quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Scoff if you will, but all of you people posting in this thread are unexpectedly risking a visit from the Spanish Inquisition.

Only from within a pile of brass.

The pope won't rest until everyone is poor.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
Talk is cheap. Franky should put the churches money where his mouth is.

More like put the churches mouth where everyone else’s money is.

Money and Power. The goal of every political game since the dawn of humanity.

"It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master." Ayn Rand

Francis is quickly topping my list of Least Favorite Clerics, Pope or Otherwise.

My issues with the Church are many. I still see myself as Catholic but find myself increasingly at odds with this Pope's pronouncements, ones with no rational support whatsoever within established Church doctrine or in scripture.

The Pope is elected not by ALL Cardinals, but by those who haven't "aged out" of voting. Francis' contemporaries (and particularly those from Latin America) whove advanced to that office are largely cut from the same cloth. And like the hippies who co-opted highrr education when THEY became the tenured establishment, they seem focused on reinventing something that's nduree for to thousand years.

(Ironically, Francis' own complicity in the "Dirty Wars" as Bishop of Buenos Aires is well known and pretty grimy. He was certainly on the side of power and privilege when THAT benefitted him.)


Francis needs to shut his Pope-hole, stick to ecclesiastical matters and the business of administering the Church, and leave secular government and policy to the grown-ups. As chellim1 noted, the faith has survived worse, and will survive this, too

quote:

This would make an awesome homeless shelter, no?

Ever been there? There's a big, high WALL aaaaaaalllll around it.

“A Text Taken out of Context Becomes a Pretext”

I will start this post with a short disclaimer: I am a Catholic. I am a revert to the Faith from evangelical protestantism. I fell into the category of people who disliked the Church because of what I thought it was, not what it is. I see a lot of people here who do not understand the Church, and if you would like to have private discussion on the matter through email, I would be happy to talk to any of you. My life has changed and I am closer to Jesus as a Catholic, and I want nothing more than for you to experience it too.

Pope Francis and Donald Trump have very little in common. One thing that they do have in common is the incessant attack from the media. It is often said that the views of Pope Francis are “communist” or “socialist” and that his viewpoints are contrary to American ideals. Of course, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The views of Pope Francis are from the perspective of a 81-year old Bishop from Argentina (his personal political views are not likely to fall between John McCain and Ron Paul). But his personal political views are irrelevant and often assumed or implied by the media or whatever pulpit thumper finds it more pressing to trash talk Catholics than praise Jesus. If you were to actually put a label on Pope Francis’ views, “Christian” would be the most appropriate.

Let’s take the article linked by the OP as an example. Here is the first paragraph:

“VATICAN CITY (AP) — Championing the cause of the poor, Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that “the wealthy few” enjoy what, “in justice, belongs to all” and said Christians cannot remain indifferent to the growing cries of the exploited and the indigent, including migrants.”

Does this seem like honest journalism? With vague context, the author snips a long talk down to eight words and inserts his spin between them. The Pope was doing nothing more than spreading the Gospel. Over and over again, Jesus tells us to feed the poor, to love one another, and to follow Him.

Honest quotes of the Pope on November 18th would look more like this:

"We Christians cannot stand with arms folded in indifference or thrown up in the air in helpless resignation,” the Pope said in his homily Nov. 18, the World Day of the Poor.

"As believers, we must stretch out our hands as Jesus does with us, freely and lovingly offering help to the poor and all those in need.”

Referring to the Gospel story of the poor man begging for scraps, Francis said that many people today are just like Lazarus and "weep while the wealthy few feast on what, in justice, belongs to all. Injustice is the perverse root of poverty." Here is a link to that passage: https://www.bible.com/bible/42/LUK.16.CPDV

I could go on forever about the injustices perpetrated on Pope Francis, a Servant of God, by the media and so-called men of God on a daily basis. Pope Francis is spreading the Gospel… instructions from the mouth of Christ, to feed the poor, to love your neighbor, to take care of those who have less than you. And at no time did Pope Francis say anything about government programs, taking from those who have to give to those who don’t, or give any type of political commentary. He is taking to Christians, reminding them of their mission.

And for those who think the Church should put their money where their mouth is and that St. Peter’s Square would make a nice shelter… I will remind you that that is exactly the context of the event that these quotes were made at. Over 6000 impoverished people were fed and received medical treatment in a single afternoon. Catholic parishes around the world feed countless people on a daily basis, and Catholic charities and missionaries lead the world in aid to the poor.

Here is an observation I made when I reverted to the Catholic Church from evangelical protestantism: I was letting my politics drive my faith. I don’t like pastor X because he believes Y, therefore I will shop for a church until I find someone who is just like me. Now, my politics (which are far right) are a byproduct of my faith. I am pro-life, I am pro 2A and self defense, I welcome LEGAL immigrants to our country with open arms, and I don’t need the government to force me to help the poor.


Like I said above, I welcome anyone who is interested in the Catholic Church to email me. Even if it is to tell me how wrong you think I am. My motivation is the salvation of souls and the spread of the Gospel.

Cousino2492@gmail.com

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
The toilets swirl the wrong way.

You, leave my toilet out of this or there will be trouble!

BTW, I'm using it right now...

0-0

quote:

Originally posted by Cous2492:
Like I said above, I welcome anyone who is interested in the Catholic Church to email me. Even if it is to tell me how wrong you think I am. My motivation is the salvation of souls and the spread of the Gospel.

Well, the first thing ya gotta do is to get that freakin' commie out of the Vatican.

This commie Pope continues to elevate commies:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Marxism."

Report: Pope Plans to Appoint Controversial Liberal Archbishop to D.C. Archdiocese

Reports that Pope Francis is planning to appoint the very liberal Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta to serve as the next archbishop of Washington, D.C., are giving many conservative Catholics heartburn.

Gregory, who would become the seventh archbishop of Washington, is expected to succeed Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned in disgrace last October in the wake of last year’s Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse in the clergy. In the grand jury's report, Wuerl was accused of helping to cover up the crimes of predatory priests while serving as the bishop of Pittsburgh.

Archbishop Viganò, the former nuncio from the Vatican to the United States, piled on with his bombshell letter last August, accusing both Cardinal Wuerl and Pope Francis of knowing about former D.C. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick's history of sexual abuse, and doing absolutely nothing about it.

https://pjmedia.com/faith/repo...p-of-washington-d-c/

quote:

Originally posted by DennisM:
Francis is quickly topping my list of Least Favorite Clerics, Pope or Otherwise.

Are you being Capt Obvious, polite, or just slightly naive?
He is quickly topping your list?
Franky took office as a dirty fuckin Marxist cleric from South America with a history of covering up crimes of child abuse. The only thing holy about this man is his asshole.

Dante wrote about his eternal damnation over 700 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
This commie Pope continues to elevate commies:

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Marxism."

Report: Pope Plans to Appoint Controversial Liberal Archbishop to D.C. Archdiocese

Reports that Pope Francis is planning to appoint the very liberal Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta to serve as the next archbishop of Washington, D.C., are giving many conservative Catholics heartburn.

Gregory, who would become the seventh archbishop of Washington, is expected to succeed Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who resigned in disgrace last October in the wake of last year’s Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse in the clergy. In the grand jury's report, Wuerl was accused of helping to cover up the crimes of predatory priests while serving as the bishop of Pittsburgh.

Archbishop Viganò, the former nuncio from the Vatican to the United States, piled on with his bombshell letter last August, accusing both Cardinal Wuerl and Pope Francis of knowing about former D.C. Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick's history of sexual abuse, and doing absolutely nothing about it.

https://pjmedia.com/faith/repo...p-of-washington-d-c/

Not only sounds like a commie. Much of what he does and says shows it.

Those "violations" by priests has been known for a very long time. And none of them have actually addressed the issue and solved it! Transferring violators around to different locations/parishes does not solve the problem, just hides it.

Many years ago, my dad's boss told him that he was on his way to pay his bill at the catholic church. Dad asked what that meant. Seems the guy got a regular bill from the church, based on his tax return, for the amount he was "required" to donate to the church.

To many Christians the cause of giving aid to the poor rings true as that is what Christ taught and lived. What He didn't teach is compulsory donations. The idea of forced aid is a satanic counterfeit of God's plan of true charity. We see true charity here on this forum. A need is identified, a call to action made and people give what they are prompted to. The need is filled and all are edified. No gov't entity gained power over the public. That is God's plan. The Pope is deceived if he advocates anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
“VATICAN CITY (AP) — Championing the cause of the poor, Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that “the wealthy few” enjoy what, “in justice, belongs to all” and said Christians cannot remain indifferent to the growing cries of the exploited and the indigent, including migrants…”

https://apnews.com/c183ed8b9269499ea0f537d9e8a9f2b6

He's right... Christians should not be indifferent to less fortunate, immigrants, poor, and exploited people. We are to pray for them, deny ourselves to serve them, feed them, shelter them if need be, and even give money to their causes, etc.

Of course, none of that has anything to do with what our governments should do and, in turn, what those governments should require of the people.

The Vatican could house and feed a few people if they would sell some of their real estate and artwork.

Yup, the Popester is a full blown commie. That is so sad.