Catholic in the Public Square
Pope Francis will have a busy schedule for the next few days.
I watched it this evening on a tiny insert on my laptop. I got misty-eyed then. Now, I can’t stop smiling.
What a beautiful, humble man to ask for our prayers. God bless him.
Here, if you haven’t seen it, or just want to see it again, is the first part of the Holy Father’s first message as pope.
Enjoy.
Our new Holy Father chose to live in a simple apartment rather than the archbishop’s palace when he was Cardinal Bergoglio. He also cooked his own meals and took a bus to work instead of using his chauffeured limousine.
This son of a railway worker has four brothers and sisters. He wanted to be a chemist and has a degree in chemistry. But God intervened in this plan and he entered the Society of Jesus instead. He is an intellectual who studied theology in Germany and who defended the poor in Argentina’s economic crises of a few years ago.
During the military junta in Argentina, Father Bergoglio worked in the position he had then as head of a seminary to oppose the so-called “liberation theology” and insist on what an article for the National Catholic Reporter called a more traditional reading of Ignatian spirituality, mandating that Jesuits continue to staff parishes and act as chaplains rather than moving into ‘base communities’ and political activism.
He is unwavering in his support of traditional Catholic teaching on abortion, same-sex marriage and contraception. At the same time, he has dealt compassionately with victims of HIV-AIDS, going so far as to visit a hospice and kiss and wash the feet of AIDS patients. In September 2012, he accused priests who refuse to baptize children born out of wedlock of a form of “rigorous and hypocritical neo-clericalism.”
Here are a few comments Pope Francis I has made:
For sources, check here, here, here and here.
Pundits who were pushing for a pope who would abandon 2,000 years of Catholic teaching and go chasing after the moral fashions of the world will probably be disappointed in Pope Francis I.
The new Holy Father has a decades-long record of supporting the sanctity of human life, traditional marriage and the Gospel support of the poor. For instance, he called abortion a “death penalty” for unborn children in a 2007 speech.
The LifeNews.com article describing this says in part:
The archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio … once called abortion a “death sentence” for unborn children, during a 2007 speech and likening opposition to abortion to opposition to the death penalty.
In an October 2, 2007 speech Bergoglio said that “we aren’t in agreement with the death penalty,” but “in Argentina we have the death penalty. A child conceived by the rape of a mentally ill or retarded woman can be condemned to death.” …
… The remarks came during the presentation of a document called the Aparecida Document, a joint statement of the bishops of Latin America.
The new pontiff also denounced euthanasia and assisted suicide, calling it a “culture of discarding” the elderly. (Read the rest here.)
These are gleanings from various web sites.
Pope Francis I, who was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was born December 17, 1936. He is the 267 pope of the Roman Catholic Church in a line that goes all the way back to the Apostle Peter. He is the first pope from either Argentina or the Americas.
Reports vary as to whether he chose his name in honor of the Society of Jesus Francis Xavier or Francis of Assisi. He was promoted Cardinal in 2001, and before his election, served the archdiocese of Buenos Aires. He is one of five children. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1959. He was a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits.)
Based on what I’ve read, he has a history of supporting Catholic moral teachings in matters concerning the sanctity of human life and the sacrament of marriage.
This article from CNA/EWTN News has more details:
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A respected Italian journal said Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, a 76-year-old Jesuit, was the cardinal with the second-highest number of votes on each of the four ballots in the 2005 conclave.
The journal, Limes, said its report was based on information that came from the diary of an anonymous cardinal who, while acknowledging he was violating his oath of secrecy, felt the results of the conclave votes should be part of the historic record.
The journal said it confirmed the diary’s count with other cardinals.
Cardinal Bergoglio, who has also been mentioned as a possible contender in the current conclave, has had a growing reputation as a very spiritual man with a talent for pastoral leadership serving in a region with the largest number of the world’s Catholics.
Since 1998, he has been archbishop of Buenos Aires, where his style is low-key and close to the people.
He rides the bus, visits the poor, lives in a simple apartment and cooks his own meals. To many in Buenos Aires, he is known simply as “Father Jorge.”
He also has created new parishes, restructured the administrative offices, led pro-life initiatives and started new pastoral programs, such as a commission for divorcees. He co-presided over the 2001 Synod of Bishops and was elected to the synod council, so he is well-known to the world’s bishops.
The cardinal has also written books on spirituality and meditation and has been outspoken against abortion and same-sex marriages.
In 2010, when Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage, Cardinal Bergoglio encouraged clergy across the country to tell Catholics to protest against the legislation because, if enacted, it could “seriously injure the family,” he said.
He also said adoption by same-sex couples would result in “depriving (children) of the human growth that God wanted them given by a father and a mother.”
In 2006, he criticized an Argentine proposal to legalize abortion under certain circumstances as part of a wide-ranging legal reform. He accused the government of lacking respect for the values held by the majority of Argentines and of trying to convince the Catholic Church “to waver in our defense of the dignity of the person.”
His role often forces him to speak publicly about the economic, social and political problems facing his country. His homilies and speeches are filled with references to the fact that all people are brothers and sisters and that the church and the country need to do what they can to make sure that everyone feels welcome, respected and cared for.
While not overtly political, Cardinal Bergoglio has not tried to hide the political and social impact of the Gospel message, particularly in a country still recovering from a serious economic crisis. (Read the rest here.)
Our new pope is Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina. He has chosen the name Francis I.
After brief remarks, he led the vast audience at the Vatican in the Our Father and Hail Mary in Italian.
Even in this brief audience it was fun to watch this Latin pope gesticulate with his hands as he spoke.
My prayers and hopes are with him.
I am so excited by the election of the new pope! I wish I was able to be there.
Here are few details from RT NEWS for those who are following the story:
To the cheering of crowds white smoke has appeared above the Vatican chimney, signaling a new Pope has been chosen by cardinals.
As the white smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel, the bells of St. Peter Basilica tolled out ‘Habemus papem”, meaning the Catholic Church now has a new Pope.
The smoke was released up the chimney after five rounds of voting meaning that a two-thirds majority has been reached and that one candidate received at least 77 votes.
Cardinal electors held a full day of deliberations on Wednesday and in the morning released black smoke up the chimney, signalling that no decsion had been made.
Crowds outside St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome cheered and waved flags from many different nations. Some waved crucifixes while others held banners reading ‘long live the Pope”.
The new Pope is expected to be named shortly from the central balcony of the Basilica. Read the rest here.)
This is from CBC NEWS WORLD
A new pope has been chosen to lead the Roman Catholic Church.
The emergence of white smoke from a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican indicated to the world that cardinals have elected a new leader for 1.2 billion Catholics.
The name and nationality of the new pope has not been made public yet.
The newly elected pope will be fitted for his white cassock, and the other cardinals in the conclave will then each individually swear obedience to him.
Before he appears on a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, the new pope will stop to pray in the Pauline Chapel.
Ahead of the appearance on the balcony, French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the protodeacon, will announce “Habemus Papam,” Latin for “We have a pope!”
The new pope was selected after XXX ballots failed to produce a winner during a conclave that began Tuesday.
Archbishop Samuel Aquila
Colorado’s legislature has passed a civil unions bills. All that’s necessary for the bill to become is for the governor — who as already said he would do so — to sign it.
The bill passed without religious liberty protections that would protect religious organizations from such as adoption agencies from being forced to violate their beliefs.
Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver issued the following statement concerning passage of this bill.
STATEMENT: Archbishop of Denver responds to civil unions bill
Regrettably, the Colorado Legislature has approved a civil unions bill today which harms families, civil liberties, and the natural rights of all Colorado’s children.
Senate Bill 11 is the beginning of an effort to redefine the family in Colorado and to undermine the right of all children to have a mother and a father. Civil unions are not about equality, tolerance or fairness. They create an alternate reality in which all institutions can be self-defined. Make no mistake: Civil unions are the first step to redefining marriage and to radically redefining the concept of civil rights. Civil rights are about protecting individuals and institutions from tyranny or oppression, not providing legal endorsement to all conceivable social arrangements and constructs.
The Church recognizes and affirms the dignity of every human person—but she does not see all relationships as equal. Marriage is a unique social relationship between a man and a woman which exists for the good of children and as the foundation of all human communities. Marriage has been uniquely protected in law for millennia in order to preserve and promote the foundations of all social stability.
Senate Bill 11 is particularly troubling because the religious liberty of all Coloradans has been discarded under the guise of equality. The ability for religious-based institutions to provide foster care and adoption services for Colorado’s children is now dangerously imperiled. Faced with the reasonable request for religious liberty and conscience accommodations, state Sen. Pat Steadman offered the following: “So, what to say to those who claim that religion requires them to discriminate? I’ll tell you what I’d say. Get thee to a nunnery and live there then. Go live a monastic life away from modern society, away from the people you can’t see as equal to yourself.” These comments are woefully antagonistic to Catholics, to Christians and to all people of faith and good will.
Marriage is a stabilizing institution at the foundation of civil society. Religious liberty is a civil rights issue. Today both have been grievously harmed. Today our state and federal Constitutions have been dealt a troubling blow.
Most Reverend Samuel J. Aquila, S.T.L.
Archbishop of Denver
Representative Rebecca Hamilton, 17-year member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives talks about life as a Public Catholic. Read her Bio Here
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