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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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George Will: Pope Is a False Prophet

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By George Will   |   Sunday, 20 Sep 2015 09:04 AM

Pope Francis embodies sanctity but comes trailing clouds of sanctimony. With a convert’s indiscriminate zeal, he embraces ideas impeccably fashionable, demonstrably false, and deeply reactionary.

They would devastate the poor on whose behalf he purports to speak, if his policy prescriptions were not as implausible as his social diagnoses are shrill.

Supporters of Francis have bought newspaper and broadcast advertisements to disseminate some of his woolly sentiments that have the intellectual tone of fortune cookies. One example: “People occasionally forgive, but nature never does.”

The Vatican’s majesty does not disguise the vacuity of this. Is Francis intimating that environmental damage is irreversible? He neglects what technology has accomplished regarding London’s air (see Page 1 of Dickens’ “Bleak House”) and other matters.

Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com https://www.newsmax.com/GeorgeWill/pope-francis-catholic/2015/09/20/id/692423/#ixzz3mP8V4NDA

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Dissidents arrested as Pope Francis celebrates his first Mass in Cuba

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By Nick Squires, Havana
8:06PM BST 20 Sep 2015

Pope Francis meets with Fidel Castro in Havana, after an outdoor mass attended by tens of thousands of people in the capital’s Revolution Square

Cuban authorities prevented leading dissidents from meeting Pope Francisin Havana on Sunday, in a sign of the Communist regime’s rigid intolerance of political opposition.

Two well-known dissidents, Marta Beatriz Roque and Miriam Leiva, had been invited by the Vatican to attend a vespers service led by the Pope’s in Havana’s historic baroque cathedral.

But they said they were detained by security agents and barred from attending the event.

“They told me that I didn’t have a credential and that I couldn’t go to the Pope’s event that was taking place there in the plaza of the Cathedral,” Ms Roque said.

She said that she and Ms Leiva had also been invited by the Vatican to meet Pope Francis at the residence of the Holy See’s ambassador to Cubashortly after the pontiff’s arrival on Saturday, but that they were detained on that occasion as well.

The head of an opposition group called the Ladies in White said that 22 of the 24 members of the group who had hoped to attend a Mass celebrated by the Pope were prevented from doing so by Cuban security officials.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/cuba/11878383/Dissidents-arrested-as-Pope-Francis-celebrates-his-first-Mass-in-Cuba.html

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

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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