End Times and Current Events

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9073811/The-Pope-will-die-within-a-year-Vatican-assassination-fears-revealed.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9073811/The-Pope-will-die-within-a-year-Vatican-assassination-fears-revealed.html)

The Pope will die within a year: Vatican 'assassination fears' revealed

The Pope will die within the next 12 months, a senior Vatican figure has reportedly claimed amid fears of an assassination plot.

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02052/pope_2052184b.jpg)

By Nick Squires, Rome

10:39AM GMT 10 Feb 2012


-----


The sensational prediction was allegedly made by Cardinal Paolo Romeo, the archbishop of Palermo in Sicily, on a recent visit to China.
 

Cardinal Romeo reportedly made the startling prediction of the Pope's death during a trip to China in November 2011.
 

He seemed so sure of the fact that the people he spoke with, including Italian businessmen and Chinese representatives of the Catholic Church, were convinced that he was talking about an assassination attempt.
 

They were so alarmed by his remarks that they reported them back to the Vatican.
 

The extraordinary comments were written up in a top-secret report, dated Dec 30, 2011, and delivered to the Pope by a senior cardinal, Dario Castrillon Hoyos, a Colombian, in January.
 

Vatican Fears Assassins May Target Pope In 2012 - Paper

An assassination attempt against Pope Benedict XVI may be carried out before November 2012, Italian Il Fatto Quotidiano daily reported on Friday, citing a confidential document that was delivered to the Holy See in January by Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos. The letter, written in German, cites Cardinal Paolo Romeo, the Archbishop of Palermo, who said during his visit to China in November 2011 that “the Pope will die” in the next 12 months, Il Fatto Quotidiano said. It is not known who stands behind the letter, the daily said. The previous Pope, John Paul II, survived a 1981 assassination attempt, although he was shot and gravely wounded by his attacker, Turkish national Mehmet Ali Agca. In 2006 an Italian parliamentary commission accused former Soviet leaders and the Bulgarian secret service of being behind the assassination plot.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20120210/171249830.html

NEW SERIES!
PETRUS ROMANUS
The Final Pope Is Here

PART 1
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-one.htm

PART 2
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-two.htm

PART 3
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-three.htm

PART 4
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-four.htm

PART 5
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-five.htm

PART 6
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-six.htm

PART 7
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-seven.htm

PART 8
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-eight.htm

PART 9
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-nine.htm

PART 10
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-ten.htm

PART 11
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-eleven.htm

Part 12
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-twelve.htm

Part 13
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-thirteen.htm

Part 14
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-fourteen.htm

Part 15
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-fifteen.htm

Part 16
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-sixteen.htm

Part 17
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-seventeen.htm

Part 18
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-stearman.htm

You can't deny that Benedict has been a VERY hated guy - no, not saying any of the other Popes were good people et al, but nonetheless the previous ones were "well respected" by the "world", this one, not so much.

Whatever happens to him this year-whether he dies by natural causes or gets murdered...won't surprise me either way. Even if he does survive in 2012, you can't deny his age and bad health = not much longer to live.

One look at the guy trying to move about and you be see the guy isn't going to be around much longer because of age alone. All those years living a lie has taken it's toll.

I am curious what game they are playing though to make such a statement, in China, knowing everybody is going to be running back to Rome with the news, and he would have to return to Rome himself to who knows what. I'm not sure who is trying to get whom involved, as all those people tend to be...unpredictable.

"Monsignors' mutiny" revealed by Vatican leaks

Call it Conspiracy City. Call it Scandal City. Call it Leak City. These days the holy city has been in the news for anything but holy reasons.

"It is a total mess," said one high-ranking Vatican official who spoke, like all others, on the condition of anonymity.

The Machiavellian maneuvering and machinations that have come to light in the Vatican recently are worthy of a novel about a sinister power struggle at a medieval court.

Senior church officials interviewed this month said almost daily embarrassments that have put the Vatican on the defensive could force Pope Benedict to act to clean up the image of its administration - at a time when the church faces a deeper crisis of authority and relevance in the wider world.

Some of those sources said the outcome of a power struggle inside the Holy See may even have a longer-term effect, on the choice of the man to succeed Benedict when he dies.

rest: http://news.yahoo.com/monsignors-mutiny-revealed-vatican-leaks-140524856.html

But wait, the pope is suppose to be like God on earth or something right? And he's "helpless"? So much for infallible!  ::)

A house divided cannot stand.

Vatican Leaks Expose Power Struggle Among Contenders For Pope Petrus Romanus

The flurry of leaks has come at an embarrassing time — just before a usually joyful ceremony this week known as a consistory, when Benedict will admit more prelates into the College of Cardinals, the exclusive men’s club that will one day pick the next Roman Catholic leader from among their own ranks. “This consistory will be taking place in an atmosphere that is certainly not very glorious or exalting,” said one bishop with direct knowledge of Vatican affairs. The sources agreed that the leaks were part of an internal campaign — a sort of “mutiny of the monsignors” — against the Pope’s right-hand man, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Bertone, 77, has a reputation as a heavy-handed administrator and power-broker whose style has alienated many in the Curia, the bureaucracy that runs the central administration of the 1.3 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church.

http://news.yahoo.com/monsignors-mutiny-revealed-vatican-leaks-140524856.html

Twisted Ritual At Grammy Awards Sees (Peter The) Roman Possessed By Powerful Demons

Is there an insider ‘nudge, nudge, wink, wink’ about Minaj’s red carpet walk last night, escorted by ‘The Pope’? Given the news two days ago that someone inside the Vatican predicts that the Pope will die within a year, perhaps the ‘failed exorcism’ and the triumph of Satan at the end of the performance telegraph that a major shift is on its way. The song featured in the video is from Minaj’s newest album, and it centered around her alter-ego, Roman Zolanski (an obvious tribute to the director of Rosemary’s Baby and husband to Charles Manson victim Sharon Tate: Roman Polanski). The short film that opens the act shows a concerned white woman who asks a white Catholic priest to go upstairs and help her son Roman. The priest enters the bedroom to find ‘Roman’ (Minaj behaving crazily, wearing a cheap blond wig and a dress, singing ‘I feel pretty’). When confronted by the priest, Roman scrambles up the wall and hisses from the ceiling and whispers ‘You don’t belong here.” The priest asks the ‘demon’ his name. It screams ‘Roman!’ This sets up the remainder of the performance, live onstage. The set features a backdrop of massive, stained glass windows and Roman columns. Minaj is tied to a sacrificial altar in the center, high above the dancers.

http://sharonkgilbert.com/?p=1752

‘Is Nicki Minaj possessed?’ asks Catholic League president

Nicki Minaj was sending a religious message with her Catholic-themed “Roman Holiday” performance at Sunday night’s Grammy awards. But what was it?

First, the pop star arrived on the red carpet escorted by a man who appears to be playing the part of a pope or bishop.

Minaj’s performance contained it all: a Catholic confession scene, and apparent demonic possession, followed by a series of break dancing monks, chanting choir boys and one levitating songstress.

The Twittersphere was apparently unable to make spiritual heads or tails of her art, but in a statement, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League was sure that her Catholic collage of a performance was intended to insult Catholics.

None of this was by accident, and all of it was approved by The Recording Academy, which puts on the Grammys. Whether Minaj is possessed is surely an open question, but what is not in doubt is the irresponsibility of The Recording Academy. Never would they allow an artist to insult Judaism or Islam.
It’s bad enough that Catholics have to fight for their rights vis-à-vis a hostile administration in Washington without also having to fend off attacks in the entertainment industry. The net effect, however, will only embolden Catholics, as well as their friends in other faith communities.

rest: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/is-nicki-minaj-possessed-asks-catholic-league-president/2012/02/13/gIQAf0t8AR_blog.html?wprss=rss_national

Really? This person apparently has never watched a Mel Brooks movie! Uh Billy Crystal, hello!

Give me a break. Not much worse than a whiney Catholic. Of course Minaj is possessed, with the spirit of unbelief. It's kinda right there in the bible, well at lest in the real bible.

Part 7 added above  :)


On Saturday, 22 Cardinals Joined The College That Will Elect Petrus Romanus. Conclave Seen As Imminent

Preparations for the ceremony were clouded by leaks of internal documents alleging financial mismanagement in Vatican affairs, and reports in the Italian media of political jockeying among church officials who, sensing an increasingly weak and aging pontiff, are already preparing for a conclave. Benedict was wheeled into St. Peter's Basilica aboard the moving platform he has been using for several months to spare him the long walk down the center aisle. Benedict, who turns 85 in April, has been slowing down recently. Even Saturday's consistory was greatly trimmed back to a slimmer version of the service used in 1969: only one of the cardinals actually read his oath of loyalty aloud, while the others read it silently to themselves simultaneously rather than one after another. A reading was cut out, as was a responsorial psalm. And at the end of his remarks, Benedict said: "And pray for me, that I may continually offer to the people of God the witness of sound doctrine and guide the holy church with a firm and humble hand." All of which has led to even more speculation that a conclave is very much on the minds of cardinals new and old.

http://news.yahoo.com/22-cardinals-join-club-elect-popes-successor-092632288.html


Is Petrus Romanus Among The New Cardinals?

On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI created 22 cardinals, in the fourth consistory of his papacy, bringing the total number of cardinals to 214 of whom 125 are under 80 years old and electors, meaning that they can elect the next pope. In 1970, Pope Paul VI set 120 as the number of electors for a pope and it can certainly be reduced by the next conclave, which is the gathering when a new pope is elected. The College of Cardinals was formalized in 1059 by Pope Nicholas 11, who designated cardinals as the electors of the new pope. And today the next pope will be chosen from one of the 125 since only a cardinal can be made a pope.

http://impact.nj.com/jjournal-news/print.html?entry=/2012/02/is_the_next_pope_among_the_new.html

Power Struggle Between Vatican, Pope's Secretary

Analysts said there is a power struggle going on between factions inside the Vatican and that the pope's deputy Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, is in the middle of it. "There is a great discontent within in the Roman Curia," said Marco Politi. "The out-products of this discontent are back-stabbing, intrigues, anonymous letters about plots, but the main thing is that Cardinal Bertone, who is the Secretary of State, was never accepted by the Curia because he was an outsider." Cardinal Delegate Timothy Dolan said: "I see the successor of Peter, the chief pastor of the church longing to tend to pastoral, spiritual issues. And I am sure if there is anybody frustrated about reports of internal infighting, it is he. And if I, as a new member of the College of Cardinals, can help him keep the church universal and the government of the church... riveted on the issues of the gospel, I would be honored to and I would take that as one of my duties."

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/30486107/detail.html


Pressure On U.S. Bishops To Reassert Pre-Vatican II Authoritarianism, Petrus Romanus Needed

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is a powerful institution, at least on paper. But a recent debate over contraception coverage has exposed a deep divide between the 271 active bishops and the rank-and-file U.S. Catholics who are supposed to follow their moral authority. It also has raised questions about why some prominent Catholic intuitions ignore the bishops’ teachings – and whether the bishops will be able to reassert their authority. The gulf has left some politicians, ever eager to court the Catholic vote, struggling to figure out who now speaks for the Church. Some ordinary Catholics in the pews are wondering the same.

http://www.cathnewsusa.com/2012/02/catholic-bishops-fight-for-authority-over-u-s-flock/


Suddenly, The Vatican Is Full Of Moles And Spies

Confidential documents of the Secretariat of State have been leaked to the press with the objective of damaging Cardinal Bertone, but they ended up having the opposite effect. It was a particularly peaceful Sunday in the Apostolic Palace. Swiss Guards in civilian clothes escorted the guests with their usual tranquillity, in glaring contrast to the nervous anxiety with which the mass media have been following step by step the indiscretions that have leaked from the Vatican. The recent publications of confidential Vatican documents appear to be aimed at giving the impression that there is a conspiracy against a severely ill Pope, but how much awareness of it there is within the papal household in relation to these rumours?


http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/romeo-vigano-ior-bertone-12589/

So if I understand this correctly, the 22 new created number of cardinals, bringing the total to over 200/125 whom are under 80, potentially means this is the next step to electing a new pope?

http://news.yahoo.com/names-cardinals-elevated-pope-benedict-112230667.html

2/18/12

Names of new cardinals elevated by Pope Benedict

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday elevated 22 prelates to the rank of cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church at a solemn ceremony in St Peter's Basilica. Here are their names.
 
Under 80 years old and eligible to enter a conclave to elect the next pope:
 
1. Archbishop Fernando Filoni, Italian, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
 
2. Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, Portuguese, head of Vatican office that deals with the sacrament of penance.
 
3. Archbishop Santos Abril y Castello, Spanish, archpriest of the Rome basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
 
4. Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio, Italian, head of the Vatican's Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants.
 
5. Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, Italian, governor of Vatican City.
 
6. Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, Italian, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.
 
7. Archbishop Joao Braz de Aviz, Brazilian, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Consecrated Life.
 
8. Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, American, Grandmaster of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
 
9. Archbishop Domenico Calcango, Italian, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
 
10. Archbishop Giuseppe Versaldi, Italian, president of the Vatican's Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See.
 
11. His Beatitude George Alencherry, Indian, major archbishop of the Siro-Malabar rite in India.
 
12. Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins, Canadian, archbishop of Toronto.
 
13. Archbishop Dominik Duka, Czech, archbishop of Prague
 
14. Archbishop Willem Jacobus Eijk, Dutch, archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands.
 
15. Archbishop Giuseppe Betori, Italian, archbishop of Florence.
 
16. Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan, American, archbishop of New York.
 
17. Archbishop Rainer Maria Woelki, German, archbishop of Berlin.
 
18. Archbishop John Tong Hon, Chinese, archbishop of Hong Kong.
 
-------
 
Over 80 and therefore not eligible to enter a conclave:
 
1. His Beatitude Lucian Muresan, Romanian, major archbishop of Fagaras and Alba Iulia in Romania.
 
2. Father Julien Ries, Belgian, professor emeritus of religious history at the Catholic University of Louvain.
 
3. Father Prosper Grech, Maltese, professor emeritus of various Italian universities.
 
4. Father Karl Becker, German, of the Gregorian University in Rome.
 
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

It does appear they are getting things set up for another pope. I have no doubt they know something we don't.

Jesus is on the throne and he is in control - however, he says to "Watch" in the last days. This is yet another piece of the puzzle being set in play, among many others that have been so as well. And a potential big piece it could be!

Program Note: Steve, Tom Horn and Chris Putnam guest on Omega Man Radio Wed. Feb 22; 6p.m. PST / 7p.m. MTN / 8p.m. CST / 9p.m. EST. Topic: Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope And The Annunciation Of The Antichrist. Listen Live / Chat. Call In: 1-917-889-2745.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/omegamanradio/

Part 9 added above

One Day After Tom Horn Tells Steve Quayle On Omega Man Radio That The Vatican Is Being Ruled By 'Omerta' Code Of Silence, Whistle-Blower In Holy See Claims Same

The mole claims to be one of more than 20 people within the Holy See who have leaked sensitive documents to the Italian media in the last few weeks, in an affair that has been compared to the WikiLeaks scandal and dubbed "Vati-leaks". The unidentified man, who said he had worked in the Vatican for more than 20 years, made the claims in an interview to be aired on Italian television on Wednesday night. His face was hidden and his voice digitally distorted when he appeared on the TV channel, La7. According to extracts of the interview, the whistle-blower said the Vatican was engulfed in intrigue, secrecy and a climate of intimidation. "Maybe there is a kind of omerta to prevent the truth from surfacing. Not because of a power struggle but maybe because of fear," he added.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9098846/Vatican-ruled-by-omerta-code-of-silence-whistle-blower-claims.html

Bertone Leaves "Poisonous" Atmosphere In Vatican To Visit Hospitalized Children

Today, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone took a breather from the poisonous atmosphere of the Vatican, to visit the paediatric ward at Potenza hospital in Southern Italy (Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù). The cardinal appeared moved as he spoke to the hospitalised children and responded to some questions put to him by journalists, regarding the state of health care in Italy and the recent controversies over the situation in the Vatican. Speaking to doctors from the hospital, the cardinal said: “Besides your professionalism you also have good hearts.” Bertone then emphasised the importance “of relations between health care workers: serenity and cohesion – he concluded – aid healing.”
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/news/detail/articolo/bertone-vigano-ior-12950/

Is The World And Church Ready For An American Pope?

In just a decade, Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York City, has risen from a local bishop to becoming a prince of the Catholic Church. He returned from Rome after receiving his cardinal's red hat and ring, like a rock star; a bevy of cameras and lights in tow. Worldwide buzz around the newly minted Cardinal Dolan is that with his popularity, political savvy, and passion for the church, the question is being raised as to whether he could be the first American pope. And it's more than just wishful thinking "There is something qualitatively different about the speculation surrounding Cardinal Dolan in New York right now..."
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/02/24/american-pope/?test=latestnews

Vatican Insider Sending Secret Acknowledgment Concerning Masonic Connection To Next Conclave? Publishes Article Repeatedly Referring To 33%

"Agnosco stilum Curiae...", a play on words meaning ‘I recognize the style of the Roman Church’ but also ‘I recognize the dagger of the Roman Church.’ Well, this time it seems  rather more like an axe than a dagger and  not even a well concealed one... It would therefore be feasible to say that for each of them there was a 33% chance of being responsible for leaking said document to the press. An epistle in which  every word was steeped in rancour and bitterness, all because of a desired nomination to cardinalship that didn’t happen and perhaps now never will... There is however a 33% chance that it was actually the Nuncio himself, who,  livid about the promotion he did not receive, was directly or indirectly responsible for the infamous leak. That 33% chance is enough to lead us to believe that maybe Benedict XVI did the right thing by not...
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/blog-san-pietro-e-dintorni-en/detail/articolo/vigano-us-12069/

Part's 10 and 11 added above

From Africa To Italy - National Newspapers Herald The Coming Of Petrus Romanus In 2012... And Tie His Arrival To The Third Secret Of Fatima!(Rough translation into English)

There is already talk of the Third Secret of Fatima and the Prophecy of Malachi. The response is then unearthly? The news that there is a plot to kill the Pope is serious, very serious. Reflect for a moment. As far as revealed by the Journal of Labor Marco, the currently reigning pope, Benedict XVI, will die within 12 months. The news was contained in a document circulated in German at the Vatican "not to make that clear to many people... the director of the Fact Daily during "Public Service", the transmission of Michele Santoro - "Both sides of Cardinal thought that Romeo is planning an assassination attempt against the pontiff. " ...The author of the piece, Marco Lillo, who has obtained a document that Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, president emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei would be delivered to the Holy Father points out that: "The document speaks of mordkomplott , ie homicidal plot against the Pope... the famous" Prophecy of the Popes where under the motto of 111 ° there is a disturbing sentence: "In persecutione extrema sacrae romanae ecclesiae sedebit Petrus Romanus...
http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/thefinalpope.htm

Catholic Political Scientist Proposes Elevating Authority Of Petrus Romanus To “Papal Presidentialism” And The Idea Of An Expanded [Final] Conclave

Galli Della Loggia starts by analyzing the “malicious rumours,” the “more or less controlled leaks,” and the unedifying “behind the scenes” drama that have recently characterized the Roman Curia: elements that reveal “a fierce battle over the direction of the ecclesiastical institution” - a “clash of power” that ends up discrediting the Church. According to the political scientist, the Pope’s power only appears absolute. In reality he must - even in nominations - consider “factions” and the “inevitable dominance of alliances and cliques over the careers of senior clergymen,” as well as “exaggerated personal ambitions.” In the face of all this, the political scientist speaks of a desire for “democratization,” though he quips about the “ill-defined ‘greater collegiality of decisions’ and “never quite defined ‘return to the spirit of the Council’.” Galli Della Loggia wonders if the answer is actually to be found in “the direction of democracy,” proposing an alternative solution: “a further strengthening of the role of the Pope.”
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/inquiries-and-interviews/detail/articolo/benedetto-xvi-benedict-xvi-benedicto-xvi-13142/

Theologian Asks, Why Take The Prophecy Of The Popes Seriously?

Now, we are not exactly trying to prove a scientific theory, but the idea is that we want to have this sort of methodology in mind as we evaluate the Prophecy of the Popes. We are not arguing that all of it will stand up to this level of rigor. We are confident that the Christian worldview explains the reality we observe much better than the naturalistic theories advocated by most scientists. Our faith is grounded in evidence of a historical nature and we are confident and encouraged by the level of intellectual scrutiny that things like the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection can endure. Accordingly, we have no agenda to meet with the Prophecy of the Popes. It either authenticates itself on its merit or it becomes a conversation piece. We mentioned above that one prophecy in particular grabbed our attention in a way that prompted willingness to invest in the research. Benedict XV was assigned the motto Religio depopulate: “religion depopulated.”
http://www.logosapologia.org/?p=3351

Pope marks milestones amid signs of frailty, succession talk

Pope Benedict marks two milestones this week and while his health appears stable, signs of frailty have again prompted speculation over whether he will be the first pontiff in seven centuries to resign.

...When he left for Mexico and Cuba, he used a cane at the airport for the first time in public, though sources say he has been using it in private for some time.

Last year, to conserve his strength, he began using a mobile platform instead of walking up the aisle of St Peter's Basilica.

The Vatican says it is to spare him fatigue and there is no concern about his overall health. His brother has said Benedict suffered two mild strokes before his election in 2005 and he reportedly suffers from high blood pressure and arthritis.

WOULD CONSIDER RESIGNING

Where Benedict differs from his predecessors is that he is the only pope in living memory to discuss publicly the possibility of resignation, though others have done so privately.

In a book in 2010, Benedict said he would not hesitate to become the first pontiff to resign willingly in more than 700 years if he felt no longer able, "physically, psychologically and spiritually" to run the Catholic Church.

"Those of us who are over 75 are not allowed to run even a small diocese and cardinals over 80 are not allowed to elect a pope. I can understand why one day the pope might say 'even I can't do my job any more,'" said retired Archbishop Luigi Bettazzi of the north Italian city of Ivrea.

"I wish him a long life and lasting lucidity but I think that if the moment arrives when he sees that things are changing, I think he has the courage to resign," Bettazzi told Italian television on Saturday.

The last pope to resign willingly was Celestine V in 1294 after reigning for only five months. Gregory XII reluctantly abdicated in 1415 to end a dispute with a rival claimant to the papacy.

Every papal birthday or anniversary sparks talk of succession but there is no clear front runner to succeed Benedict, who has now appointed more than half the cardinals who will choose a new pope from among their ranks. Most are Europeans...

full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/15/us-pope-idUSBRE83E06220120415

That's a rather candid admission of mortality. Surprising that a pope would say such things in public.


It's also interesting that in his rather short term, he's managed to appoint half the cardinals that will elect a successor. Where did the other cardinals go? Do they retire or something or have a term limit? I mean once your a cardinal, basically you stay a cardinal. I gather that only a certain number of cardinals vote?  :-\

I briefly read a headline that said Benedict turned 85 recently, or will soon. Can't remember which. Either way, his age is really showing.

Uh, 85 yesterday!

Strange that they are talking resignation, when with John Paul, I don't remember any talk of resignation. He was pope till he died, and the last several years he was barely getting around and you could hardly understand what he was mumbling.

maybe they are on a time line?

Could be.

http://news.yahoo.com/leaks-reveal-bitter-vatican-power-struggle-031953190.html

5/28/12

..

The flood of secret Vatican documents leaked to the press, enraging the Holy See, aims to oust the Church's powerful number two and maybe to replace the pope himself, experts say.
 
The so-called "Vatileaks" scandal is a plot within the intrigue-filled Vatican City to unseat Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, seen by some as wielding too much power and not acting in the Church's interests, they say.
 
"The documents that have been leaked all concern Bertone in one way or another," Marco Politi, Vatican expert for Il Fatto Quotidiano daily, told AFP.
 
"This is all about damaging him to get a new secretary of state," he added.
 
As the Vatican moves to root out whistle blowers who have been copying and leaking private documents straight from Pope Benedict XVI's desk, rumours have been circulating in the Italian media over whether the plot may run deeper.
 
Frustration over the management of Church scandals in recent years -- from allegations of money-laundering to clerical sex abuse -- has apparently led some to begin preparing the way for their chosen candidate to become future pope.
 
"A group of cardinals has begun to act on a very ambitious aim: to take the secretary of state, and then, conquer the conclave (the assembly which elects a new pope) with a chosen pope among them," said La Repubblica newspaper.
 
Bertone, a close ally of Benedict, has sparked controversy in some quarters, in particular over his management of the Vatican bank, which has come to symbolise the opacity and scandal gripping the Holy See's administration.
 
The leaked documents have shed light on many Vatican secrets, including the Church's tax problems, child sex scandals and negotiations with hardline traditionalist rebels.
 
Although they do not reveal any great surprises, the secret papers have lifted the lid on deep-seated venom among rival figures in the Vatican.
 
Leaks in January revealed a bitter battle between Bertone and Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who had been attempting to clean up the Vatican's finances when he was removed from his post -- allegedly for cracking down on corruption.
 
Vigano wrote to the pope and begged not to be punished for rooting out examples of favours, waste and financial mismanagement which set the Vatican back millions of euros (dollars) in higher contract prices -- but to no avail.
 
Insiders say the pope was not strong enough to challenge Bertone's decision.
 
"These leaks are bullets aimed at Bertone. They want to sink him, to force him to resign," Italian theologist Vito Mancuso told journalists last week.
 
The cardinal, 78, also infuriated critics last week for his reported role in pushing the Vatican bank to oust its head, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi -- an expert on financial ethics -- for not toeing the line.
 
Gotti Tedeschi had been tasked with getting the Vatican on the "white list" of financially virtuous countries, but frictions arose when Bertone insisted on maintaining the bank's independence and appeared intent on watering down a new transparency law.
 
"Bertone has too much power. We have to expose the rot in the Church," one of the Vatican moles told La Repubblica. "Those who leak, do it for the good of the pope," the source said.
 
Tensions rose to boiling point at the beginning of last week when the Vatican threatened to sue journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi for his new book, "His Holiness", which gathers together a whole host of freshly leaked documents.
 
In a move to stem the leaks, the Vatican quickly arrested Benedict's personal butler Paolo Gabriele for possessing secret papers, and it is currently questioning many others who work in close proximity with the pope.
 
Rumours are that there are around 20 whistle blowers who have been supplying the media with documents -- at least two have spoken out anonymously -- and it is not clear if the Holy See will be able to patch up the damage done so far.
 
"What's certain is that Tarcisio Bertone will not come out of this in a positive light," said Vatican expert Sandro Magister.
 
"The shortcomings of his governance are clear for all to see," he said, adding that the pope might replace him "in the next few months."
 
According to expert Bruno Bartoloni, the "Vatileaks" scandal may be the last straw for many in an institution dogged by bad governance and corruption.
 
"This scandal has enormous consequences, it will create unease and exasperation among the cardinals," he said.
 
"They want to find someone who can do a serious clean up. But in cleaning up, they risk starting a revolution," he added.

This thing is about as scandalous as it gets, right to the pope himself.

Where's that popcorn again?

Or how about some cashews and blueberry juice? ;D

Yeah, things are really boiling over now - not just in the Vatican, but in the Eurozone, the ME, here in America...

woops. what happened to that Vicar of christ?  :D

Coast to Coast AM : Petrus Romanus Prophecy of the Popes with Tom Horn (June 3, 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5zY0Q7Gmxk

Very interesting interview. Seems Horn is thinking along the same lines I am about the Vatican and the pope, though I haven't been up on this whole pope conspiracy thing. Not surprising really. I can see a group coming forward, even taking over the Vatican in the name of returning to Vatican 1. But I have little doubt the pope is the position that the False Prophet will arise from, and more and more, I'm thinking that the Antichrist will arise out of Islam, with the RCC giving it's support to Islam, maybe with some kind of assurances that Islam will allow the Jews access to the Temple Mount for worship.

My only hitch to all this is the question of the temple itself. I have been thinking that it must be rebuilt, but now I'm not so sure, because the Abomination of Desolation could possibly be simply the Antichrist standing on the Termple Mount, say in the mosque, and make his declaration, no actual temple needed, and no temple would be needed for rabbis to perform various worship services, even sacrifices on an alter built old school with unshapen stones that are freestacked by hand.

How far along in this process will believers be around? There are varying opinions, but we indeed will see this thing start to unravel before we leave I think.

And then there are the "Two Witnesses". When do they show up in all this?

Potential pope candidate speaks at UD
Cardinal Peter Turkson  touts business education

One of the world’s leading Catholic theologians, who also has been mentioned as a potential candidate for pope, believes the values and principles of his faith can be applied to help any CEO or a company’s success. Cardinal Peter Turkson, who was appointed in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI to lead the church’s peace and justice council, said a career in business “is a noble pursuit.” “At its best and most true to its nature and potential, business serves the common good,” he said. Turkson, an outspoken advocate for reform of the world’s financial system, was the keynote speaker Monday at the 8th International Conference on Catholic Social Thought and Management Education held at the University of Dayton.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/potential-pope-candidate-speaks-at-ud-1393170.html?cxtype=rss_local-news

Peter Turkson Seen As Secret Rival Of Peter Bertone, Wants Nations Of The World To Surrender Authority To “Global Public Authority” And “Central World Bank”

It followed the October 24, 2011, document, “Toward Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority,” which amounted to a call by the Vatican for a World Political and Financial Authority. Published by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, which is headed by Cardinal Peter Turkson, the media was quick—inside and outside Christianity—to see the dark side of socialism raising its head, not to mention prophetic implications of the paper’s call for a Global Authority seated inside the United Nations. In a chapter in our book Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here we explain how this new unsettling directive attempts to devise a “moral” mandate for establishing “a global public authority” and “a central world bank” that would oversee individual and world pecuniary institutions through subjugation to a new global power made “at the cost of a gradual, balanced transfer of a part of each nation’s powers to a world authority...

http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-eleven.htm

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96527:popes-visit-to-lebanon-is-risky-priest-warns&catid=76:world&Itemid=560

Pope’s visit to Lebanon is risky, priest warns

8/24/12

FATHER Paolo Dall’Oglio, a Jesuit priest who was recently forced to leave Syria, has warned that Pope Benedict XVI ‘s safety could be at risk during a planned visit to Lebanon next month.

The pope is due to visit Lebanon from September 14-16 to bring a message of peace and call for greater respect for religious pluralism.

Even though his special protective car – the “popemobile” – has been sent to Beirut, questions are swirling about the safety of a trip to a country linked to the raging conflict in Syria.

The pope “must ask for help from a secret service that can guarantee his security. Because the Lebanese services are not sufficient in this situation,” Dall’Oglio warned.

Lebanon’s Sunni communities largely oppose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while its Alawites, who belong to the same minority as the Syrian leader, are pro-Damascus. Deadly clashes between the two groups are on the rise.

more

Pope in Lebanon in this environment? Even I think that's a bad Idea. If nothing else, what do a bunch of Muslims want with a non-Muslim pope? Nothing that I can think of.

Was thinking the same thing - what would ANYONE be doing in that environment at this time? No, not saying anything will happen to the Pope this weekend, but with all the rumors surrounding him...just saying...

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-names-6-cardinals-none-italy-123445336.html
.
Pope names 6 cardinals, none from Italy
By NICOLE WINFIELD | Associated Press – Wed, Oct 24, 2012.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI named six new cardinals on Wednesday, adding prelates from Lebanon, the Philippines, Nigeria, Colombia, India and the United States to the ranks of senior churchmen who will elect his successor.

Among them is Archbishop James Harvey, the American prefect of the papal household whom the pope also named archpriest of a Roman basilica.

As prefect, Harvey was the direct superior of the pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, who was convicted Oct. 6 of stealing the pope's private papers and leaking them to a reporter in the greatest Vatican security breach in modern times. The Vatican spokesman denied Harvey was being removed from the Vatican because of the scandal.

Benedict, 85, announced the new cardinals during his weekly general audience and said they would be formally elevated Nov. 24. The nominations help even out the geographic distribution of cardinals, which had tilted heavily toward Europe in the last few consistories and Italy in particular.

With the new cardinals installed Nov. 24, there will be 120 "princes" of the church under age 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Europe still has the most, with 62. But with the new additions, the College of Cardinals is a tad more multinational: Latin America will have 21; North America, 14; Africa, 11; Asia, 11; and Oceana, one.

Aside from Harvey, the new cardinals are: Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, Ruben Salazar Gomez; Archbishop of Manila, Philippines, Luis Antonio Tagle; Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon, His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai; and the major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India, His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal.

Absent from the list is German Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, whom the pope named in July to head the Vatican's powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Also missing is Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who has ruffled feathers in the Vatican because of his outspoken criticism of the church's handling of the sex abuse scandal.

In the past, prelates in line for the red hats worn by cardinals have sometimes had to wait their turn if too many were chosen for the Vatican ceremony at which prelates are formally elevated. At six, though, the Nov. 24 consistory will be the smallest in years.

It will be unique in that not a single Italian or European will be elevated, perhaps an intentional response to criticism that the European-heavy College of Cardinals no longer reflects the face of the Catholic Church, which is growing in Africa and Asia but is in crisis in much of Europe.

more

Pope Surpises Catholics With Sudden Papal Electors Announcement.

Tied To Vatileaks And Upcoming Petrus Romanus Conclave

Pope Benedict’s surprise announcement that he is naming 6 new cardinals raises at least three intriguing questions: Why now? The Pope has already elevated 22 prelates to the College of Cardinals this year, at a consistory held in February. Never before in the post-Vatican II era—in fact not since the 1920s—has a Roman Pontiff held two consistories for the elevation of new cardinals in a single calendar year. Assuming that the Holy Father wants to stay within the limit of 120 cardinal-electors, there are only 4 openings now, with 2 more to occur (as current cardinals reach the age of 80 and lose their eligibility as electors) before the November consistory. So the Pope will be filling all the available spots. If he had waited until the end of March 2013, he could have named a dozen new voting cardinals.

http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otn.cfm?id=942

Benedict's 'Little Consistory' Bends Cardinals Away From Bertone For Petrus Romanus

Pope Benedict XVI has named six new cardinals as a “gesture of the universality of the Church” and “in the context of the New Evangelization.” The new members of the College of Cardinals, including one American — Vatican Archbishop James Harvey — will be appointed in an unexpected consistory, scheduled to take place Nov. 24. Speaking extemporaneously Oct. 27 at the final session of the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization, the Pope said the “little consistory” would “complete” a previous one held in February, at which 22 new cardinals were appointed. Many of those new cardinals hailed from Europe and Italy in particular. Ten were also cardinals of the Roman Curia. The Holy Father said these six new cardinals do not come from Europe. This shows the Church is for “all peoples, speaks in every language,” the Pope added. “It is always the Church of Pentecost, not the Church of one continent, but of the universal Church.”

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/popes-little-consistory-adds-geographical-balance-to-college-of-cardinals/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21412609

Pope Benedict XVI has announced his resignation. Here is the full text of his statement from the Vatican:

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonisations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church.

After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry.

I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.

However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.

For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects.

And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff.

With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.








Wow!!! What does this mean? Isn't the next one the last and black?

looks like Tom Horn got 1 right

Yep, looks like it!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/11/pope-resigns-live-reaction

Pope Benedict XVI resigns – live reaction

Live• Pope Benedict XVI is to step down
• Pontiff says his age means he lacks strength to do job
• Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson favourite to replace him

im a little surprised that there is no major news reports on this.  ??? nothing on the alternative Christian sites yet

i didnt realise this was so breaking, this just happened

Yeah, I'm in Australia and I got a text from my 25 yr old daughter about it.

And when I got online the was only one report that I found and a couple of old ones. A few minutes later there were heaps!!!!

I'm off to bed now as it's 11.40pm. I'm sure when I wake there will be heaps of information! :o

Nigh night!  :D

enjoy, and thanx for the news

LOL, still here and now it's after mid-night!  :o


Just found this, so just had to come back and share-

An African would mean a greater focus on the relationships with Islam, perhaps at the expense of the relations with the rest of Christianity.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2013/feb/11/pope-benedict-resignation-shock?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

(http://www.cathnewsusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Cardinal-Peter-Turkson.jpeg)

Cardinal Peter Turkson

As Predicted In Petrus Romanus: Pope Benedict XVI In Shock Resignation. Conclave To Elect "Final Pope" Before Easter

Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of this month after nearly eight years as the head of the Catholic Church, saying he is too old to continue at the age of 85. The unexpected development surprised governments, Vatican-watchers and even the 85-year-old's closest aides. The Vatican says it expects a new Pope to be elected before the end of March, ahead of Easter. Papal resignations are not unknown, but this is the first in the modern era. The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says the news has come "out of the blue", and that there was no speculation whatsoever about the move in recent days. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is quoted as saying he was "greatly shaken by this unexpected news". A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that even the Pope's closest aides did not know what he was planning to do and were left "incredulous". He added that the decision showed "great courage" and "determination".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21411304

Also see:
First pope since 1415 to resign...
http://news.sky.com/story/1050513/pope-benedict-resigns-vatican-confirms

Last few months has deteriorated'...
http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/11/world/europe/pope-benedict-resignation/index.html

Advised by doctor not to take transatlantic trips...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_POPE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-02-11-07-01-46

Made decision in 'full freedom'...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276884/Pope-Benedict-shock-resignation-Pontiff-85-600-years-stand-longer-strength-carry-on.html#axzz2KamIgxRN

Evidence of Benedict XVI's deep humility...
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100202321/pope-to-resign-this-is-unbelievable-news-but-evidence-of-benedict-xvis-deep-humility/

No obvious front-runner to replace...
http://www.france24.com/en/20130211-pope-resign-february-28-vatican-rome-catholic-church

First Black Pope In 1500 Years?...
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_turkson_pka_en.html

Re-Read The Series From Last Year! Who Will Be The Last Pope?

Having documented what we have in the last few entries, one could think with some certainty that Cardinal Bertone is a shoo-in for Petrus Romanus. However, as we move into 2012, cracks are suddenly appearing in the foundation of his sand castle, and not everybody in the Curia—including Pope Benedict XVI, himself—may wind up as eager to support him as they once were. As Pope Benedict’s health weakens, the sharks smell blood, and claims of mismanagement have been increasing from competing factions in the Church that are more than happy to seize opportunity to cast aspersion on Bertone in order to elevate their own standing among the College of Cardinals. This may include Archbishop Vigano, whose personal letters to Pope Benedict and Cardinal Bertone concerning his reassignment as Nuncio were partially broadcast by an Italian television news program in January 2012. The letters, confirmed by the Vatican as authentic, exposed a blistering relationship between himself and Bertone involving political jockeying and financial deal making including charges of “corruption, nepotism and cronyism linked to the awarding of contracts to contractors at inflated prices.”

http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-twelve.htm


As Predicted By St. Malachy Before Tom Horn & Cris Putnam -- The Last Pope Is Here!

As the legend goes, Malachy experienced what is today considered a famous vision commonly called “The Prophecy of the Popes.” The prophecy is a list of Latin verses predicting each of the Roman Catholic popes from Pope Celestine II to the final pope, “Peter the Roman,” whose reign would end in the destruction of Rome. According to this ancient prophecy, the very next pope (following Benedict XVI) will be the final pontiff, Petrus Romanus or Peter the Roman. The final segment of the prophecy reads:

In persecutione extrema S. R. E. sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus: quibus transactis civitas septicollis deruetur et judex tremendus judicabit populum. Finis.[xii]

Which is rendered:

In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations; when they are over, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the terrible or fearsome Judge will judge his people. The End.[xiii]...

http://www.raidersnewsupdate.com/petrus-one.htm

I just saw this on the MSN(NBC affiliate national news) site before logging in here.

I'll admit - I nearly jumped up on my sofa when I read this. Rumors have had it for years that Benedict would be the next to the last Pope. Yeah, I know they all come from false prophets et al, but regardless the writing is on the wall.(if you know what we mean here)

Buckle up everyone, the ride is really going to get rough in a couple of months - IOW, getcha popcorn ready!

http://news.yahoo.com/papal-resignation-sparks-global-disbelief-grief-185756993.html

Papal resignation sparks global disbelief, grief

2/11/13

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Roman Catholics around the world expressed disbelief and grief Monday at the first papal resignation in six centuries. Some saw it as a dramatic act of humility, others as a sign of crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. And many expressed hope that a more energetic and charismatic new pope would lead the church into a new era.
 
Shock was the overwhelming first response to Pope Benedict XVI's announcement Monday that he would retire Feb. 28.
 
"He can't quit like that. This can't be," said Alis Ramirez, an ice cream seller headed to church in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. "A vacuum is created. It's like when a loved one dies."
 
The news also brought reawakened calls for a pope from the developing world, long considered a bulwark against continued losses in church membership in Europe and the United States. While the church has been battered by growing secularism and sex abuse scandals in the northern hemisphere, the number of believers is growing in Africa, and half the world's Catholics live in Latin America.
 
"We need someone young who can bring back the dynamism to the church," said Zulma Alves, a cook who was lighting candles in front of a Rio de Janeiro church that was closed for Carnival.
 
In Cuba, site of one of Pope Benedict's final trips, the few parishioners outside Havana's Cathedral before doors opened early Monday said they understood his reasons for stepping down and hoped it he would be replaced by a younger pontiff.
 
"The church must bring itself up to date with the modern world," said Angel Aguilera, a 33-year-old municipal worker.
 
Antonio Marto, the bishop of Fatima in central Portugal, said Benedict XVI's resignation presents an opportunity to pick a church leader from a country from the developing world.
 
"Europe today is going through a period of cultural tiredness, exhaustion, which is reflected in the way Christianity is lived," Marto told reporters. "You don't see that in Africa or Latin America where there is a freshness, an enthusiasm about living the faith.
 
"Perhaps we need a pope who can look beyond Europe and bring to the entire church a certain vitality that is seen on other continents."
 
It may be time for a "youngish" pope, possibly from the developing world, said Andreas Dingstad, a spokesman for the Catholic diocese in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.
 
"The church is growing most in the south. So I think lots of people will be ready for a pope from Africa, Asia or South America. But who knows, it's the early days still," Dingstad said.
 
The nation with biggest Christian population in Africa, Nigeria, has some 20 million practicing Catholics. In Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, trader Chukwuma Awaegwu put his feelings simply Monday: "If I had my way, an African should be the next pope, or someone from Nigeria."
 
"It's true; they brought the religion to us, but we have come of age," he said. "In America, now we have a black president. So let's just feel the impact of a black pope."
 
But Cardinal John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, a Nigerian who was made a cardinal in November by Benedict, said papal politics are not normal politics.
 
"Popes come and popes go. It doesn't mean when a pope comes, the church completely changes, now. It isn't like a politician who wins an election and begins to implement manifestos," Onaiyekan said. "It is a different ball game all together, and I hope people out there realize that."
 
Bookmakers in Britain quicly offered odds on candidates to replace Benedict. Ghana's Cardinal Peter Turkson, Canada's Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria led in betting.
 
Scholars of other faiths also weighed in on the outgoing pope's legacy.
 
In Britain, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, expressed "a heavy heart but complete understanding" of the pope's decision.
 
A noted Islamic scholar in Jerusalem was less sympathetic. He said Benedict would be remembered by Muslims for misrepresenting their faith, damaging years of careful interfaith dialogue by his predecessor John Paul II.
 
"I regret that his term was not marked by genuine rapprochement with the Muslim world," said Mustafa Abu Sway of the Palestinian al-Quds University. Abu Sway said many Muslims couldn't forget Benedict's much-criticized lecture in 2006 at the University of Regensburg in Germany when he referenced a remark about Islam that offended Muslims.
 
"I just hope that the next Pope would do a much better job," Abu Sway said.
 
Many Catholics, however, praised Benedict for bravery and modesty in deciding to step aside.
 
In the pope's native Germany, the pontiff's older brother, 89-year-old Georg Ratzinger, told the dpa news agency in Regensburg that a doctor had advised his brother not to take any more trans-Atlantic trips and said was having increasing difficulty walking. "His age is weighing on him," Ratzinger said.
 
In Poland, the homeland of Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, Krakow Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz said he was "surprised like everybody else," but said cardinals at the Vatican could see that Benedict was "weakening, had problems walking" even as his intellect remained strong.
 
The resignation was an act of deference to the greater good by a man "demonstrating his humanity," said Father Luis Rivero, Archdiocesan director of campus ministry for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami.
 
"There are times that only we know that we have to let go. And sometimes people may see that as a failure, but it's honorable when someone reaches their point they have to let go because they can't do this effectively anymore."

OK, transferring posts about this subject from the shout box...

Lisa wrote:

What dyu think of the pope resigning ???  Very odd

BornAgain2 wrote:

Yeah, something is up. Not that I'm taking the Peter Turkson/Peter the Roman "prophecy" at face value, but again, more watchful events as we're speaking potentially in the near future!

Lisa wrote:

I'm interested- cant find any blog comments on the net yet but it's big prophesy news- always think of rev 17 vs 1o when popes come and go.

BornAgain2 wrote:

Even though Malachy is a false prophet, at the same time even false prophets can give out prophecies that come to pass. Doc Marquis(a former occultist) experienced this when he worked for the dark forces.

Deu 13:1  If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2  And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Deu 13:3  Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

If Peter Turkson turns out to be the guy, just imagine not only the RCC, but the entire world, maybe including the modern-day "church" system, falling for him(whether he's the AC/FP or not).

Lisa wrote:

I'm lost who is peter turkson ?

BornAgain2 wrote:

One of the frontrunners to be the next Pope.

/done with shoutbox messages on this subject part.

I see a parallel with Obama- if you don't agree with his policies you can be accused of being racist...are they planning to use the same tactic ?????

Here's something else I see - when N@zi Germany came to power, the NG leadership was 100% white arian. While Hitler and his minions were able to fool Germany and the world for a good bit, they were not only ultimately defeated, but this ended up planting the seeds in everyone's mind over the long haul trying to pin the evil of all evils of white arianism against minority races.

Do you see where's this going? Fast-foward to the present day, and the world by and large thinks there's just NO way the autrocities of NG will ever happen, especially now that we have a black President, more "diversity" in society, and potentially a black Pope. But guess what...right under everyone's noses, the USA President is going against Israel and the Jews, and under his watch policies mirroring NG are being implemented in this country(ie-green agenda, universal health care, etc).

There is nothing new under the sun...history is repeating itself, but NOT the way it was in prior times.

Scola is one of the frontrunners as well...

2/11/13

http://news.sky.com/story/1050731/pope-benedict-resigns-who-could-take-over

Excerpt:

Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, at 5/1, was moved by Benedict from another high-profile post, Archbishop of Venice, in 2011.

Milan is the biggest diocese in Europe and Milan and Venice between them have produced five Popes in the last century.

He is a top scholar on Islam and Christian-Muslim dialogue and could be seen as well-placed to deal with the changing nature of religion in the modern world.

NOTRadio_02.11.13

Monday, February 11, 2013 at 3:06PM
Today's Show: POPE BENEDICT RESIGNS

Chris discusses the shocking news from Rome that the current Pope -- Benedict XVI -- has announced his resignation by the end of this month.  This is the first pope in nearly 600 years to make such a decision, but what will it mean?  While speculations abound as to who will be the next pope, it is important to consider that many Catholics and Vatican leaders have followed the so-called prophecies of a Catholic "saint" named Malachy for hundreds of years.  Malachy is said to have foretold the number of popes from his time in the twelfth century up until the end of the world.  According to his list, Benedict XVI is the second to last pope -- while the next pope after him is supposed to be named Petrus Romanus (Peter the Roman).  The reign of this final pope is to see the destruction of the Catholic Church, along with Armageddon and the end of the world.   Could any of this be true?  How should Christians view this so-called prophecy?  Is it merely fictional Catholic mysticism?  Or is it possible that the Vatican could be manipulating world events to make it appear that such prophecies were being fulfilled in order to lend credibility to their own teachings?

http://www.noiseofthunder.com/storage/NOTR_POPE.RESIGNS_02.11.13.mp3

Pope Benedict 'will not interfere in successor's affairs'

BBC News  - ‎39 minutes ago‎     
 

Pope Benedict XVI will not interfere in the affairs of his successor after his decision to resign later this month, the pontiff's brother has said.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21421615

This is a trend I've noticed especially in recent years - "younger" leaders are really being pushed by the NWO-runned MSM(and the wicked world system). Not just Obama when he first ran for Prez in 2008, but recently GOP Sen Marco Rubio is being pushed as the next GOP "savior"(despite him pushing illegal immigration reform). Rubio is only 41(the Gen X/MTV/Pepsico age group) despite being a junior Senator(which was around Obama's age when he was first elected Sen in Illinois).

And then "leaders" in other aspects of society like communities, corporations, etc, and yes even PASTORS have gotten younger as well. Not that I have anything against young people, but this flies in the face of what scripture says...

1Tim_5:1  Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;

1Tim_5:17  Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Heb 11:2  For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Pro 20:29  The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.

http://news.yahoo.com/catholic-church-needs-younger-pope-212053931.html;_ylt=Ari9JOQL6cTtHyJWlWKe2g7Nt.d_;_ylu=X3oDMTVxNnIwamw2BGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDQXJ0aWNsZSBNaXhlZCBMaXN0IE5ld3MgZm9yIFlvdSB3aXRoIE1vcmUgTGluawRwa2cDOWY0MzUzYzAtODgxZS0zNzUzLTg1YWUtZDc1NzM1MjMyN2MzBHBvcwM1BHNlYwNuZXdzX2Zvcl95b3UEdmVyAzE5ZjE3MjcwLTc0OTEtMTFlMi1hZThmLTYwZjk5MDNjNjE2Mw--;_ylg=X3oDMTRhZ2d2b3M3BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDMGYwMTUyMDItZDkxNC0zOWU3LThkZjQtNzczNzBhZjYwZGNkBHBzdGNhdANoZWFsdGh8ZGlzZWFzZXMtY29uZGl0aW9ucwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdANpcHRjX3NreXNjcmFwZXJfcmVsYXRlZA--;_ylv=3

The Catholic Church Needs a Younger Pope

Catholics are stunned by the news that Pope Benedict XVI is retiring at the age of 85, for health reasons. What might be more surprising is that he held on as long as he did.

There aren't many huge organizations effectively run by 80-something leaders. Sure, medical and cultural advances have allowed people to live rich lives far longer than anybody might have imagined 50 or 500 years ago. Seniors play a vital role in society as grandparents, mentors, living historians and even breadwinners.

But when aging leaders cling too long to power, the results can be unpleasant or worse. Rupert Murdoch, the 81-year-old CEO of News Corp., seemed flummoxed and inarticulate last year when he testified before the British Parliament about the phone-hacking scandal at several of his newspapers. At one point he even appeared to nod off, while his son James handled many of the questions requiring detailed answers.

Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was 85 when the Jerry Sandusky scandal broke, and he seemed perplexed by the uproar during the few times he made unrehearsed comments on the matter. Granted, Paterno was a young stallion still in his 70s when Sandusky actually committed the crimes that wrecked the school's football program, but even then Paterno showed no comprehension of how grave the problem was.

When old leaders past their prime refuse to step down, it can be particularly damaging. Good leaders know when it's time for them to step aside. Bad leaders cling to power way too long, for personal reasons. When a fading leader still has the power to remain in his post, it can breed institutional rot. Penn State officials repeatedly urged Paterno to retire, for example, yet he rebuffed them, apparently determined to remain head coach until he could no longer walk onto the field.

There are a few examples of leaders in their 80s who seem to retain plenty of vigor for the job. One obvious example is Warren Buffett, the 82-year-old investing guru, who is still CEO of the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and seems as sharp as ever.

Yet it's undeniable that at some point, just about everybody loses some physical stamina and mental acuity. For most of us, that probably occurs before the age of 80. It's even more obvious that 80-year-olds are out of touch with the ways people half their age--or one-quarter their age--live, work and communicate.

If any organization could use a dose of youth at the top, it's the Catholic Church. The worldwide sexual abuse scandal that began to surface a decade ago still hasn't been fully explained by church leaders who are invariably old and male. Many people still wonder if the church gets it. Meanwhile, younger Catholics are losing interest--even in Catholic strongholds such as France and Spain--and the church is struggling to attract priests to its all-male fraternity. If the church were a public company, shareholders would have revolted by now.

In some cases where influential old-timers insist on hanging around, their colleagues have come up with clever workarounds. Sumner Redstone, the 89-year-old executive chairman of Viacom, may be the oldest working executive in corporate America. But he stepped down as CEO in 2006, allowing a much younger man to handle the day-to-day duties of running the company and all the stress that goes with it.

The oldest CEO in America may be 85-year-old O. Bruton Smith of Sonic Automotive. Like Redstone, he founded the company he works for, which may give him a bit more of a claim to the top job. Still, anybody running a public company is answerable to shareholders, with an obligation to do what's best for the organization, not for himself.

The Catholic Church obviously has no shareholders, but it does have an obligation to manage itself as effectively as possible. That's in the interest of more than 1 billion Catholics around the world, and of the church itself. The elders in Rome might discover that a 50- or 60-year-old whippersnapper at the helm of the church would be good for business.

Very interesting broadcast over this from Pinto...

Yeah, not that I put stock per se in this "prophecy", but at the same time this is one to watch for over the next couple of months(before they choose the next Pope).

This isn't exactly the same one as that 12/21/2012 heresy(which was completely taken out of context over what the Mayans said, and ultimately used as a psyop for some 5-6 years).

Deu 13:1  If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
Deu 13:2  And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Deu 13:3  Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

When I think about this passage, sometimes I wonder if Satan and his minions are allowed to make *some* prophecies that come to pass. For example, Jeanne Dixon and Mother Shipley actually made a few prophecies that came to pass(and I've crossed paths with a Churchianity folk or 2 that did the same), HOWEVER - these same false prophets also got a ton of their other prophecies wrong. Same with those "psychic hotline networks" - they actually end up giving "correct" prophecies to some of their callers.

Which gets me thinking - what IF Peter the Roman does come to pass as the next Pope? At bare minimum, it will be interesting to see not only how the world will embrace him, but also how the Churchianity crowd(in particular the Southern Baptist Convention) will embrace him as well. Catholic teachings like contempletive prayer have infiltrated Churchianity in recent years(as well as Emergent/Postmodernism Church teachings), so it shouldn't be surprising if they react with awe at whoever the next Pope could be.

But OTOH, if this Peter the Roman prophecy doesn't come to pass, then it could further open the door for more scoffers to come out of the woodwork(especially with Harold Camping, 12/21/2012, etc being over-hyped in recent years).

2Peter 3:1  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2Pe 3:2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Daniel_7:25  And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-acknowledges-pope-had-pacemaker-123335611.html

2/12/13

Vatican acknowledges that pope had pacemaker

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is acknowledging for the first time that Pope Benedict XVI has had a pacemaker for years and that its battery was replaced a few months ago in secret.
 
Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said Benedict had the pacemaker installed "a long time" before he became pope in 2005. He called the latest medical procedure "routine."
 
It was the first time the Vatican has mentioned a papal pacemaker.
 
Italian daily Il Sole 24 said the pope had the pacemaker procedure less than three months ago in a Rome hospital and did not miss any public appearances.
 
Benedict is resigning on Feb. 28 because he says he has become too infirm to handle the burdens of the papacy. He will become the first pope to step down in six centuries.

Pope Benedict Dogged by Hitler Youth Past
2/12/13
http://news.yahoo.com/hitler-youth-past-dogged-pope-benedict-despite-jewish-215603378--abc-news-topstories.html

(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/CCti1RG5xueEhIjc7gi6tA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Y2g9MzYwO2NyPTE7Y3c9NjQwO2R4PTA7ZHk9MDtmaT11bGNyb3A7aD0zNTU7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/gma/us.abcnews.go.com/gty_pope_benedict_soldier_tk_130211_wmain.jpg)

http://now.msn.com/filippo-monteforte-photographed-lightning-striking-st-peters-basilica-the-day-pope-resigned

2/11/13

(http://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/2F/7B636BFAE86C1313286FCD47937F12_h316_w628_m5_cCKcSTcBz.jpg)

Did lightning strike St. Peter's Basilica the day the pope resigned?

Are you the kind of person who believes in omens? If so, what do you make of this stunning photo, snapped by an Italian photographer, of lightning appearing to strike the top of St. Peter’s Basilica the day Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation? A sign from above, a hoax or one lucky break for Filippo Monteforte, the Italian shutterbug who is credited with capturing the image? According to news agency Agence France-Presse, Monteforte reportedly took the photo Monday. Skeptics, of course, doubted that anyone could get that lucky and questioned the photo's authenticity, but others believed the photo was real and was a sign from above.

Why the Pope Really Stepped Down: Your Guide to Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2013/02/pope-conspiracy-theories/61996/

**At the top of this list in this article is NOT the Malachy "prophecy"(although it's eventually mentioned at the bottom), but his health, his N@zi past, the church's sex abuse scandal...uhm...these AREN'T conspiracy theories, these are FACTS! ::)

AP Interview: African papal contender wants change

Now where have we heard this before? ::)

Proverbs_24:21  My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

2/12/13

VATICAN CITY (AP) — One of Africa's brightest hopes to be the next pope, Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson, says the time is right for a pontiff from the developing world, and that he's up for the job "if it's the will of God."
 
In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, the day after Pope Benedict XVI announced he would soon resign, Turkson said the "young churches" of Africa and Asia have now become solid enough that they have produced "mature clergymen and prelates that are capable of exercising leadership also of this world institution."
 
The church in the Third World doesn't need a pope of its own to thrive, he said. It's done just fine growing exponentially with European pontiffs. But Turkson said a pope from the global south, where half of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics live, would "go a long way to strengthen them in their resolve."
 
Turkson, 64, became Ghana's first cardinal when he was elevated by Pope John Paul II in 2003, while he was archbishop of Cape Coast. Six years later, Benedict tapped him to head the Vatican's peace and justice office, which tackles issues such as the global financial meltdown, armed conflicts and ethical codes for the business world.

more

Job_38:35  Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?

Psa_18:14  Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

Psa_77:18  The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

Psa_97:4  His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.

 ???

Apparently, the lightening strike did happen. They have video that allegedly was taken when it happened, the same day the pope resigned.

Pope resigns: Peter Turkson reveals vision for the Church and 'alternative lifestyles'

The cardinal who could become the first black pope said Tuesday that the Roman Catholic Church faces grave challenges in remaining relevant in the modern world even as he laid out a conservative vision of how to deal with society's "alternative lifestyles".

 Cardinal Peter Turkson, a 64-year-old Ghanaian prelate, is the bookmaker's early favourite to succeed Pope Benedict XVI.

He told The Daily Telegraph Tuesday that his biggest challenge, should he be elected, would be to maintain an orthodox Catholic doctrine while "at the same time knowing how to apply it so that you do not become irrelevant in a world that has continuous changes".

Cardinal Turkson, who holds one of the most important jobs in the Roman Curia and has been repeatedly promoted by Pope Benedict, was quick to take a conservative line on gay marriage and other "alternative lifestyles".

"We need to find ways of dealing with the challenges coming up from society and culture," he said, adding that the Church needed to "evangelise", or convert, those who had embraced "alternative lifestyles, trends or gender issues". He added: "We cannot fail in our task of providing guidance."

Cardinal Turkson has caused controversy in the past both by screening a video claiming that Europe faced being overrun by Muslims and by insisting that condoms were not the solution to preventing HIV.



The African prelate said he had reflected on the enormous personal burden of becoming the leader of the Catholic Church. "It would certainly mean a lot if I had to be a pope," he said. "If I was elected pope it would signal a lot of [personal] change. Very big change in a lot of regards. I have been an archbishop, which involved a certain amount of leadership and now having to do this on a world level, the dimensions expand almost infinitely.

"It is going to be a life-changing experience and I think that is what it has been for Benedict and those who have gone before us. The challenge will also be with the individual to want to make his mark, not trying to fit into anybody's shoes but finding his own shoes to wear."

Cardinal Turkson also said the Vatican needs to "restore and repair" an image that has been "badly compromised by recent scandals".

Pope Benedict's eight-year papacy saw controversies over paedophile priests, a tense relationship with the Muslim world, and the conviction of his butler for stealing documents that revealed corruption at the top of the Vatican.

"[We need] to relevantly address issues and the credibility of our own ministry and leadership," said Cardinal Turkson. "The Church, if you adopt the imagery of a boat, is going through quite a bit of a storm and it does not appear to be over yet," he said.

"In Europe, churches are getting empty, the population appears not to relate much to the Church and to religion and all of that –that is an issue to deal with. In the new churches, Latin America, Africa and Asia, where the Church appears to be growing there is also the challenge of being able to maintain membership. Whoever succeeds Benedict will not lack challenges and they are an invitation to creativity and innovation."

He acknowledged that he will be in the running when 118 cardinals enter into a conclave in the Sistine Chapel next month to select their next leader.

"It is a possibility [that there will be an African pope]," he said. "Already at the last conclave there was a move to have a candidate from the southern half of the globe," he said. But he pointed out that there is constant speculation over the idea of an African pope.

"Before I got here there was a young African cardinal called Arinze from Nigeria. And at every conclave everybody was talking about him as an emerging candidate. Arinze is now 80 and actually there is no way he can participate in the conclave. So after Arinze another African shows up in the Vatican, now there are actually two of us, there is a cardinal from Guinea. So again there is speculation."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9866227/Pope-resigns-Peter-Turkson-reveals-vision-for-the-Church-and-alternative-lifestyles.html

^^

He's only telling the Churchianity crowd what their itching ears want to hear.

OK, I'm NOT trying to bring up another pre vs post rapture debate. But am posting this b/c we discussed this 2 years ago here over the RCC's post-trib rapture view, and how it relates to their St. Malachy "prophecy" over the last Pope "leading and protecting" the church over intense persecutions from the Antichrist.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CCC 675 Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.4 The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth5 will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.6

http://www.catholic-catechism.com/ccc_673.675.1216.2849.htm

The Breaking News for February 11, 2013 is that current Pope Benedict XVI is resigning the end of February. Brannon’s guests are former Catholics Chris Pinto and Mike Gendron.

Topic: What are the prophesies of Malachy, a “Saint” that it appears the Church of Rome has been deliberately following for years?

Topic: Why should Christians not give any credibility to these predictions of Malachy?

Topic: Why are people watching to see if the next Pope takes the name Pope Peter?

Topic: How can Christians use the news of the current Pope’s resignation to share the gospel with those caught up in the lies of the Church of Rome.

Topic: We take your calls.

http://www.worldviewweekend.com/radio/audio/brannon-howse-aired-february-11-2013

Audio: http://media.worldviewweekend.com/sites/default/files_wvw.com/audio_legacy/45d105679a64fcf76d9f14ad6e46ca3f8b745d27e47fc0140f76c166f710cfb4.mp3

Peter Turkson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Turkson

In October 2011 Cardinal Turkson called for the establishment of a “global public authority” and a “central world bank” to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises. The document, Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority was very specific, calling for taxation measures on financial transactions. It notes that “The economic and financial crisis which the world is going through calls everyone, individuals and peoples, to examine in depth the principles and the cultural and moral values at the basis of social coexistence,” it said. The document condemned what it called “the idolatry of the market” as well as a “neo-liberal thinking” that it said looked exclusively at technical solutions to economic problems. “In fact, the crisis has revealed behaviours like selfishness, collective greed and hoarding of goods on a great scale,” it said, adding that world economics needed an “ethic of solidarity” among rich and poor nations.

----------------------------------------

Homosexuality
 
In 2012, in response to a speech by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urging Church leaders to do more for human rights and in particular gay rights in Africa, Turkson, while recognising that some of the sanctions imposed on homosexuals in Africa are an “exaggeration,” stated that the “intensity of the reaction is probably commensurate with tradition.” “Just as there’s a sense of a call for rights, there’s also a call to respect culture, of all kinds of people,” he said. “So, if it’s being stigmatized, in fairness, it’s probably right to find out why it is being stigmatized.” He also called for distinction to be made between human rights and moral issues.

FWIW, wasn't the same rhetoric used when Obama ran for President in 2008(which around that time he rose to popularity as the sitting one, Bush II, was the most hated one up to that time)? And for that matter too, the Southern Baptist Convention used similar PC rhetoric when they elected the first black President(Fred Luter), although no the previous President wasn't hated or anything.

http://news.yahoo.com/time-first-african-pope-151500215.html

Is it time for the first African pope?

2/14/13

Two popular African Catholic cardinals — one from Ghana, the other from Nigeria — are among the frontrunners to replace Pope Benedict XVI
 
Bookies put odds on just about everything, so it's no surprise that they're already sizing up the chances of potential successors to Pope Benedict XVI, who this week became the first pontiff in six centuries to announce his resignation. The process of choosing the next pope probably won't be complete until the end of March, or later, but for the first time the favorites appear to be leaders from outside Europe. One, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, is from Canada. The others are from Africa — Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson of Ghana and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria. Is now the time for the Catholic Church to pick its first black pope?
 
Church leaders in Africa appear split on how likely that is to happen. It would be "quite some miracle," according to Matthias Kobena Nketsiah, archbishop of Cape Coast in Ghana. "If the Church chooses a Third World person or a black pope it will have to come to terms with itself," he said. "I am not saying the Church is racist, but there are overtones and perceptions that maybe add up to that." Others are giving better odds. Cardinal John Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, said recently that he wouldn't be surprised to see an African pope in his lifetime, possibly soon. "The fact that the Gospel is to be preached to all peoples, languages, and races means that the highest leadership of the church should be open to anyone from any race, language, and nation," he said.
 
Some experts believe that choosing a pope from Africa would be the best thing for the faithful in the developing world, and the best thing for the Church. "At a time when the pews and churches of Europe and North America are empty and many dioceses are declaring bankruptcy," says Stan Chu Ilo at CNN, "the churches in Africa are filled beyond capacity every Sunday." There has a been a global shift in the world's Catholic population from North to South in the last three decades, and for the first time in history more than half of the faithful come from Latin America or Africa.
 
For many Catholics, where a pope comes from may not be as important as who the pope is, but for most African Catholics the election of an African pope will be a wonderful sign that African Catholicism has come of age, and they hope that such a pope will address squarely the particular challenges facing Africans today and integrate African culture and socio-economic priorities into mainstream Catholicism. [CNN]

One Catholic with special insight into the matter — Pope Benedict's older brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, doesn't think it will happen just yet, as the College of Cardinals isn't changing as fast as the Catholic population in the pews. "I'm certain a pope will come from the new continents but whether it will be now, I have my doubts," he says. "In Europe, we have many very able people, and the Africans are still not so well known and maybe do not have the experience yet."

According to The Associated Press, that's an important point. "The face of the Roman Catholic Church has changed profoundly in Pope Benedict XVI's lifetime." Western congregations are smaller and older, while those in the developing world are booming. The transformation, however, isn't reflected in the College of Cardinals yet, and that's where the next pope will be chosen.
 
In fact, the membership of the conclave remains — by its regional breakdowns, at least — more of a look back on what the church was rather than a reflection of where it is headed.
 
Europeans still dominate the group, representing more than half of the possible 117 cardinals who with gather in the Sistine Chapel to vote. However, the pressures of the 21st century church — battered by abuse scandals and losing stature in the West — are likely to exert themselves strongly in the deliberations and the fundamental choices facing the papal electors. [Associated Press]
 

Tom Horn & Steve Quayle-The Hagmann & Hagmann Report

 Petrus Romanus - The Final Pope is here. We are witnessing prophecy unfold before our very eyes as we learn that Pope Benedict XVI is stepping down.

Join us for this special broadcast as we welcome back Tom Horn, co-author of Petrus Romanus (with Cris Putnam) and Steve Quayle to discuss this prophesized event.

Special Time: 9:00 p.m. to midnight (ET)

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cfp-radio/2013/02/15/the-hagmann-hagmann-report

MP3: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cfp-radio/2013/02/15/the-hagmann-hagmann-report.mp3

Pope Says He Will Be ‘Hidden to the World’ in Retirement

Saying he would soon be “hidden to the world,” Pope Benedict XVI took his leave of parish priests and clergy members of the Diocese of Rome on Thursday as he offered personal, and incisive, recollections of the Second Vatican Council, the gathering of bishops 50 years ago that set the Roman Catholic Church’s course for the future.

 Benedict, who announced his resignation on Monday in a move that stunned the Roman Catholic world, also indicated that he would not hold a public role once his resignation became official on Feb. 28. Benedict is the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years.

“Though I am now retiring to a life of prayer, I will always be close to all of you, and I am sure all of you will be close to me, even though I remain hidden to the world,” Benedict, 85, and increasingly frail, told the assembly of hundreds of priests, who had greeted him with a long standing ovation and some tears.

Priests in attendance said they felt they had witnessed a powerful moment in church history, one that also humanized a pope who had often seemed remote. “It moved me to see the pope smile,” said Don Mario Filippa, a priest in Rome. “He has found peace within himself.”

Father Martin Astudillo, 37, an Argentine priest who is studying in Rome, said, “It was a part of history.” He added: “This is a man of God who at the end of his public role transmits his vision of the church and relationship with the church. We saw in a few words a real synthesis of his vision of the church and what he expects from whomever takes over.”

During the reflection — or “chat” in his words — on the Second Vatican Council, Benedict recalled the “incredible” expectations of the bishops going into the gathering.

“We were full of hope, enthusiasm and also of good will,” he said.

But while the council made landmark decisions that would propel the church into the future, much got lost in the news media’s interpretation of what transpired, Benedict said, which led to the “calamities” that have marred recent church history.

The news outlets reduced the proceedings “into a political power struggle between different currents of the church,” Benedict said, and each chose a side that suited its individual vision of the world.

These messages, not that of the council, entered into the public sphere, and that led in the years ahead to “so many calamities, so many problems, seminaries closed, convents that closed, the liturgy trivialized,” the pope said.

Benedict spoke of how the Second Vatican Council had explored ideas of “continuity” between the Old and New Testaments, and of the relationship between the Catholic and Jewish faiths, a thorny issue during his tenure.

“Even if it’s clear that the church isn’t responsible for the Shoah, it’s for the most part Christians who did this crime,” the German-born Benedict said of the Holocaust, adding that this called for a need to “deepen and renovate the Christian conscience,” even if it is true that “real believers only fought against” Nazi barbarism.

At a news briefing on Thursday, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, confirmed a report in the Turin newspaper La Stampa that the pope had accidentally hit his head during a trip to Mexico last March. The press corps traveling with Benedict was not informed of the accident.

The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has reported that the pope had decided to retire after returning from that trip. But Father Lombardi rejected La Stampa’s suggestion that the episode might have prompted the decision.

La Stampa reported that Benedict had gotten up in the middle of the night but could not find the light switch in the unfamiliar environment, and had accidentally hit his head on a sink in the bathroom.

An unidentified prelate on the same trip said the pope had come down to breakfast the next morning with blood in his hair, the newspaper said. There was also blood on the pillow, “and a few drops on the carpet,” La Stampa quoted the prelate as saying. “But it was not a deep cut, nor was it worrisome,” and it was covered by the pope’s thick hair, the prelate added. The pope did not complain during the day’s events.

Later that night, the prelate said, he heard that the pope’s doctor had reacted by expressing worries about so much travel, and that Benedict had responded that he too had concerns about traveling.

Father Lombardi said: “I don’t deny that this episode happened, but it didn’t impact on the rest of his trip, nor on his decision to resign. That isn’t linked to one single episode.”

Since Benedict announced the decision, saying he felt he did not have the strength to continue in his ministry, there has been much closer public scrutiny of his health.

On Tuesday, the Vatican confirmed for the first time that the pope had had a pacemaker since his time as a cardinal and had its batteries changed three months ago.

Once retired, Benedict will live in a convent in Vatican City, and will be tended to by the nuns who look after him now. Father Lombardi said Benedict’s longtime personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who was also named prefect of the papal household two months ago, would continue to work for him.

Father Lombardi said he saw no conflict of interest if Archbishop Gänswein served the current pope and his successor.

The prefect is responsible for logistical duties, and “in this sense it is not a profound problem, I think,” Father Lombardi said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/world/europe/benedict-says-he-will-be-hidden-to-the-world-in-retirement.html?hp&_r=1&

Fixed!


Kind of like the past President(George W), who has pretty much been hidden since he left office(although he managed to attended TX Rangers playoff games).

Again, not saying Peter Turkson will be the guy, but it seems like a similar pattern is coming about here.

Listened to the Brannon House segment the other day(where he had on Pinto and Mike Gentren[sp]) - they said that the Jesuits have used these "prophecies" to manipulate world events, ultimately. This so-called "St Malachy prophecy" isn't the first one. Yes, we shouldn't put weight into these mysticism prophecies, but at the same time it's somewhat interesting that alot of the world events we've seen et al, the Jesuits have used all of their "prophecies" over time to manipulate these events.

As for this Horn/Quayle interview - not a fan of either, but it looks like a decent listen.

Theatrical stunt? Don't think so, as HAARP/Weather Control doesn't have this kind of power.

Psa_97:4  His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.

Psa_135:7  He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.

Vatican says conclave could start before March 15

The Vatican said on Saturday that

the conclave to choose the successor to Pope Benedict could

start before March 15 if enough cardinals are in Rome to elect

him.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Church rules

which regulate the timing of conclaves could be "interpreted"

differently this time because of the unique circumstances of

Benedict's historic resignation.

He had said earlier that the conclave would start between

March 15-20 according to existing rules. But he said on Saturday

that events could move more quickly since the Church was dealing

with an announced resignation and not a sudden papal death.

http://news.yahoo.com/blank-headline-received-115642064.html

Wouldn't surprise me if they already have picked the new Pope being closed doors many moons ago(alot like how they pre-determine elections here in the USA).

If that's the case, then they might as well make it known now and spare everyone all the gossip, guessing, debating, etc in the media and society.

See anything in Peter Turkson's coat of arms?

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Coat_of_arms_of_Peter_Turkson.svg/567px-Coat_of_arms_of_Peter_Turkson.svg.png)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Turkson

Latin America is home to almost half the world's Catholics, but will struggle to produce the next pope

The continent has half a billion Christians – but only 21 of the 117 cardinals who will elect the next pontiff

Almost as soon as Benedict XVI announced his resignation, Latin America was abuzz with speculation that the Catholic church would finally choose a pope from the continent with the most believers.

From the mayor of Mexico City to bishops and newspaper commentators in almost every country in the region, the prospects for a first Hispanic pontiff have been raised, weighed or boosted in newspapers, social networks and sermons.

Latin America is home to 41% of the world's 1.2 billion registered Catholics, but of the 117 cardinals who will decide the next pope, only 21 are from Latin America; almost half are from Europe.

For much of the past 50 years, swaths of Latin America have embraced a more socially active vision of the church's role in alleviating poverty and resisting dictatorships. "Liberation Theology" has proved highly controversial in the Vatican, where conservatives have been wary of the movement's overt Marxist sympathies. Before succeeding John Paul II, Benedict XVI proved his mettle by taking on the Liberation Theologians, whom he described as a "fundamental threat to the faith of the church".

None of the Latin American candidates is likely to introduce radical changes, though they could offer a change of tone and a continental shift in perspectives.

The best known is probably Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, who rose to public attention when he served as the voice of John Paul while the last pope was unable to speak due to Parkinson's disease. He also announced the pontiff's death. Now 69, Sandri, who speaks five languages, has held several senior positions in the Vatican, including his current role as head of the congregation of Oriental churches, which makes him responsible for Catholics in Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Holy Land. But some have noted that Sandri's star has been waning in recent years; his current role is less influential than the positions he occupied under John Paul.

If demographics were a major factor, then the leading Latin American candidate would probably be Odilo Pedro Scherer, the 63-year-old archbishop of Sao Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil and the continent.

The possibility of a first Hispanic pope has been widely picked up in the Brazilian media. The influential Veja magazine speculated that Scherer might be in the frame. There are five Brazilians among the 119 cardinals who are eligible to vote.

Brazil is the world's biggest Catholic nation with an estimated 150 million believers, 75% of the population. But this is a decline on the 90% recorded in the past – a result of secularism and a strong challenge by evangelical methodist groups and Islam but the country's importance to the church was evident in Benedict XVI's decision to make Sao Paulo the destination in 2007 of his first of his two trips to Latin America

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/17/pope-latin-america

I saw an article last night over whether or not the next Pope will come from America.

Whoever the next Pope is, it's likely the case he's already been pre-determined awhile back(whether it's Peter Turkson or whoever). Alot like elections in America where the Presidents are pre-determined years in advance.

With that being said - they might as well save everyone from this time-consuming dog and pony show going back and forth over who it should/shouldn't be by going ahead and officially making known the new Pope now.

Pope Gives Two Weeks Notice

by Jack Kinsella

February 14, 2013

www.olivetreeviews.org


The Catholic church was thrown into turmoil [Monday] after Pope Benedict XVI made the shock decision to quit the papacy because of his deteriorating health. The decision, delivered in Latin and in unemotional tones by Pope Benedict XVI to a gathering of cardinals on Monday, came ''like a bolt out of the blue'', one of the participants said, and it soon ricocheted around the world.

In a decision that surprised even his closest aides, the 85-year-old Pontiff said his strength was 'no longer adequate to continue in office due to his advanced age'.  He announced his resignation in Latin to a meeting of Vatican cardinals this morning, saying he did not have the 'strength of mind and body' to continue leading more than a billion Roman Catholics worldwide.

He is the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415 and no Pontiff in history has stepped down on health grounds. Shortly after making his announcement, the statue of Peter's horse atop St Peter's Basilica was struck by lightning not once but TWICE.

Which brings us full circle to when Pope Benedict was elected in 2005 to replace the late John Paul II bringing an obscure 10th century Irish priest back to the center square.

According to legend, Irish Bishop Malachy O'Morgair had a strange vision during a trip to Rome to report to Pope Innocent II.

In his vision, Malachy was given a list of all the Popes who would rule over the Catholic Church from his day until the Second Coming.  Malachy put the list together using short announcements that indicated some noticeable trait from each Pope, beginning with Pope Celestine II, who was elected in 1130.

Altogether, St. Malachy listed a total of 112 Popes from Celestine II until the return of Christ.  He committed the visions to paper and handed the manuscript to Pope Innocent II.  Innocent placed the manuscript in the archives where they remained "unread" for nearly four centuries.

Pope John Paul I was the 109th Pope.  Malachy identified him by the motto, 'de medietate lunae' which means 'of the half moon'.  John Paul I held one of the shortest pontificates in Vatican history, living only 34 days after his elevation to the papacy.  John Paul I was elected Pope on August 26, 1978 and reigned from one moon cycle to the next.

St. Malachy's motto for John Paul II was 'de labore solis' which is interpreted either as 'from the toil of the sun' or, 'of the eclipse of the sun'. Karol Wojtyla was born on May 18, 1920, during a solar eclipse.  He was buried at the Vatican on April 8, 2005.

The following is a verbatim quote from MSNBC, dated April 8, 2005.

"The moon blotted out the sun Friday across a wide stretch extending from the South Pacific to the Americas, with a precious few witnessing a total eclipse at sea. Thousands more flocked to Central and South America to see the sun reduced to a narrow "ring of fire" around the dark moon."

The motto, "Gloria Olivae" which means the 'glory of the olive'.  One of the many Catholic 'orders' is the Order of St Benedict, which is also known as the 'Olivetans'.  Cardinal Ratzinger chose for his Papal name, Benedict XIV.

According to the legend, Benedict XIV will be the last Pope before 'Peter the Roman' of whom Malachy has much more to say than he does of the other Popes. Instead of a motto, Malachy gave specifics, writing;

"In the final persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his flock among many tribulations; after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people".

Assessment:

Logic and Scripture both dictate that true prophecy can only come from God.  Logically, a prophecy concerning the future requires perfect foreknowledge, not just of the event itself, but of the consequences of every previous event that leads up to the event being prophesied.

For example, the restoration of Israel.

Had it not been for the Holocaust, the Jews of Europe would still be European Jews, instead of Holocaust survivors forced by circumstances to seek a Jewish State for their collective security.

If Hitler's great-granny had joined a convent or got hit by a bus before giving birth to Hitler's ancestor, there'd have been no Nazi Party, no WWII, no Holocaust, and, arguably, no reason for world Jewry to seek a Jewish State at that particular point in history.

Scripture identifies prophecy as God's 'signature'.

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure:" (Isaiah 46:10-11)

The Scriptures also say that Divine revelation concluded with the Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle John.

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18)

So, if both the Scriptures and common logic demand that only God can be the Author of prophecy, what are we to do with St. Malachy?  There are all kinds of problems that can be ascribed to Malachy's prophecies in order to mount an attempt to discredit them.

They were 'hidden away' in the Vatican for centuries, prompting some to speculate they were actually written in the 16th, rather than the 11th century.

That would explain how Malachy could seemingly 'prophesy' the sixty-six popes from Celestine in 1130 to Paul III in 1549.  But it doesn't explain the seemingly amazing accuracy of Malachy's mottos for the other sixty-six Popes from Paul III forward.

Malachy just nailed, it would seem, Pope #45 in a row -- since the list was unsealed in the 16th century -- with the elevation of Benedict the Olivetan.  That's a pretty amazing record no matter how you look at it.  Is it of God?

I don't think so.  The oldest lie in human history was offered by Satan in the Garden of Eden.

"For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:5)

Human beings know right from wrong, because those are actions.  Good and evil, on the other hand, are OUTCOMES, something known only to God.

God often uses evil for good.  When Joseph confronted his brothers for selling him into slavery in Egypt, Joseph noted that they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

Extra-biblical prophecy always has the same fatal flaw, whether one looks at Nostradamus or Malachy.  They 'prophesy' ACTIONS, not OUTCOMES.

Bible prophecy tells 'the end from the beginning'.  Nostradamus was able, according to his apologists, to foretell the rise of Hitler, but Nostradamus failed to prognosticate Hitler's defeat.  Malachy's prophecies are similarly vague and open to broad interpretation.

Satan is a master counterfeiter and he wants nothing less than to be worshiped as God.  He is also capable of 'prophecy' in the sense that he has his own master plan and his own timetable.  The difference with Satan is that not everything always goes exactly to plan, since he is a created, and therefore, fallible, being.

But it is no stretch to say he was capable of influencing Hitler's rise as part of his master plan, or that he could have 'inspired' Nostradamus to 'predict' it.  When the time was right, Satan just picked the closest match he could find, and let the human imagination fill in the blanks.

Neither would it be difficult for Satan to influence the decisions of the College of Cardinals to select the series of Popes who most closely fits Malachy's list.

Satan isn't infallible, but he can read the Bible as well as you or I can.  Plus he has the added advantage of six thousand years of manipulating mankind, and the Scriptures reveal that God originally blessed him with superior intelligence.

Pope Benedict was the Vatican's official Head Inquisitor and 'Defender of the Faith' until his elevation to the papacy.  The only actual connection between Benedict and the Olivetans is his choice of papal name.

But it comes close to fitting Malachy's prophecy, and it is no stretch to think Satan is as capable of influencing a papal candidate as he is of influencing any other mortal.  If Satan wanted Ratzinger to take the name 'Benedict', he could sure make it seem like it was a good idea at the time.

The same with John Paul II and the eclipses.  Satan can do the math and figure out solar eclipses in advance.  We can.  It then becomes a matter of picking the closest match and manipulating events to fit.

Here is what we know about our enemy: Satan is the universe's master deceiver.  His ultimate goal is to be received as God.  Only God is capable of prophecy.

But Satan has a counterfeit plan of his own, and he has had six thousand years to develop it.  St Malachy's 'prophecies' -- like other extra-biblical prophecies, are part of that overall plan to counterfeit the miracles of God, so that, one day,

"He as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2nd Thessalonians 2:4)

But Malachy's prophecies, counterfeit or not, do confirm what the Scriptures say in one respect.  It confirms that it isn't just Bible prophecy 'nuts' who believe we are in the last days.  It seems that Satan believes it, too.

In any case, we'll find out soon.  Pope Benedict has given his notice.  First. let's recap:

St. Malachy predicted the 110th Pope would be associated with a solar eclipse. John Paul II was born during a solar eclipse, and a solar eclipse occurred on the day of his funeral.  How weird is that?

St. Malachy assigned the 111th Pope "glory of the olive" whose name ultimately derives from the Mount of Olives in the New Testament.  The 111th Pope chose the name of the Benedictine Order.

The 112th Pope will be the last Pope (as assigned by St. Malachy).  If he chooses any name except Peter, then St. Malachy's predictive run will have completed its course and one more Vatican conspiracy will bite the dust.

". . . Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people.  The end."

On the other hand . . . if Malachy gets this one right, it will be just one more confirmation that we are living in the last of the last days before the Lord returns. 

 

Maranatha!   

Parting thought from Jan: Each day something takes place that reminds us how late the hour is. It is almost breathtaking!
We hope you are seizing the opportunity to 1) share your faith, and 2) encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25).

Disagreed - whether this "prophecy" comes to pass or not, Jesus Christ already gave us his word to discern and understand the signs of the times of the end. We already are witnessing alot of them now(events in Israel and Syria escalating very high, global economic collapse imminent, America being taken over from within, Apostasy in American/world churches at an all-time low, homosexual agenda slowly getting accepted, abortions at an all time high, entertainment media at an all time wickedness level, etc).

For example, did this 12/21/2012 prophecy not coming to pass stall bible prophecy at all? Absolutely NOT!

Mat 16:1  The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
Mat 16:2  He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
Mat 16:3  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Mat 16:4  A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.


Well, just for the sake of argument, this is already a false prophecy, why?

Act_14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Joh_16:33  These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Christians have been going through alot of tribulations since the age of grace began 2000 years ago.(THE great tribulation happens in the last 7 years) It's not like it'll be some last Pope that will emerge and feed the sheep in the 3rd millenium after not being fed for 2000 some years. And whether you're pre trib or post trib, this won't be the case either, why? B/c with pre trib, believers will be snatched away before the great tribulation, and with post trib, believers will be beheaded.

Rev 3:10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.


Listened to 2/3 of this today - LONG, and not the world's biggest fans of Horn and Quayle(and they could have edited out at least 1 hour of mumble jumble), but nonetheless they gave out some very interesting stuff. Apparently representatives from all over the world will attend the appointment of the next Pope(I understood it as all world leaders, but not sure), and they talked a bit about the "Prometheus" movie and how it was really being pushed on the masses for conditioning. They also talked about the "alien" deception in detail.

well the only people who are promoting this prophecy are Quayle and Horn, and quite frankly, they put out some good programs to listen too, none of the crap they put out is BIBLICAL!! I fully believe they ate closet catholics, especially Horn.

The one thing im hearing from people i listen to for real information about all of this and that i agree with, is that Malachy ISNT IN THE BIBLE!! its that simple. Pinto, Hoggard and some others all have said this snce this has come about and  fully agree with them. Malachy was a full blown 100% mary worshiping catholic. How could you possibly believe anything he has to say. and HELLO!! this is a prophecy from the catholic church!! Evan Satan knows what is coming.  :o  ::)  :D

Haven't listened to Hoggard's view, but Pinto did some solid audio explanations on this. In addition, my big gripe with alot of these end times ministries like Jan Markell's, Jack Kinsela's, etc(in article you posted above) is that they come off with rhetoric like "If Peter the Roman comes to pass, then we're living in the last days, but if the next Pope isn't Peter the Roman, then life will go on". No, I don't think they're trying to intentionally deceive, but at the same time they're over-thinking themselves and ending up misleading their listeners.

And yes, like said above, that program Horn/Quayle did recently was TOO long and drawn out(didn't bother finishing listening to it). With that being said, I don't think the AC/FP will involve the Pope.

Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the wh0re, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

why? That would be the perfect person as the catholic church encompasses EVERY mystery religion. The Pope can and has embraced every religion on the planet except Biblical Christianity. I can easily see the pope as a false prophet.

I got the impression from that passage of scripture that the wh0re of Babylon(the Vatican in Rome) will get destroyed when the beast/FP make their appearances. Yes, I believe the RCC is playing a big role now to help usher in the OWR, but ultimately they could be backstabbed(especially if the AC/FP are Muslim).

As for this "St Malachy prophecy" - looks like the MSM is running away debating this now.
http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AtPj_8ZsHm1z70KPez1N52mbvZx4?fr=yfp-t-701-s&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&p=st%20malachy%20pope%20prophecy

We've been through this ad-nauseum before with Harold Camping, 12/21/2012, etc.

And less not forget about the infamous Mormon White Horse Prophecy as well - I remember Bill Cooper making a big deal out of it too(a long time ago, that is).

Yeah, so much for Alex and the alternative media claiming the election was going to be rigged for Romney. ::)

If the pope is anything, it would be the False Prophet. The Antichrist I think will be either from the Middle East, a Muslim, or some unknown European.

Many predict or prophecy about all kinds of stuff, but like scripture says...

18  I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19  And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.
20  But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
21  And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
22  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 18:18-22 (KJB)

Good passage! And definitely one to keep in mind alot.

Joh_5:43  I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-resignation-deepens-doubt-despondency-italians-152227911.html

Pope resignation deepens doubt, despondency for Italians

2/18/13

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's shock resignation has robbed Italians of the one element of certainty in a time of deep doubt, with the country beset by graft scandals and heading for an election that will not bring the radical change so many crave.
 
The pontiff has long been the one stable element for Roman Catholic Italians in a modern state that has become a byword for political instability and flawed politicians.
 
All that changed a week ago when Benedict announced he would be the first pontiff in 700 years to resign, causing alarm and despondency among many faithful in a country whose history has been shaped by the presence of the headquarters of the Church for 2,000 years.
 
"We are in a moment of social, ideological and cultural crisis and in a moment like that it is completely wrong for him to leave," said Emanuele Vitale, 22, a Sicilian student who joined around 100,000 people packed into St Peter's Square on Sunday for one of Benedict's last appearances before his resignation on February 28.
 
Another person in the square, pensioner Antonio Mingrone, 68, said: "It is unsettling. At a time when there are all these political conflicts and an economic crisis, it is one more thing weighing on our minds."
 
Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti, himself a devout Catholic, referred to the "disorientation" of Italians over the pope's decision. "It seems like an epoch is changing on both sides of the Tiber and we feel robbed of points of reference."
 
Massimo Franco, a leading Italian political commentator and author of several books on the Vatican, told Reuters: "The resignation adds instability to instability. The Church which was a source of stability is now a major source of instability.
 
"Today the Vatican is a sort of mirror of Italy," Franco said. "Before it was the opposite. Now there is a chaotic Italy and chaotic Vatican."
 
Italians will vote next Sunday and Monday in an election whose outcome is still unpredictable at a time when the country desperately needs firm and decisive government to address a major recession, stagnant growth and soaring unemployment.
 
more

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/us-pope-resignation-immunity-idUSBRE91E0ZI20130215

2/15/13

Pope will have security, immunity by remaining in the Vatican

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict's decision to live in the Vatican after he resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection with sexual abuse cases around the world, Church sources and legal experts say.

"His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be defenseless. He wouldn't have his immunity, his prerogatives, his security, if he is anywhere else," said one Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"It is absolutely necessary" that he stays in the Vatican, said the source, adding that Benedict should have a "dignified existence" in his remaining years.

Vatican sources said officials had three main considerations in deciding that Benedict should live in a convent in the Vatican after he resigns on February 28.

Vatican police, who already know the pope and his habits, will be able to guarantee his privacy and security and not have to entrust it to a foreign police force, which would be necessary if he moved to another country.

"I see a big problem if he would go anywhere else. I'm thinking in terms of his personal security, his safety. We don't have a secret service that can devote huge resources (like they do) to ex-presidents," the official said.

Another consideration was that if the pope did move permanently to another country, living in seclusion in a monastery in his native Germany, for example, the location might become a place of pilgrimage.

POTENTIAL EXPOSURE

This could be complicated for the Church, particularly in the unlikely event that the next pope makes decisions that may displease conservatives, who could then go to Benedict's place of residence to pay tribute to him.

"That would be very problematic," another Vatican official said.

The final key consideration is the pope's potential exposure to legal claims over the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandals.

In 2010, for example, Benedict was named as a defendant in a law suit alleging that he failed to take action as a cardinal in 1995 when he was allegedly told about a priest who had abused boys at a U.S. school for the deaf decades earlier. The lawyers withdrew the case last year and the Vatican said it was a major victory that proved the pope could not be held liable for the actions of abusive priests.

Benedict is currently not named specifically in any other case. The Vatican does not expect any more but is not ruling out the possibility.

"(If he lived anywhere else) then we might have those crazies who are filing lawsuits, or some magistrate might arrest him like other (former) heads of state have been for alleged acts while he was head of state," one source said.

Another official said: "While this was not the main consideration, it certainly is a corollary, a natural result."

After he resigns, Benedict will no longer be the sovereign monarch of the State of Vatican City, which is surrounded by Rome, but will retain Vatican citizenship and residency.

LATERAN PACTS

That would continue to provide him immunity under the provisions of the Lateran Pacts while he is in the Vatican and even if he makes jaunts into Italy as a Vatican citizen.

The 1929 Lateran Pacts between Italy and the Holy See, which established Vatican City as a sovereign state, said Vatican City would be "invariably and in every event considered as neutral and inviolable territory".

There have been repeated calls for Benedict's arrest over sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

When Benedict went to Britain in 2010, British author and atheist campaigner Richard Dawkins asked authorities to arrest the pope to face questions over the Church's child abuse scandal.

Dawkins and the late British-American journalist Christopher Hitchens commissioned lawyers to explore ways of taking legal action against the pope. Their efforts came to nothing because the pope was a head of state and so enjoyed diplomatic immunity.

In 2011, victims of sexual abuse by the clergy asked the International Criminal Court to investigate the pope and three Vatican officials over sexual abuse.

The New York-based rights group Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and another group, Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), filed a complaint with the ICC alleging that Vatican officials committed crimes against humanity because they tolerated and enabled sex crimes.

The ICC has not taken up the case but has never said why. It generally does not comment on why it does not take up cases.

NOT LIKE A CEO

The Vatican has consistently said that a pope cannot be held accountable for cases of abuse committed by others because priests are employees of individual dioceses around the world and not direct employees of the Vatican. It says the head of the church cannot be compared to the CEO of a company.

Victims groups have said Benedict, particularly in his previous job at the head of the Vatican's doctrinal department, turned a blind eye to the overall policies of local Churches, which moved abusers from parish to parish instead of defrocking them and handing them over to authorities.

The Vatican has denied this. The pope has apologized for abuse in the Church, has met with abuse victims on many of his trips, and ordered a major investigation into abuse in Ireland.

But groups representing some of the victims say the Pope will leave office with a stain on his legacy because he was in positions of power in the Vatican for more than three decades, first as a cardinal and then as pope, and should have done more.

The scandals began years before the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected pope in 2005 but the issue has overshadowed his papacy from the beginning, as more and more cases came to light in dioceses across the world.

As recently as last month, the former archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, was stripped by his successor of all public and administrative duties after a thousands of pages of files detailing abuse in the 1980s were made public.

Mahony, who was archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 until 2011, has apologized for "mistakes" he made as archbishop, saying he had not been equipped to deal with the problem of sexual misconduct involving children. The pope was not named in that case.

In 2007, the Los Angeles archdiocese, which serves 4 million Catholics, reached a $660 million civil settlement with more than 500 victims of child molestation, the biggest agreement of its kind in the United States.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the pope "gave the fight against sexual abuse a new impulse, ensuring that new rules were put in place to prevent future abuse and to listen to victims. That was a great merit of his papacy and for that we will be grateful".

(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy; Edited by Simon Robinson and Giles Elgood)

Scott so nails this and exposes Tom Horn, Chris Putnam and Steve Quayle.

Yeah, while Horn, Putnam, and Quayle didn't explicitly embrace the RCC, their rhetoric sure made it clear they had nothing but kind things to say about this cult. They were pretty subtle, to say the least.

they also support gap theory and an ancient Earth and do not support the KJB

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/pope-may-change-conclave-rules-abdication-vatican-130553697.html

Pope may change conclave rules before leaving: Vatican

2/20/13

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict may change Church rules governing the conclave where cardinals from around the world will meet next month to secretly elect his successor, the Vatican said on Wednesday.
 
Benedict was studying the possibility of making changes to two laws established by his predecessor Pope John Paul before he abdicates on February 28, a spokesman said.
 
The changes may affect the timing of the start of the conclave.
 
Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Benedict was considering making changes that would "harmonize" two documents approved by his predecessor.
 
One governs the period while the papacy is vacant, known as the "Sede Vacante," and another is more specific about the running of the conclave after it begins.

more

Rev 17:10  And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
Rev 17:11  And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

 ???

(http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/2013/1101130225_600.jpg)

I believe verse 17 talks of the beast being a spirit. Notice it says " and is not", so how could that be? If you are not physically a part of the 7, then you must have some part spiritually/same mind, or an actual eighth person which is most likely.

He being, "is the eighth", shows he's not actually one of the seven, but a separate entity. Being "of the seven" to me says he's of the same mind as the seven kings, or rather those seven have the evil mind of the eighth person, the beast himself.

It appears to me that these "seven" are periods of rule rather than specific people. So these "kings", or periods of rule, are stretched out over time, the end being, "the other is not yet come".

12  And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13  These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.
Revelation 17:12-14 (KJB)

The persons to watch as a group are these 10 with "no kingdom" that receive power as kings, but their position will be short or limited, and what power they have, they put in support of the beast.

I'm personally not sure if these 10 are part of a group, are separate individuals, or are some group of countries, etc. because it says they receive the power, which suggest they as a group are somehow elevated or are esteemed people of society, or singled out from different disciplines, or briefly given some kind of authority they normally don't have. Sounds almost like a group of people that are specifically picked to act in some official capacity on behalf of the beast.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/21/pope-retired-amid-gay-bishop-blackmail-inquiry

2/21/13

Papal resignation linked to inquiry into 'Vatican gay officials', says paper

Pope's staff decline to confirm or deny La Repubblica claims linking 'Vatileaks' affair and discovery of 'blackmailed gay clergy'

A potentially explosive report has linked the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI to the discovery of a network of gay prelates in the Vatican, some of whom – the report said – were being blackmailed by outsiders.

The pope's spokesman declined to confirm or deny the report, which was carried by the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica.

The paper said the pope had taken the decision on 17 December that he was going to resign – the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called "Vatileaks" affair.

Last May Pope Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, was arrested and charged with having stolen and leaked papal correspondence that depicted the Vatican as a seething hotbed of intrigue and infighting.

According to La Repubblica, the dossier comprising "two volumes of almost 300 pages – bound in red" had been consigned to a safe in the papal apartments and would be delivered to the pope's successor upon his election.

The newspaper said the cardinals described a number of factions, including one whose members were "united by sexual orientation".

In an apparent quotation from the report, La Repubblica said some Vatican officials had been subject to "external influence" from laymen with whom they had links of a "worldly nature". The paper said this was a clear reference to blackmail.

It quoted a source "very close to those who wrote [the cardinal's report]" as saying: "Everything revolves around the non-observance of the sixth and seventh commandments."

The seventh enjoins against theft. The sixth forbids adultery, but is linked in Catholic doctrine to the proscribing of homosexual acts.

La Repubblica said the cardinals' report identified a series of meeting places in and around Rome. They included a villa outside the Italian capital, a sauna in a Rome suburb, a beauty parlour in the centre, and a former university residence that was in use by a provincial Italian archbishop.

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said: "Neither the cardinals' commission nor I will make comments to confirm or deny the things that are said about this matter. Let each one assume his or her own responsibilities. We shall not be following up on the observations that are made about this."

He added that interpretations of the report were creating "a tension that is the opposite of what the pope and the church want" in the approach to the conclave of cardinals that will elect Benedict's successor. Another Italian daily, Corriere della Sera, alluded to the dossier soon after the pope announced his resignation on 11 February, describing its contents as "disturbing".

The three-man commission of inquiry into the Vatileaks affair was headed by a Spanish cardinal, Julián Herranz. He was assisted by Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, a former archbishop of Palermo, and the Slovak cardinal Jozef Tomko, who once headed the Vatican's department for missionaries.

Pope Benedict has said he will stand down at the end of this month; the first pope to resign voluntarily since Celestine V more than seven centuries ago. Since announcing his departure he has twice apparently referred to machinations inside the Vatican, saying that divisions "mar the face of the church", and warned against "the temptations of power".

La Repubblica's report was the latest in a string of claims that a gay network exists in the Vatican. In 2007 a senior official was suspended from the congregation, or department, for the priesthood, after he was filmed in a "sting" organised by an Italian television programme while apparently making sexual overtures to a younger man.

In 2010 a chorister was dismissed for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. A few months later a weekly news magazine used hidden cameras to record priests visiting gay clubs and bars and having sex.

The Vatican does not condemn homosexuals. But it teaches that gay sex is "intrinsically disordered". Pope Benedict has barred sexually active gay men from studying for the priesthood.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

http://news.yahoo.com/british-cardinal-skip-papal-conclave-113659642.html

2/25/13

British Cardinal to skip papal conclave

LONDON (AP) — Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Britain's highest-ranking Catholic leader, says he is resigning as archbishop in the wake of misconduct allegations and will be skipping the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
 
The cardinal said in a statement Monday that he will not attend because he doesn't want media attention focused on him during the important session in Rome.
 
Experts said the decision not to attend the papal conclave is unprecedented; never before has a cardinal stayed away from a conclave because of personal scandal, according to Vatican historian Ambrogio Piazzoni, the vice prefect of the Vatican library.
 
The Vatican confirmed that O'Brien had resigned as archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh. It was accepted under the code of canon law due to O'Brien's age; he turns 75 — the normal retirement age for bishops — on March 17.

more

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/25/17087109-pope-changes-catholic-law-to-allow-earlier-start-for-conclave?lite

2/25/13

Pope changes Catholic law to allow earlier start for conclave

Pope Benedict has changed Catholic Church rules to allow the conclave that will choose his successor to be held earlier if cardinals are ready, the Vatican said Monday.

In a motu proprio – in effect, a personal decree – he introduced modifications to the laws governing the timing of the secret election, which had been due to begin on March 15 or later.

Pope Benedict XVI officially stands down from his role on Feb 28, having resigned earlier this month citing his own failing health.

A conclave – the behind-closed-doors ballot of cardinals – cannot begin within 15 days of the papacy becoming vacant; in this case, March 15.

But the amendment to that rule, announced on Monday and reported by Vatican Radio, means the process could begin earlier if all the eligible cardinals arrive in Rome sooner.

The date of the conclave's start is important, The Associated Press reported, because Holy Week begins March 24, with Easter Sunday March 31. In order to have a new pope in place for the church's most solemn liturgical period, he would need to be installed by Sunday, March 17 — a tight timeframe if a conclave were to start March 15.

The number of cardinals eligible to take part reduced by one, from 117 to 116, on Monday after the sudden departure of Britain’s most senior Roman Catholic, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who is facing allegations from priests of “inappropriate behavior.”

The Observer newspaper reported Sunday that the Vatican had been notified of the allegations, which stretch back 30 years.

Nothing new here, but nonetheless elections and appointments to high offices are pre-determined years in advanced(ie-Obama as far back as the 80's here), so it looks like maybe Turkson is the one the NWO people are introducing in advance.

http://news.yahoo.com/ghanas-turkson-irish-bookmakers-favorite-pope-211535402--finance.html

2/26/13

Ghana's Turkson is Irish bookmakers' favorite for new pope

LONDON (Reuters) - Ghana's Peter Turkson is the Irish bookmakers' favorite to replace Pope Benedict, putting a non-European in pole position to lead the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church for the first time in more than a millennium.
 
Irish bookmaker Paddy Power offered odds of 11/4 against for Turkson, meaning successful punters would win 11 pounds for every four staked, while Britain's second largest bookmaker Ladbrokes offered odds of 5/2 against.
 
Turkson would be the first non-European to lead the Catholic church in more than a millennium if he is chosen to succeed Benedict. Italian Angelo Scola is second favorite according to Paddy Power at 3/1 against.
 
"Pope Benedict quitting leaves a tall hat to fill - let's just hope God gives him a good reference for his next job," a Paddy Power spokesperson said in a statement. "As for the betting, the real action kicks off now."
 
The new pope will inherit a Church scarred by Vatileaks and by child abuse scandals in Europe and the United States, both of which may have weighed on Benedict's decision to decide he was too old and weak to continue the papacy.
 
The pope has two days left before he takes the historic step of becoming the first pontiff in some six centuries to step down instead of ruling for life.
 
Betting on the new pope earlier in February had ranked Nigeria's Cardinal Francis Arinze and Canadian Marc Ouellet alongside Turkson in a three 'cardinal' race.
 
Some 115 cardinals will enter a closed-door conclave at the Vatican in March.
 
"While Turkson and Scola are currently out in front, let us not forget those fabled words ‘he who enters the conclave as Pope, leaves it as a Cardinal'," the Paddy Power spokesman said.
 
Paddy Power said Turkson has attracted the highest number of bets, accounting for 15 percent of the market and is shouldering the biggest single bet of 5,000 pounds ($7,600).
 
The head of the Vatican's justice and peace department, the Ghanaian has been tipped as Africa's frontrunner in a contest heavy with speculation that a Latin American or African could be elected as chief of the 1.2 billion-strong Catholic population.
 
While Canada's Ouellet is still in the running at 7/1 according to Ladbrokes, Arinze's standing at both bookmakers has sunk to 25/1.
 
Paddy Power said that betting on who will be elected as the new pope is set to become the largest non-sporting market in its history. It said it had taken 300,000 pounds on "pope betting".
 
Dark horses include a fictional character from Irish sitcom Father Ted, the simple-minded Father Dougal McGuire, who has attracted nine more bets than real-life Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes. ($1 = 0.6608 British pounds)
 
(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jon Hemming)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/leading-catholic-blogger-sees-more-193122726.html

2/27/13

Leading Catholic Blogger Sees More Evidence That The Pope Is Gay

Pope Benedict XVI will officially retire at 8 p.m. tomorrow, but his retirement package is raising a few eyebrows — and resurrecting rumors about his sexuality.
 
Rather than decamp to some monastery in Germany as many expected, Benedict will instead stay living in the Vatican.
 
CNN reports he will be living in the Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church) building, which formerly housed a cloistered convent in the Vatican gardens. He will be referred to as the "emeritus pope" and keep wearing the white — though he will lose his trademark red shoes, perhaps wearing a pair of "handcrafted brown loafers" instead, the WSJ reports.
 
One detail that has caused particular scrutiny is that the Pope will continue to live with his trusted secretary Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who will also be head of the new Pope's household — from the sounds of it, working two jobs.
 
The Vatican denies that Ganswein working for both the old Pope and the new Pope will cause any conflict of interest. But there's a more scandalous question as well, as put forward by Andrew Sullivan, perhaps the best-known Catholic blogger in America, today:
 
So Benedict’s handsome male companion will continue to live with him, while working for the other Pope during the day. Are we supposed to think that’s, well, a normal arrangement?
 
Sulivan, a gay man himself, has raised the question of the Pope's sexuality before (he doesn't suggest that the Pope has acted upon his sexual urges, we should note).
 
In 2010 he wrote that "it seems pretty obvious to me ... that the current Pope is a gay man," and went on to describe his reasoning:
 
When you look at the Pope's mental architecture (I've read a great deal of his writing over the last two decades) you do see that strong internal repression does make sense of his life and beliefs. At times, it seems to me, his gayness is almost wince-inducing. The prissy fastidiousness, the effeminate voice, the fixation on liturgy and ritual, and the over-the-top clothing accessories are one thing. But what resonates with me the most is a theology that seems crafted from solitary introspection into a perfect, abstract unity of belief. It is so perfect it reflects a life of withdrawal from the world of human relationship, rather than an interaction with it. Of course, this kind of work is not inherently homosexual; but I have known so many repressed gay men who can only live without severe pain in the world if they create a perfect abstraction of what it is, and what their role is in it.
 
Sullivan isn't exactly alone in his suspicions. He points towards a book by Angelo Quattrocchi (playfully titled "The Pope is Not Gay") that he felt reached similar conclusions. In addition, former Benedictine monk-priest and author Richard Sipe claims to have spoken to a number of Roman clerics and members of the Roman press corps who were "convinced" that Benedict XVI was gay.
 
Of course, it doesn't help the rumors that Ganswein has become something of a star in his own right. He's been dubbed the "The George Clooney of the Vatican,” and appeared on the cover of the Italian Vanity Fair under the headline “It’s no sin to be good looking.” Donatella Versace has even dedicated a menswear collection to him.

The pope and his boy toy, secretary Archbishop Georg Ganswein, "the George Clooney of the Vatican"
(http://static.evangelisch.de/get/?daid=aae5bbc898d895d48a1f86d000006300&dfid=i-01)

(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSL9LbR9s4Qy7kNb5wZL7mFatPoZpL2CWnGcNODpqYcMj462ahJ)

INFALLIBLE NO MORE: Benedict vows obedience to next pope...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21612229

Flies to papal retreat in helicopter...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_POPE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-02-28-11-16-44

http://news.yahoo.com/posters-promoting-african-pope-appear-rome-081219758.html

3/2/13
Posters promoting African pope appear in Rome

ROME (Reuters) - Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana is not "running" for pope but he clearly has supporters who think enough of him that they have plastered posters with his picture around Rome.
 
"Vote Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson at the conclave!," was written in bold on posters above a photograph of the cardinal, a favourite among bookmakers to succeed Benedict, who on Thursday became the first pope in six centuries to resign.
 
The posters were plastered over banners that had been used for candidates in Italian elections earlier this week.
 
Unlike the Italian parliamentary election, candidates for the papacy cannot launch public campaigns, suggesting the poster came from Turkson fans or maybe even pranksters.
 
Cardinals will meet in a closed-door conclave in the Sistine Chapel in about 10 days, a gathering where their choice is said to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and not earthly politics.
 
Turkson would be the first non-European to lead the Catholic Church in more than a millennium if he elected.
 
But an old Roman saying warns about campaigning, even indiscreetly, to become pope or even trying to predict the outcome of conclaves.
 
It goes: "He who enters a conclave as pope, exits as a cardinal".

Just to add to the conspiracy, i have not watched this yet but think it is interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4C7bnRQt7g&feature=youtube

The title says: "In my opinion the final pope in already in power . Tarcisio Peter Bertone from rome has filled the conclave with Cardinals from Italy . Tarcisio is also an anagram for Iscariot , as in Judas Iscariot !"

New pope 'to pledge to serve until death'

CARDINALS plan to ask the next pope to pledge in his inaugural address that he will serve until his death, unlike Benedict XVI, whose resignation, they believe, has destabilised the Catholic Church.

Doubts have emerged about the impact of Benedict's decision as the cardinals begin a series of meetings, known as general congregations, to discuss the church's future.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/new-pope-to-pledge-to-serve-until-death/story-fnb64oi6-1226589454799

Very interesting video - yeah, either way, they probably already have the new Pope groomed and ready many moons ago, alot like the elections here where they pre-determine the leaders way in advance.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/no-pope-blessing-cardinals-gather-elect-pontiff-143308663.html

3/3/13
Papal vote preparations start in earnest at Vatican

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Preparations for electing Roman Catholicism's new leader begin in earnest on Monday as the College of Cardinals opens daily talks to sketch an identikit for the next pope and ponder who among them might fit it.
 
The idea is to have the new pope elected during next week and officially installed several days later so he can preside over the Holy Week ceremonies starting with Palm Sunday on March 24 and culminating in Easter the following Sunday.
 
The general congregations, closed-door meetings in the interregnum between a papacy and the conclave to choose the next one, will hold morning and afternoon sessions in an apparent effort to discuss as much as possible in a short time.
 
The list of challenges facing the crisis-hit Church could take weeks to debate, but the Vatican seems keen to have only a week of talks so the 115 cardinal electors -- those under 80 -- can enter the Sistine Chapel for the conclave next week.

more

Benedict to Be ‘Pope Emeritus’ — a Title Dismissed by John Paul

The Vatican has announced Pope Benedict will take the title of Pope Emeritus when he resigns Thursday — but the designation appears to be in conflict with his predecessor Pope John Paul’s beliefs.

In his final days, an ailing John Paul thought of resigning himself, but then dismissed the idea, CatholicOnline.com reports.

According to the Web site, John Paul told his doctor: “You must heal me, and I must heal — because there is no place in the church for a Pope Emeritus.’’

As Pope Emeritus, Benedict will retain his name Benedict XVI and live in a convent inside the Vatican, dressing in a simple white cassock, The New York Times reports. He will no longer wear the red papal shoes that represent the blood of martyrs, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombradi said.

With Benedict’s new designation in place, Vatican leaders will meet next week to decide a date for the Papal Conclave to elect his successor.

The closed-door meetings are expected to be politically-charged following two bombshell scandals.

They include a rumored gay-sex scandal within the church’s Rome headquarters and the resignation of Britain's Cardinal Keith O'Brien over alleged “inappropriate behavior’’ with other priests.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/benedict-pope-emeritus-paul/2013/02/26/id/492080

Cardinals begin pre-conclave meetings amid scandal

Cardinals from around the world gathered Monday inside the Vatican for their first round of meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope, amid scandals inside and out of the Vatican and the continued reverberations of Benedict XVI's decision to retire.

The Vatican said 103 of the 115 electors had arrived, while the other dozen are en route. The dean of the College of Cardinals has said a date for the conclave won't be set until all cardinals have arrived.

Among the first orders of business was the oath of secrecy each cardinal made, pledging to maintain "rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff."

The college of cardinals also agreed to send Benedict XVI a message on behalf of the group - the text was being worked on."

The core agenda item is to set the date for the conclave and set in place procedures to prepare for it, including closing the Sistine Chapel to visitors and getting the Vatican hotel cleared out and de-bugged, lest anyone try to listen in on the secret conversations of the cardinals.

The first day of discussion was again rocked by revelations of scandal, with Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien admitting that he had engaged in sexual misconduct not befitting a priest, archbishop or cardinal.

O'Brien last week resigned as archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh and said he wouldn't participate in the conclave after four men came forward with allegations that he had acted inappropriately with them - the first time a cardinal has stayed away from a conclave because of personal scandal.

Separately, the Vatican is still reeling from the fallout of the scandal over leaked papal documents, and the investigation by three cardinals into who was behind it.

Italian news reports have been rife with unsourced reports about the contents of the cardinals' dossier. Even if the reports are false, as the Vatican maintains, the leaks themselves confirmed a fairly high level of dysfunction within the Vatican bureaucracy, with intrigues, turf battles and allegations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the highest levels of the church hierarchy.

In one of his last audiences before resigning, Benedict met with the three cardinals who prepared the report and decided that their dossier would remain secret. But he gave them the go-ahead to answer cardinals' questions about its contents.

Another topic facing the cardinals is the reason they're here in the first place: Benedict's resignation and its implications. His decision to end 600 years of tradition and retire rather than stay on the job until death has completely altered the concept of the papacy, and cardinals haven't shied from weighing in about the implications for the next pope.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20130304/DA4Q9A201.html

Yeah, looks like they'll have their next Pope selected before their "holy week" at the end of the month.

Bookmakers Say It’s Italy vs. Africa for Next Pope!

In the grand scheme of things it’s anybody’s guess, but a leading oddsmaker says three top Catholic leaders — one from Africa and two from Italy — have the best chances of becoming the next Pope.

As of Friday, Ireland’s Paddy Power has Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson the favorite to succeed Pope Benedict with odds of 5-2 — put $2 on and win $5 if he is elected.

Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola, is second favorite at 11-4, followed by another Italian Cardinal, Tarcisio Bertone.

Paddy Power’s leading contenders for the papacy are:

5-2 Cardinal Peter Turkson, 64, (Ghana) President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
11-4 Cardinal Angelo Scola, 71, (Italy) Archbishop of Milan.
4-1 Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, 78, (Italy) Vatican Secretary of State.
8-1 Cardinal Marc Ouellet, 68, (Canada) Prefect for the Congregation for Bishops.
10-1 Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, 70, (Italy) Archbishop of Genoa.
10-1 Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, 70, (Italy) President, Pontifical Council for Culture.
14-1 Cardinal Peter Erdo, 60, (Hungary) Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest.
16-1 Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, 68, (Austria) Archbishop of Vienna.
16-1 Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 69, (Argentina) Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
16-1 Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 55, (Philippines) Archbishop of Manila.
25-1 Cardinal Odilo Scherer, 63, (Brazil) Archbishop of São Paulo.
25-1 Cardinal Francis Arinze, 80, (Nigeria) Cardinal-Bishop of Velletri-Segni.
25-1 Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, 70, (Honduras) Archbishop of Tegucigalpa.
25-1 Cardinal Sean O’Malley, 68, (United States) Archbishop of Boston.
33-1 Cardinal Timothy Dolan, 63, (United States) Archbishop of New York.
40-1 Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, 68, (Italy) Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.
40-1 Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, (Argentina) Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
40-1 Cardinal Reinhard Marx, 59, (Germany) Archbishop of Munich and Freising.

Paddy Power spokesman Rory Scott told USA Today, “We are expecting this Pope-betting to be the biggest round of nonsporting betting in Paddy Power history — it’s a big market.

“It’s going to pick up as we head into conclave and we think it will reach about $7 million (U.S. dollars).”


Read Latest Breaking News from Newsmax.com http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/next-pope-odds-africa/2013/03/01/id/492721#ixzz2MaySXLlY

FINAL POPE ALREADY RUNNING VATICAN
Jerome Corsi
Did Pope Benedict XVI line up his successor and then resign to fulfill a 900-year-old prophecy that the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church would be history’s “final pope?”

The idea was posed by Tom Horn, co-author of the book “Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope is Here.”
Horn and his co-author, Cris Putnam, accurately predicted Benedict would become the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign.
Horn believes the last pope, called “Petrus Romanus” in the prophecy by Irish Archbishop St. Malachy, could be the man who is set to take over interim leadership the moment Benedict resigns Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. local time, becoming the acting Vatican head of state.

The claim centers on Cardinal Tarcisio Pietro (Peter in English) Evasio Bertone, born in Romano Canavese, Piedmont, the current secretary of state for the Vatican, who Pope Benedict XVI appointed Camerlengo, or Chamberlain, of the Holy Roman Church April 4, 2007.

In the period known as “sede vacante,” when there is no sitting pope, Bertone will be called upon as Camerlengo to serve as the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
He will be in charge until the College of Cardinals attending the upcoming Papal Conclave in the Sistine Chapel select a new pope.

Benedict XVI has made decisions that indicate Bertone could be, or at least once was, his choice for successor.
Working alongside Bertone, Benedict appeared to be “stacking the deck” in Bertone’s favor Jan. 6, 2012, when he named 22 new cardinals. Most are Europeans, primarily Italians, already holding key Vatican positions.
As a result, Europeans currently number over half of all cardinal-electors, 67 out of 125. Nearly a quarter of all voters in the conclave will be Italian.

“When he appointed these new cardinals,” Horn said, “Benedict seemed to put his definitive stamp on an Italian successor, stacking the College of Cardinals, those who could be called upon to give Bertone the so-called apostolic chair of St. Peter.”

Horn said the idea was not Benedict’s alone.
Most Vatican experts attribute the large number of Italian appointments to the influence of Bertone, he said.
Benedict may have resigned in part because he wanted to have a hand, even if indirect, in influencing the selection of his successor.
http://www.wnd.com/2013/02/final-pope-already-running-vatican

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canadian-papal-contender-suggests-catholic-church-needs-evangelization-025947363.html

3/6/13
Canadian papal contender suggests Catholic church needs 'new evangelization'

VATICAN CITY - The Canadian cardinal who could become the next pope says the Catholic church has to take on a "new evangelization" to help those who do not believe in God.
 
"This is a great drama of our times, you know to live without God," said Marc Cardinal Ouellet in an interview with CBC Television.
 
"They need the Creator, they need this relationship. It is vital, you know, for family life, for social life, for fraternity, for peace."
 
Ouellet says the church has to respond to the needs of people who aren't religious.
 
When asked whether he believed the church needed to forge ahead on social issues such as its positions on gay marriage and abortion, the 68-year-old Quebecer was evasive, saying questions on those areas were "secondary."
 
Ouellet did share his views on the role of women in the church, however, saying "there is much more to do."
 
While he would not support the ordaining of women, Ouellet said many women were already working in key positions in the church.
 
"This is open to further development, but we have to go you know with the time. And it is not easy to move forward," he said in what was the second instalment of a two-part interview.
 
Ouellet leads the powerful Congregation for Bishops in the Vatican, which vets bishop nominations worldwide, and has worked in Latin America and in Rome.
 
The former Archbishop of Quebec City is often regarded as a conservative figure and has drawn criticism in the past with his opinions on social issues.
 
He came under fire in Quebec for anti-abortion remarks he made in 2010 when he said abortion was unjustifiable, even in cases of ****. His words drew angry reactions from women's rights activists and a number of politicians.
 
He has also spoken out against gay marriage, calling it "a big crisis."
 
Ouellet is considered one of the front-runners to replace the retired Pope Benedict, who stepped down last week citing a lack of strength to do the job.
 
Pre-conclave meetings are currently underway at the Vatican. An official date has yet to be set for the conclave during which a new pope will be elected.
.

Cardinals set Tuesday as start date for conclave

Cardinals have set Tuesday as the start date for the conclave to elect the next pope, a milestone in this unusual papal transition and an indication that even without an obvious front-runner, the cardinals have a fairly good idea of who best among them can lead the Catholic Church and tackle its many problems.

The conclave date was set on Friday afternoon during a vote by the College of Cardinals who have been meeting all week to discuss the church's problems and priorities and the qualities a new pope must possess.

Tuesday will begin with a morning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, followed by a solemn procession into the Sistine Chapel and the first round of secret balloting in the afternoon.

Only one vote is held the first afternoon. If black smoke is sent snaking out of the chapel chimney to indicate there is no immediate victor, the cardinals will retire for the day. They will return Wednesday for two rounds of balloting in the morning, two rounds in the afternoon until a pope has been chosen.

In the past 100 years, no conclave has lasted longer than five days.

That said, there doesn't appear to be a front-runner in this election for a successor to the retired Benedict XVI, and the past week of deliberations has exposed sharp divisions among cardinals about some of the pressing problems facing the church, including of governance within the Holy See itself.

U.S. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, considered a papal contender, said in a blog post Friday that most of the discussions in the closed-door meetings covered preaching and teaching the Catholic faith, tending to Catholic schools and hospitals, protecting families and the unborn, supporting priests "and getting more of them!"

"Those are the 'big issues,'" he wrote. "You may find that hard to believe, since the 'word on the street' is that all we talk about is corruption in the Vatican, sexual abuse, money. Do these topics come up? Yes! Do they dominate? No!"

Early in the week, the Americans had been pressing for more time to get to the bottom of the level of dysfunction and corruption in the Holy See's governance that was exposed by the leaks of papal documents last year. But by Thursday afternoon, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles tweeted that the discussions were "reaching a conclusion" and that a mood of "excitement" was taking hold.

Vatican-based cardinals had been angling for a speedy end to the discussions, perhaps to limit the amount of dirty laundry being aired.

A Tuesday start date could be read as something of a compromise. Monday had been seen as an obvious choice to start the conclave to ensure a pope would be elected and installed by Sunday, March 17, the last Sunday before Holy Week begins.

American and some German cardinals had argued that the time for discernment should come during the pre-conclave meetings, when there is more time for discussion and information-gathering.

Once the conclave begins, there is actually very little time for discussion since the proceedings are conducted in an atmosphere of silent prayer. The Americans had argued for more consultation time so the conclave itself doesn't drag on.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the pre-conclave meetings had served to give cardinals a chance to discuss the "profile, characteristics, qualities and talents" a future pope must have.

"Obviously the cardinals must arrive at this moment with all the information that is useful to make a judgment on such an important issue," he said. "The preparation is absolutely fundamental."

According to Vatican analysts and even some cardinals themselves, the list of papabili, or those considered to have the stuff to be pope, remains relatively unchanged from when Benedict XVI first announced he would resign Feb. 28, kick-starting the papal transition. But some Italian media have speculated that with governance such a key issue in this conclave, the cardinals might also be considering an informal pope-secretary of state "ticket."

The Vatican secretary of state is primarily responsible for running the Holy See, but it's not an elected job like the pope. It's a papal appointment, and will be a very closely watched papal appointment this time around given the stakes.

Also Friday, the cardinals formally agreed to exempt two of their voting-age colleagues from the conclave who in past weeks had signaled they wouldn't come: Cardinal Julius Darmaatjadja, emeritus archbishop of Jakarta, who is ill, and Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, who resigned last week after admitting to inappropriate sexual misconduct.

That formality brings the number of cardinal electors to 115; two thirds of which -- or 77 votes -- is required for victory. Benedict in 2007 changed the conclave rules to keep the two-thirds requirement throughout the voting process after Pope John Paul II decreed that after about 12 days of inconclusive balloting the threshold could switch to a simple majority.

By reverting back to the traditional two-thirds requirement, Benedict was apparently aiming to ensure a consensus candidate emerges quickly and ruling out the possibility that cardinals might hold out until the simple majority kicks in to push through their candidate. His decision might prove prescient, given the apparent lack of a front-runner in this conclave.

Lombardi said a few items of business remain outstanding, including drawing lots for rooms at the Vatican's Santa Marta hotel, where the cardinals will be sequestered once the conclave begins.

On Friday, he showed a video of the room in which the new pope will spend his first night as pontiff; it features a bed with a heavy, dark wood headboard featuring a carved image of Christ's face. There is also a sitting area and a study.

The pope is expected to stay there for a few weeks even after the election, since the papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace must be renovated. The apartment was sealed Feb. 28, just after Benedict resigned, and cannot be reopened until the new pope formally takes possession of it.

Lombardi explained that after an eight-year papacy, certain plumbing and maintenance work that had been put off must be carried out -- work that cannot begin, however, until the seal on the doors is broken.

http://wtop.com/220/3244222/Vatican-conclave-likely-to-start-early-next-week

http://www.news.va/en/news/chimney-installed-on-roof-of-sistine-chapel-today

CHIMNEY INSTALLED ON ROOF OF SISTINE CHAPEL TODAY

Vatican City, 9 March 2013 (VIS) – The chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, which will emit the smoke to indicating the election (white smoke) or non-election (black smoke) of a pope, was installed this morning, three days before the Conclave is scheduled to begin. That, however, is not the only change taking place in the chapel. Vatican Television is recording the preparations and those images are then distributed to all media outlets that request it for broadcasting around the world.

Work began on Tuesday, 5 March, at 1:00pm when restorers, electricians, mechanics, carpenters, seamstresses, assemblers, electronic technicians and other labourers from various areas of competence suddenly replaced the hundreds of tourists who visit the Sistine Chapel every day. “The Chapel is closed to the public. We are preparing for the Conclave,” employees respond to the questions asked by perplexed visitors who are trying to finish their tour of the Vatican Museums with a glimpse of Michelangelo's “Creation of Adam”.

Journalists are already in the know. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., has been holding daily press conferences, giving a general overview of the proceedings of the General Congregations and explaining the images of the preparations that are being carried out around Vatican City. From within the Sistine Chapel we see scaffolding around the stoves that will burn the ballots to erect the stove pipe that releases the smoke from the roof of the chapel, shorter tubing for the scaffolding that will elevate the floor and create a uniform area to work on, lengths of cloth and the seamstresses sowing them together to create table covers...

On Wednesday, 6 March, for example, Vatican Television provided raw video of workers installing a large platform for the chimney and flooring sheets over the original mosaic pavement, both to protect the mosaics and to make it easier to build the elevated floor above it, which will provide the cardinals with an even expanse to walk and work upon.

Around the altar, 115 cherry wood chairs have been put in place, each engraved with the name of the cardinal who will occupy it, with 12 wooden tables covered in beige and bordeaux fabric where the cardinals will prepare their ballots. They will cast their votes in front of Michelangelo's fresco of “The Last Judgment” on the wall of the altar.

After the chimney is installed it will be submitted to a series of tests using chemicals to emit a yellow smoke so as not to confuse the increased number of passers-by in St. Peter's Square. The chimney is just the last piece of the mechanism that will produce the smoke. The two iron stoves it is attached to were installed yesterday. The first stove, cast in 1938, has the dates of the five Conclaves it has been used in etched upon it—from the one electing Pius XII in 1939 until the latest, in 2005, when Cardinal Ratzinger became Benedict XVI.

This older oven is used to burn the balloting papers. The modern one, equipped with an electronic device, will add the chemicals to produce the black or white smoke indicating the result of the voting until the election occurs. There are two voting sessions planned for each morning and each afternoon that the Conclave continues. At the moment, the chimney is at the centre of the media's curiosity. Next Tuesday afternoon it will hold the attention of millions around the world.

Besides the Cardinal electors, the only others who will be present in the Sistine Chapel are the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations and Cardinal Prospero Grech, O.S.A., who will preach the second meditation provided for in No. 13 of the Apostolic Constitution “Universi Dominici Gregis” to the Cardinal electors.

Feb. 22, 2013 The See of Rome is Vacant.
Feb. 11, 2013 The Final Days of Benedict XVI's Pontificate

SPIRITUAL REFLECTION
From the book addressed to Autolycus by Saint Theophilus of Antioch, bishop (PG 6, 1026-1027. 1035)
If you say, “Show me your God,” I will say to you, “Show me what kind of person you are, and I will show you my God.” Show me then whether the eyes of your mind can see, and the ears of your heart hear. It is like this. Those who can see with the eyes of their bodies are aware of what is happening in this life on earth. They get to know things that are different from each other. They distinguish light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect.
The same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant. So it is with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind in their capacity to hear or see God. God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. A person’s soul should be clean, like a mirror reflecting light. If there is rust on the mirror his face cannot be seen in it.
In the same way, no one who has sin within him can see God. But if you will you can be healed. Hand yourself over to the doctor, and he will open the eyes of your mind and heart. Who is to be the doctor? It is God! If you understand this, and live in purity and holiness and justice, you may see God.

MORE SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS
1. Conclave to begin Tuesday March 12th 2. General congregations: Profile of future Pope emerging from sessions 3. Lombardi: 12 Cardinal electors yet to arrive as 1st Congregation concludes 4. General congregations: With all electors present still no date for Conclave 5. Conclave: A few dates with history 6. New urns for conclave unveiled 7. Where cardinals will stay during Conclave 8. General congregations: No rush to fix date for Conclave 9. Bolts, pipes and joists in front of th
Full Text: Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

THE HOLY SEE www.vatican.va FIDES NEWS AGENCY
NEWS.VA | © Copyright News.va & all Vatican media sources
Fides News Agency L’Osservatore Romano Press Office VIS Vatican Radio CTV From the Pope
03/08/2013 Eighth General Congregation of Cardinals Aula Paolo VI, Sala del Sinodo dei Vescovi, Vaticano start 5 p.m. end 7 p.m.
03/09/2013 Ninth General Congregation of Cardinals Aula Paolo VI, Sala del Sinodo dei Vescovi, Vaticano start 9:30 a.m. end 12:30 p.m.
03/09/2013 Press briefing by Fr. Lombardi Sala Stampa della Santa Sede


Revelation 13:11-17 KJV
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Revelation 9:1-3 KJV
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

http://www.news.va/en/news/cardinal-napier-the-new-pope-will-have-to-be-a-pas



Cardinal Napier: the new Pope will have to be a pastor who can reach out and touch peoples' lives


2013-03-08 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban in South Africa is in Rome to participate in the upcoming Conclave. Since arriving he has been part of the Cardinals’ General Congregations to prepare for the Conclave. Speaking to Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni just before joining a prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday evening, Cardinal Napier spoke of his own feelings and emotions during this particular time in history, and of the feelings and hopes of the faithful in his own geographical area of concern… Listen to the interview… Cardinal Napier says that back home in South Africa the events taking place in the Vatican in these days are of great interest and concern. He himself is on twitter and says he continues to receive a lot of tweets about what is going on: “People all around sending their prayers, messages from bishops saying their people are praying for us, so I think there is a real sense –through the social networks – that there is the possibility of people being engaged in something that is taking place even at a remote distance”. Speaking of his own vision regarding the characteristics he would like to see in the new leader of the Catholic Church, Napier admits that he is “a bit biased because he picked up from Pope John Paul II so many of his characteristics, and how he translated them into a vision for the Church”. Napier mentions John Paul II’s theology of the body, which - he says - “at the time he was giving those talks they didn’t seem to making so much of an impact. But since then, that theology has really come out as how this is a wonderful way of reaffirming just how unique a creation a human person is, and because of that uniqueness humans need to be given that special reverence and respect”. So from John Paul II –Napier says – we have a lesson on the value of human life, the value of the human person. “But he also wanted that value to be heightened by the New Evangelization, and that was then picked up by Pope Benedict who gave it an even clearer definition. Napier says he remembers the day Benedict was elected and how he put on the table what was going to be his own vision for the church. Reconciliation - he points out - was one of the things and throughout his Pontificate he certainly went out of his way to bring reconciliation about in many sectors. And when he explained why he chose the name Benedict - says Cardinal Napier - he explained that St. Benedict was around at the time the Roman Empire had fallen apart and the Church was in disarray, and he too wanted to rebuild and renew the faith and the credibility of the Church. Looking back to both previous Pontiffs, Napier says the idea of the centrality of Christ was foremost. Benedict spoke of the encounter with Jesus. “That whole thing about prayer and the centrality of Christ – the new Pope will have to someone who is conscious of the foundation that are already there - and who is committed to building on those foundations – and building on existent foundations - Napier says - could be trickier than building new ones”. Therefore – says Cardinal Napier – “I think we will have to have a fairly lengthy Pontificate –so we will be looking at a younger person”. He says he believes the new Pope “will be from among us, so he will need to have heard from the different sectors of the Church - what the issues are, how the Church in those places is already trying to tackle those issues, and what role the Pope can play to influence them”. So far, Cardinal Napier says, in the General Congregations specific geographical issues have not been examined, but areas of concern have been raised. “We, the Africans, have met informally a couple of times and looked at the issues we would like to share with the Church in other parts of the world”. He says one of the concerns they have is that the Church has been very centered on Europe. Of course - he says - there is a close relationship with Europe which is normal, but “maybe now that Europe is in crisis and is concentrating on itself, it’s forgetting that there are answers to some of the issues and problems that can come from outside. And I think this is where our concern could be as Africans : what can we bring to the consciousness of the Church in Europe that maybe makes them more aware of what’s going on out there, but at the same time makes them look at alternative solutions to the issues”. As regards the widespread nihilism expressed by new generations in Europe, Napier says this is not at all the reality in Africa. He says in Africa “God has still got a very very important part in people’s lives”. In Africa, he says, you are reminded all the time of your own fallibility. So in a way our fallibility as human beings and our need for something that gives us stability is such that religion still has such a major part to play. Cardinal Napier is in Rome for his second Conclave. This time he says he knows what to expect along the way. So he feels more familiar with the proceedings. He notes that this time there is no mourning period to distract the Cardinals. This time he – says – "we were taken a little off guard. I didn’t expect Pope Benedict to resign just before Easter knowing how important Easter and especially Good Friday are for him. And also with the World Youth Day coming up". However he says, looking back he wasn’t so surprised at the resignation itself Right now – he says of the Cardinals – “we are here under a certain self-imposed pressure: we want to find out as much as we can, get as familiar with each other as we can, try to identify possible candidates, and at the same time we know the longer we spend doing that, the harder it will be to return home”. Cardinal Napier says the prayers of the faithful are so important at this moment. He says he is asking all to intensify those prayers. “One of the thoughts that came to me this morning was: every step that we are taking you can almost feel the prayers supporting us. I think that kind of spiritual union is very important also because in a way it is going to affect how we see thehttp://[b] new Pope – it has to be someone who is a pastor who is able to reach out and touch people’s lives”.[/b]

http://news.yahoo.com/catholics-create-virtual-conclave-pope-164712622.html
3/9/13
Catholics create 'virtual conclave' for new pope

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A pastor in Ontario wondered about behind-the-scenes politicking ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope. He could have read news reports or listened to briefings by the Vatican spokesman. Instead, he asked a cardinal. Less than an hour later, the response arrived.
 
"What I see is a real desire to know, and so evaluate, the papabili against criteria of qualities demanded by situations," wrote Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of Durban, South Africa, using the term "papabili" for cardinals seen as papal contenders.
 
The exchange occurred on Twitter, one of many online interactions that have made this papal succession unlike any other for Roman Catholics and observers of the church. While the election starting Tuesday will remain strictly secret, social media is providing a direct link to the events surrounding the succession, creating a virtual conclave that involves lay people in everything from voting to prayer.
 
"I think it's fabulous for the church," said Brother Martin Browne, a Benedictine monk in County Limerick, Ireland, who is following Vatican analysts and reporters on Twitter instead of watching general news coverage. "I think more people understand what's going on now because there's greater access to good information."
 
No one will be posting updates from inside the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican will activate electronic jamming devices so no one can listen in or report out. "You obviously can't have cardinals inside the conclave tweeting 'Uh-oh, trending right now: new young cardinal from wherever,'" said Greg Burke, a Vatican communications adviser.

more

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57573717/dark-financial-clouds-hang-over-vatican/
3/11/13
Dark financial clouds hang over Vatican

CBS News) ROME - All roads lead to Rome, and the road to the papacy starts here.

First thing tomorrow, the cardinals who will choose the next pope will gather at St. Peter's Basilica to celebrate mass together.

Then, in the afternoon, they will march to the Sistine Chapel, lock the door and begin the conclave, where they will begin casting their votes for the new spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, including more than 66 million in the United States.

Today, the cardinals held the last in a series of private consultations about the kind of leader the church needs.

As they did, red velvet was hung on the doors leading to the central balcony of St. Peter's. It is on that balcony that the new pope will be introduced to the world.

The Vatican is more than the world's largest religious institution -- it's a business. It is also a business in trouble. Behind great ecclesiastical pageants, like former Pope Benedict's farewell, there are back-room financial scandals at Vatican Inc.

In an old stone tower, in Vatican City, is the Vatican Bank.

The church's various departments, its priests and employees keep accounts here; secret accounts, hidden from the prying eyes international regulators. An Italian court investigating the bank found documents showing some accounts had been used for money-laundering and other illegal -- and for the church, highly embarrassing -- activities.

Vatican watchers, like Marco Politi, have studied the court documents that verified the bank's transactions have not always been kosher.

"There was money of the mafia who was recycled through the channels of the Vatican Bank, and also bribe money to political parties in Italy went through the Vatican Bank," Politi said.

With dark financial clouds hanging over the Vatican, the European Union insisted the bank open its accounts to public scrutiny. When it was too slow, tourists felt the pinch. When European bankers suspended the Vatican's credit card facilities, visitors couldn't use plastic to buy Sistine Chapel tickets.

Thirty million dollars of Vatican money in Italian banks was seized and only released when the Church promised to reform.

more

That kind of thing seems to match up with the merchants of the world being at odds with the Great Wh0re.

"And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the wh0re, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." Revelations 17:16 (KJB)

Conclave To Elect Final Pope Starts Tues

The College of Cardinals' eighth General Congregation has decided that the Conclave for the election of the new Pope will begin on 12 March 2013. This is according to a communiqué issued by the Holy See Press Office. The Mass "Pro Eligendo Pontefice" will be celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning andf in the afternoon cardinals will begin the Conclave. The 115 cardinal electors are ready to vote for the new Pope. The average age of the cardinals is 72, most of them were appointed by Benedict XVI and over half of them are European. There are 28 Italian cardinal electors making them the largest group but all five continents are represented. Italy is the most represented country in the Conclave, with 28 cardinals. It is followed by the United States, which has 11 cardinal electors and Germany with 6. Spain and Brazil will have five cardinals...
http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/conclave-22998/


Over 20 Moles Inside Vatican Says La Repubblica Interview

An anonymous report of a group of over 20 moles planning to leak more information from inside the Vatican was circulating in Italian media on Thursday. "There are many, more than 20 people, all tied to the Holy See. We're made up of men and women, laypeople and prelates," an anonymous, self-proclaimed former mole said, according to an interview in Italian daily La Repubblica. Anonymous and unsourced reports from alleged insiders at the Vatican have been surfacing in Italian media in the weeks following the announcement of Benedict XVI's resignation on February 11. Many outlets have speculated that one motive for Benedict's abdication was the so-called Vatileaks case last year, when the pope's butler was arrested and...
http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/english/2013/03/07/-20-moles-inside-Vatican-says-Repubblica-interview_8360174.html


The End Begins: Second Vatican State To Be Established In Jerusalem

People are not aware that the planning of a the seat of the last antichrist has reached its final stages. This work got a booster after the implementation of the Oslo “peace accord”. The final push for the end game, started with the formation of The Council of the Religious Institutions of the Holy Land in 2005. This council has Muslims, Jews, Catholics and claimed to be “Christians” in its governing body. When you read their statement of faith, you are introduced to the final One World Religion. They try to tell us that all faiths leads to the same god. Now they plan the arrival of their leader.... collected from the governance of the present Papal system. The final plan will be presented to the government of Israel as an offer, they simply “have to” accept. The new statehood in Eastern Jerusalem will have a “Chief administrator” who govern a “special regime”. His powers will be similar to the Pope of Rome.

http://ivarfjeld.com/2012/02/18/second-vatican-state-to-be-established-in-jerusalem/

WHITE SMOKE OR BLACK SMOKE?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21750661

A chapel vote, then a papal vote...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_CONCLAVE_SCHEDULE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-12-06-11-16

Cardinals swear oath of secrecy...
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_OATH?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-12-06-02-30

The 20 men who could be Pope...
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/12/17270315-from-rome-to-africa-meet-the-20-men-who-could-be-pope?lite

Anti-mafia cops raid diocese...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/12/cardinals-overcome-divisions-conclave-pope

So this Oslo "peace accord" from years ago could be this convenant that the AC confirms?

No wonder why it's been hanging out for so long... :-\

BLACK SMOKE, NO POPE...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21750661

LIVE VIDEO...
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/live-video-two/

Rick Warren fasts and prays for Rome conclave

This morning Saddleback’s pastor Rick Warren asked his Twitter fans to follow him as he fasts and prays for the cardinals who will select the new pope.

(http://standupforthetruth.com/files/2013/03/RWTWEET.jpg)

Will he pray for the truth of God’s breathed-out Word to be proclaimed to Catholics everywhere? Will he ask God to convict these leaders to repent of false teaching and ask forgiveness for pointing these sheep away from the Bible and toward Mary as a co-redeemer with Jesus?

(http://standupforthetruth.com/files/2013/03/RW-instagram.jpg)

Certainly God is in control and knows who the next pope will be. He even knows how this pope will influence and perhaps orchestrate the events that God will use to reveal Himself in His coming as He promised. Time is growing shorter, and we have a huge opportunity to reach the lost with the message of repentance and forgiveness, and proclaim Christ crucified for our sins once and for all.

well, we now know for sure dont we. no more hiding or facades.

it is official!

How can these Cardinals know God's Will if they aren't even saved? ::)

Pope Conclave 2013: Anti-Paedophile Bishop Blames Vatican Conspiracies For Benedict’s Resignation

An influential Catholic bishop, who fought paedophilia and sex abuse in the Church, has given new strength to claims that Pope Benedict XVI resigned over power struggles and infights in Vatican. Monsignor Charles Scicluna, 53, said Benedict stepped down to make way for a stronger pope, able to get a grip of Vatican power struggles. Scicluna told Il Correire della Sera: "He [Benedict] wanted to leave room for a person able to take the reins of the situation. This is a message cardinals [voting to elect a new pontiff] can't neglect." Scicluna was appointed promoter of justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office tasked with overseeing Church's integrity, and to asked in 2002 by then cardonal Joseph Ratzinger to investigate claims of sex abuse by clergymen.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/444700/20130311/vatican-pope-conclave-benedict-scicluna.htm

Popes & Demons: Mysterious Vatican Bank Poses Problem For New Pontiff

As the world waits for the Vatican’s conclave to select a new pope to lead 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, and the church’s sex abuse scandals dominate discourse on the incoming pontiff’s priorities, another decidedly worldly issue is also poised to take an immediate toll on the new Holy Father: money. The public and private woes of the Vatican bank, long shrouded in secrets and whispers, might well prove to be just as challenging, if not as draining, as the lurid, faith-shaking damage of the clergy abuse scandal. With a two-year probe by Italian authorities into money laundering, poor transparency, inadequate adherence to standards for guarding against criminal and terrorist financing, and questions over sudden changes in its leadership, the bank represents another crisis of morals, legalities and perception. The importance of the Vatican bank in Pope Benedict XVI’s grand vision can be assumed from the urgency it held with the outgoing pontiff: among the last official acts before his shock retirement was overhauling...
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/08/vatican-bank/?utm

Petrus Romanus Cardinal Electors Want Full "Vatileaks" Disclosure

It is known throughout the Vatican as the Relatio (Narration). It is contained in two stiff, unmarked red folders and runs to around 300 pages. Lying in a safe in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St Peter's Square, it will be at the forefront of the minds of the 115 cardinals who on Tuesday are to file into the Sistine chapel to start the conclave that elects the next pope. In the Relatio are the findings of three cardinal-detectives, appointed last year by ex-pope Benedict XVI to investigate the leaking of documents from his study. The cardinals, headed by a Spanish member of the Opus Dei fellowship, Cardinal Julián Herranz, discovered the main source of the leaks – the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele. But they found a great deal else – and some of it is reportedly extremely compromising. According to one unconfirmed report, they stumbled on a gay sex ring in the Vatican, some of whose members had...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/10/new-pope-curia-secret-report-cardinals

Before Smoke Rises At Vatican, It’s Romans Versus The Reformers

With all of the uproar over Vatican scandals, the Romans are aware that they may fail if they back one of their own, and so they are said to be coalescing behind the Brazilian, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, the archbishop of São Paulo. Cardinal Scherer is of German heritage, but his selection would give the Roman Catholic Church its first pope from Latin America. The region is home to about 40 percent of the world’s Catholics, and the church is staving off challenges there both from surging evangelical churches and a drift toward secularism. The reformers, led by the Americans and some influential Europeans, are reportedly uniting around the Italian, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, a popular pastor and an erudite moral theologian. As an Italian, he is familiar with the culture that dominates the Vatican bureaucracy, but he is not a part of it or beholden to it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/world/europe/among-cardinals-deep-divisions-over-next-pope.html?hpw&_r=0

Signs In The Sky: Demon Comet Tom Horn Spoke Of To Appear Today Near Moon When Final Conclave Begins!

On March 12 and 13, the comet Pan-STARRS (Pan-demonium, all the demons) will appear close to the moon, possibly even silhouetting it according to SPACE.com stargazing columnist Geoff Gaherty, an astronomer with the Starry Night Education night sky software company. Then on April 3, the comet should be in the same part of the sky as the Andromeda Galaxy. Although the comet won't still be visible with the naked eye, stargazers with telescopes could still get a nice view of the comet and galaxy, Gaherty explained. Pan-STARRS has already put on a show for stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere. It is one of several comets in the night sky expected to dazzle observers this year. Last month, amateur astronomers managed to photograph Pan-STARRS and another celestial wanderer — Comet Lemmon — at the same time to document rare photos of two comets together in the night sky...

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/03/08/naked-eye-comet-pan-starrs-at-its-brightest-this-weekend/

Now if the next pope decides he wants the public to meet somebody that can "help" the world...

Black smoke as morning fails to bring new pope

Cardinals in secret conclave failed twice on Wednesday morning to elect a new pope, as black smoke over the Sistine Chapel showed ballots on the first full day of voting were inconclusive.

After an inconclusive first vote on Tuesday night, the 115 cardinal electors should hold another two ballots later on Wednesday after praying for inspiration from God for a choice that can lead the Roman Catholic Church out of crisis.

Having spent the night closeted in a nearby guesthouse, the cardinals attended Mass in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace and returned to the Renaissance splendor of the Sistine Chapel to hold the two morning ballots.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/13/us-pope-succession-idUSBRE92808520130313

Wouldn't surprise me if not only they have this last Pope already selected(and many moons ago), but will also wait until the last minute(this weekend) to make his election official. That way, they can get this dog and pony show going to where the public will chatter and buzz among themselves all week.

Can't say who will be "elected", but the most wicked one of the candidates will be the guy...

2Tim 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

they were awaiting for the stars to align

Signs In The Sky: Demon Comet Tom Horn Spoke Of To Appear Today Near Moon When Final Conclave Begins!

On March 12 and 13, the comet Pan-STARRS (Pan-demonium, all the demons) will appear close to the moon, possibly even silhouetting it according to SPACE.com stargazing columnist Geoff Gaherty, an astronomer with the Starry Night Education night sky software company. Then on April 3, the comet should be in the same part of the sky as the Andromeda Galaxy. Although the comet won't still be visible with the naked eye, stargazers with telescopes could still get a nice view of the comet and galaxy, Gaherty explained. Pan-STARRS has already put on a show for stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere. It is one of several comets in the night sky expected to dazzle observers this year. Last month, amateur astronomers managed to photograph Pan-STARRS and another celestial wanderer — Comet Lemmon — at the same time to document rare photos of two comets together in the night sky...

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/03/08/naked-eye-comet-pan-starrs-at-its-brightest-this-weekend/

White smoke rises from Sistine Chapel, signaling Roman Catholic cardinals have elected new pope - @NBCNews

Cardinals elect new pope on fifth ballot
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- To the delighted surprise of many, clouds of white smoke poured from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel March 13, indicating a pope had been elected on the conclave's fifth ballot.

The smoke signal went off at 7:05 p.m. The 115 cardinals gathered to elect the 266th successor of Peter had taken one vote late March 12 and two votes the next morning, resulting in clouds of black smoke.

The Vatican estimated it would be about an hour before Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the top-ranking cardinal deacon, would come out onto the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and confirm the election with the phrase "Habemus papam" (We have a pope).

The white smoke comes from burning the ballots and cardinals' notes and tallies along with special chemicals to produce abundant white smoke.

But the world did not know the identity of the new pope right away. While the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out the news of the election of the new pope, he was inside the Sistine Chapel changing into papal vestments and praying with the cardinals who just elected him.

He also was scheduled to stop on his way to the balcony to pray briefly before the Blessed Sacrament in the Pauline Chapel, where the cardinals began their solemn procession into the conclave March 12.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected on the fourth ballot at the conclave in 2005, taking the name Pope Benedict XVI. Unlike eight years ago, however, most people believe there was no clear favorite going into the conclave, which led to surprise that it was over so quickly.

Two stoves, leading to one smokestack, were installed in the Sistine Chapel for the conclave. The ballots and any notes or tallies individual cardinals made are burned in one stove. The other stove burns special chemical cartridges designed to create clouds of black or white smoke for a full seven minutes.

Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters the cartridges producing black smoke have potassium perchlorate, anthracene and sulphur. Those producing white smoke have potassium chlorate, lactose and a pine resin. To improve the draught, making sure the smoke goes up and out instead of filling the Sistine Chapel with smoke as occurred in 2005, the pipes leading to the roof are pre-heated with an electrical current.

Four Catholic students from Duquesne University's Rome campus were in the square awaiting the smoke March 13. One of them, Josh Suhey of Youngstown, Ohio, said, "We're here to see the pope and be part of history."

Asked about the cardinals using smoke to communicate with the outside world, another student, Concetta Staltari from Pittsburgh, said, "I think it's great, really awesome to stick to tradition." She said she couldn't wait to hear the bells ring, too, with a successful election.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1301147.htm

wow CBS live feed just cut out and went to some basketball game

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina is elected pope - live video

(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTB4IKaciPp-jOpogfzM8h9crPaeLRyoC1VQPUN_HRjAorjzKQPy1-lFeg)

Pope Francis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Bergoglio

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ (born December 17, 1936) is the current pope of the Roman Catholic Church, elected on March 13, 2013 and taking the regnal name of Francis. Prior to his election, he served as an Argentine cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He has served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires since 1998. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001.

When NPR was profiling potential popes in 2005, the year Benedict was chosen, it wrote that Bergoglio was:

"Trained as a chemist ... became a priest when he was 32 and an archbishop in 1998. Bergoglio is a Jesuit, which would make him an unusual and perhaps controversial choice for the papacy. His academic credentials abound: He pursued theological studies in Germany, has published three books and has served as grand chancellor of The Catholic University in Argentina. Bergoglio has been praised as being a 'good pastor' with a 'strong capacity for governance with unusual gifts of humility.' Indeed, the archbishop shuns a chauffeur-driven limousine, in favor of public transportation."

Francis I: 'Brothers and sisters, thanks for the welcome. Tomorrow I will pray that Mary safeguard Rome. Good night. Good rest' - @CatholicNewsSvc Story metadata:

Submitted March 13, 2013, 7:34 p.m. GMT from twitter.com/CatholicNewsSvc by editor

Jorge Mario Bergoglio: 5 Facts About the First Latin American Pope

1) He is from Argentina.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first Latin American pope, an Argentine cardinal born in Buenos Aires.

2) He represents change.

The front-runner for the position was Italy's Angelo Scola, a European cardinal, but this selection sends a message that the Church is ready to change and embrace Catholics in new countries, in the developing world.

3) He opposes abortion, but is more tolerant on gay issues.

He believes the Church should oppose abortion and is against homosexuality, but also things gay people should be treated with respect.

4) He preaches passion for the poor.

He is critical of corruption in Argentine, is seen as a man of the people, and often walks through the streets of Buenos Aires amongst the people.

5) He has a Jesuit background.

He is one of five children, born to Italian parents, and studied at a Jesuit school.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/29708/jorge-mario-bergoglio-5-facts-about-the-first-latin-american-pope

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they are all the same...

Italian parents, eh? Go figure. Them pesky Jesuits! When was the last time they had a Jesuit pope?

he is the very first one. or so they say...

Psalm 2

It seems like Germany has played a big role for the Vatican for a very, very, very long time. N@zi Germany isn't the only example. Remember Tichendorff(sp) was this German Protestant "scholar" who helped do the Pope's bidding in helping to get out these corrupt Alexandrian texts like it was fact...among other examples. Guess we shouldn't be surprised that this new Pope did his theological "studies" in Germany.


Now this caught my attention b/c being the 1st Latin American Pope - anyone else find it NOT a coincidence that his appointment is around the same time the American government(backed by the NWO minions, that is) is pushing for immigration reform/NAU now? And to boot, all of the Churchianity denominations, including the corrupt Southern Baptist Convention is playing their part helping to push for this. It's as if the Vatican has a much bigger voice now in all of this.


Now where have we heard THIS before? ::)


Come to think of it, don't recall any of the previous Popes being "more tolerant on gay issues"...whatever that means. Of course they play both sides of the issues, so all of this about "they oppose abortion and gay marriage" is all moot.


Fixed!


Yep - first the House of Congress appointed the first Jesuit priest as chaplain...guess we should have seen this one comin...and not listen to all that nonsense Horn and Quayle have been pushing for a long time.

Speaking of Horn and Quayle, don't be surprised to see them come out and yell, "Jesus's 2nd Coming won't happen until another 25 years b/c Petrus Romanos hasn't been appointed yet!". ::)

Look at the time stamp on this article - TEN HOURS ago...uhm...wasn't it Noon Central then, and the new Pope's name wasn't announced then? Yeah, all of this is pre-determined way ahead of time, then they throw in this dog and pony show.

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-reflects-spanish-speaking-catholics-importance-church-161606915--politics.html
3/13/13(10 hours ago)
New Pope Reflects Spanish-Speaking Catholics' Importance to the Church

The selection of Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, a 76-year-old Jesuit who is an advocate for the poor, as the first pontiff from outside Europe should please many U.S. Catholics, almost 30 percent of whom are of Hispanic or Latino heritage.
 
Of seven news organizations surveyed about the selection process prior to the conclave, only two—the Associated Press and NBC—had listed the Jesuit cardinal from Buenos Aires as a possible pontiff.
 
A Reuters interactive that rated the possibilities did not even include the priest now called Francis I.

Early analysis of the selection of Bergoglio, born in Argentina to an Italian railroad worker and his wife, indicates he may be a compromise candidate who was runner-up to the cardinal who became Benedict in the last conclave, but Francis is certain to please many Spanish-speaking Catholics.
 
Argentina's last census placed its total population at 37 million, 70 percent of which are Catholic.
 
A Population Reference Bureau map, which shows its most recent numbers (from 2004) and projections through 2050, indicates that Latin America and the Caribbean as a collective region is 83 percent Catholic; South America has almost 455 million Catholics, or 42 percent of the world’s total number.

here is the prophecy:

Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people. The End.

How do you know he isnt Peter the Roman? His parents both were Romans, he was just born in a different country. For all we know, while growing up he could have been called something that connects him to the name. Them again, as Pope he is in Peters place, and since the real Peter was NEVER in Rome, that would make the Pope Peter the Roman. I read earlier, i havent had time to look into it, but one of his names means earthen or rock, something like that.

If this s all one big plow by the Catholics, m sure they have some way to make this work.

Very interesting, never thought of that...

This is from Tom Horns site, an update...

All dictators are "advocates of the poor". It's how they get into power and scam the public into accepting all kinds of "social changes". Maybe he took a lesson or two from Chavez, another, however dead he is, "champion of the people". ::)

God knows I'd love to spend some time with the pope, one on one, with no thug handlers present. I realize I'm just one man, and God will take of things, but I'd sure love to "reprove, rebuke, and exhort" that reprobate for awhile.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/peres-invites-new-pope-to-pop-over-for-visit/
3/14/13
Peres invites new pope to pop over for visit

President says pontiff will be welcomed as ‘a man of inspiration who can add to the attempt to bring peace in a stormy area’

The white smoke had barely dispersed from over the Vatican Thursday morning when President Shimon Peres invited the new pope for a visit to Israel, asking him to contribute to peace as a spiritual, rather than a political, leader.
 
“He’ll be a welcome guest in the Holy Land, as a man of inspiration who can add to the attempt to bring peace in a stormy area,” Peres said during a meeting with the leaders of the Catholic Church in Poland on Thursday. “All people here, without exception, without difference of religion or nationality, will welcome the newly elected pope.”

more

Careful what you ask for! A certain "spiritual" leader will certainly arise and not make things better for Israel, but much worse.

http://news.yahoo.com/israel-welcomes-pope-friend-jews-205216572.html

Israel welcomes new pope as friend of the Jews
3/14/13

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders are welcoming the selection of Pope Francis and calling him a friend of the Jewish people.
 
President Shimon Peres invited the new pope to follow the lead of his two predecessors and visit Israel. In a meeting with Roman Catholic Church leaders in Poland Thursday, Peres called Francis "a man of inspiration that can add to the attempt to bring peace in a stormy area."
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is sure the "excellent relations" between Jews and Christians as well as between Israel and the Vatican will continue.
 
Israel's chief rabbinate also welcomed the appointment, saying Pope Francis' "good relations with the Jewish People are well known."
 
The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, has been chosen as the 266th pope.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/new-pope-tied-to-argentinas-dirty-war.html
New Pope Tied to Argentina’s Dirty War
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
March 14, 2013
 
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the former Archbishop of Buenos Aires who was elected Pope by the papal conclave on Wednesday, was intimately involved in Operation Condor’s “Dirty War” in South America.
 
A product of Chile’s DINA secret police and five other national security states in Latin America — Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – Operation Condor was an intelligence operation designed to monitor, assassinate and disappear leftist dissidents who threatened the bankster economic operation underway in South America.

The brutal dictator of neighboring Chile, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, went so far as to export his murder operation to the United States. On September 21, 1976, a former minister of the Chilean Allende government — overthrown in a CIA sponsored coup — was murdered on the streets of Washington, D.C., along with his American aide, Ronni Moffitt.
 
Business Insider mentions an article by Hugh O’Shaughnessy posted on the London Guardian website on January 4, 2011. He takes the Catholic Church to task for the role it played in Operation Condor and, ultimately, the disappearance and murder of over 30,000 South Americans. He cites Argentine author Horacio Verbitsky, who documented the summary execution of thousands of political dissidents. The preferred method of murder was to push dissidents from airborne Argentine military planes into the waters of the Rio de la Plata or the Atlantic Ocean.
 
[Verbitsky] recounts how the Argentine navy with the connivance of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now the Jesuit archbishop of Buenos Aires, hid from a visiting delegation of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission the dictatorship’s political prisoners. Bergoglio was hiding them in nothing less than his holiday home in an island called El Silencio in the River Plate. The most shaming thing for the church is that in such circumstances Bergoglio’s name was allowed to go forward in the ballot to chose the successor of John Paul II. What scandal would not have ensued if the first pope ever to be elected from the continent of America had been revealed as an accessory to murder and false imprisonment.
 
Biographer Sergio Rubin described Bergoglio’s behavior not so much as complicity as pragmatism. “Rubin said failing to challenge the dictators was simply pragmatic at a time when so many people were getting killed, and attributed Bergoglio’s later reluctance to share his side of the story as a reflection of his humility,” the Associated Press reported on Wednesday after the 76-year old “austere Jesuit intellectual” was elected pontiff.
 
Moreover, a human rights lawyer, Myriam Bregman, tried to bring Bergoglio to court for the role he allegedly played in the betrayal of two Jesuit priests kidnapped and handed over to an Argentine death squad. The priests were instructed “to leave their pastoral work” following divisions within the Society of Jesus, a Catholic order controlled by the Argentine elite. The Jesuits made the fatal mistake of criticizing the Catholic Church and its close relationship to the military junta (see Michel Chossudovsky‘s article on Pope Francis and the connection to Operation Condor and the Dirty War).
 
“Bergoglio twice invoked his right under Argentine law to refuse to appear in open court, and when he eventually did testify in 2010, his answers were evasive,” El Mundo reported in November, 2010.
 
Bergoglio Led Church During Economic Reign of Chicago Boys
 
Bergoglio headed up the Catholic church during the successful effort by the globalists to dismantle Argentina’s economy.
 
The country’s military dictatorship was supported by Wall Street bankers and David Rockefeller. “One of the key appointments of the military junta (on the instructions of Wall Street) was the Minister of Economy, Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, a member of Argentina’s business establishment and a close friend of David Rockefeller,” writes Michel Chossudovsky. “The neoliberal macro-economic policy package adopted under Martinez de Hoz was a ‘carbon copy’ of that imposed in October 1973 in Chile by the Pinochet dictatorship under advice from the ‘Chicago Boys’, following the September 11, 1973 coup d’Etat and the assassination of president Salvador Allende.”


Under the helm of Minister of Economy Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, central bank monetary policy was largely determined by Wall Street and the IMF. The currency market was manipulated. The Peso was deliberately overvalued leading to an insurmountable external debt. The entire national economy was precipitated into bankruptcy.
 
The IMF and World Bank wrecking ball accomplished its task in South America with predictable result — massive misery, poverty, malnutrition and death.
 
“Pinochet did not destroy Chile’s economy all alone,” writes Greg Palast of the disaster that unfolded in Chile. “It took nine years of hard work by the most brilliant minds in world academia, a gaggle of Milton Friedman’s trainees, the Chicago Boys. Under the spell of their theories, the General abolished the minimum wage, outlawed trade union bargaining rights, privatized the pension system, abolished all taxes on wealth and on business profits, slashed public employment, privatized 212 state industries and 66 banks and ran a fiscal surplus.”

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-cant-escape-argentinas-dark-past-192320988.html
Pope Francis Can't Escape Argentina's Dark Past
By Dashiell Bennett | The Atlantic Wire – Fri, Mar 15, 2013.

The world is still learning much about the life and history of Pope Francis, and now the Vatican finds itself having to directly confront the most troubling story from his early life in Argentina. On Friday, the Catholic Church was forced to deny charges that then-Cardinal Bergoglio was complicit in the state-sponsored terrorism during Argentina's "Dirty War" of the 1970s and early 1980s. The Vatican spokesperson said "There has never been a credible, concrete accusation against him," and the charges "reveal anti-clerical left-wing elements that are used to attack the Church."
 
Bergoglio was still a young priest when the a military junta took over the country in 1967 and began a vicious campaign of terror and murder in attempts to crush an underground rebellion. The period is called the Dirty War, because rather than battles fought in the open, the military dictatorship relied on kidnappings, terror, and other brutal tactics to clamp down on revolutionaries. (Although there were certainly accusations of atrocities on both sides.) Tens of thousands of Argentine citizens were "disappeared"—kidnapped off the streets or from their homes, and often tortured or thrown in prison, before being killed outright. There were even instances of victims being thrown from moving airplanes into the ocean, while still alive. Simply being suspected of having sympathy for the other side was enough to condemn you.

more

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-lauded-interfaith-dialogue-221930300.html
Pope Francis lauded for interfaith dialogue
By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA and DAMIAN PACHTER | Associated Press – 4 hrs ago.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The election of Pope Francis has thrilled Jewish leaders in Argentina, who predict that their friend will continue to foster warm relations and open dialogue between Catholicism and other faiths during his pontificate.
 
They've seen it firsthand as recently as December, when then-Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio lit the first candle on the menorah at Temple NCI-Emanu El during a Hanukkah ceremony.
 
"He's got a very deep capacity for dialogue with other religions," Rabbi Alejandro Avruj told The Associated Press on Monday, recalling the moment. "He spoke of light as renovation, of the re-inauguration of the temple of Jerusalem 2,200 years ago, and the need to carry light to the world."
 
As Tuesday's papal installation ceremony draws dozens of Jewish, Orthodox and other Christian leaders to the Vatican, those who knew Bergoglio in his previous role say he considered healing divisions between religions a major part of the Catholic Church's mission.
 
"He's the one who opened the cathedral of Buenos Aires for interfaith ceremonies, like when we prayed for peace. He's not one of those who waits for you to call them to participate in these events — he promotes them," said Avruj, who met Bergoglio after both leaders launched projects in the same slum in a gritty area of southern Buenos Aires.
 
Bergoglio brought leaders of the Jewish, Muslim, evangelical and Orthodox Christian faiths into the Metropolitan Cathedral to pray for peace in the Middle East last November. "Everything is lost with war, everything is gained through peace," Bergoglio said then. "With peace wins victory and respect."
 
The archbishop also welcomed Jews for a joint service on the 74th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when nearly 200 synagogues were destroyed, Jewish shops were looted and tens of thousands of Jews were sent to be exterminated in Adolf Hitler's Germany.
 
And he also sponsored interfaith prayers after Pope Benedict XVI offended Muslims in 2006 by quoting a Byzantine emperor as saying some of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings were "evil and inhuman."
 
That time, rather than criticize Benedict directly, Bergoglio let a lower-ranking priest lead a service in which he himself did not participate. But leaders of other religions were impressed nonetheless.
 
This dialogue between religions "isn't just a photo op," Omar Abboud of the Islamic Center of the Argentine Republic said then. "It's a genuine and well-reasoned commitment under construction, because we know that we cannot get by without this dialogue."
 
Guillermo Borger, president of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association, said Bergoglio came often to the association's headquarters, which was rebuilt on the site of Argentina's worst terrorist attack, the still-unsolved 1994 bombing that killed 85 people. "We're sure that given the sensitivity that Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, had here, I really believe that he'll continue to support us.
 
"We've spoken often about this idea of the power of working together, and we expect that he'll continue to do it this way as pope, this way of acknowledging the past so that finally we might achieve justice. ... We've had long talks about this and we're absolutely on the same page."
 
One rabbi who is particularly close to Francis is Abraham Skorka, whose friendly debates over religion, politics and social issues with the archbishop became so enjoyable that they decided to invite a writer with a tape recorder along. Their dialogues were published in 2010 as "On Heaven and Earth." Then, the two men kept it up on a program each Friday on the Archdiocesan TV channel.
 
"Is it true that Argentines don't want dialogue?" Bergoglio asks in the book. "I wouldn't say so. Rather, I think we succumb as victims of attitudes that don't permit us to have dialogue: arrogance, not knowing how to listen, hostility in our speech, attacking the messenger and so many others. Dialogue is born from an attitude of respect toward the other person, from a conviction that the other has something good to say."

That's not a good thing! ::)

http://gma.yahoo.com/pope-francis-supported-civil-unions-cardinal-171207698--abc-news-topstories.html
Pope Francis Supported Civil Unions as Cardinal
3/20/13

When Argentina was on the verge of legalizing gay marriage in 2010, Pope Francis - then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires - suggested the church support civil unions, according to news reports published at the time.
 
"We don't have a fanatic vision," his spokesman, Federico Wals, told Argentina's Infonews in 2010. "What we are asking is that the laws are respected. We believe that we must propose more comprehensive civil union rights than currently exist, but no gay marriage."
 
Faced with the likelihood that gay marriage would be legalized, Bergoglio, then head of the Argentina Bishop's Conference, suggested during a meeting with bishops in 2010 that the church support civil unions in the country. The idea was rebuked by the bishops, Pope Francis' authorized biographer, Sergio Rubin, told the Associated Press.
 
PHOTOS: Pope Francis Through the Years
 
With civil unions, which were already legal in parts of Argentina, off the table, Bergoglio became the public face of the battle against the proposed gay marriage legislation proposed by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
 
In Argentina, where three-quarters of the country is Catholic but only 19 percent said they regularly attended Mass, according to a 2010 Pew study, Bergoglio encouraged the faithful to protest the legislation, which needed parliamentary approval.
 
In a letter asking for prayer from Argentine monasteries, Bergoglio called same sex marriage "an attempt to destroy God's plan" and likened gay adoption to a form of discrimination against children.
 
Despite his efforts, the law passed in July 2010, making Argentina the first country in South America to recognize same-sex marriage equality.
 
Kirchner, who has been a progressive force in the country and once called Pope Francis' views "medieval," met privately with the new pontiff Monday at the Vatican. The two had previously clashed on measures such as mandatory sex education in schools, free distribution of contraceptives in public hospitals and the right for transsexuals to officially change their identities.
 
But all tensions were put aside, at least temporarily.
 
"I saw him serene, confident, at peace, calm and also busy and concerned, not just about the enormous task that will be governing the Vatican State, but also about the commitment to changing the things he knows must change," she said at a news conference after the meeting.

Evangelical Leaders Luis Palau and Rick Warren Salute Pope Francis – What Are the Implications?
3/19/13
Several Christian media outlets are announcing the “friendship” between evangelical mega-evangelist Luis Palau and the new Jesuit Pope who was elected at the Vatican in Italy this past week. Headlines are letting Christians know that one of their most popular evangelists has a special relationship with “Pope Francis.”

Palau is not the only evangelical leader to send his praises and words of support to the new pope. Rick Warren sent out a message on his “Twitter” account just prior to the election, “Join me today in praying and fasting for the 115 Cardinals seeking God’s will in a new leader,” and after the election Warren tweeted “Welcome Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, #HabemusPapam ["We have a pope!"] You have our prayers.” Christians who look at things from a biblical point of view and take into consideration biblical prophecy about the last days will have a difficult time not being concerned about the implications of Christian leaders exhibiting a kind of comradeship with the Roman Catholic leader. As Lighthouse Trails and Understand the Times have attempted to warn believers about the ecumenical, interspiritual one-world religion that is coming, once again we see the lethargy regarding spiritual deception within the ranks of Christian leaders.

While behaving with Christian charity toward the Pope and praying for him (as we should for all people) is not a bad thing in and of itself, Luis Palau and Rick Warren’s ongoing minimizing of the extreme differences between biblical Christianity and Roman Catholicism is. Over the years, the Palau crusades have included Catholic counselors for those coming forward to receive Christ, and Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven movement has offered Catholic-focused programs. This goes beyond the scope of reaching out to Catholics with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and negates Scripture that tells Christians to be discerning and speak up against false teachings.

In an interview with Luis Palau on Relevant magazine website, talking about his friendship with the new pope, Palau stated: “I think that’s the emphasis he is going to bring to the papacy: That the Gospel is primary, that we must emphasize it and especially with youth.”1 But just what “Gospel” will the pope actually emphasize? Will the true Gospel of Jesus Christ be able to be emphasized when it is shrouded in Masses, Eucharists, Transubstantiations, Marian apparitions, and a “new” evangelization program that seeks to bring back the “lost brethren” to the “Mother” church? To understand more clearly the concerns that Lighthouse Trails and Understand the Times share, please read some of our material on just what Roman Catholicism teaches. We do not have any animosity toward Catholics themselves, but we do see the Roman Catholic church as a body of deception, leading millions away from the Gospel with a “justification by works” false gospel and a eucharistic christ that is “another Jesus.”

Below is just one of many headlines by Christian media boasting of Luis Palau’s relationship with the Pope.

“Luis Palau: New Pope Francis a Friend of Evangelicals”

By Anugrah Kumar
Christian Post

Evangelist Luis Palau, who knows and has prayed together with Pope Francis on several occasions, called the new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics a friend of evangelicals who is respectful of all sides of Christianity.

“I exploded,” Palau told oregonlive.com, of his reaction after his son, Kevin Palau, president of the Luis Palau Association, shared the news that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected pope this week. “I just couldn’t believe it. In the last election, he was in the running but he told me he felt led by God to remove himself from the race. I said, ‘Maybe next time,’ and he said, ‘I’ll be too old.’”

The fiery preacher who some have called the “Latin Billy Graham,” said whenever they prayed together, Bergoglio asked him to “lay your hands on me and pray for me, that God will keep me as servant.” The new pope is respectful of all sides of Christianity, Palau said, adding the press referred to him as the “evangelical pope” in 2008. Click here to read more.
 
http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2013/newsletters20130319.htm#abc2

i have to see this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9MJe9-g5Jw&list=UU_6yk4Q5RMk1MCUj5A2a-jw&index=1

Tom Horn and Cris Putnam join Gary Stearman as they discuss how the new pope does in fact validate St. Malachy's prophecy of the popes.

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-urges-dialogue-islam-says-world-must-more-103919637.html
3/22/13
Pope urges dialogue with Islam, more help for the poor

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged the West on Friday to intensify dialogue with Islam and appealed to the world to do more to combat poverty and protect the environment.

Speaking in Italian, the new pontiff said richer countries should fight what he called "the spiritual poverty of our times" by re-forging links with God.

"How many poor people there still are in the world! And what great suffering they have to endure!" he told the diplomats in the Vatican's frescoed Sala Regia.

Some critics of the Catholic Church, which has been struggling with scandals and internal divisions, say its rejection of contraception in particular harms the poor.

Others say it does much good in the developing world, running thousands of hospitals, schools, orphanages and hospices.

Francis made his appeal in an address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican, sending a message through them to the leaders of the 180 states with which the Vatican has diplomatic relations.

He urged them to help keep religion central in public life and promote inter-religious dialogue as a catalyst for efforts to build peace.

"In this work (peace building), the role of religion is fundamental. It is not possible to build bridges between people while forgetting God," he said.

"But the converse is also true: it is not possible to establish true links with God while ignoring other people. Hence it is important to intensify dialogue among the various religions, and I am thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam."

Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, said he was grateful that many Muslim religious and civilian leaders attended his inaugural Mass on Tuesday.

DIALOGUE, NOT RIVALRY

Dialogue, he said, "should help to build bridges connecting all people, in such a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister."

He underlined the importance of defending the poor when he explained why he had decided to take the name of St. Francis of Assisi, who is associated with austerity and help for the poor.

"Fighting poverty, both material and spiritual, building peace and constructing bridges: these, as it were, are the reference points for a journey that I want to invite each of the countries here represented to take up," he said.

In his speech, the pope thanked Christians in the developing world "who dedicate themselves to helping the sick, orphans, the homeless and all the marginalized, thus striving to make society more humane and just".

African Catholics have said they want the new pope to champion traditional Church teachings, such as opposing contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage.

Since his election, Francis has drawn attention to the need to defend nature and included it in his speech to the diplomats.

"Here too, it helps me to think of the name of (Saint)Francis, who teaches us profound respect for the whole of creation and the protection of our environment, which all too often, instead of using for the good, we exploit greedily, to one another's detriment," he said.

Francis has set the tone for a humbler papacy. The Vatican said he will hold a Holy Thursday ceremony next week in the chapel of a youth prison instead of in the Vatican or a Rome basilica where it has been held before.

He has also begun inviting outsiders to attend his morning Mass, something which Pope John Paul II did but which Benedict XVI, who is now "pope emeritus", discontinued.

On Thursday, France invited staff of the Santa Martha residence in the Vatican and on Friday it was the turn of Vatican gardeners to attend the morning Mass in the chapel of residence, a spokesman said.

On Saturday, Francis will fly to the papal summer retreat south of Rome to visit Benedict, who last month became the first pope in 600 years to abdicate instead of ruling for life, saying he no longer had the strength to carry out his mission.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/newsletters/2013/newsletters20130319.htm#1
Pope Francis – Spiritually “Founded” on a Contemplative Tradition

“Francis is a Jesuit and his long, arduous formation as a priest was founded on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius.” – UK Telegraph

“To think that the leader of the Catholic Church is one who follows in the tradition of Ignatius, whose life has been devoted to finding God in all things.” – Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities

LTRP Note: As we stated in a recent article, Contemplative Spirituality – the Source of the Catholic Church’s Expansion,” contemplative prayer (mysticism) is the tool used to grow the Catholic church. It is also the tool that is drawing all religions together (though called different things in different religious traditions: Sufism, Kabbalah, Samadhi, etc.). In the UK Telegraph article below, the subtitle reads “The power of prayer is bringing Canterbury and Rome together after 500 years.” The article says that Pope Francis’ spirituality is based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are named after the founder of the Jesuit Order, and have typically been used by Catholics. However, according to one source, “beginning in the 1980s, Protestants have had a growing interest in the Spiritual Exercises. There are recent (2006) adaptations that are specific to Protestants which emphasize the exercises as a school of contemplative prayer.” Traditionally, Ignatian Spirituality is practiced in a retreat center setting usually with the assistance of a spiritual director. As with other contemplative practices, it is believed that if the Ignatian exercises are practiced, the practitioner can conquer self and become more Christ-like (this is why Ignatian Spirituality is often included in Spiritual Formation programs). There is much that could be said here about Spiritual Formation but we will reserve that for another time.

It is correct to say that Ignatian Spirituality is part of contemplative spirituality. We could give many examples but one case in point to illustrate this would be James Wakefield’s book, Sacred Listening: Discovering the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola (Baker Books, 2006). We discuss certain aspects of Wakefield’s book in our The Jesuit Agenda booklet tract. Right now, we’d like to draw your attention to his book to show its ties with contemplative spirituality. The book includes instructions on various contemplative practices such as lectio divina and quotes and references several contemplative advocates, including Tilden Edwards. Edwards, the co-founder of the panentheistic Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington DC. made the revealing statement that “This mystical stream [contemplative prayer] is the Western bridge to Far Eastern spirituality” ( Spiritual Friend, p. 18). It couldn’t have been said more accurately, which is precisely why Lighthouse Trails continues its efforts to warn about contemplative spirituality.

When one considers how evangelical leaders such as Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Focus on the Family, Beth Moore, and many others have promoted contemplative spirituality for many years now, is it really any wonder that Protestants and Catholics are being drawn together? Couple that with efforts such as the Manhattan Declaration (endorsed by numerous Christian figures and organizations) that drew evangelicals and Catholics together from a “moral issues” point of view, and separation between the two didn’t have a standing chance. Put it all together, and the evangelical church is in big trouble. Remember the price that many believers had to pay for breaking away from the Roman Catholic church. They paid with their blood and lives. What would they be saying to us now if they were standing here with us?

For further documentation that Pope Francis is founded on contemplative practices, a statement was issued from the AJCU (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities) reaffirming the pope’s “Ignatian spirituality,” stating that:

All Jesuits share the experience of a rigorous spiritual formation process marked by a transformative experience with the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. To think that the leader of the Catholic Church is one who follows in the tradition of Ignatius, whose life has been devoted to finding God in all things, and who is committed to the service of faith and the promotion of justice, fills me with great hope. This is a great day for the Jesuits and the worldwide Church. (source)

Article from the UK Telegraph:

“A new Pope, a new Primate and a new life for Christianity”
The power of prayer is bringing Canterbury and Rome together after 500 years
 by Charles Moore
UK Telegraph

So far, the combined media knowledge of Pope Francis has not been impressive. We, the public, have been told that he likes travelling on public transport, that he played a controversial role among his fellow Jesuits in the years of the Argentine military dictatorships, and that he “is a conservative but cares for the poor” (that “but” tells you the politics of most ecclesiastical reportage). That’s about it.

I know that the Catholic Church is a huge global organisation, so lots of its cardinals, including Pope Francis, have the cheek to come from funny, faraway places. But one feels that if Jorge Bergoglio had been an Argentine footballer rather than an archbishop, plenty of experts would have been on hand to impart useful information. When it comes to religion, our media are very provincial. We project on to it our Western obsessions, which are mainly sexual. We are alarmed by its breadth and its depth.
more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9932996/A-new-Pope-a-new-Primate-anda-new-life-for-Christianity.html

Pope Francis’ Pectoral Cross EXPOSED

Another point to notice is his pectoral cross, which is pictured below.The pectoral cross looks even more disturbing form a distance and some see similarities to the mummy Osiris, the EGYPTIAN “god of the afterlife, underworld, and dead.”

(http://imageftw.com/uploads/20130325/420406_4411373254099_2103080716_n.jpg)

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-refers-muslim-brothers-good-friday-001145243.html
3/29/13
Pope refers to "Muslim brothers" on Good Friday

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis reached out in friendship to "so many Muslim brothers and sisters" during a Good Friday procession dedicated to the suffering of Christians from terrorism, war and religious fanaticism in the Middle East.

The new pontiff, who has rankled traditionalists by rejecting many trappings of his office, mostly stuck to the traditional script during the nighttime Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum, one of the most dramatic rituals of Holy Week.

With torches lighting the way, the faithful carried a cross to different stations, where meditations and prayers were read out recalling the final hours of Jesus' life and his crucifixion.

This year, the prayers were composed by young Lebanese, and many recalled the plight of minority Christians in the region, where wars have forced thousands to flee their homelands. The meditations called for an end to "violent fundamentalism," terrorism and the "wars and violence which in our days devastate various countries in the Middle East."

Francis, who became pope just over two weeks ago, chose, however, to stress Christians' positive relations with Muslims in the region in his brief comments at the end of the ceremony.

Standing on a platform overlooking the procession route, Francis recalled Benedict XVI's 2012 visit to Lebanon when "we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others."

"That occasion was a sign to the Middle East and to the whole world, a sign of hope," he said.

more

Feet washing? You have to admit, this new Pope is doing some things that are really grabbing the world's attention...

http://news.yahoo.com/popes-foot-wash-final-straw-traditionalists-004235548.html
Pope's foot-wash a final straw for traditionalists
3/29/13

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world's poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of the traditional pomp to the papacy.

Francis' decision to disregard church law and wash the feet of two girls — a Serbian Muslim and an Italian Catholic — during a Holy Thursday ritual has become something of the final straw, evidence that Francis has little or no interest in one of the key priorities of Benedict's papacy: reviving the pre-Vatican II traditions of the Catholic Church.

One of the most-read traditionalist blogs, "Rorate Caeli," reacted to the foot-washing ceremony by declaring the death of Benedict's eight-year project to correct what he considered the botched interpretations of the Second Vatican Council's modernizing reforms.

"The official end of the reform of the reform — by example," ''Rorate Caeli" lamented in its report on Francis' Holy Thursday ritual.

more

For some reason my cell can't copy/paste the text from the article  but it is about "7 Fascinating Facts We Have Learned About The Pope."

http://theweek.com/article/index/242061/7-fascinating-things-weve-learned-about-pope-francis

It has been two and a half weeks since the world was introduced to Pope Francis, and his unexpected promotion to the head of the Roman Catholic Church was met with a flurry of quick profiles. We learned, for example, that he is a Jesuit, lived in a small apartment and cooked his own meals, had a complicated relationship with Argentina's former military dictatorship, and has only one lung.

Then, most of us moved on to other things, as the new pope was officially installed in his position and started sending signals about what kind of a pontiff Pope Francis will be. What have we learned? Well, so far "it might seem as if Pope Francis is in a bit of denial over his new job as leader of the world's 1.2-billion Catholics," says the Associated Press' Nicole Winfield. "Or perhaps he's simply changing the popular idea of what it means to be pope, keeping the no-frills style he cultivated as archbishop of Buenos Aires in ways that may have broad implications for the church."

So, as the new pontiff presides for the first time over the holiest weekend of the Christian calendar, here are seven things we've learned about him so far:

1. He's not moving into the papal palace
Pope Francis has shown his desire to keep up the humble lifestyle he cultivated in Argentina in several ways: He showed up to pay his own pre-conclave hotel bill in person, personally called his newspaper carriers in Buenos Aires to cancel his subscriptions, frequently talks about the need for priests from the pope on down to serve the people, and spent Holy Thursday washing the feet of young inmates at a detention center outside Rome, instead of cleaning priests' feet (or delegating the washing) in Rome's ornate churches, as previous popes have done. But his highest-profile move has been his decision to live in a small suite in the Vatican hotel, the Casa Santa Marta, instead of the opulent 12-plus-room papal apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace.

There will "be no 16th-century polished marble floors or roof terrace with unmatched views of Rome" for the "least popey Pope in papal history," says Simon Usborne at Britain's The Independent, at least not outside of office hours: Francis will use the papal apartment as his workspace, to receive official guests and handle papal business. But he'll live in the antiseptic, institutional hotel with other guests, eating in a communal dining room and celebrating mass with Vatican groundskeepers, domestic staff, and other low-level workers — "for now," says Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi. "We'll see how it works."

"Beyond seeking a humbler set-up — not to mention a home-base that's less isolating and, perhaps, easier to sneak out of as he sees fit," says Rocco Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia, the move highlights another aspect of this "unique papacy: Unlike his predecessors since time immemorial, the pontiff has no personal household of aides and domestics who've come with him to the Vatican." Without an entourage to share the spacious papal apartment with, Pope Francis would have been living in a big house by himself.

2. Francis is no "Prada Pope"
The new pope's austerity is particularly notable as a contrast to his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who "was known in Italian media as the Prada Pope thanks to his custom-made red slippers," says The Independent's Usborne. And it wasn't just the red shoes and ermine vestments: As soon as Benedict became pope in 2005, he "commissioned 200 architects and specialist builders to renovate the appartamento pontificio," including putting in a "high-spec German kitchen."

Francis is keeping his black shoes, foregoing the red cape popes usually wear, and "his reluctance to change too much extends under the white cassock," too, says Whispers in the Loggia's Palmo: Francis' simple sartorial choices "don't just make his move to keep wearing black pants visible through the garment, but likewise highlight the untucked tails of his white dress-shirt." He's also keeping the iron-plated pectoral cross he used as archbishop, and his papal fisherman's ring isn't gold but gold-plated silver, made from a mold created for Pope Paul VI.

3. He sees himself as a bishop, not a king
One of the things that might prevent the new pope from rejecting "the pomp and ceremony that surrounds his 2,000-year-old office" is the name he inherited, says Peter Stanford in Britain's The Guardian: "His full title is 'bishop of Rome, vicar of Jesus Christ, successor of St Peter, prince of the apostles, supreme pontiff of the universal church, patriarch of the west, primate of Italy, archbishop and metropolitan of the Roman province, sovereign of the state of Vatican City.'" That's a mouthful when "you are busy telling people you are at their service."

He still goes by "Bergoglio" to his closest friends, says the AP's Winfield, and signs his official correspondence "Francis." When it comes to how he sees his papacy, perhaps the biggest titular clue came when he was announced to the world as pope and said his fellow cardinals had given "Rome a bishop." As it turns out, "bishop of Rome is the title he has emphasized repeatedly ever since — not vicar of Christ, or any of his other official titles."

4. Francis might be stubborn enough to take on the Curia
Everybody is focusing on the pope's personal austerity and humility, but people overlook his "management experience in his native Argentina as head of the Jesuit province and chairman of the national bishops conference," says Reuters' Tom Heneghan. He's been described as an attentive and personable boss, but also one who is "demanding, has little patience for bureaucracy, and appoints talented assistants." His predecessor, Benedict, was not a good manager, and it showed, in a leak-prone and feudal Vatican bureaucracy, or Curia. "The first hint Francis gave of plans to change the Curia came three days after his election when he reappointed its top bureaucrats temporarily rather than permanently, as Benedict did after being elected in 2005."

Francis' "success at defining himself as himself on the world stage has come thanks to a less visible, yet equally key trait of the 266th pope: His steely sense of determination," says Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia. We haven't seen too much of that trait yet, but "its early quiet flashes are merely shaping up as a sneak preview of the battle of wills which is almost certain to define his pontificate."

5. He's a pretty deft politician
Francis' "sharp political skills have long been apparent to Argentines," and he's already deployed them as pope to win friends and influence people, says the AP's Debora Rey. That's true nowhere as starkly as in the "remarkable about-face" of his former nemesis, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. When Fernandez decided it was in her interest to ally herself with the Argentine pope, he reciprocated, granting her his first papal audience. This is a pretty clear "signal that when it comes to the populist governments of Latin America, he'll avoid the kinds of direct confrontations that feed divisive politics, and instead will seek to co-opt them as well, joining forces to help the poorest benefit from society."

6. He will focus on ecumenism
Another early motif of the Franciscan papacy is cooperation and reconciliation with other faiths. A remarkable number of religious leaders attended and even participated in his installation mass, and "in his March 20 audience with religious leaders, Francis sent an important signal about his view of the papacy and its relationship with other Christians," says the AP's Nicole Winfield. He greeted Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, as "my brother," and placed his chair on the floor along with all the other religious leaders. "Two days later, when Francis greeted diplomats accredited to the Holy See, his chair was up on a platform."

"To have a simpler view, less grandiose sense of the trappings of the papacy might be saying, 'I want to be able to relate to you at a different level,'" U.S. Greek Orthodox official Anton Vrame tells the AP.

7. He is driving his security detail "crazy"
If reporters and commentators are charmed by Pope Francis, he's causing headaches with the Vatican security service — the mix of Swiss Guards and Vatican police charged with protecting the pope. Pope Francis has ditched the bulletproof-glass-enclosed Popemobile the pontiff has used since Pope John Paull II was shot in 1981, riding around in an open-air white Mercedes jeep — and frequently getting out to greet the crowds. (See video below).

He's also mixing freely with crowds at churches and walking when his security detail wants him to go by car. It's hard to argue with a pope, so "as Curialists of every stripe tend to do, the guards have taken their case to the ultimate sounding board of life behind the walls: The Italian press," says Rocco Palmo. Anonymous security officials tell Italy's La Stampa that they are "seeking to adjust to the new style," but should Francis' habits not "normalize" after his first days, "it will make everybody crazy."

http://news.yahoo.com/shroud-turin-goes-display-amid-research-164019211.html
Shroud of Turin goes on display amid new research

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Shroud of Turin went on display for a special TV appearance Saturday amid new research disputing claims it's a medieval fake and purporting to date the linen some say was Jesus' burial cloth to around the time of his death.

Pope Francis sent a special video message to the event in Turin's cathedral, but made no claim that the image on the shroud of a man with wounds similar to those suffered by Christ was really that of Jesus. He called the cloth an "icon," not a relic — an important distinction.

more

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-makes-easter-pleas-world-peace-202950073.html
Pope makes Easter pleas for world peace
3/31/13

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis marked Christianity's most joyous day with a passionate plea for world peace, celebrating his first Easter Sunday as pontiff in the enthusiastic company of more than 250,000 people who overflowed from St. Peter's Square.

With eloquent words in his Easter message, Francis lamented enduring conflicts in the Middle East, on the Korean peninsula and elsewhere and remembered the world's neediest people. With physical gestures, he illustrated the personal, down-to-earth caring he brings as a pastor to this new papacy — cradling a disabled child held out to him in the crowd and delightedly accepting a surprise gift thrust at him.

more

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-makes-easter-pleas-mideast-peace-101523086.html
3/31/13
Pope makes Easter pleas for Mideast peace

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis delivered a plea for peace in his first Easter Sunday message to the world, decrying the seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East and on the Korean peninsula after celebrating Mass at an outdoor altar before more than 250,000 people in flower-bedecked St. Peter's Square.

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As popes before him have, he urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks and end a conflict that "has lasted all too long." And, in reflecting on the two-year-old Syrian crisis, Francis asked, "How much suffering must there still be before a political solution" can be found?

more

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-visits-st-peters-tomb-under-vatican-181225763.html
04/01/13
Pope visits "St. Peter's tomb" under Vatican

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday took an emotional, close-up look at the tomb of Peter, the church's first pontiff, buried beneath St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican said.

By doing so, Francis became the first pontiff to visit the necropolis, where pagans and early Christians were buried, since extensive archaeological excavations were conducted at the ancient site decades ago, the Vatican said.

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First pope to see the fake tomb? I find that hard to believe. Unless they know it's fake and they haven't bothered till now.

Guess this is suppose to tie in with "The Bible" movie, another fake that promoted Peter at every turn in that joke of a movie and made Paul look like some kind of mean person or something. I realize he persecuted believers before his conversion, but the actor they used was rough looking and his voice made him seem, well, bad, when compared to the Peter character. They even started off calling him "Paul of Taursus", not Saul, before his conversion. It was too obvious the movie was a Catholic production, right down to the RCC commercials claiming they "compiled" the bible!

They even had I think Peter say in one scene, "I am the way, truth and life,..." but cut it off there, which made it appear that the statement was made by him, and not Jesus. They just made things up to suit production I guess, and the RCC agenda, like having Peter by himself in his boat when Jesus first showed up at Galilee. No biblical account has Peter by himself. He was at least with his brother Andrew.

And they had Jesus tell him that they would "change the world" (a "works" doctrine). Jesus didn't say that, as much as the RCC would like it, because Jesus knows the world won't change, which is why it's going to be burned up with fire in the end.

Just more and more lies by the RCC.

I watched like one hour of that "The Bible" movie when it first came out - it was too painful to watch after the 1st hour or so, a lot like hearing someone scratching his fingernails across the blackboard.

Well, we watched it because the wife wanted to, so I took it as an opportunity to point out what was true and what was a lie and how they twisted scripture.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/303087/news/world/un-chief-hails-pope-francis-as-a-global-spiritual-leader
UN chief hails Pope Francis as a global spiritual leader
April 9, 2013 8:19pm

VATICAN CITY - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis as "a spiritual leader of the world" and emphasized goals of social justice shared between the Vatican and the United Nations.

"It is very important to meet a spiritual leader of the world," Ban said at the start of his meeting with the Argentine pope, who last month became the first non-European leader of the world's Catholics in nearly 1,300 years.

"The Holy See and the UN share common goals and ideas," said Ban—one of the first world leaders to be received at an audience by the new pontiff.

Francis has called for the Roman Catholic Church to be closer to ordinary people and help the needy, as well as to reach out to people of different religions and non-believers.

"We discussed the need to advance social justice and accelerate work to meet the Millenium Development Goals," Ban said after the meeting.

The international community has undertaken to meet goals including eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and reducing child mortality by 2015.

"Pope Francis is a man of peace and purpose. He is a voice for the voiceless," he said.

Ban said he also invited the pope to visit the United Nations "at his earliest convenience."

The UN leader also commented on the pope's choice to name himself after St Francis of Assisi, saying this was "a powerful message for the many goals shared by the United Nations."

"It speaks loudly of his commitment to the poor, his acute sense of humility, his passion and compassion to improve the human condition," he said.

Ban gave the pope a large book with the Charter of the United Nations in six languages.

Speaking of the Jesuits...things like this just scream Jesuitical...

http://news.yahoo.com/french-gays-protest-marriage-law-spurs-violence-155407790.html
French gays protest as marriage law spurs violence
4/10/13

PARIS (Reuters) - A gay man beaten up in Paris this month is using a photo of his injuries to fuel a growing protest for equality, as a divisive reform bill to allow same-sex marriage in France drives a spate of homophobic attacks.

A photo taken of Wilfred de Bruijn's battered and bruised face shortly after he was kicked unconscious by unknown assailants has gone viral on the Internet this month.

"Sorry to show you this. It's the face of Homophobia," de Bruijn wrote above the image posted on his Facebook page on Sunday. It has been shared nearly 8,000 times since then.

De Bruijn, a Dutchman resident in Paris for a decade, told France Inter radio on Wednesday that he had "no doubt" that an assault on him and his boyfriend, who was punched in the face as they walked arm-in-arm, was a homophobic attack.

Gay rights issues have divided France in recent months as President Francois Hollande has pushed through a bill to legalize gay marriage despite angry street protests.

The law, backed by two in three people in surveys, is set to pass without major hitches in a parliament where Hollande's Socialists have a majority.

Yet a passionate debate, particularly on whether same-sex couples should have parenting rights, has triggered a surge in verbal and physical attacks on the gay community, according to records kept by the campaign group SOS Homophobie.

The group has recorded more than 60 reports of homophobic attacks, two to three times higher than normal, in the past week as the bill makes its final passage through the Senate.

"It feels like the most violent time in our history," said Michael Bouvard, vice-president of SOS Homophobie.

HALL VANDALISED

On Sunday night, a hall used during the day for a festival of lesbian, gay and transgender associations in the gay-friendly Marais district of central Paris was vandalized and plastered with posters for the vocal anti-gay marriage lobby.

The "Protest for Everyone" movement, led by the comedian Frigide Barjot, has united tens of thousands of Roman Catholics, evangelical Christians and Muslims.

De Bruijn said the heated nature of the debate was encouraging violence.

"It wasn't Frigide Barjot who hit my boyfriend, but you can't ignore the narrow-minded speeches being made," he said.

France, traditionally Catholic and socially conservative, is opening up slowly to acceptance of gays and lesbians, with a trickle of public figures now openly homosexual.

The law giving same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt children is now being debated in the Senate after being adopted by the lower house in February after 110 hours of debate.

SOS Homophobie is already waging a legal fight against a far-right student union that it says posted images online aimed at inciting homophobic violence.

It was due to be among several dozen lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender groups staging a demonstration against homophobia in front of Paris' town hall later on Wednesday.

In cyberspace, de Bruijn has stepped up his own protest, posting a stylized black-and-white poster version of his photo with details of Wednesday's rally and the slogan: "Fight back".

(Reporting by Tara Oakes; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Is Pope Francis Laying The Groundwork For A One World Religion?

Does Pope Francis intend to help the global elite achieve their goal of uniting all of the religions of the world under a single banner?  Will he be instrumental in establishing a single global religion for the glorious “new age” that the global elite believe is coming?  After he was elected, the cover of Time Magazine declared Pope Francis to be the “New World Pope“, and since his election Pope Francis has made it abundantly clear that he is going to make ecumenical outreach a top priority.  He has spoken of his “determination to continue on the path of ecumenical dialogue“, and he has already held a number of very high profile ecumenical meetings.  Not only has he worked hard to reach out to leaders from various Christian traditions, he has also made it a point to try to acknowledge the mutual bonds that he feels with all other religions.  For example, in one recent address he made it a point to say that he believes that Muslims worship and pray to the “one God” that he also worships.  This “all roads lead to the same God” philosophy is a hallmark of the one world religion that the global elite have been slowly building toward for decades.  The global elite know that even with a one world economy and a one world government, humanity will never be truly united until there is a single global religion.  Unfortunately, this one world religion that they are seeking to establish is diametrically opposed to the Christianity that we find in the Bible.  By throwing out Biblical truth for the sake of “friendship between men and women of different religious traditions“, is Pope Francis fundamentally betraying the faith that he claims to represent?

If there is going to be a one world religion, there will have to be a bond formed between Roman Catholicism and Islam.  They are the two largest religious traditions on the planet, and so any truly “global religion” would definitely require the participation of both of them.

That is one reason why what Pope Francis has already had to say about Islam is so noteworthy.  The following comes from remarks that he made during his very first ecumenical meeting…

    I then greet and cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; first of all the Muslims, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer, and all of you. I really appreciate your presence: in it I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity.

    The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – I wish to repeat this: promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – it also attests the valuable work that the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue performs.

But are “Allah” and the God of the Bible the same thing?

Of course not.  For example, Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God.  Muslims deny this vehemently.  For much more on why “Allah” and the God of the Bible are not the same, please see this article.

So either Pope Francis is denying the divinity of Jesus Christ, or he is exhibiting a frightening ignorance of basic Christian theology, or there is some other agenda at work here.

During that same ecumenical meeting, Pope Francis also made it a point to state that he feels “close” to those that belong “to any religious tradition”…

    In this, we feel close even to all those men and women who, whilst not recognizing themselves belonging to any religious tradition, feel themselves nevertheless to be in search of truth, goodness and beauty, this truth, goodness and beauty of God, and who are our precious allies in efforts to defend the dignity of man, in building a peaceful coexistence among peoples and in guarding Creation carefully.

It is one thing to love people and to seek to build friendships with them, but it is another thing entirely to throw out the most basic beliefs of the faith that you supposedly represent in order to promote a specific agenda.

And Pope Francis definitely appears to have an agenda.  On another occasion, Pope Francis declared that it was time “to intensify dialogue” with other religions, and that he was “thinking particularly of dialogue with Islam.”

But this affinity for Islam did not just begin recently.  The truth is that Pope Francis was working hard to build bridges with Islam even when he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires…

    “His humility drew my attention,” Sheik Mohsen Ali, an important Islamic leader in Argentina, told the Buenos Aires Herald. He “always showed himself a friend of the Islamic community.”

And Pope Francis has a reputation for being a cleric that really “knows Islam“…

    Sumer Noufouri, secretary-general of the Islamic Center of the Republic of Argentina, told the Buenos Aires Herald that the new pope is a “respectful, pro-dialogue person who knows Islam.”

But of course Pope Francis is not just reaching out to the Islamic world.

He has also been working hard to “intensify dialogue” with other Christian traditions.

In particular, he seems quite interested in improving relations with the Orthodox churches of the east…

    Before his address, the pope had a private meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul, who attended Francis’s inaugural Mass on Tuesday.

    It was the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians had attended a Roman pope’s inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054.

    At Wednesday’s meeting, Francis called Bartholomew “my brother Andrew,” a reference to the apostle who was the brother of St. Peter and was the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium.

    Francis also held a private session with Metropolitan Hilarion, the foreign minister of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest in the Orthodox world.

It won’t happen tomorrow, of course, but could Pope Francis be the Pope that brings the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox back together?

And of course a one world religion will not appear overnight either.  There are far too many differences to overcome right now.

But as the world becomes increasingly unstable, people are going to be looking for answers.  After the world is ravaged by economic collapse, food shortages, nightmarish pandemics, unprecedented natural disasters and horrifying wars, will it finally be ready for a one world religion that promises “peace and friendship” among all of the religions of the globe?

This is something to watch for in the years ahead.  The global elite desperately want a single global religion, and they will keep moving things in that direction.

For now, Pope Francis just seems to be laying the groundwork for the one world religion that is coming.  There is a 900-year-old prophecy that indicates that Pope Francis could be the last Pope.  If that prophecy is true, then it will be very important to watch the actions of this Pope very carefully.

So what do you think about all of this?

Please feel free to post a comment with your opinion below…
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/is-pope-francis-laying-the-groundwork-for-a-one-world-religion

(http://img.timeinc.net/time/images/covers/asia/2013/20130325_600.jpg)

http://www.wayoflife.org/index_files/evangelicals_turning_to_roman_catholic_spirituality.html
1/15/13
Evangelicals Turning to Roman Catholic Contemplative Spirituality

Everywhere we look “evangelicals” are turning to Roman Catholic styles of contemplative spirituality (which in many cases were borrowed from pagan sources), such as ritualistic rote prayers, chanting, meditation, centering prayer, the use of prayer beads, Stations of the Cross, lectio divina, labyrinths, and “the daily office.”

The cover story for the February 2008 issue of Christianity Today was “The Future Lies in the Past,” and it describes the “lost secrets of the ancient church” that are being rediscovered by evangelicals. The ancient church in question happens to be the Roman Catholic, beginning with the so-called “church fathers” of the early centuries.

The article observes that many young evangelicals dislike both “traditional Christianity” and the seeker sensitive churches. Traditional Christianity is described as too focused on “being right,” too much into “Bible studies” and “apologetics materials.” Instead, the young evangelicals are lusting after “a renewed encounter with a God” that goes beyond “doctrinal definitions.” This, of course, is a perfect definition of mysticism. It refers to experiencing God beyond the boundaries of Scripture.

Christianity Today recommends that evangelicals “stop debating” and just “embody Christianity.” Toward this end they should “embrace symbols and sacraments” and dialogue with “Catholicism and Orthodoxy”; they should “break out the candles and incense” and pray the “lectio divina” and learn the “Catholic ascetic disciplines” from “practicing monks and nuns.”

Christianity Today says that this “search for historic roots” will lead “to a deepening ecumenical conversation, and a recognition by evangelicals that the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox are fellow Christians with much to teach us.”

This is a no-holds-barred invitation to Catholic mysticism, and it will not lead to light but to the same darkness that has characterized Rome throughout its history, and it will lead beyond Rome to the paganism from which Rome originally borrowed its “contemplative practices.”

more

Pope Francis During Feast of St. George Mass: ‘It is Not Possible to Find Jesus Outside the Church’

During his address on Tuesday in celebration of the Feast of St. George, one of the central messages delivered by Pope Francis to the cardinals gathered was that “it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church.”

“The Christian identity is not an identity card: Christian identity is belonging to the Church, because all of these belonged to the Church, the Mother Church,” he declared to the dozens present. “Because it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church. The great Paul VI said: ‘Wanting to live with Jesus without the Church, following Jesus outside of the Church, loving Jesus without the Church is an absurd dichotomy.’”

“And the Mother Church that gives us Jesus gives us our identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging. Identity means belonging,” the pope continued. “This belonging to the Church is beautiful.”

During the brief address, Francis gave examples of the apostles who evangelized the world and endured persecution. In doing so, he continued to repeat his theme of the importance of the Church.

“Think of this Mother Church that grows, grows with new children to whom She gives the identity of the faith, because you cannot believe in Jesus without the Church,” he asserted. “Jesus Himself says in the Gospel: ‘But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.’ If we are not ‘sheep of Jesus,’ faith does not come to us. It is a rosewater faith, a faith without substance.”

“And let us think of the consolation that Barnabas felt, which is ‘the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing,’” Pope Francis concluded. “And let us ask the Lord for this ‘parresia,’ this apostolic fervor that impels us to move forward, as brothers, all of us forward!”

“Forward, bringing the name of Jesus in the bosom of Holy Mother Church,” he declared, adding, “and, as St. Ignatius said, ‘hierarchical and Catholic.’ So be it.”
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Interpretation of the Pope’s message has been mixed.

“As a non-Roman Catholic, I take his words to mean the catholic (small c) church, not the Roman Catholic Church,” wrote one commenter named Megan. “If that is what he means, then he is 100% correct. Those who seek to follow Jesus by mixing Christian teaching with Buddhism or a neo-Pagan mélange of Christianity and a bunch of other weird beliefs are not going to find Christ and His salvation.”

“If anyone believes the Pope meant the Church as in the Body of Christ is wearing rose colored glasses,” asserted another named Hope. “It is well known the Catholic Church teaches they are the only true church.”

Catholic Online reporter Andrew Greenwell also agreed with the Roman Catholic insinuation of the message.

“In his short sermon on the Feast of St. George, Pope Francis spoke to the assembled Cardinals about the importance of the Church’s mission of evangelization, a mission that includes introducing people to the Catholic Church ‘because it is not possible to find Jesus outside the Church,’” he wrote.

Mike Gendron of Proclaiming the Truth Ministries, a former Roman Catholic, said that certain key words in the address indicated that the Pope was referring to the Catholic religion.

“He must be referring to the Roman Catholic Church since he said, ‘the Mother Church which gives us the faith that is our identity,’” Gendron told Christian News Network. “So often when we witness to Catholics and ask if they are a Christian they say, ‘No, I am a Catholic.’ That is their identity. We know that the true Church does not give anyone faith. It is given by God as a gift of His grace.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “The Church, especially the Roman Catholic Church, [is] considered as a mother in its functions of nourishing and protecting the believer.”

“The Pope’s words are doctrinally very difficult indeed,” a commenter with the screen name of Parasum stated. “If the Pope believes non-Catholics are heathens, fair enough – but then the problem arises: How does he propose to square that with the teaching and acts of his recent predecessors ?”

“So what does the Pope mean?” they asked. “On the face of it, it is impossible to give his words any meaning that is not a very bad one. If his words are patient of a good sense – what is that sense ? In their natural sense, they are simply untrue.”

http://christiannews.net/2013/04/25/pope-francis-during-feast-of-st-george-mass-it-is-not-possible-to-find-jesus-outside-the-church/

Oh, he means "the Great Wh0re" that rides the beast and has the blood of the saints on "her" hands!  ::)

Uhm...NO!

Uhm...you are WRONG, Mr. Francis!

1Cor_3:9  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

2Cor_5:1  For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Pope Francis elected after supernatural 'signs' in the Conclave, says Cardinal
The surprise election of the Pope Francis came about because of a series of supernatural “signs”, one of the leading Cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church has claimed.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, who was himself widely tipped as a possible successor to Pope Benedict, said he had personally had two “strong signs” that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was “the chosen one” in the run up to vote.

He said only divine intervention could explain the speed with which the Argentine Cardinal - who did not feature on any of the main lists of likely candidates compiled by Vatican experts - was elected.

Speaking to an Anglican conference in London, he also said the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, had a “strange similarity” to the new Pope.

He said that the two elections were a “little miracle” and a “sign from the Lord” that the two churches should work towards closer unity.

Addressing an audience of 5,000 people in the Royal Albert Hall, at a conference organised by the prominent Holy Trinity Brompton church in west London, he said that he was certain that on the evening of March 12, as the papal Conclave began, none of the Cardinals had known who would be chosen.

“It was a tremendous experience of the Holy Spirit,” he said.

“We were driven by the Holy Spirit to this man – he was sitting in the last corner of the Sistine Chapel: This man he is the chosen one.”

He added: “I received at least two strong signs: one I can tell, the other was in the Conclave I can’t speak about – but real signs of the Lord giving me indication ‘he is the one’.”

The Cardinal said that just after a special mass before the Conclave began he came across a couple from Latin America who are friends of his.

He said: “I met them outside the Basilica and I asked: ‘You have the Holy Spirit, can you give me advice for the Conclave that will start in a few hours?’

“And the woman whispered in my ear ‘Bergoglio’, and it hit me really: if these people say Bergoglio, that’s an indication of the Holy Spirit.

“And I’m sure many of us have received similar signs during the Conclave, it wouldn’t have been possible to have this election so soon and so rapidly.”

To applause, the Cardinal went on: “You know there is a strange similarity with your Archbishop Justin, I hope so much that they will meet soon.”

Laughing, he added: “I don’t know the secrets of the ‘conclave’ at Lambeth Palace.

“But it looks like a little miracle that he became the Archbishop, so I think the Lord as given us a great sign through these two elections and other signs and what I have deeply in my heart … it is as if he would say to the world ‘come home, I wait for you’.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10056994/Pope-Francis-elected-after-supernatural-signs-in-the-Conclave-says-Cardinal.html

Exorcism? Pope Francis caught on video performing strange ritual on fan

POPE Francis has been embroiled in a scandal after footage emerged today appearing to show him giving a man an exorcism in St Peter's Square.

The astonishing incident between the Pontiff and the person in a wheelchair, took place immediately after Pentecostal mass on Sunday May 19.

The video shows how a priest leans across the boy or young man to tell Francis something, at which point the Pope’s expression becomes more serious.
 
The Pontiff then grips the top of the subject’s head firmly and is seen pushing him down into his wheelchair.

As this is happening Francis recites an intense prayer, and the boy’s mouth drops wide open and he exhales sharply.

Francis’s usual smile then returns and he continues with the traditional and more gentle Sunday greetings for sick or disabled visitors to St Peter’s.

La Repubblica newspaper this morning quoted an exorcism expert has saying: “It was a prayer of liberation from evil or even a real exorcism.”
 
The leading Roman exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, said: “Francis is also the Bishop of Rome and like all bishops he’s an exorcist.”

The new Pope has made it quite clear since his election that he believes the Devil, whom refers to as “the Enemy” and “The Prince of this World” is a real force that needs to be fought constantly.

The Vatican has downplayed the incident, filmed by the religious satellite channel TV2000, saying it was simple prayer.

The former Pope, Benedict XVI, never performed an exorcism, Francis is on record as having performed them, however, as was Benedict’s predecessor John Paul II.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XHYFiAH4hY

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4936655/pope-francis-caught-on-video-performing-strange-ritual-on-fan.html#ixzz2TwR2Q4Pp

If you guys remember me telling you about that Asian missionary guy that visited my mom's church once in awhile, and then came over to our house a couple of times in 2011...and then it was in Dec of that year when he called me out in front of the pastor and my parents how I had no love for God, had darkness, and idolatry...he pretty much proceeded to do the same thing as this Pope Francis did to this young man - grab my head with his hand and started screaming in some unknown tongue, like he was warring with some devils inside me.

Anyhow - reminded me of this when I saw the video of Pope Francis doing this - it seems like the RCC is obsessed with "fighting spiritual warfare". But for anyone that reads their bibles, nowhere does it say they do anything what they do(exorcism or whatever).



Uhm...scripture says otherwise...

[] = emphasis mine

Hebrews 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he[Jesus] also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

1John_3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Also another comment to what this Pope said about how the devil is a real force that needs to be fought constantly - throughout my years attending Churchianity, one of the things I've heard numerous times was that if we're even the least bit distracted during the pastor's sermon, it means we're letting the devil harass us. Uhm...this has got to be the MOST STUPIDEST thing anyone has ever heard. So are they saying the devil is really this omnipresent? But on the contrary, the pastor gets a free pass for preaching out of these dead, perverted bibles like the NIV?

Of course, nowhere in the bible does it say the devil is omnipresent and omnipotent. On the contrary, it says he's been cast down out of heaven in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 14:12  How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

John_12:31  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Yeah, you can see that Catholic leaven in Churchianity today.

2Cor 11:13  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/22/pope-francis-atheists-can-be-good
5/22/13
Pope Francis says atheists can be good

Just do good, and we'll find a meeting point, says Francis in marked departure from Benedict's line on non-Catholics

Atheists should be seen as good people if they do good, Pope Francis has said in his latest urging that people of all religions, and none, work together.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics made his comments in the homily of his morning mass at his residence, a daily event at which he speaks without prepared comments.

He told the story of a Catholic who asked a priest if even atheists had been redeemed by Jesus.

"Even them, everyone," the pope answered, according to Vatican Radio. "We all have the duty to do good," he said.

"Just do good, and we'll find a meeting point," the pope said in a hypothetical reply to the hypothetical comment: "But I don't believe. I'm an atheist."

Francis's reaching out to atheists and people who belong to no religion is in marked contrast to the attitude of his predecessor, Benedict, who sometimes prompted complaints from non-Catholics that he seemed to see them as second-class believers.

Revelation 13:11-14 KJV

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

He is saying everyone is saved, you dont have to do anything as you get a free ride to Heaven.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life; NO MAN cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME.” — Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

What does he mean by "redeemed"? I think he's making a play on words, seeing one could say everybody is, one just has to repent and accept it. Big difference between redeemed, and accepting that redemption.

Even this is a LIE. That is all that spues from this Antichrist. The passage has nothing to do with good works at all.

Mark 9:38 ¶ And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.

The Pope is a LIAR just like his Father the Devil.

Yeah, don't recall other Popes going THIS far, even though they too pushed the ecumenical movement.

Keep in mind that this pope is known to support exorcism.

You lost me on that one. Do you mean driving out demons or the show catholic priests and heretics and pagans put on?

http://endtimesandcurrentevents.freesmfhosting.com/index.php/topic,5312.msg35414.html#msg35414

 ??? again...

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;


The reason the Catholic church is denyng that that was an exorcism, is because it didnt involve all the pagan platitudes that they add to it. The holy water, the tying the person down all of dog and poney show. Jesus and the apostles just said come out.

You know what I mean! The RCC does exorcism, while believers cast out demons by His Word, "Get thee hence!"

Vatican corrects Pope: Atheists are still going to hell

After Pope Francis told the world even atheists can go to heaven, the Vatican issued a correction: Atheists are still going to hell.

The Vatican issued an “explanatory note on the meaning of “salvation,” on Thursday, May 23, after media reports circulated indicating that Pope Francis” promised heaven for everyone engaged in good works, including atheists.
 
In response to the media attention, the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, said that people who know about the Catholic church “cannot be saved” if they “refuse to enter her or remain in her.”
 
(Translation: Atheists are going to Hell if they don’t accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.)
 
Rosica also said that Francis had “no intention of provoking a theological debate on the nature of salvation,” during his homily on Wednesday.
 
The current theological confusion began after the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics made comments during the homily of his morning Mass on Wednesday, May 22, indicating that atheists would enjoy the fruits of eternal salvation if they were good people. Francis said:
 
“
The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!
 
We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.

http://www.examiner.com/article/vatican-corrects-pope-atheists-are-still-going-to-hell

 :D

Looks like Satan is rising up against himself...no surprise...

So they correct the pope's doctrinal ignorance with heresy!  ::)

I know right, that is so funny.  :D

Man Pope Prayed Over Still 'Possessed'

A 43-year-old Mexican father of two, who claims to be possessed by demons — and whom Pope Francis prayed over earlier this month in what some witnesses likened to a public exorcism — insists that he still has demons inside him.

Identified only as Angel V., the man told Spanish-language newspaper El Mundo that he had undergone some 30 exorcisms by 10 exorcists, including the renowned Roman exorcist Rev. Gabriel Amorth, who all tried unsuccessfully to free him from his affliction. The interview was reported in the Italian daily La Stampa.

“I still have the demons inside me, they have not gone away,” the man said, noting that he felt much better after the Pope prayed over him. El Mundo reported that the man is able to walk. He was in a wheelchair when he met Pope Francis on May 19 at the conclusion of Mass on Pentecost Sunday.

rest: http://www.newsmax.com/Newswidget/Pope-Excorcism-Possessed-Angel/2013/05/29/id/506975?promo_code=125BD-1&utm

In a wheelchair? Who said he needed a chair? Old school tent revival fakes use to do that, put people in chairs, then "heal" them, and have them stand up, making the audience think they were healed and can now walk!  ::)


Obviously scripture yet again is correct. Satan cannot cast out Satan!

They are all fakes to begin with, but for the most part, they rarely ever mention the name of Jesus Christ. Remember that Asian missionary guy that went after me a couple of years ago - he started yelling in some crazy tongues(and he looked like he was in a trance), but not once did he ever mention Jesus Christ.(ie-at the end when he looked desperate, it looked like he yelled, "Get out! GET OUT!")

And of course he started out by telling my "sins" in front of the pastor - again, test the spirits by using the WHOLE council of God - he needed to come to me IN PRIVATE first. And when making an accusation like this, he also needed 1 or 2 other witnesses confirming the same thing.

Francis gets personal: 'I didn't want to be pope'

Pope Francis has revealed that he never wanted to be pope and that he's living in the Vatican hotel for his "psychiatric" health.
 
Francis got very personal Friday as he met with thousands of children from Jesuit schools across Italy and Albania. Answering their questions one by one, Francis told them the decision to become a priest had been difficult for him and that he had suffered "moments of interior darkness" when "you feel dry, without interior joy."
 
But he said he went ahead because he loved Christ.
 
One of the most touching moments came when Teresa, a bright-eyed redhead no more than six, asked Francis flat out if he had wanted to be pope.
 
After joking around, Francis replied: "I didn't want to be pope."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_POPE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-06-07-07-44-14

Hey Frank, you can quit!

All you need to do is fall to your knees and repent of that wickedness called the RCC, and walk away.

"Confess your faults..." I know you want to. Just walk out into St. Peter's Square and do it in front of God and the world, live on CNN.

And PLEASE put a match to those stupid silk slippers!  ::)

"...thy will be done..."

 :D Frank! :D That cracked me up! I could just see flames on those little slippers now! Spain has some nice leather wingtips AND they need the $! Flee the Vatican now!

 ;)

Francis could organise peace meeting between world’s three major religions, in Rome

Israeli government sources say the Pope spoke to President Shimon Peres in a meeting between Jews, Christians and Muslims, aimed at speaking out against violence. Rabbi Rosen has asked for steps to be taken to bring peace to the Holy Land

Israeli government sources claim Francis is apparently thinking of calling a meeting between leaders and faithful of the world’s three biggest monotheistic religions, in Rome, to launch a message of peace, countering violence and the use of God’s name to justify hatred and terrorist acts. The sources say the Pope announced his intention to call a meeting, during an Audience last 30 April. But there was no mention of this in the communiqué the Holy See’s issued after the Audience. 
 
President Peres “told the Pope that there are people who use God’s name to justify terrorism” and religious leaders should “say out loud that God did not give anyone permission to kill their neighbour.” According to the information contained in a summary of the Audience received by the Israeli government, Francis told Peres he “whole-heartedly supported” his appeal against violence and that “he wanted to promote a meeting between religious leaders and faithful of the three major religions” founded by Abraham, “in Rome”. The aim would be to “make people see” that the religions “oppose violence and terrorism.”
 
If these statements were indeed made during the Audience, it looks like the Pope is thinking about possible peace initiatives that would be restricted to the world’s three major monotheistic faiths. It would not be an interreligious meeting involving all faiths, like the Assisi gatherings organised by John Paul II and then by Benedict XVI in 2011. Readers will remember that in January 2002, just a few months after the 9/11 attacks in the U.S., Pope John Paul II convened a special meeting of religions in Assisi, in order to make it crystal clear that in no way could violence and terrorism be justified on theological grounds.
 
But in Israel, there are those who would like religions to nudge politicians to come up with viable solutions to the conflict in the Middle East. The President of the International Council of Christians and Jews (Iccj), Rabbi David Rosen, has asked the Pope to help leaders of the Jewish and Muslim religions to promote an initiative for peace in the Holy Land. Speaking to a group of Italian journalists, Rosen suggested the Pope convene a meeting between the Holy Land’s religious leaders, in Jerusalem, to pray for peace in the region. “2015 could be a perfect time to do this as it will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of “Nostra Aetate”, the Second Vatican Council declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-<wbr></wbr>Christian Religions”. The Rabbi said an initiative like this was important as it would “boost political efforts to resolve conflicts in the region.”

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/documents/detail/articolo/francesco-francis-francisco-25236/

Pope wades diplomatically into gay marriage debate
http://news.yahoo.com/pope-wades-diplomatically-gay-marriage-debate-125515261.html
6/14/13

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis waded diplomatically into the gay marriage debate Friday, telling the Archbishop of Canterbury he wants to work together to promote family values "based on marriage."

Francis, who vigorously opposed gay marriage in his native Argentina, and Archbishop Justin Welby chatted, prayed and had lunch together at the Vatican in their first encounter since both were installed in March.

Welby, the spiritual leader of the 77 million-strong Anglican Communion, has opposed legislation in Britain that would legalize gay marriage, saying it would undermine family life.

He appeared last week before the House of Lords before it moved the gay marriage bill a step closer to becoming law. The legislation would enable gay couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies in England and Wales.

In his remarks to Welby, Francis said he hoped they could collaborate in promoting the sacredness of life "and the stability of families founded on marriage." He noted that Welby had recently spoken out on the issue, a reference to his House of Lords testimony.

Significantly, though, Francis didn't say that marriage should be based on a union between a man and woman, which is how Benedict XVI and John Paul II routinely defined marriage.

Vatican officials said it was a diplomatic attempt to make his point without making a provocative pronouncement. Francis has steered clear of the gay marriage debate as it has recently roiled France and Britain, and in general has refrained from making headline-grabbing comments on hot-button current events.

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, however, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio didn't shy away from voicing strong opposition to gay marriage, though he was pragmatic in sensing Argentina was heading in that direction.

Realizing the church couldn't win the fight outright, Bergoglio urged his fellow Argentine bishops to lobby for gay civil unions instead, according to the then-cardinal's authorized biographer. The bishops shot down the proposal and the church lost the issue altogether when the South American nation legalized gay marriage in 2010 — the first country in the region to do so.

Bergoglio once called gay marriage an "anthropological step backward."

"If there's a private union, then third parties and society aren't affected," he wrote. "But if they're granted marriage rights and can adopt, there could be children affected. Every person needs a masculine father and a feminine mother to help them settle their identity."

Giant motorcycle gang pays homagevto the Pope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihtxkz2qrQA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

that was soooooo stupid. but hey, we are talking about an organization that worships a cookie as god.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFP9M_ayTI

http://www.chick.com/bc/2013/newpope.asp
New Pope; Same Old Deception
 Issue Date: July/August 2013

Common to the popes is a strong thread of ecumenism: the thrust to unify all religions, including “Christians.” Evangelical leaders have swallowed the bait, working together on “common causes” such as abortion, biblical marriage, and sanctity of life.

This cooperation clouded the anti-Christ factors of: salvation by works, pope’s authority as Christ’s vice president on earth (Vicar), purgatory, priestcraft hierarchy, and worship of the wafer god and the Virgin Mary goddess. Even though Roman Catholicism has all the features used to define cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses, Evangelicals have bought the lie that it is just another “denomination,” with a different worship style.

Christianity Today headlined an article, “A Pope for All Christians,” just before Francis was elected. In it is a quote about Catholic-Evangelical relations by Brian Stiller, a global ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance: “Not in 500 years have the two sides been so close and friendly.” The tone of the article is clearly that we are all Christians with a common gospel and brotherhood. “Whether we Protestants like to admit it or not, though, there is a single person in Rome who can influence Christians of every stripe to work more heartily in the cause of Christ…,” the article concludes.

Now that he has the Protestants in his pocket, the new pope went on to make an astounding statement in a recent speech: “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace.”

This is a bold disregard of a huge block of scriptures that draw a clear line between believers and unbelievers. Redemption is what happens to believers only. It is offered to unbelievers, but if they reject it they remain unredeemed sinners no matter how much “good” they do. It is clear that this pope plans to continue the campaigning of previous popes to become the head of the coming one-world religion. This modern push for ecumenism began in earnest at the Second Ecumenical Council at the Vatican during the early 1960s.

Having failed to blunt the Reformation by inquisition and world wars, Rome decided to try the honey of deception. A world-wide campaign began to seduce the Protestants into believing that Catholicism was just another denomination.

Now that that is accomplished, the push is on to bring in the other religions. In 2011, Pope Benedict held a fourth meeting in Assisi, France, of delegates of a dozen world religions from Muslim to Hindu to Yoruba. Pope John Paul II had hosted similar meetings in 1986, 1993 and 2002 to pray together and discuss world peace.

From the above quotes, it is obvious that Pope Francis is continuing to push this “unity,” sacrificing the Bible along the way. With a Jesuit pope in place we can expect a renewed drive by the Jesuits of their agenda to bring all religions under the authority of the papacy.

Few voices are raised today against this prostitute “church,” identified in Revelation 17 and 18. Many years ago Jack Chick was led to pick up the Reformation’s message that the Vatican was the **** of Revelation. Several tracts, books and comics are now available in our catalog and on the chick.com website.

not surprising, he has the spirit of an antichrist

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/07/21/Francis-Gay-Scandal
7/21/13
Report: Pope Francis Appointee Has History of Gay Affairs

There’s a fresh set of scandalous tales circulating around the Vatican.

Depending on whom you ask, it’s either the infamous “gay lobby” scrubbing the personnel records of a misbehaving priest to protect one of their own, or it’s opponents of Pope Francis’ efforts at reform – who may or may not be members of the infamous “gay lobby” – whipping up falsehoods about a priest who only wants to help Francis hose out dirty dealing from the Institute for Works of Religion, aka the “Vatican bank.”

Both options are unsavory, and neither one bodes well for the 76-year-old Argentinian-born pope’s aim of stamping out corruption in the heart of the Roman Catholic Church – or for the Church’s ongoing troubles with dishonorable and dishonest priests who neither take seriously its moral teachings nor their sacred vows.

On July 18, Sandro Magister, a longtime, respected reporter on Vatican issues, published a piece in the weekly L’Espresso magazine, titled “The Prelate of the Gay Lobby.”

In it, he claimed that 57-year-old Monsignor Battista Ricca, a veteran Vatican diplomat recently appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his representative, or “prelate,” at the Vatican bank, has long been living a not-very-secret double life.

According to Magister, Ricca was serving in Bern, Switzerland, when he met Patrick Haari, a captain of the Swiss army (NOT a member of the Vatican’s Swiss Guard, as has been widely reported). The article states Ricca brought Haari with him when he was sent to Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1999, where they carried on a rather public relationship, during which Ricca secured a job for Haari.

Magister reports that Ricca’s conduct scandalized religious and laity in Uruguay, and that a new papal nuncio (the head of a diplomatic mission of the Holy See), Janusz Bolonek of Poland, unsuccessfully tried to eject Haari.

In addition, the article cites reports in 2001 of Ricca being beaten after visiting a meeting place for gays, and also getting trapped in an elevator with what is suspected to have been a male prostitute.

Magister asserts that Nuncio Bolonek wanted Ricca out and Haari fired, and that the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, agreed. Ricca went to Trinidad and Tobago. He remained there until 2004 and reportedly didn’t fare much better at getting along with the local nuncio. So, he finally returned to the Vatican.

There, Ricca held a number of administrative positions, acquiring, according to Magister, a reputation in the media as an “incorruptible moralizer.” Then in 2006, he took over management of different clerical residences in Rome, including Saint Martha’s House, where Pope Francis has been living.

According to Magister, the new pontiff hadn’t heard of the scandals surrounding Ricca and saw nothing to give him concern in the man’s Vatican personnel folder.

Magister says that some of the pope’s senior advisers, or “bosses,” as he puts it, have “hatched against Jorge Mario Bergoglio the cruelest and most subtle deception since he was elected pope.

“They kept in the dark important information that, had he known it before, would have kept him from appointing Monsignor Battista Ricca ‘prelate’ of the Institute for the Works of Religion.”

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi – a Jesuit, like Pope Francis – fired back at Magister, calling the report “not credible.”

Also, Matteo Matzuzzi, who writes for the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, quoted Lombardi on Twitter as saying that “Pope Francis is aware of the accusations made against Msgr. Ricca but has decided to keep him in his position,” and that “The pope has not had the chance to verify whether the accusations against Msgr. Ricca were consistent or not.”

For those that read Italian, the original tweets read, “P.Lombardi: ‘#PapaFrancesco è a conoscenza delle accuse mosse a mons. Ricca, ma ha deciso di lasciarlo al suo posto’” and “P.Lombardi: ‘Il #Papa ha avuto modo di verificare se le accuse a mons. Ricca fossero consistenti o meno’.”

Incidentally, since Francis is about to leave for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for several days to preside over the mass gathering of young Catholic pilgrims called World Youth Day, it seems likely he would defer any major decisions until he gets back. So, keeping Ricca in place for now may or may not be an indication of his ultimate fate.

L’Espresso fired back quickly at Lombardi with this statement:

To Father Lombardi, who defines as 'not trustworthy' what was published regarding Msgr. Ricca, L'Espresso replies reaffirming point by point the facts referred by Sandro Magister in his piece, confirmed by several primary sources and, as a whole, considered at the time of such gravity by the same Vatican authorities that forced them to remove the Monsignor from the Uruguay nunciature, in which he rendered his service, giving scandal to bishops, priests, religious and lay persons in that country.

It can be added that the Vatican authorities, instead of making up improbable and ad-lib denials, could verify the trustworthiness of all that was published by L'Espresso by simply consulting the exhaustive documentation in their possession on the affair, in particular that related to his time in the Montevideo nunciature. Further documentation is available from the Uruguayan authorities, from security forces to fire brigades. Not to mention the numerous bishops, priests, religious, laymen in Uruguay who were direct witnesses of the scandal and are ready to speak.

In a post on July 19, Vatican journalist John L. Allen Jr. of the National Catholic Reporter – which, aside from the respected Allen, has a reputation of being generally more sympathetic to liberal dissidents against the Church than orthodox Catholics – quoted a “senior Vatican official” as saying on background that “the pope has listened to everyone and has confidence in Ricca.”

Francis’s aim of reforming the Vatican bank is a serious endeavor. Italian authorities arrested a former Vatican accountant on charges he was involved in smuggling $26 million worth of euros.

Pope Francis has already accepted the resignations of two top administrators at the bank, who are facing a civil investigation in Italy for allegedly laundering money.

The pope has also established a lay commission to survey inner workings of Vatican departments, find ways to battle corruption and favoritism, and to make the finances more transparent and efficient.

In a statement, the Vatican said the goal is “the simplification and rationalization of the existing bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the administrations.”

As to the two possible explanations for the Ricca affair listed above, Damian Thompson of Britain’s The Telegraph quoted from an email newsletter written by Vatican expert – and the author of a new book about Pope Francis – Dr. Robert Moynihan, which outlines Ricca’s good reputation at the Vatican in recent years and the monsignor’s growing relationship with Francis over meals at St. Martha’s House.

Moynihan believes this could be Francis’ first real crisis, writing:

I have been a Vaticanist for a quarter century. In those years, I have seen many cases when what seems to be true at first glance is not the truth, or not the whole truth. There is information, and there is disinformation. There are maneuvers to gain influence or to ward off change. This can even include discrediting a person with false charges. We must be very attentive to weigh all evidence and to ask: Is it true? Who provided the evidence? For what purpose or goal? Why now? And, could the facts have a more innocent explanation than appears at first glance? In short, we have to be cautious, and careful, and fair.

American writer and editor Rod Dreher, writing in “The American Conservative” on July 19, blamed the incident on the “lavender mafia,” and wrote:

I don’t know anything about Ricca, but the process outlined here is very familiar. It’s the kind of thing Church insiders — priests, especially — talk about privately, but not in public, and definitely not on the record. In this case, it’s crystal clear that other Vatican insiders who are sick and tired of this garbage leaked the Ricca files to Magister, one of the top Vatican journalists and commentators. Now we will see what Pope Francis will do.

Religion News: Pope Francis travels Brazil without bulletproof Popemobile

http://www.tauntongazette.com/religion/x1815312865/Religion-News-Pope-Francis-travels-Brazil-without-bulletproof-Popemobile

Wonder what Tom Horn would say if something did happen?

Yeah, he's sure setting himself up.

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-says-gays-must-not-judged-marginalized-110838664.html
Pope says gays must not be judged or marginalized
7/29/13

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in some of the most compassionate words from any pontiff on gays, said they should not be judged or marginalized and should be integrated into society, but he reaffirmed Church teaching that homosexual acts are a sin.

In a broad-ranging 80-minute conversation with journalists on the plane bringing him back from a week-long visit to Brazil, Francis also said the Roman Catholic Church's ban on women priests was definitive, although he would like them to have more leadership roles in administration and pastoral activities.

Francis defended gays from discrimination in what was his first news conference since being elected pontiff in March, but also referred to the Catholic Church's universal Catechism, which says that while homosexual orientation is not sinful homosexual acts are.

"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?" the pope said.

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says they should not be marginalized because of this (orientation) but that they must be integrated into society," he said, speaking in Italian.

"The problem is not having this orientation. We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem," he said.

Francis was answering a question about reports of a "gay lobby" in the Vatican.

"You see a lot written about the gay lobby. I still have not seen anyone in the Vatican with an identity card saying they are gay," he joked.

Addressing the issue of women priests, the pope said, "The Church has spoken and says 'no' ... that door is closed." It was the first time he had spoken in public on the subject.

"We cannot limit the role of women in the Church to altar girls or the president of a charity, there must be more ...," he said in answer to a question during a remarkably frank conversation with Vatican journalists.

"But with regards to the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and says no. Pope John Paul said so with a formula that was definitive. That door is closed," he said referring to a document by the late pontiff which said the ban was part of the infallible teaching of the Church.

The Church teaches that it cannot ordain women because Jesus willingly chose only men as his apostles. Advocates of a female priesthood say he was acting according to the customs of his times.

Many in the Church, even those who oppose a female priesthood, say women should be given leadership roles in the Church and the Vatican administration.

Francis arrived back in Rome on Monday after a triumphant week-long tour of Brazil which climaxed with a huge gathering on Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana beach for a world Catholic youth festival which organizers estimated to have attracted more than 3 million people.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by Barry Moody)

^^

Mat 5:27  Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28  But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

James 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Jas 2:11  For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
Jas 2:12  So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

 :D guess that is the WHOLE problem right there.

Pope says he won't judge gay priests

ABOARD THE PAPAL AIRCRAFT (July 29, 2013) - Pope Francis is indicating a more accepting attitude towards homosexuality.

In an interview aboard the papal aircraft today, he said he won't judge priests for their sexual orientation. In a remarkably open and wide-ranging news conference the pope says, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"
 
Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, signed a document in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests. Francis has been much more conciliatory, saying gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.
 
 Francis' remarks came today during a plane journey back to the Vatican from his first foreign trip in Brazil.

 - See more at: http://www.onenewsnow.com/ap/religion/pope-says-he-wont-judge-gay-priests#sthash.hEKT0P9k.dpuf

All those pontiff ped0philes are rejoicing right now

Heh - I wonder if FOX News and these "religious right" figures like Charles Stanley, Pat Robertson, Hal Lindsey, Ralph Reed, etc will expose this! ::)

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/29/19755943-popes-remarks-seen-as-good-step-toward-inclusion
7/29/13
Pope's remarks seen as good step toward inclusion

Pope Francis’ comments Monday about gays triggered welcome reactions -- though most observers said his remarks merely reflected a tone of openness that he has set for his papacy and not a change in policy.

“If a person is gay, and looks for the Lord and had goodwill, who am I to judge them?” the pontiff said at a news conference in which he addressed the reports of a "gay lobby" within the Vatican.

Mary Ellen Lopata, who co-founded Fortunate Families, a networking ministry with Catholic parents of LGBT children, said it was a “refreshing statement after years of hearing less welcoming statements from church leadership” and called it a “good first step to understanding and love.”

“I sense what he is saying is that we are all children of God and we need to treat each other that way regardless of our sexual orientation,” she said. “If that is indeed what he is saying, I think that is a good step forward for reconciling with gay and lesbian people around the world, and also their families.

"Much that’s been said in past years by church leaders has been very hurtful not only to gay and lesbian people but to their families as well.”

But Mark Dowd, a former Dominican friar in the U.K. who left the church partly because he fell in love with a former friar, doubted the comments represented a significant shift in the church, saying it made “a nice headline” and not much else.

“On a scale of zero to 10 about where we need to be, that’s moving from about zero to three as opposed to nine or ten,” said Dowd, a freelance broadcaster specializing in religion.

The official position of the Catholic Church on the issue is that while homosexual desires or attractions are not in themselves sinful, the physical acts are.

The pontiff’s remarks made for “good common ground,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of Dignity USA, a group of LGBT Catholics.

“If someone loves the Lord and has goodwill -- the reality of that describes an awful lot of LGBT people,” she said. “There are a lot of LGBT people of faith who are working very hard to hold onto their faith and I think it would be important for us to bring our stories to the pope and other church leaders to move this conversation forward.”

A key step would be bridging the gap between some church leaders who engage in anti-gay rhetoric and their parishioners, many whom support LGBT rights, Duddy-Burke said. Fifty-four percent of Catholics support same-sex marriage, according to a Pew Forum poll released earlier this year.

“If Francis can be an instrument in healing that divide, we would certainly welcome that and are happy to partner with him,” she said, while noting that only time would tell what impact his remarks would have on daily life.

“How many times in recent months have we seen bishops indicate a willingness to look at the question of civil unions or some sort of legal recognition of same-sex couples (but) only a day or two later they have been forced to retract their statements? Will that happen with the pope? I don’t know, but I would hope that certainly even a change of tone or an indication of openness to discussing these issues is helpful," Duddy-Burke said.

LGBT advocacy groups recalled the pope’s speaking out against same-sex marriage in Argentina – where he was an archbishop and cardinal -- as well as the right for gay couples to adopt.

“This pope had a much more difficult relationship with gay people and the work to end anti-gay discrimination when he was in Argentina but since assuming the papacy he seems to be opening his heart and moving in the right direction,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry.

“Certainly to have this kind of statement coming from the pope should create much more political space for decision makers (rather) than the constant pressure to discriminate that we heard from prior popes.”

Not that I endorse the previous Popes, but none of them said anything along the lines of the current one.
http://living.msn.com/love-relationships/the-heart-beat-blog-post?post=435953ed-4b60-4017-ac88-9f5798b21397

And THAT folks is the problem. They don't judge even though they are caught up in serving the law of works, which law demands judgement at the house of God, to root out false brethren and false doctrines, to separate them from the body of believers till such a time they repent. They are free to act up elsewhere, but not around the body of Christ. But then the RCC is not the body of Christ, but is of the world, so it stands to reason they don't judge, or else they must judge themselves, and they won't do that because their deeds are in fact evil.

"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:20 (KJB)

http://lastdayswatchman.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-pope-homosexuality-and-abortion-in.html
7/29/13
The Pope, Homosexuality and Abortion in Brazil

As reported by Daily Mail, “The pope has said that he ‘will not judge’ gay priests. Speaking to reporters on a flight back from his week-long visit to sexually permissive Brazil, Pope Francis said he ‘would not stand in judgment’ of gays in the Vatican and that they should not be discriminated against. The pontiff’s remarks about gays mark a more conciliatory approach than his predecessor. Benedict signed a document in 2005 saying that men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests.”

Speech about not judging gay priests is a surprise, considering that the massive scandal involving pedophilia in the Catholic Church is largely linked to homosexuality among priests.

But the bigger surprise, at least to pro-life leaders in Brazil, is that socialist Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is about to sign into law a pro-abortion bill, and the pope did not address any specific message about this urgent situation in Brazil. He left Brazil without speaking up against this imminent threat.

How can now Rousseff be pressured by pro-life Catholics and evangelicals when even the pope showed no willingness to tackle directly the abortion issue?

As an evangelical Christian, I think that the pope could make his controversial remark on homosexuality in another time. The absolute priority right now is to speak up against the imminence of abortion legalization in Brazil.

Why did not he speak?

7 things you need to know about what Pope Francis said about gays

The press is buzzing right now with claims that Pope Francis has taken a sharply different line than his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, on the subject of homosexuality.
 
Some are suggesting that the new pope has announced that "gay is okay."
 
What did Pope Francis really say, and how unusual is it?
 
Here are 7 things to know and share . . .
 
 
 
1) Where did Pope Francis make these remarks?
 
He made them during an 80-minute interview with reporters aboard the plane returning from World Youth Day in Brazil.
 
 
 
2) What was he asked that led to the remarks?
 
We may not know exactly what the question was until a transcript is released, but apparently, he was asked about the reputed "gay lobby" at the Vatican.
 
More info on that here.
 
 
 
3) What exactly did he say?
 
According to the best current accounts, he said:
 
There's a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I've never seen it on the Vatican ID card.
 
When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn't be marginalized. The tendency [i.e., same-sex attraction] is not the problem ... they're our brothers.
 
UPDATE: Here is a fuller presentation of the exchange. Big hat tip to Salt and Light!
 
The Question to Pope Francis from Ilse, a journalist on the Papal flight
 
Ilse: I would like to ask permission to pose a rather delicate question.  Another image that went around the world is that of Monsignor Ricca and the news about his personal life.  I would like to know, your Holiness, what will be done about this question.  How should one deal with this question and how does your Holiness wish to deal with the whole question of the gay lobby?
 
The Pope’s Answer
 
Regarding the matter of Monsignor Ricca, I did what Canon Law required and did the required investigation.  And from the investigation, we did not find anything corresponding to the accusations against him.  We found none of that.  That is the answer.  But I would like to add one more thing to this: I see that so many times in the Church, apart from this case and also in this case, one  looks for the “sins of youth,” for example, is it not thus?, And then these things are published.  These things are not crimes.  The crimes are something else: child abuse is a crime.  But sins, if a person, or secular priest or a nun, has committed a sin and then that person experienced conversion, the Lord forgives and when the Lord forgives, the Lord forgets and this is very important for our lives.  When we go to confession and we truly say “I have sinned in this matter,” the Lord forgets and we do not have the right to not forget because we run the risk that the Lord will not forget our sins, eh?  This is a danger.  This is what is important: a theology of sin.  So many times I think of St. Peter: he committed one of the worst sins denying Christ.  And with this sin they made him Pope.  We must think about fact often.
 
But returning to your question more concretely: in this case [Ricca] I did the required investigation and we found nothing.  That is the first question.  Then you spoke of the gay lobby.  Agh… so much is written about the gay lobby.  I have yet to find on a Vatican identity card the word gay.  They say there are some gay people here.  I think that when we encounter a gay person, we must make the distinction between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of a lobby, because lobbies are not good.  They are bad.  If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this point beautifully but says, wait a moment, how does it say, it says, these persons must never be marginalized and “they must be integrated into society.”
 
The problem is not that one has this tendency; no, we must be brothers, this is the first matter.  There is another problem, another one: the problem is to form a lobby of those who have this tendency, a lobby of the greedy people, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of Masons, so many lobbies.  This is the most serious problem for me. And thank you so much for doing this question. Thank you very much!
 
Original Italian at the link.
 
 
 
4) What does this mean?
 
The first part of the statement seems to downplay the who "gay lobby" issue. He's not denying that there is one there, but he's suggesting that the talk is somewhat overblown.
 
He then explains his approach to dealing with gay people: He distinguishes between their "being gay" and "being part of a lobby."
 
What he means by "being gay" is something he further unpacks.
 
In ordinary parlance, "being gay" can mean anything from having same-sex attraction to leading an active "gay lifestyle" to endorsing and advocating a pro-homosexual ideology.
 
The last of these would be functioning as a member of a lobby, and he indicates that this is not what he is talking about.
 
He then describes those he is talking about as people who "accept the Lord and have goodwill."
 
He then seems to further clarify who he is talking about by saying that "The tendency [i.e., same-sex attraction] is not the problem ... they're our brothers."
 
Taking his statements together, what emerges is a portrait of individuals who have same-sex attraction but who nevertheless accept the Lord and have goodwill, as opposed to working to advance a pro-homosexual ideology.
 
This would definitely include people with same-sex attraction who strive to live chastely (even if they sometimes fail).
 
It also, possibly, could include individuals who are not living chastely but who are not actively lobbying a homosexual agenda. It would be nice if he'd said a little more to clarify the point further.
 
 
 
5) What does he say about people in this category?
 
He says that he does not think he is in a position to judge them and that they should not be marginalized.
 
He also says that the mere tendency (same-sex attraction) "is not the problem," and that "they're our brothers."
 
 
 
6) How new is this?
 
Not very.
 
Disclaiming a right to "judge" others is something that goes back to Jesus. It does not mean a failure to recognize the moral character of others' actions, however.
 
One can form a moral appraisal that what someone else is doing is wrong (Jesus obviously does not forbid that) without having or showing malice toward them.
 
The statement that they should not be marginalized is similarly in keeping with the Holy See's approach to the subject, as 1986 Vatican document On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons.
 
The statement that same-sex attraction "is not the problem," when understood correctly, is also nothing new. "The problem," as Pope Francis seems to here be understanding it, is going beyond merely having a sinful tendency--a temptation to which one is subject.
 
Obviously, temptations are problem, but if we resist temptation we do not sin. "The problem," on this understanding, is giving into the temptation and sinning or--worse--building an ideology around the sin and trying to advocate the sin.
 
Finally, the statement that "they're our brothers" is also no novelty. Christians, like everyone, have struggled with every sort of temptation all through history.
 
Same-sex attraction is just one temptation among numerous others, and the fact that a person suffers from this temptation no more deprives him of the status of being a brother in Christ than any other temptation does.
 
 
 
7) How different is any of this compared to Pope Benedict?
 
The press has been (as usual) trying to make unfavorable comparisons to Pope Benedit, noting that during his time the Holy See issued a document saying that those with deep-seated homosexual tendencies should not be ordained to the priesthood.
 
Pope Francis did not mention that document or its policy and so has done nothing different than Benedict there.
 
Neither are any of Francis's remarks contrary to the approach Benedict took during his pontificate.
 
In fact, Benedict himself (as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) was the signer of the previosly-mentioned letter on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons, as well as the follow-up document on non-discrimination regarding homosexual persons.
 
So, as usual, the press is painting a false picture by contrasting the "good" Francis and the "bad" Benedict.


http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-what-pope-francis-said-about-gays?utm

Pope Frankie's words were said in a VERY crafty manner - even the bible warns numerous times over these kinds of people that use their words in crafty manners.

Eph_4:14  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

2Cor 4:2  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

"not walking in craftiness", yeah that's one that churchianity needs to learn and apply. They think they are cute with their little stunts to draw attention to the buildings, but in reality, it's a lack of faith, and they do it being crafty because they ultimately want the people drawn in for money, yet the pitch is they want to save souls.

There is a subtle but big difference between wanting people to be saved, and wanting to save people!

http://news.yahoo.com/video/pope-reaches-muslims-151933388.html
Pope reaches out to Muslims
8/11/13

Pope Francis offers greetings to Muslims around the world to mark Eid al-Fitr, calling for Christians and Muslims to work towards "mutual respect".

I have ZERO respect for evil. Period.

They can either repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, or burn in hell.

Video: http://news.yahoo.com/video/pope-prays-peace-dialog-reconciliation-151112235.html
Pope prays for 'peace, dialog, reconciliation' in Egypt
8/15/13

Pope Francis called reports that more that more than 500 people were killed in Egypt 'painful' and urged Catholics to pray for an end to the violence. Deborah Gembara reports.

I don't buy into this idea. Roman Catholicism never was or will ever be Biblical Christianity. Roman Catholic Popes are all, and will ever be, Antichrists. The secular world was chomping on this conspiracy. While Satan can deceive them, I think he thinks he's better off starting from scratch with someone else other then Pope Francis.

Former Pope Benedict Resigned Because 'God Told Me To'

In his first statement to the press since stepping down from the papacy in February, 86-year-old former pope Benedict has said he left his office because God directed him to.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/former-pope-benedict-resigned-because-god-told-me-to-102716/

What is it with all these people saying, "But God told me...", but then they say NOTHING what SCRIPTURE says. ::)

http://www.petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx?Site_Id=1&lang=2&NewsID=122028&CatID=13&Type=Home&GType=1

King to visit Vatican Wednesday 
 
Amman, August 27 (Petra) -- His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah, will Wednesday visit the Vatican and meet with Pope Francis for talks on bilateral relations and ways of cementing them.

The meeting will also deal with ways to promote Muslim-Christian cooperation, dialogue and coexistence in addition to the latest developments in the region.

//Petra// AA
27/8/2013 - 09:23:01 PM 

http://www.newsmaxworld.com/newswidget/pope-****-victim-call/2013/08/28/id/522584?promo_code=137AF-1&utm_source=137AFTimes_of_Israel&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1
Argentina **** Victim Stunned by Phone Call From Pope
Wednesday, 28 Aug 2013 04:58 AM

Alejandra Pereyra, 44, said she felt she had been “touched by the hand of God” after receiving the phone call from Pope Francis.

Pereyra wrote to the Pope, who was archbishop of Buenos Aires before being elected pontiff in March, about 10 days ago. She said that after she had been raped by a policeman, Argentinean authorities tried to suppress her complaint and that the perpetrator had received a promotion.

She was amazed to hear from the 76-year-old Pope personally when he called her on Sunday using a landline from the Vatican.

“My mobile phone rang and when I asked who it was, he responded, ’The Pope’,” Pereyra told an Argentinean television network. “I just froze.”

They talked for approximately 30 minutes, during which time they discussed issues of “faith and trust,” according to the London Daily Telegraph.

“The Pope listened to what I said with much attention,” she said. “He told me that I was not alone and that I must have faith in the justice system.”

The Pope “told me that he receives thousands of letters a day but that the one that I wrote had touched his heart,” Pereyra added.

She said she would “do everything possible” to travel to Rome to meet the Pope in person.

“He said he would receive me,” said Pereyra, who comes from Rio Segundo, located about 450 miles northwest of Buenos Aires.

(http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/asr8dTSoSGBIv.od4DEDDQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQyMTtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9ODU7dz03NDk-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/photo_1377948166774-1-HD.jpg)

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-replaces-divisive-vatican-figure-top-diplomat-112655615.html
Pope replaces divisive Vatican figure with top diplomat
8/31/13

Pope Francis on Saturday appointed a senior Vatican diplomat as his new secretary of state, ousting divisive cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as he looks to overhaul the Church's scandal-ridden administration.

His replacement for the "number two" position at the Vatican, Italian cleric Pietro Parolin, is currently the Roman Catholic Church's envoy to Venezuela and has worked on improving ties with communist China.

"The Holy Father has accepted... the resignation of His Eminence Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone," the Vatican said in a widely-expected announcement, adding that the changeover would formally take place on October 15.

At 58, Parolin is seen as relatively youthful for top Vatican office and observers say he could help a process of renewal within the church, as well as making it more influential on the world stage.

Parolin is the youngest cleric to occupy the Vatican "prime minister" post since Eugenio Pacelli, another diplomat who was appointed secretary of state in 1930 at the age of 53 and went on to become Pius XII.

The Argentine pope has shown a strong reformist drive in his first few months in office and has set up a series of committees aimed at reforming the Vatican hierarchy, its economic affairs and its bank.

"I feel the full weight of the responsibility placed upon me: this call entrusts to me a difficult and challenging mission," Parolin said in a statement.

He was previously a Vatican envoy to Mexico and Nigeria and has worked on sensitive issues for the Church, including diplomatic relations with Israel.

The secretary of state is considered the top political and diplomatic position in the Vatican and in some instances the incumbent can stand in for the pope.

Three secretaries of states have gone on to be popes.

Bertone has held the post since 2006 when he was named by the pope's predecessor, Benedict XVI, and has proved a highly controversial figure in the hierarchy.

Leaks by Benedict XVI's butler last year revealed infighting between pro- and anti-Bertone factions.

"Bertone, in the eyes of his critics, acted more as czar than diplomat-in-chief," John Thavis, a Vatican affairs expert, wrote on his blog.

He was at Benedict's side in a traumatic period for the church, shaken by revelations of widespread child abuse by priests and scandals involving its finances.

Francis has circumvented the Secretariat of State, effectively the central administration and foreign ministry of the church, on key recent decisions.

While some observers have seen signs of tensions, it is also common for new popes to replace some of the officials appointed by their predecessors and the 78-year-old Bertone was already over the usual age of retirement of 75 for senior church figures.

Archbishop Parolin was ordained in 1980 and his first foreign posting for the Vatican was in Nigeria in 1986, followed by Mexico in 1989 where he fought to gain legal recognition for the Catholic Church.

In 1992, he was called back to Rome to work for the Secretariat of State and was appointed to a position equivalent to a deputy foreign minister in 2002.

In 2009, he was appointed papal nuncio to Caracas.

Parolin "has been on the frontlines of shaping the Vatican's response to virtually every geopolitical challenge of the past two decades," said John Allen, who writes for the US National Catholic Reporter.

"By naming a consummate insider, Francis appears to want to 'reboot' the Vatican's operating system".

The Vatican also said it was confirming some top Secretariat of State officials named by Benedict, as well as the previous pope's close aide Georg Gaenswein who will remain as head of the pontifical household.

Gaenswein is still secretary to Benedict, who lives in retirement in a former monastery inside the Vatican walls, and will therefore continue an unprecedented dual role serving both the pope emeritus and the pope.

Is anyone thinking what I'm thinking? This man's first name is Pietro? As in Pietro Romanos aka Peter the Roman?

No, I'm not being 100% about this, but a youtube video presentation just occured to me that was posted here 2 years ago that exposed this very person.(the guy that made the video I think worked with Mike Slattery, who is one of Scott's close FL friends)

Although I had a few doctrinal issues with the guy who made the video, I thought he did his research on this.

Here we go - this was the video that was posted here a couple of years ago discussing this guy. Yes, while I liked it(personally), I don't endorse it. And am only posting Part 1(of 16) here to show the youtube guy that made a presentation out of it. Again, the doctrinal issue I have with it is that he called the Pope the Antichrist and America the False Prophet(although he only eluded to it briefly without discussing it) - no, don't think he's a 7th Day Adventist(7DAs generally have this escatology belief).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8E9_V8r7y8

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-announces-day-fasting-peace-syria-124014556.html
Pope announces day of fasting for peace for Syria
9/1/13

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the use of chemical weapons, but he called for a negotiated settlement of the civil war in Syria, and announced he would lead a worldwide day of fasting and prayer for peace there on Sept. 7.

Francis abandoned the traditional religious theme of the weekly papal appearance to crowds in St. Peter's Square and instead spoke entirely, and with anguish, about Syria.

"My heart is deeply wounded by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments" on the horizon, Francis said, in an apparent reference to the U.S. and France considering a military strike to punish the Syrian regime for a chemical weapons attack.

Francis reiterated previous appeals for all sides in the civil war to put down their arms and "listen to the voice of their conscience and with courage take up the way of negotiations."

With tens of thousands of people in the square applauding his words, Francis delivered his strongest remarks yet to express his horror at the use of chemical weapons.

"With utmost firmness, I condemn the use of chemical weapons. I tell you that those terrible images from recent days are burned into my mind and heart," the pope said, in an apparent reference to photos and TV images of victims of chemical weapons in Syria.

"There is the judgment of God, and also the judgment of history, upon our actions," he said, "from which there is no escaping."

Usually soft-spoken, Francis raised his voice as he declared, "War brings on war! Violence brings on violence."

His admonishment against resorting to arms as a solution recalled the repeated emotional implorations a decade ago by the late Pope John Paul II in a vain attempt to persuade the U.S. administration then led by President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq.

The deteriorating drama of Syria inspired Francis to set aside Sept. 7 as a day of fasting and prayer for Syria.

Francis invited Catholics, other Christians, those of other faiths and non-believers who are "men of good will" to join him that evening in St. Peter's Square to invoke the "gift" of peace for Syria, the rest of the Middle East and worldwide where there is conflict.

"The world needs to see gestures of peace and hear words of hope and of peace," Francis said.

He said the prayer vigil in the square will last from 7 p.m. until midnight.

Did the Pope’s Blessing Miraculously Cure This Teen’s Life-Threatening Cancer?

Peter Srsich’s diagnosis was a lot to handle for an active and athletic high school student. It was July 2011 when the 17-year-old was told that he had stage-four cancer after doctors found a mass on his lung. What followed was intensive treatment, depression and monumental personal challenges.
 
While it wasn’t easy, in the midst of his trials, Srsich was afforded a faith-sustaining opportunity he’ll never forget. In an effort to make his biggest dreams come true, the Make-A-Wish Foundation sent the Colorado teenager and his family to the Vatican to meet and be blessed by then-Pope Benedict XVI. Flash-forward two years and Srsich is in remission and studying to become a Catholic priest.
 
The story is a fascinating one, showcasing the power of both modern medical advances and personal religious adherence. Srsich, who is currently studying at Regis University in Denver, Colo., credits his doctors with saving his life, but it is his faith in God and his encounter with the pope that he believes afforded him the will to beat the cancerous mass, the Daily Mail reports.

After his cancer was discovered in July 2011, Srsich underwent six months of treatments, including seven rounds of chemotherapy and more than 20 days of radiation. Three months into the harrowing ordeal, the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Italian branch reached out and agreed to pay for the $14,000 trip — a voyage the family made in May 2012.
 
In an interview with ABC News, the now 19-year-old recounted his interaction with Pope Benedict. After watching the pontiff speak, Srsich said that he had the opportunity to meet him. At first, he was unsettled, as he saw people giving Benedict large gifts — something the teenager wasn’t prepared to do, as he merely had a “Pray for Peter” wristband that was made to support him in his cancer battle.

I am standing like the little drummer boy with nothing to offer,” he said. “There were golden crowns and a 4-foot tall magnificent painting of Mary and I am sitting there with a 70-cent rubber wristband.”

Srsich, though, proceeded to tell Benedict about his cancer and asked to be blessed.
 
“He looked at me and said, ‘Oh, you speak English?’ and put his hand on my chest right where the tumor had been, even though I had not mentioned it to him,” Srsich added. “The blessing is usually on the head.”
 
Eventually, the boy’s cancer was cured and he’s now in remission. While he doesn’t believe the pope miraculously banished the disease from his body, Srsich said that the pontiff played a key role in helping him overcome the disease. While chemo and modern medical marvels were key, Make-A-Wish and the trip to see the pope helped give him the will to power through and beat the disease.

While he doesn’t see it as a miracle, per se, Srsich believes that God — and faith — played a big role in his recovery.
 
“I credit all the years of medical research and the training of all the doctors going to school — all that definitely cured me,” he told ABC. “But God was behind it, helping me go through the treatment. Medical science is phenomenal. It would have been a death sentence 30 years ago, but in less than a year, I am back on my feet.”
 
It will take about eight years for Srsich to become a priest.


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/09/05/a-miracle-teen-beats-stage-4-cancer-after-getting-blessed-by-the-pope-during-make-a-wish-trip/

His house is built on sand...just wait until the floods come and the wind blows...

Pope Francis assures atheists: You don’t have to believe in God to go to heaven



In comments likely to enhance his progressive reputation, Pope Francis has written a long, open letter to the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, Eugenio Scalfari, stating that non-believers would be forgiven by God if they followed their consciences.

Responding to a list of questions published in the paper by Mr Scalfari, who is not a Roman Catholic, Francis wrote: “You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying – and this is the fundamental thing – that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience.

“Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience.”

Robert Mickens, the Vatican correspondent for the Catholic journal The Tablet, said the pontiff’s comments were further evidence of his attempts to shake off the Catholic Church’s fusty image, reinforced by his extremely conservative predecessor Benedict XVI. “Francis is a still a conservative,” said Mr Mickens. “But what this is all about is him seeking to have a more meaningful dialogue with the world.”

In a welcoming response to the letter, Mr Scalfari said the Pope’s comments were “further evidence of his ability and desire to overcome barriers in dialogue with all”.

In July, Francis signalled a more progressive attitude on sexuality, asking: “If someone is gay and is looking for the Lord, who am I to judge him?”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-assures-atheists-you-dont-have-to-believe-in-god-to-go-to-heaven-8810062.html

Pope Francis reaches out to atheists and agnostics
The Pope has struck a surprisingly conciliatory tone towards atheists and agnostics, saying that God will "forgive" them as long as they behave morally and live according to their consciences.

 The unprecedented gesture came as his incoming number two, the Vatican's newly-nominated secretary of state, said that the rule that priests should be celibate was not "a dogma of the Church" and could be open for discussion.

Francis, who has won praise for spontaneous and unusual moves during his six month papacy, wrote a lengthy letter to a newspaper, La Repubblica, which the Italian daily printed over four pages, including page one, under the simple byline "Francesco".

"God forgives those who obey their conscience," he wrote in the unprecedented letter, the latest example of the markedly different tone and style from his predecessors that he has set since being elected in March.

The 76-year-old pontiff was responding to editorials written in July and August by Eugenio Scalfari, an agnostic and the paper's founder, in which he was asked whether "the Christian God forgives those who do not believe and do not seek faith".

Mr Scalfari said he had not expected the South American pope to respond "so extensively and so affectionately, with such fraternal spirit".



The Pope wrote: "The question for those who do not believe in God is to follow their own conscience. Sin, even for a non-believer, is when one goes against one's conscience.

"To listen and to follow your conscience means that you understand the difference between good and evil."

He said that the "mercy of God has no limits" and encompassed even non-believers, but his remarks failed to impress the Italian Union of Atheists and Agnostics.

"Why should a non-believer seek legitimisation from the Pope?" the association asked.

It dismissed what it called the pontiff's "nice words" and said: "What interests non-believers is certainly not 'forgiveness' from an entity whose existence we do not trust."

The Pope's reaching out to atheists echoes a homily he delivered in May, when he said that even atheists could be welcomed into heaven. That declaration caused consternation among Vatican officials, with a spokesman later appearing to backtrack on the Pope's remarks, saying that people who do not believe in God "cannot be saved".

In a further sign that the Church is edging towards more openness, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, a Vatican diplomat who will next month become the Pope's deputy as secretary of state, said that the principle of celibacy among clergy was "ecclesiastical tradition" rather than "Church dogma" and therefore open to discussion.

The Pope has struck a more inclusive tone since taking over as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in March, notably reaching out to homosexuals on his return from a week-long trip to Brazil in July.

"If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" the Pope said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10302850/Pope-Francis-reaches-out-to-atheists-and-agnostics.html

Doesn't the New Age Movement(and other Illuminati front groups) push this "Christ conscienceness" heresy? Oprah does, and remember that interview Billy Graham did with Robert Schuller in 1997 - he pretty much said the same thing Pope Frankie said here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNCnxA91fHE

I know both political "parties" are merely the opposite sides of the same Hegelian Dialectic, but...

The Vatican/RCC have infiltrated the GOP since the days of Reagan, pretty much - there's this one GOP establishment forum I go to to get news articles from(alot like PPF, they post some good up-to-the-date news), but nonetheless you can tell they're Catholic infiltrated when they are lumping the Popes with "conservatisim", and even going as far as pointing fingers at the so-called "liberal media" when it sounds like they're reporting a negative story about them.

For example, when Pope Francis made his "gay priests are not living in sin if they're doing the will of God" comment, almost immediately that forum(and I believe other "liberal media" watchdog groups too) were saying "Liberal media twisting Pope Francis' comments!". And even despite all the things Pope Frankie is doing(dialogueing with Muslims, athiests, etc), they're still blinded to the truth.

Pt being that this is the whole Hegelian Dialectic game the Vatican/Jesuits are playing - get everyone into the war of words dogfight where it goes to no end, and ultimately wear everyone out to the point where they can get them compromised. Next thing we know, Pope Frankie may say something like, "gay priests can have boyfriends, but just as long as they don't fornicate with them", and their followers will still be blinded to the truth. Also - this GOP establishment forum isn't just some lounge forum - a CNP member(Jim Robinson) runs it.

The Pope Separates Jews from Israelis

One of the grave dangers in the Vatican's dialogue with Judaism is the Church's attempt to drive a wedge between the “good” and docile Jews of the Diaspora and the “bad” and arrogant Jews of Israel.
 

Pope Francis has praised Jews for keeping their faith despite the Holocaust and other “terrible trials” throughout history, and reaffirmed Judaism as the “holy root” of Christianity.

In a letter, published on the front page of La Repubblica Italian newspaper, the Pope writes that "since Vatican Council II, we have rediscovered that the Jewish people are still for us the holy root from which Jesus germinated".

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio had celebrated Rosh Hashana in local synagogues, he had voiced solidarity with Jewish victims of Iranian terrorism and co-written a book with a rabbi, Avraham Skorka. He attended a commemoration of Kristallnacht, the wave of Nazi attacks against Jews in November 1938.

But as this new letter shows, one of the grave dangers in the Vatican's dialogue with Judaism is the Church's attempt to drive a wedge between the “good” and docile Jews of the Diaspora and the “bad” and arrogant Jews of Israel.

Pope Francis has never addressed the Israelis in his messages, nor has he openly defended the Jewish State since he was elected by the college of the cardinals. It seems that there is no room for stubborn, faithful Zionists in the Pope's lenient smile. In his speeches, Jewish national aspirations are ignored, if not denigrated.

The definitive proof is in Washington.

While the Pope was distributing that letter, in a new event co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic University of America was hosting a special conference about “religious freedom and human rights issues in the Holy Land”. The speakers included Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., Jessica Montell, executive director of B’Tselem anti-Israel group, and Mustafa Barghouti, the prominent member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Cardinal McCarrick said that “the expansion of Israeli settlements into occupied territories provokes violence”, in a self-evident justification of Arab terrorism. Montell, who accepted money from BDS, added that “settlement expansion is a primary source of human rights violations for Palestinians” and that “human rights violations are inherent to a prolonged military occupation”.

"When you live under occupation, you come to accept things you shouldn't accept,” Lubna Alzaroo, a Muslim graduate of Bethlehem University and Fullbright scholar studying at the University of Washington, said at the D.C. event of the Catholic Church.

Among the organizations invited by the Catholic bishops there was also the Society of St. Yves, which charges "Israeli colonization, occupation and apartheid" and works for "the Palestinian refugees’ rights to return to their homes and places of origin". The Society of St. Yves shares also the "Nakba” ideology, the “catastrophe”, as the Arabs call the date of the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

While the Pope was penning his letter about Jesus, the US' highest Catholic political body was giving a platform to the boycotters of Israel, it was calling for the indefensible-for-Israel partition of the holy land and it was exculpating the Palestinian Arab for their jihad.

The Vatican, as always happened in the past, will be silent during the next "terrible trials" for the Jewish people, if they occur, should it be Iranian nuclear or Arab terrorism.

When Pope Francis was elected, a media outlet asked me to comment. My reply was: "I hope the next Pope will avoid the ecumenical mistakes of his predecessors, he will address the challenge of political Islam and understand the Jewish revolution of returning to the land after Auschwitz. Otherwise, any Jewish-Catholic dialogue will be empty, or worse, it will be a show for hypocrites".

Was I right to be skeptical?

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/13829

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/13/chris-hayes-declares-francis-to-be-the-best-pope-ever/
9/13/13
MSNBC's Chris Hayes declares Francis to be ‘the best pope ever’

Chris Hayes of the MSNBC show “All In with Chris Hayes” said on Thursday that he thinks Pope Francis, who has only been in office for a few months, is the “best pope ever.”

Francis has been calling and talking to individuals personally by phone. He has declared that atheists are not all doomed to burn in Hell forever. He has said, “Who am I to judge?” with regards to LGBT people.

“You know who I freakin’ love?” Hayes asked. “This new pope. Pope Francis. You know who I’m talking about, right? The pope. Are you watching this guy? Because you should be. It’s early, but I’m thinking…best pope ever.”

Hayes was raised Catholic but stopped attending services in college. Pope Francis, he said, is restoring his hope for the institution of the church.

“Now, I don’t have a whole lot of hope that the Church itself is going to come around and change tenets or official positions that I deeply oppose — its rejection of things like gay marriage, women in the priesthood, a woman’s autonomy over her own body,” he wrote.

“But given the constraints of what being pope is, you can operate in one of two ways: you can be a jerk about it, or you can be awesome,” he said. And Francis, “is choosing to be awesome.”

Sounds like things that will be said about the False Prophet (the second beast) when he shows up and kicks off his sideshow to dazzle the crowds with the spectacle of the Antichrist.

Don't be surprised if he comes out in the near future supporting gun control...

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/19/20580271-pope-francis-says-church-cannot-focus-only-on-abortion-and-gay-marriage?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1
9/19/13
Pope Francis says church cannot focus only on abortion and gay marriage

Pope Francis said in an interview published Thursday that the Catholic Church cannot focus only on abortion, contraception and gay marriage, and that the moral structure of the church will “fall like a house of cards” if it does not find better balance.

The pope acknowledged in the interview that he has been criticized for not speaking more about those three issues, but he said that the church must “talk about them in a context.”

While the teaching of the church on those subjects was clear, he said, “It is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.”

The pope’s remarks draw a contrast with both the doctrinal focus of his predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and with church leaders in the United States and around the world who have urged him to speak more publicly about homosexuality, abortion and birth control.

“We have to find a new balance,” he said in the interview, published in Jesuit journals across the world. “Otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”

He added: “The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently.” ???

The pope, since his installation in March, has focused on the poor and those on the margins of society. He has also drawn praise from some parishioners for gestures of humility and frugality. He has declined some of the trappings of the papacy, and personally returned the phone calls of some of the faithful who have written to him.

On homosexuality, the pope said that he used to receive letters in Argentina, where he was a cardinal before his elevation, who were “socially wounded” and felt that the church had condemned them.

“But the church does not want to do this,” he said. “Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: It is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person.”

He went on: “A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: When God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Acts 10:34  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
Act 10:35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Matthew 3:7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mat 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

OK, here's part of the Hegelian Dialectic the Vatican/Jesuits have been playing for years with their controlled-opposition sides - one of the things they've used quite a bit with the conservative/Republican side is this "liberal media" buzzword. Pretty much, they will use it as a weapon to silence the conservative/Republican side and keep them in the dark about globalist agendas.

This is an Opinion Piece on the FOX News web site, but they're playing this "liberal media" card yet again over how Pope Francis' comments were somehow "distorted" by "liberal media" outlets, and their scapegoat is the NY Times(their perfect liberal scapegoat).

BTW - it was NOT ONLY the NY Times that reported Pope Frankie's comments - other media outlets like FOX NEWS have reported the SAME THING! ::)
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/19/pope-francis-says-its-not-necessary-for-church-to-speak-about-gay-marriage/?intcmp=latestnews


Let’s not just talk about sex -- what Pope Francis really said to the Jesuit Interviewer
9/19/13
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/19/pope-francis-says-its-not-necessary-for-church-to-speak-about-gay-marriage/?intcmp=latestnews

VATICAN CITY –  Pope Francis is warning that the Catholic Church's moral edifice might "fall like a house of cards" if it doesn't balance its divisive rules about abortion, gays and contraception with the greater need to make the church a merciful, more welcoming place for all.

Six months into his papacy, Francis set out his vision for the church and his priorities as pope in a remarkably candid and lengthy interview with La Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit magazine. It was published simultaneously Thursday in other Jesuit journals, including America magazine in the U.S.

In the 12,000-word article, Francis expands on his ground-breaking comments over the summer about gays and acknowledges some of his own faults. He sheds light on his favorite composers, artists, authors and films (Mozart, Caravaggio, Dostoevsky and Fellini's "La Strada") and says he prays even while at the dentist's office.

But his vision of what the church should be stands out, primarily because it contrasts so sharply with many of the priorities of his immediate predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVI. They were both intellectuals for whom doctrine was paramount, an orientation that guided the selection of generations of bishops and cardinals around the globe.

Francis said the dogmatic and the moral teachings of the church were not all equivalent.

"The church's pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently," Francis said. "We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel."

Rather, he said, the Catholic Church must be like a "field hospital after battle," healing the wounds of its faithful and going out to find those who have been hurt, excluded or have fallen away.

"It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars!" Francis said. "You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else."

"The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules," he lamented. "The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all."

The admonition is likely to have sharp reverberations in the United States, where some bishops have already publicly voiced dismay that Francis hasn't hammered home church teaching on abortion, contraception and homosexuality — areas of the culture wars where U.S. bishops often put themselves on the front lines. U.S. bishops were also behind Benedict's crackdown on American nuns, who were accused of letting doctrine take a backseat to their social justice work caring for the poor — precisely the priority that Francis is endorsing.

Just last week, Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, wrote in his diocesan newspaper that he was "a little bit disappointed" that Francis hadn't addressed abortion since being elected.

Francis acknowledged that he had been "reprimanded" for not speaking out on such issues. But he said he didn't need to.

"We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible," he said. "The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time."

Francis, the first Jesuit to become pope, was interviewed by Civilta Cattolica's editor, the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, over three days in August at the Vatican hotel where Francis chose to live rather than the papal apartments. The Vatican vets all content of the journal, and the pope approved the Italian version of the article.

Nothing Francis said in this or other interviews indicate any change in church teaching. But he has set a different tone and signaled new priorities compared to Benedict and John Paul — priorities that have already been visible in his simple style, his outreach to the most marginalized and his insistence that priests be pastors, not bureaucrats.

Two months ago, Francis caused a sensation during an inflight news conference when he was asked about gay priests. "Who am I to judge?" about the sexual orientation of priests, as long as they are searching for God and have good will, he responded.

Francis noted in the latest interview that he had merely repeated church teaching (though he again neglected to repeat church teaching that says while homosexuals should be treated with dignity and respect, homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered.")

But he continued: "A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: 'Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?'

"We must always consider the person. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing."

The key, he said, is for the church to welcome, not exclude and show mercy, not condemnation.

"This church with which we should be thinking is the home of all, not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people. We must not reduce the bosom of the universal church to a nest protecting our mediocrity," he said.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not that I endorse Obama and Nancy Pelosi, but just imagine if they said the same things Pope Frankie said - FOX News would be jumping all over them, and they would be calling out the liberal NY Times for not holding them accountable.

And also what I find odd is that the GOP establishment/media have waited until NOW to say, "But *this* is how we approach it...". It was a lot like the last Presidential election, when they did a 180 and said how political leaders' religious faiths shouldn't matter(despite the fact that they insisted Reagan and Bush Jr were bible believing Christians)!

With that being said, the FOX News writer of this Op-Ed piece didn't prove anything one way or another, other than he himself and Pope Frankie are doctrinally in error, big time.

http://www.newswithviews.com/Duigon/lee218.htm
THE FIRST POPE OF ME-ISM

By Lee Duigon
 September 19, 2013
 NewsWithViews.com

Pope Francis, new to the job, has been saying some queer things—most recently, that unbelievers, even atheists, can go to heaven. All you have to do, says the Pope, is obey your conscience. Sin is going against your conscience.

Is he trying to invent a new religion? This is so far off the beaten track of Christianity, it really ought to be named something else—“me-ism” (rhymes with deism).

Okay, he’s trying reach out to the world, maybe get them thinking Christianity isn’t so bad after all. In this he’s only following the lead of various flatline Protestants. “Hey, I know! What if we say it doesn’t matter what you believe, you’re all still gonna go to heaven? What if we say abortion is okay, adultery is no big deal, and evolution is true? What if our ministers put on sherbet-colored suits and perform same-sex marriages right there in church—followed by ‘The **** Monologues’? And we’ll throw in some goddess-worship, too! And rewrite the Bible! When the world sees we’re just like they are, they’ll love us!”

Blind fools—the world will kick your teeth in. Meanwhile, Christians will stampede for the exits, leaving no one in the pews but clueless old dunderheads who can’t understand why no one else thinks they’re as cool and clever as they do.

If it doesn’t matter whether you believe in God, if all you need for salvation is to be easy with your conscience, why have a church at all? Why bother with the Bible?I’ll betcha Adolf Eichmann was easy with his conscience.

Maybe the Pope ought to get out more often. Maybe he should see what people’s consciences let them get away with. We have “Christians” in Iowa shouting “Thank God for abortion!” Can’t Francis see what kind of shape this world is in?

This poor world needs saving; and it’s the Church’s job to be a light in the darkness. It’s the Church’s job to show that there’s a better way, God’s way—not to be conformed to the world’s way. “I’m OK, you’re OK” is not the message of the scriptures.

The city on the hill is looking more and more like the slums around the bottom of the hill.

If works of the flesh could save us; if the uninstructed conscience were truly all we need—then why, in God’s name, did Jesus ever have to come to earth and suffer on the cross? He could have saved Himself an awful lot of trouble! But the preaching of the cross is, to them that perish, foolishness. (I Corinthians 1:18)

The Pope’s approach to this fallen world is not new. Once upon a time it moved St. Paul to cry out, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?” (Galatians 3:1) And our churches are indeed bewitched.

It’s not just the Roman Catholics who tweak the Gospel message. What denomination has ever been satisfied with just the word of God? How often, over the centuries, have they tried to improve on it? But we can see now where the unbroken march of error leads us.

Me-ism is a sham that subverts the mission of the Church and insults God to His face. Has that ever turned out well? The conscience that has not been saved by faith in Jesus Christ is no conscience at all: not one of the Ten Commandments is safe from it. “I answer only to my conscience” is as sure a prescription for wickedness as the world has ever known.

uhm, they already did that a long time ago, its called the Catholic church

This is NOT scriptural. Scripture says the lost are children of wrath...

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

AND...

John 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Also - this same "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin" heresy has been spread in Churchianity.


Uhm, how were his comments "distorted" by the MSM? ::)


 ??? How were his comments "misunderstood"? Sorry, but same meaning.


With that being said - it seems like a lot of these "conservative"/GOP establishment media outlets are pro-Catholic. Whatever "conservatism" they want to believe, it's on them - but nonetheless I can't imagine ANYONE lumping Pope Frankie with ANY kind of "conservatism".

Also - on further evaluation of what the MSM says vs. what Pope Frankie says - no, the MSM doesn't distort anything he says. But they will make the appearance of "slightly tweaking" what he says in their headlines, to MAKE IT LOOK LIKE there's "liberal media" bias. Then the next thing we know, all of these Roman Catholic "liberal media critics" like Brent Bozell, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, etc are all expressing outrage and stirring up their followers(further keeping them in the dark).

They pulled this same stunt when Bush and Cheney were pushing for the Iraq war months before the invasion.

Also - just imagine if Obama, Nancy Pelosi, or Joe Biden made these same comments Frankie did - no, not that I support either one, but nonetheless WND and other GOP establishment outlets would be outraged, and would be exposing the NY Times and other "liberal media" outlets for "going easy" on them.

Thursday, September 19, 2013


 

Pope Francis reveals his true face




By Michael Hoffman
 
www.revisionisthistory.org
 
In an interview filled with what we can only term theological gobbledegook with nary a reference to the Bible, but loads of mystical vertiginous malarkey, Francis the pope of Rome has come out with unprecedented cold-hearted malice toward defenseless, unborn children.
 
Let us anticipate the response of his defenders and rejoin in advance: no, the pope was not quoted out of context, or misquoted. We’re going to give you his quote in context; and it is said he was handed a copy of his interview and allowed to check and edit it before its publication in the Jesuit magazine, America.
 
Here are the pontiff’s documented words, in context. First on homosexuality:
 
“We need to proclaim the Gospel on every street corner,” the pope says, “preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing, even with our preaching, every kind of disease and wound. In Buenos Aires I used to receive letters from homosexual persons who are ‘socially wounded’ because they tell me that they feel like the church has always condemned them. But the church does not want to do this. During the return flight from Rio de Janeiro I said that if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge. By saying this, I said what the catechism says. Religion has the right to express its opinion in the service of the people, but God in creation has set us free: it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person. 
 
“A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: ‘Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?’ We must always consider the person. Here we enter into the mystery of the human being. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing.” (End quote).
 
Where in the catechism does it say the pontiff has no right to judge a homosexual?
 
What is this pope babbling about when he says, “...it is not possible to interfere spiritually in the life of a person”?
 
Furthermore, what is “gay” about sodomy? If God, as the pope claims, “endorses the existence” of a person who practices sodomy, how could God ever send that person to hell?
 
Nowhere does the pope mention a little something known as sin. He offers no reasons for the sodomite to stop sodomizing. After all, God Himself “endorses the existence” of the sodomite. So why not continue in one’s sins? What is the impetus for change?
 
The pontiff’s documented words, in context, on abortion and contraception:
 
"We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time...The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently...We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.”  (End quote).
 
Perhaps someone should tell the pope it is not necessary for the post-Vatican II Church to insist only on issues related to the Nazi “Holocaust," anti-semitism and the defense of Talmudic Judaism as possessing an unbroken covenant with God. "We have to find a new balance." Does the pope agree? Would he be caught dead saying that the pastoral ministry cannot be “obsessed” with the Nazi “Holocaust”?
 
We don't believe, short of a divine miracle, Francis would ever make such a statement, for unlike the dehumanized and marginalized unborn children awaiting the executioner's invasion of their mother's womb, the Nazi "Holocaust" lobby has enormous power on earth. The victims of the abortion holocaust have no such lobby with comparable power on earth.
 
Let us also not forget that this coffin-rider who calls himself pope is declaring that too much has been said against birth control (contraception). The people who brought the Gospel to the world, who inhabit the nations of Britain, Ireland, Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States, are self-extinguishing due to contraception being winked at by their religious leaders — and now it is minimized by the pope himself. This is incredible. It is totally revolutionary. Even the pope of Vatican II, Paul VI, devoted himself to composing the encyclical Humane Vitae, closing the door forever on artificial contraception. But Francis declares, "We have to find a new balance.” Between what, life and death? (Rev. 3:15).
 
According to fake prophecies cooked up during the Renaissance and attributed to the medieval St. Malachy, the current Pope Francis is the last pontiff, dubbed, in that phony prophecy, “Peter Romanus.”
 
We propose a new name for him, Diabolus Romanus.
 

Hoffman is the author of Usury in Christendom: The Mortal Sin that Was and Now is Not.
 
http://revisionistreview.blogspot.com/

I disagree with the last part, but, otherwise, he's correct. We are not to judge salvation, but rather the fruits of a person, and that is where churchianity and cults fail, because they allow rotten fruit in the basket, which spoils it all.

http://news.yahoo.com/american-catholics-theyre-hearing-pope-francis-131052270.html
American Catholics like what they're hearing from Pope Francis

Pope Francis said in an interview this week that the Catholic Church's emphasis needs to turn from sexual issues to the ‘freshness and fragrance of the Gospel.’ Polls show most American Catholics agree.
9/21/13

Pope Francis shook up the Roman Catholic world this week with his comments about abortion, contraception, and gay marriage, saying such moral and doctrinal issues should not be overemphasized at the cost of “losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel."

In the United States, many Catholics hailed what the pope had to say in a lengthy interview in a Jesuit publication, which may not be surprising given attitudes here seen as more liberal than official church doctrine from Rome.

• By 55-43 percent, most American Catholics say abortion should be legal in “all or most cases,” according to a Washington Post/ABC poll in July.

• Eighty-two percent of Catholics in the US say birth control is morally acceptable, Gallup found last year – not much less than the 90 percent approval among all adults polled.

• In March, a Quinnipiac University National Poll found that most Catholic voters (54-38 percent) support same-sex marriage – higher than the 47-43 percent general approval rate. "Catholic voters are leading American voters toward support for same-sex marriage," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

• Also, according to the Quinnipiac Poll, most American Catholics say priests should be allowed to marry (62-30 percent), say the church’s ban on contraception should be relaxed (64-28 percent, including 68-24 percent among women), and support Present Obama's position that religious-based institutions, such as hospitals and universities, must arrange for their insurance companies to provide birth control coverage for employees (51-41 percent).

“We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods," Francis said in the article published Thursday in Jesuit journals in 16 countries. "We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel."

In a move no doubt intended to answer those church members and clergy – including some bishops – holding to a more traditionally conservative view, the pope on Friday spoke out on abortion.

Speaking to Catholic doctors at the Vatican, Pope Francis condemned the “throwaway culture” abortion promotes, saying, “Our response to this mentality is a ‘yes’ to life, decisive and without hesitation.”

“Every unborn child, though unjustly condemned to be aborted, has the face of the Lord, who even before his birth, and then as soon as he was born, experienced the rejection of the world,” he said.

Still, liberal Catholics in the US welcomed the pope’s message in the earlier interview.

“This message resonates with so many Catholics because it reflects our personal experiences—Catholics are gay and lesbian; Catholics use birth control and Catholics have abortions,” Jon O’Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, said in a statement[/b].

“We truly hope that this is just the start; that Pope Francis doesn’t only talk the talk, but also walks the walk,” Mr. O’Brien said. “We hope he takes steps to ensure that his more open view of how the church should deal with people trickles down to his brother bishops around the world, who oversee large numbers of hospitals and medical centers.”

“We also hope that this attitude starts to take effect immediately at the United Nations, where the Vatican continues to take extreme positions against contraception, abortion and sexual and reproductive rights, having a very negative impact on the lives of Catholics and non-Catholics throughout the world,” he said.

As the Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project pointed out last week, the pope has made headlines by condemning the use of chemical weapons, leading a prayer vigil for peace in Syria, vowing to reform the Vatican bureaucracy, washing the feet of young prisoners (including two women) during a Holy Thursday ceremony, and taking a humble approach to the trappings of the papacy, including his decision to reside in a modest residence rather than more spacious accommodations.

A Pew poll taken Sept. 4-8 shows that 79 percent of US Catholics view Pope Francis favorably. “Francis receives his strongest support from those who say they attend Mass at least once a week, with 86% of this group expressing a favorable view of the pontiff,” Pew reported.

The pope’s evident popularity is not lost on the church hierarchy in the United States.

Bishop Thomas Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island, last week said in an interview with his diocesan newspaper that he was "a little bit disappointed" that Francis hadn't spoken out about abortion.

On Friday, in an official statement responding to the pope's remarkable interview in La Civilta Cattolica, Bishop Tobin said he admired Francis' leadership.

"Being a Catholic doesn't mean having to choose between doctrine and charity, between truth and love. It includes both. We are grateful to Pope Francis for reminding us of that vision," Tobin said.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who as head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops has taken a lead role in voicing the U.S. church's opposition to contraception and gay marriage, said the church isn't the only one obsessed with such issues – today's culture is.

"Every pope has a different strategy," Cardinal Dolan told "CBS This Morning." ''What I think he's saying is, those are important issues and the church has got to keep talking about them, but we need to talk about them in a fresh new way. If we keep kind of a negative finger-wagging tone, it's counterproductive.”

“I think what he’s saying is those are important issues, but we need to talk about those issues in a fresh, new way,” Dolan said. “Instead of talking about these hot-button issues, why don’t we talk about tenderness and mercy and the love we have for one another?”

To which most American Catholics evidently say, “Amen.”

French imams to meet pope

AFP | 21 Sep 2013, 10:01

A group of 10 French imams will meet Pope Francis on Wednesday in the latest sign of rapprochement between the Vatican and the Muslim world.

The meeting has been organised by Marek Halter, a French Jewish author known for promoting religious tolerance who has organised similar initiatives in the past.

"I thought: Here's a pope who can do what the previous pope didn't do. He can reconcile Christianity with Islam," Halter said.

Relations between the Vatican and the Muslim world were strained in recent years and Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's Cairo-based highest seat of learning, broke off ties with Francis's predecessor Benedict XVI for what it regarded as controversial statements.

Benedict had strongly called for protection of Christian minorities after a January 2011 suicide bombing at a church in Egypt.

He also sparked fury in the Muslim world in 2006 when he recounted an anecdote in which a Byzantine emperor described Prophet Mohammed as a warmonger who spread evil.

But Francis has made several conciliatory gestures. In August he called for "mutual respect" between Christianity and Islam.

The public meeting is due to take place in Saint Peter's Square in Rome during the weekly papal audience, and will last some 15 minutes.

Hassen Chalghoumi, a Muslim community leader in the Paris suburb of Drancy who is in favour of France's burqa ban, will be among those travelling to Rome aboard the plane of Tunisian film producer Tarak Ben Ammar, a friend of Halter's.

http://m.thelocal.fr//20130921/french-imams-to-meet-pope

This from the head of the Catholic Church!!!!

Pope Francis Criticizes Global Economy For Worshipping A 'God Called Money'   

Pope Francis threw out his prepared Mass on Sunday to make an improvised address on unemployment and the suffering caused by a world economy that worships “this god called money.

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/religion/christianity/catholicism/pope-francis-criticizes-global-economy-worshipping-god-called

Wealth of Roman Catholic Church impossible to calculate
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/08/wealth-of-roman-catholic-church-impossible-to-calculate/

The Vatican Billions
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/vatican/vatican_billions.htm

 ::)

It seems like these Illuminati types will almost always telegraph their punches - pretty much, this "consumerism" economy started shortly after the NIV bible(1978) was put on the market(during the Reagan years, which was also the same time when Reagan re-established ties with the Vatican).

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/22/20638292-pope-attacks-global-economy-for-worshipping-god-of-money?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1
9/22/13
Pope attacks global economy for worshipping 'god of money'

CAGLIARI, Sardinia — Pope Francis made one of his strongest attacks on the global economic system on Sunday, saying it could no longer be based on a "god called money" and urged the unemployed to fight for work.

Francis, at the start of a day-long trip to the Sardinian capital, Cagliari, put aside his prepared text at a meeting with unemployed workers, including miners in hard hats who told him of their situation, and improvised for nearly 20 minutes.

"I find suffering here ... It weakens you and robs you of hope," he said. "Excuse me if I use strong words, but where there is no work there is no dignity."

He discarded his prepared speech after listening to Francesco Mattana, a 45-year-old married father of three who lost his job with an alternative energy company four years ago.

Mattana, his voice trembling, told the pope that unemployment "oppresses you and wears you out to the depths of your soul."

The crowd of about 20,000 people in a square near the city port chanted what Francis called a prayer for "work, work, work." They cheered each time he spoke of the rights of workers and the personal devastation caused by joblessness.

The pope, who later celebrated Mass for some 300,000 people outside the city's cathedral, told them: "We don't want this globalised economic system which does us so much harm. Men and women have to be at the centre (of an economic system) as God wants, not money."

"The world has become an idolator of this god called money," he said.

Sardinia's coast is famous for its idyllic beaches, exclusive resorts and seaside palatial residences of some of the world's richest people, including former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and a host of Hollywood actors.

But much of the island, particularly its large cities and the vast agricultural and industrial interior, has been blighted by the economic crisis, with factories closed and mines operating at low capacity.

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT, CLOSING MINES 

Cagliari has a youth unemployment rate of about 51 percent. The Sulcis area in the southwest of the island is threatened with more unemployment from the looming closures of the Carbosulcis coal mine and an aluminum smelter.

The pope made clear that his assessment was not limited to the local situation.

"It is not a problem of Italy and Europe ... It is the consequence of a world choice, of an economic system that brings about this tragedy, an economic system that has at its centre an idol which is called money," he said to the cheers of the crowd.

While Francis's predecessor Benedict also called for changes to economic systems, he was more likely to use dense intellectual language.

Francis, who as bishop of Buenos Aires sided with unemployed workers in their conflict with government austerity plans, ended his improvised speech with a prayer asking God to "give us work and teach us to fight for work".

Francis said he did not want the crowd to see him as a smiling "cordial manager of the Church who comes here and says to you 'have courage'".

He added: "I don't want this. I want this courage to come from inside me and push me to do everything I can as a pastor and a man."

Francis brought tears to the eyes of some in the crowd when he told his own family's story of emigration from Italy to Argentina and how they lost everything in the Great Depression.

"I was not born yet, but as a child I remember hearing talk of this suffering," he said.

Francis said globalization had brought with it a culture where the weakest in society suffered the most and often, those on the fringes "fall away", including the elderly, who he said were victims of a "hidden euthanasia" caused by neglect of those no longer considered productive.

"To defend this economic culture, a throwaway culture has been installed. We throw away grandparents, and we throw away young people. We have to say no to his throwaway culture. We want a just system that helps everyone," he said.

Yes, we are on the cusp of things now.

Pope expresses good will to Muslims in letter to Sunni imam

Cairo, Egypt, Sep 23, 2013 / 01:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has indicated respect “for Islam and Muslims” in a letter to the head of the main cultural institution of Sunni Islam, marking the end of Ramadan.
 
Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University, perhaps the highest authority in Sunni thought, received the Pope’s letter at the hands of Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel, apostolic nuncio to Egypt, on Sept. 17, Fides News Agency reported.
 
A statement from the Cairo-based university said that the Holy Father’s letter expressed hope in the attempt to further “understanding among Christians and Muslims in the world” and “to build peace and justice.”
 
Secretary of the Patriarchate of Alexandria of the Catholic Copts, Fr. Hani Bakhoum, told the agency that the Roman Pontiff’s letter “is a way of expressing the deep sense of respect and affection that the Catholic Church, the Holy See and the Pope have towards all Muslims and especially of al-Azhar, which is the most representative institution of moderate Sunni Islam.”
 
“Surely this letter will help over time to put aside any misunderstanding and also resume to bilateral dialogue with the Holy See.”
 
Following an attack on the Coptic Cathedral in Alexandria on New Year’s Eve in 2011, dialogue between the Holy See and al-Azhar was interrupted when, according to Fides, the university “interpreted Pope Benedict XVI’s statements on the need to protect Christians in Egypt and the Middle East as an undue Western interference.”

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-expresses-good-will-to-muslims-in-letter-to-sunni-imam/

This is interesting...

2 popes reach out to atheists in apparent campaign

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy's most well-known atheists. In it, he defends his record on handling sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to theology to the figure of Jesus Christ.

Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday by La Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher.

The letters indicate the two men in white — who live across the Vatican gardens from one another — are pursuing a collaborative campaign of sorts to engage non-believers. It's a melding of papacies past and present that has no precedent.

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/2-popes-reach-out-to-atheists-in-apparent-campaign-4838638.php

Yes this definitely is - looks like Benedict hasn't gone away.

BTW - wonder what Life Site News has to say about all this! ::)

Not that I'm a Catholic historian, but I've never heard of two popes interacting like this. Usually the previous is dead, so it usually isn't even possible. It's unique, but I don't really see it as some significant event, but it is interesting.

actually theres been a lot of Popes at the same time, even a couple of woman popes. heck they have fought wars against each other to see who will be pope.

Yeah, was thinking of the same thing too.

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-defends-immigrant-rights-denounces-slave-labour-102943699.html
Pope defends immigrant rights, denounces 'slave labor'
9/24/13

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged countries on Tuesday to welcome and respect migrants and refugees and not treat them as "pawns on the chessboard of humanity".

Francis, who has made the defense of the poor and vulnerable a cornerstone of his papacy, said in a message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees that there should be a change in attitude on the part of host countries.

"Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity," he said in the message, which is sent to government and international institutions such as the United Nations.

"They are children, women and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being more."

He also repeated his condemnation of "slave labor" and trafficking, developing his criticism of a "throwaway culture".

Francis has often used the term to denounce a modern society where people who are not productive, such as the elderly, are neglected and cast off as if they were objects no longer useful.

Immigration is a divisive issue in Europe and beyond. France's far-right National Front, which has an anti-immigrant policy, has been buoyed by improving poll numbers.

Italy's first black minister, Cecile Kyenge, who was born in Africa, has been the butt of racist comments from the anti-immigrant Northern League because she supports automatic citizenship for immigrant children born in Italy.

The steady flow of refugee boats is a also hot issue in Australia, polarizing voters this month's election.

The pope, whose own ancestors left Italy for Argentina in the early 20th century and lived through the Great Depression, called for "the elimination of prejudices and presuppositions" in the approach to migration.

"Not infrequently, the arrival of migrants, displaced persons, asylum-seekers and refugees gives rise to suspicion and hostility. There is a fear that society will become less secure, that identity and culture will be lost, that competition for jobs will become stiffer and even that criminal activity will increase," he said.

"CHANGE OF ATTITUDE"

In his message, Francis decried companies and businesses that exploited migrants and refugees, many of whom work for low day wages in agriculture and in illegal factories in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.

"Particularly disturbing are those situations where migration is not only involuntary, but actually set in motion by various forms of human trafficking and enslavement. Nowadays, 'slave labor' is common currency," he said.

In July, Francis chose Lampedusa, the tiny island off Sicily that has been the first port of safety for untold thousands of migrants crossing by sea from North Africa seeking a better life in Europe, as the place for his first trip outside Rome to draw attention to the plight of refugees.

"A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalization - all typical of a throwaway culture - towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world," he said in the message.

Earlier this month, when he visited a refugee center in Rome, Francis said disused church buildings should be used to house asylum-seekers.

Francis has been a frequent critic of globalization and on Sunday made one of his strongest attacks on the global economic system, saying it could not longer be based "on a god called money".

In his message on Tuesday, Francis said migrants and refugees were also suffering from the effects of globalization.

"Development cannot be reduced to economic growth alone, often attained without a thought for the poor and the vulnerable," he said in the message.

Pope Francis contemplates appointing a female cardinal
9/23/13
http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/23/inenglish/1379952868_934748.html

It’s not a joke. It’s something that Pope Francis has thought about before: naming a woman cardinal. Those who know the pope, both before and after he took over from Ratzinger, say that the first Jesuit pontiff is not only surprising people with his comments, but also with his actions. And this has been happening throughout his first six months in the role.

Those who think that Francis – who has all the simplicity of a parish priest – is a naïve man are wrong. This pope isn’t an ordinary pope. He has come to St. Peter’s with concrete plans for the Catholic Church: he wants to revive Christianity by taking it back to its origins.

The symbolism of his actions began when he first appeared on the balcony at St. Peter’s, calling himself “a bishop” and asking the people to bless him. Since then, he has wasted no time in making unexpected decisions, which have shocked those both inside and outside the Church.

And he will continue to do so, especially with his plans to appoint a female cardinal. He knows that a woman’s role in the Church is an unresolved issue that cannot wait any longer. He was clear about this during his interview with La Civiltà Cattolica last week. “The Church cannot be herself without the woman and her role,” he said. “The woman is essential for the Church. Mary, a woman, is more important than the bishops. I say this because we must not confuse the function with the dignity.”

In other words, it was as if Pope Francis was saying: “The Church isn’t complete because the woman’s role is missing.”

How can he introduce that essential component? He answered the question himself during the interview: “We must therefore investigate further the role of women in the Church. We have to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman.”

And that theology, according to the pope, cannot be construed within the Vatican’s walls.” The feminine genius is needed wherever we make important decisions,” he said.

He may pave the way with discussions that urgently put the issue of a woman’s role in the Church on the table, or better yet, “in front of the altar.” And one of those gestures could be the naming of the first female cardinal. Is that feat impossible? No, because canonical law states that cardinals don’t have to be priests, they can be deacons.

Some would argue that women are not allowed to be deacons as they were 800 years ago among the first Christian communities. But this is one of the reforms that Francis has in mind; it is not based on any dogma. A woman could become a deaconess tomorrow if he so desired.

As Phyllis Zagano of Loyola University in Chicago, an expert on the issue, wrote: “A female deaconess is not an idea for the future. It is an issue for the present and today.”

Zagano brought up the matter with Cardinal Ratzinger before he became pope. “This is something that is being studied,” he told her. Pope Benedict XVI did not follow through but Pope Francis might.

The Armenian Apostolic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church, which have close links to the Vatican, both have deaconesses.

Any woman who is appointed deaconess can indeed become a cardinal without having to change canonical law.

Cardinals serve as advisors to the pope and their primary function is to elect a new pontiff.

“Knowing this pope, he wouldn’t hesitate before appointing a woman cardinal,” said one Jesuit priest. “And he would indeed enjoy being the first pope to allow women to participate in the selection of a new pontiff.”

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-unveil-sainthood-date-john-paul-ii-john-022413901.html

Former popes to be made saints on April 27
9/30/13

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican on Monday said late popes John Paul II and John XXIII would be made saints at an unprecedented joint ceremony on April 27, 2014 in a bid to unite Catholic conservatives and liberals.

Pope Francis made the historic announcement at a meeting of cardinals known as a consistory.

The canonisation of the two popes is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Rome.

The popular Polish pope John Paul and his Italian predecessor known as "Good Pope John", are two of modern-day Catholicism's most influential figures.

The double sainthood is seen by Vatican watchers as an attempt to breach a traditional left-right divide in the Church.

"John XXIII is generally a hero to the church's progressive wing while John Paul II is typically lionized by Catholic conservatives," said John Allen, from the National Catholic Reporter, a US weekly.

Allen said the decision could be interpreted as "a statement that any attempt to set them at odds is artificial, and that what they had in common is more fundamental than any perceived differences".

Sainthood normally requires two "confirmed" miracles, though Francis has approved the canonisation of John XXIII (1958-1963) -- with whom he shares a common touch and reformist views -- based on just one.

John Paul II, who served as pontiff from 1978 to 2005, was credited with his first miracle just six months after his death, when a French nun said she had been cured, through prayer, of Parkinson’s -- a disease he had also suffered from.

His second miracle was reportedly carried out on a woman in Costa Rica, who said she was healed from a serious brain condition by praying for John Paul's intercession on the same day he was beatified in 2011.

The Polish pope was popular throughout his 27-year papacy and helped topple Communism -- although he alienated many with his conservative views and was blamed for hushing up paedophile priest scandals.

At his funeral in 2005, crowds of mourners cried "Santo Subito!" -- "Sainthood Now!" -- prompting the Vatican to speed up the path to sainthood, which normally begins five years after death.

John XXIII made his name by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) which overhauled the Church's rituals and doctrines and reached out to other faiths.

Many compare the Italian pope, who died in 1963, with the current head of the Roman Catholic Church for their similar pastoral attitudes, humble, open manner and sense of humour.

The reportedly miraculous healing of an Italian nun who had severe internal hemorrhages was attributed to John XXIII when he was beatified in 2000.

Francis is believed to have waived the need for a second miracle because his canonisation had been called for by the participants of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, who wanted to pay homage to the man who ushered the Church into modern times.

Francis also promises to be a reformist pope, planning an overhaul of the Vatican bureaucracy and finances and promising a "poor Church for the poor".

On Tuesday, he will begin three days of talks with an advisory board of eight cardinals he has appointed to help him clean up the troubled Roman Curia -- the intrigue-filled administration -- and improve communication between the Vatican and local churches.

Vatican experts say it is not clear whether details from the meetings will be made public, but liberal Catholics hope that the conciliatory tone adopted by Francis on many issues will translate into action.

Topics may include the role of women in the Church, whether priests should be able to marry, if Catholics who remarry should receive the Eucharist and the Church's position on homosexuality and gay clergy.

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-urges-reform-wants-church-modern-spirit-122534863.html
Pope urges reform, wants church with modern spirit
10/1/13

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis says he doesn't want a "Vatican-centric" church concerned about itself but a missionary church that reaches out to the poor, the young, the elderly and even to non-believers. That's the vision he laid out as he opened a landmark meeting Tuesday on reforming the 2,000-year-old institution.

**This is the same thing the Emergent Church pushes...no surprise, as the EC is pushing RCC agendas.

Francis convened the inaugural meeting of his eight cardinal advisers for three days of brainstorming on revamping the antiquated Vatican bureaucracy and other reforms. The move fulfills a key mandate of the cardinals who elected him: They wanted a pope who would involve local church leaders in helping make decisions about the 1.2-billion strong church.

The closed-door meeting got underway against the backdrop of one of the most tangible signs that change is already afoot: The secretive Vatican bank, under investigation for alleged money-laundering by Italian prosecutors, released its first-ever annual report Tuesday, the latest step toward financial transparency championed by Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI.

Net earnings at the bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works, rose more than four-fold to 86.6 million euros ($116.95 million) in 2012, the report said. More than 50 million euros of that was given to the pope for his charitable works.

Francis has put the Vatican bank on notice, forming a commission of inquiry to look into its activities amid accusations by Italian prosecutors that its clients may have used its lax controls to launder money. The bank's two top managers have already resigned and a Vatican monsignor has been arrested after trying to smuggle 20 million euros into Italy from Switzerland without declaring it at customs.

Francis has formed another commission of inquiry to look into the Vatican's overall financial health, but his decision to name the eight cardinals from around the world as a permanent advisory panel represents the most significant sign that he wants to shake things up at the Vatican.

No decisions are expected this week and Francis himself has said the reform process will take time.

The eight cardinals include Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston and a longtime friend of Francis; Cardinals Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, India; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo; and Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany, all of whom head bishops conferences in their regions.

It's unclear how this parallel cabinet will work with the outdated Vatican bureaucracy that constitutes a pope's primary cabinet, known as the Vatican Curia. A scandal over leaked papal documents last year showed the Curia to be a dysfunctional warren of political infighting and turf battles, fueling calls for reform from the cardinals.

On the same day the inaugural "Group of Eight" meeting started, Rome daily La Repubblica published a lengthy interview with Francis, in which he denounced the "Vatican-centric" nature of the Holy See administration and acknowledged that popes in the past had been infatuated with the pomp of the Vatican.

"Heads of the church have often been narcissists, flattered and thrilled by their courtiers," Francis said. "The court is the leprosy of the papacy."

For someone who has said he abhors giving interviews, Francis has made himself remarkably amenable to taking questions about his faith and vision for the church.

The pope also explained his affinity for his namesake St. Francis, whose tomb he will visit Friday in Assisi, the hilltop town where St. Francis preached his gospel of poverty and caring for the most destitute.

Francis said he wanted a missionary church just like that: "We need to give hope to young people, help the aged and open ourselves toward the future and spread love."

**It seems like in our modern-day culture, it's the young people that are being targeted first and foremost, and that includes churches doing it too. No surprise b/c part of the Jesuit agenda a long time ago was to take over the education system.

He said the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that brought the church into the modern world, had promised such an opening to people of other faiths and non-believers but the church hadn't made progress since then.

"I have the humility and ambition to do so," he said.

During the interview, Francis showed his wry sense of humor — there was talk about the pope and his atheist interviewer trying to convert one another — but also his very human fears right after he was elected, when he said he was "seized by a great anxiety."

"To make it go away and relax, I closed my eyes and made every thought disappear, even the thought of refusing to accept the position, as the liturgical procedure allows," he recounted.

"At a certain point I was filled with a great light. It lasted a moment, but to me it seemed very long. Then the light faded, I got up suddenly and walked into the room where the cardinals were waiting."

He said he signed the acceptance form and went out on the balcony to be introduced to the world as Pope Francis.

He is really pushing this into the new-age, we are witnessing the merging of the two beliefs...

Pope Francis stirs debate yet again with interview with an atheist Italian journalist
By Michelle Boorstein and Elizabeth Tenety, Published: October 1

Pope Francis cranked up his charm offensive on the world outside the Vatican on Tuesday, saying in the second widely shared media interview in two weeks that each person “must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them” and calling efforts to convert people to Christianity “solemn nonsense.”

The Vatican’s head seemed intent on distancing himself from its power, saying church leaders “have often been narcissists” and “clericalism should not have anything to do with Christianity.”

The interview with atheist Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari set off another round of debate about what the pope meant: Was he saying that people can make up their own minds, even if they disagree with church teachings? Or was this self-described “son of the church” just using casual language to describe classic church teaching about how people need to come to Catholic doctrine of their free will?

A top official with the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, took the unprecedented step of rebuking Francis, writing that the pope’s interview was “a theological wreck” and that Francis was dabbling dangerously in relativism.

“What these interviews seem continually to do is what evangelical theologian Carl Henry warned Protestants of in the 20th century, of severing the love of God from the holiness of God,” wrote the Rev. Russell Moore, a past dean of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and head of the convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. “We must speak with tenderness and gentleness, but with an authoritative word from God.”

Some conservative Catholics were also taken aback by the interview.

“My e-mail is filled with notes from people who need to be talked off the ledge,” wrote the Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, author of one of the more popular blogs for Catholic conservatives.

In what is quickly becoming classic Pope Francis, the back story of the interview was dramatically simple. The leader of the largest church in the world apparently picked up the phone and called Scalfari, founder of La Repubblica, who had requested an interview.

“Why so surprised?” the pope asked Scalfari (after being patched through by a shaky secretary at the newspaper). “You wrote me a letter asking to meet me in person. I had the same wish, so I’m calling to fix an appointment. Let me look at my diary: I can’t do Wednesday, nor Monday; would Tuesday suit you?”

After they set the time, Scalfari said he wasn’t sure how to end the call and asked for an embrace by phone. “Of course, a hug from me too,” the pope told him. “Then we will do it in person, goodbye.”

The interview was wide-ranging, including the pope’s story of a Communist friend he had as a young man (who was later tortured and killed by the Argentine military), a few movie recommendations as well as a mystical experience he had the night he was picked to be pope.

“My head was completely empty and I was seized by a great anxiety. To make it go away and relax I closed my eyes and made every thought disappear, even the thought of refusing to accept the position, as the liturgical procedure allows,” he said. “I closed my eyes and I no longer had any anxiety or emotion. At a certain point I was filled with a great light.”

But the parts of the interview that will be pored over are theological — the uncomplicated, unqualified language Francis uses to speak about faith. In this interview, as in the one two weeks ago by a group of Jesuit publications, connection to God doesn’t seem to depend on church hierarchy.

Asked if there is a single vision of good, and who decides, Francis says:

“Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good . . . Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.”

Asked if he feels touched by grace, Francis tells the atheist reporter that the holy quality “is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason. Even you, without knowing it, could be touched by grace.”

Chris Ruddy, a theologian at Catholic University, noted that Pope Benedict XVI had co-
authored a book with an atheist that said that “seekers and believers . . . must move towards one another,” but that Francis had clearly taken the concept of engagement to a new level. Catholic teaching, he noted, calls for people to follow their own consciences — but is referring to “formed” consciences steeped with education and prayer in proper doctrine.

“What the pope said can be taken a bunch of different ways. And it can certainly be taken in a relativistic way. And I imagine it will be received that way by some people,” Ruddy said. “But I don’t see the pope saying: ‘You have your idea, I have mine and it’s all good.’ I see him saying: ‘We have to respect persons and their search for truth.’ ”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/pope-francis-stirs-debate-yet-again-with-interview-with-an-atheist-italian-journalist/2013/10/01/9e7a6790-2acb-11e3-97a3-ff2758228523_print.html

This Pope is using his words so craftily, that it's just enough to stir both debate and strife.

Like I mentioned earlier, at one GOP establishment forum I look at, they are still debating heavily with each other over his comments(some are seeing his true colors, while others think his comments are somehow being taken out of context).

BUT - this is how the Hegelian Dialectic game is played. When all is said and done, all of this never-ending debate and strife will end up merging all camps together.

http://news.yahoo.com/u-catholics-back-pope-francis-changing-churchs-focus-100249104.html
10/4/13
U.S. Catholics back Pope Francis on changing church's focus

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Pope Francis' comments that the Catholic Church should not focus so much on homosexuality, abortion and contraception have met with strong approval from U.S. Catholics, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Friday.

Sixty-eight percent of American Catholics agree with comments the Pope made to that effect in an interview published last month in the Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica, while 23 percent disagreed, according to the poll. There was little difference in opinion between observant and less-observant Catholics, women and men, and among age groups, the poll found.

American Catholics also like their new pope, with 89 percent having a "favorable" or "very favorable" opinion, and only 4 percent voicing an unfavorable opinion, the poll found.

"Maybe they were just waiting for a Jesuit," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Francis is the first pope from the religious order of the Jesuits, an order known for its intellectuals and iconoclasts.

In the interview, Francis reaffirmed traditional church teachings, but said the church must "find a new balance" or risk seeing its entire moral edifice collapse "like a house of cards."

The poll also found that 60 percent of American Catholics support women's ordination - though the Pope had recently reaffirmed the ban on women's ordination. Support is highest among those who attend services less frequently and Catholics over the age of 65.

The survey also found that Catholic opinion on abortion is similar to the opinion of all American adults - with 52 percent of Catholics saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 53 percent of the general public.

The poll surveyed 1,776 American adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points, and 392 Catholics with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski; editing by Scott Malone and Matthew Lewis)

Pope Francis marks Assisi visit with call for church to shun worldliness
During visit to Assisi where Saint Francis lived in 12th century, pontiff says worldliness leads to vanity, arrogance and pride

The Roman Catholic church, from the lowliest priest to the pontiff himself, must strip itself of all vanity, arrogance and pride and humbly serve the poorest members of society, Pope Francis has said.

The pope's appeal, made in the central Italian town of Assisi where his namesake Saint Francis lived in the 12th century, comes amid a drive by Francis to turn around a church plagued by financial and sexual abuse scandals.

Saint Francis is revered by Catholics and many other Christians for his simple values, poverty and love of nature, qualities the Argentinian-born Francis has made the keynote of his papacy since his election in March.

"This is a good occasion to invite the church to strip itself of worldliness," he said in a room that marks the spot where Saint Francis stripped naked as a young man, renounced his wealthy family and set out to serve the poor.

"There is a danger that threatens everyone in the church, all of us. The danger of worldliness. It leads us to vanity, arrogance and pride," said Francis in the richly frescoed room of the residence of the archbishop of Assisi.

As he has often done, Francis spoke impromptu after putting aside prepared versions of two speeches, clearly moved by the sick and the poor people present in the room.

Francis has brought a new style of openness, consultation and simplicity to the Vatican. A few days after his election he said he wanted to see "a church that is poor and for the poor".

He has shunned the spacious papal apartments for spartan quarters in a Vatican guesthouse and has urged all members of the clergy, regardless of rank, to spurn comfort and get out among the poor and needy.

Francis said all members of the church, including bishops, cardinals and the pope himself, had to avoid the pitfalls of attaching importance to worldly things and to be more humble.

"Worldliness brings us to vanity, arrogance, pride and these are idols … All of us have to strip ourselves of this worldliness," he said.

Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,300 years and the first from Latin America, has formed three committees to advise him on making the Vatican more transparent, particularly in its financial dealings.

He has also said that Catholic convents and monasteries that are empty should be opened up to house migrants and refugees.

Francis was visibly moved when he heard the stories of some of the poor people in the room. "Many of you have been stripped by this savage world that does not give employment, that does not help, that does not care if there are children in the world who are dying of hunger, does not care if so many families have nothing to eat," he said.

He decried a world "that does not care about many people who have to flee poverty and hunger, flee seeking freedom and many times they find death, as happened yesterday in Lampedusa".

Francis was referring to the sinking of a migrant boat off the southern Italian island, in which more than 300 people are believed to have died. "Today is a day for crying," Francis said of the tragedy.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/04/pope-francis-assisi-church-worldliness

woops
(http://www.catholicregister.org/media/k2/items/cache/734ef77b39566cf4eb41da94b2fbd9cd_M.jpg)

(http://global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/img/Scitech/pope-twitter.jpg)

(http://www.empowernetwork.com/moonwalker87/files/2012/10/Pope-Gold-Pearls.jpg)

POPE TRIP TO ST. FRANCIS' TOWN HIGHLIGHTS GOALS

 Pope Francis broke bread with the poor and embraced the disabled on a pilgrimage to his namesake's hometown Friday, urging the faithful to follow the example of the 13th-century St. Francis, who renounced a wealthy, dissolute lifestyle to embrace a life of poverty and service to the poor.

According to tradition, God told St. Francis to "repair my house," and the first pope to take the saint's name has made clear that he sees that as his own mission as well.

For Francis, that means reaching out to the most marginalized among the church's 1.2 billion followers, reforming the broken Vatican bureaucracy, and allowing the faithful to shake things up in their dioceses - even at the annoyance of their bishops - if that's what it takes to better spread God's word.

After all, the pope said, St. Francis was a radical himself in his complete devotion to his faith - a model that can serve Catholics today.

Here are the main goals Pope Francis has set out for his church, highlighted during his visit to the hilltop town of Assisi, whose native son has inspired his papacy:

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A CHURCH `THAT IS POOR AND FOR THE POOR'

Francis had lunch with a group of poor at a soup kitchen after demanding that the faithful "strip" themselves of their worldly attachment to wealth, which he said is killing the church and its souls. He delivered that exhortation during the most evocative stop of the day, in the simple room where St. Francis stripped off his clothes, renounced his wealth and vowed to live a life of poverty. Since becoming pope in March, Francis has made it clear that one of his principal objectives is a church that is humble, looks out for the poorest and brings them hope. The "slum pope," as he is known because of his work in Argentina's shantytowns, recently denounced the "idolatry" of money and encouraged those without the "dignity" of work.

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A CHURCH THAT WELCOMES AND DOESN'T JUDGE

Francis' first stop in Assisi was to an institute that cares for gravely disabled children, who in the words of the director are often seen as "stones cast aside," invisible and neglected by the world. Francis caressed and kissed each child, saying their "scars need to be recognized and listened to." It was part of the simple message of love that he has brought to others often considered outcasts, such as drug addicts and convicts. His "who am I to judge?" comment about gays over the summer was another reflection of this message of merciful welcome. It represented a radical shift in tone for the Vatican. Catholic teaching holds that all people should be treated with dignity and respect, so Francis was making no change in doctrine. But church teaching also holds that gay acts are "intrinsically disordered" - a point Francis has neglected to emphasize in favor of a message of inclusion.

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A FEMININE CHURCH

Francis has called for a greater role for women in the governance of the church, while ruling out female ordination. He says the church itself is female, that Jesus Christ was married to the church and that Mary is more important than all the apostles. On Friday, Francis paid special attention to the women of the church, visiting the cloistered Sisters of St. Clare, an order founded by one of St. Francis' followers. In the Basilica of St. Clare, Pope Francis told the nuns that they must be mothers to the church and be joyful. "It makes me sad when I find sisters who aren't joyful," he lamented. "They might smile, but with just a smile they could be flight attendants!" He showed that same sense of humor later when he told a story about a mother who lamented that her 30-year-old son still hadn't gotten married - a reference to a generation of Italian men who seem unwilling to move out: "Signora," Francis recalled telling her. "Stop ironing his shirts!"

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A CHURCH THAT IS `MESSY' AND GOES OUTSIDE THE SACRISTY

St. Francis was considered a radical disobedient for having renounced everything and given himself entirely to his faith, but that's just the type of radical witness Pope Francis wants for today's Catholics. Francis told Argentine pilgrims during World Youth Day in July to make a "mess" in their dioceses and shake things up. He hopes the church will stop being so inward-looking, and instead go out to the peripheries to spread the faith, just like St. Francis. The pope's first trip outside Rome was to Lampedusa, a southern Italian island closer to Africa than the Italian mainland. His eulogy for all migrants lost at sea denounced a "globalization of indifference," a prescient message given Thursday's shipwreck off Lampedusa that killed scores of migrants. As black mourning ribbons hung from Assisi's banners, Francis proclaimed Friday "a day of tears."

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A CHURCH THAT WORKS FOR PEACE AND CARES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Assisi is known for its message of peace, drawing people of all faiths - and no faith - for annual peace pilgrimages to the basilica dominating the hill and its magnificent frescos by Giotto and Cimabue. The town takes its cue from St. Francis, who preached a message of peace and care for nature. But Pope Francis lamented Friday that the saint's message is often misunderstood, "sweetened" into something he didn't represent. A Vatican spokesman put it this way: "Too often his message is lost and we reduce his role to that of a gentle, whimsical hippie who fed birds, smelled flowers and tamed wild wolves." Pope Francis said the saint's message was to truly "love one another as I have loved you," calling for an end to all the wars in the Middle East, especially Syria. The pope has been steadfast in his call for peace in Syria, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people around the world to hold a day of fasting and prayer when it appeared military strikes against the Damascus regime were imminent.

---

A REFORMED CHURCH

Francis was elected on a mandate to reform the church, and he has set about doing that. One of his first stops Friday was to pray at the sanctuary of St. Damian, where the saint in 1205 famously was told to take a broken church and rebuild it. The pope has just finished three days of meetings with advisers from churches around the globe helping him rewrite the main blueprint for how the Catholic Church is governed. Ideas include having a "moderator" to make the Vatican bureaucracy run more smoothly and a diminished role for the Vatican's powerful secretary of state. In an indication that a shift is already underway, the secretary of state didn't accompany Francis to Assisi, though his eight cardinal advisers did - a symbolic changing of the guard in favor of less centralized church authority. The reforms also include involving lay men and women more in the life of the church. Just as St. Francis wanted.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_VATICAN_POPE_ASSISI?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-04-07-28-50

Pope Francis: ‘I Believe In God, Not In A Catholic God’

Pope Francis has been making headlines ever since the pontiff was announced as the Roman Catholic Church’s leader, and now he’s getting even more attention because he recently said, “I believe in God, not in a Catholic God.” He essentially took a dig at the Catholic Church hierarchy by condemning its “Vatican-centric view.”

“I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God, there is God and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation,” the pope said in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, as quoted by the Inquisitr. “Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being. Do you think we are very far apart?”
 
The pontiff added he does not agree with everything his religion stands for: “This Vatican-centric view neglects the world around us,” he said. “I do not share this view, and I’ll do everything I can to change to it.”
 
Pope Francis plans to do so by being more involved with the community. He stated his plan: “The church is or should go back to being a community of God’s people, and priests, pastors and bishops who have the care of souls, are at the service of the people of God.”
 
Eugenio Scalfari, the co-founder and former editor of La Repubblica was surprised to get the exclusive interview with the pope in the first place, but even more so once he talked to him.
 
“‘God is not Catholic,’” Scalfari quoted the pope as saying, according to NBC News. Confused, he asked Pope Francis to elaborate, and the pontiff reportedly replied, “‘God is universal, and we are catholic in the sense of the way we worship him.’”
 
Pope Francis was reportedly taken aback when he was elected pope by the conclave in March. He thought about refusing for a moment, but then accepted his role. “When in the conclave they elected me pope, I asked for some time alone before I accepted,” he said in the interview. “I was overwhelmed by great anxiety, then I closed my eyes and all thoughts, including the possibility of refusing, went away.”

http://www.ibtimes.com/pope-francis-i-believe-god-not-catholic-god-1415620?utm

 ??? First he doesnt belive in the catholic god, but he believes in the universal god?  lets see here...


SOOOOOoooo... we can see that Frank is lying again, as he does believe in the catholic god. And i know her name  ;)

It's obvious over the games Pope Frankie is playing with the Catholic Church pews - he's getting everyone to argue and debate among themselves. At one GOP establishment forum I look at(for news articles), they are doing just that - while some are seeing his true colors, there are others that are really fighting hard and pushing back like either his comments were somehow taken out of context or somehow he was speaking in a different context.

Ultimately, all this will do is wear everyone out in the Hegelian Dialectic process - there will come a day when Frankie will explicitly endorse gay marriage and atheism, and all of his flock will end up buying everything he says(ie-the "liberal media" critics like Brent Bozell and Sean Hannity will do the same).

While subtle, he still adheres to the Catholic trinity tradition, separating God the Father from Jesus, and then incorrectly claiming that God is the light, when clearly scripture says Jesus is the light of the world. And he doesn't acknowledge that it is in fact more correct to say that it is the Holy Ghost that is his teacher, though the indwelling of the Holy Ghost is Jesus Christ in you.

"...doctrines of men..."

http://news.yahoo.com/casual-pope-puts-vatican-alert-quips-132010700.html
Casual pope puts Vatican on alert with quips
10/9/13

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has grabbed headlines with his off-the-cuff homilies, crowd-pleasing one-liners and lengthy interviews during which he has pontificated on everything from the church's "obsession" with rules to how he won't judge gays. But his chattiness has gotten him into some trouble, and the Vatican has gone into damage-control mode to clarify, correct or put his comments into context. Here's a look at some of Francis' more eyebrow-raising comments, and the efforts by the Vatican's spin doctors to address them.

___

DID FRANCIS REALLY CONSIDER TURNING DOWN THE JOB?

In an interview with the Rome daily La Repubblica, editor Eugenio Scalfari quoted the pope as saying he was "seized by a great anxiety" moments after his election and asked the cardinals in the Sistine Chapel to give him a few minutes time to think things over.

"To make it go away and relax, I closed my eyes and made every thought disappear, even the thought of refusing to accept the position, as the liturgical procedure allows," he was quoted as saying. "At a certain point I was filled with a great light. It lasted a moment, but to me it seemed very long. Then the light faded, I got up suddenly and walked into the room where the cardinals were waiting." The pope was quoted as saying he signed the acceptance form and went out on the balcony to be introduced to the world as Pope Francis.

But the Rev. Thomas Rosica, who helps with Vatican media relations, later said the interview didn't reflect Francis' real words. He said Scalfari neither recorded the conversation nor took notes, reconstructing the conversation from memory and printing it as a verbatim interview. The Vatican doesn't dispute the overall thrust of the interview, which Scalfari said he submitted to Francis for review and which the Vatican newspaper reprinted verbatim. But Rosica said the purported "mystical" experience recounted by Repubblica after the election didn't happen, though Francis himself has said previously and in public that "I didn't want to be pope."

___

CAN ATHEISTS BE SAVED?

One of the novelties introduced by Francis has been his daily 7 a.m. Mass in the Vatican hotel, to which groups and individuals are invited. Francis delivers homilies each day, the contents of which are summarized by Vatican Radio. On May 22, he caused no shortage of confusion when he suggested that even atheists could find salvation.

According to church teaching, the Catholic Church holds the "fullness of the means of salvation" — a message that has long been taken to mean that only Catholics can find salvation. But in his homily, Francis said: "The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! 'Father, the atheists?' Even the atheists. Everyone!"

Rosica issued a lengthy "explanatory note" a few days later after being inundated with questions about whether Francis was changing church doctrine on salvation. He noted that church teaching also holds that "those who through no fault of their own" don't know about Jesus but seek God and try to do his will can also attain eternal salvation.

"Always keep in mind the audience and context of Pope Francis' homilies," Rosica cautioned. "His words are not spoken in the context of a theological faculty or academy nor in interreligious dialogue or debate. He speaks in the context of Mass."

___

SHOULD THE VATICAN BANK BE SAVED?

On April 24, Francis invited members of the Vatican bank to join him for Mass in the hotel. The Institute for Religious Works, as the bank is known, has been plagued by scandals — most recently over the arrest of a Vatican monsignor on charges he tried to smuggle some 20 million euro ($26 million) into Italy from Switzerland without declaring it at customs.

Given the scandals, the arrival of a reform-minded, non-nonsense pope has prompted a flurry of speculation that Francis might shut the bank down. So imagine the headlines that followed his April 24 homily, when he lamented how the church can sometimes become too bureaucratic, too much like an aid group, and that bureaucracies are necessary up to a point.

"The church isn't an NGO, it's a story of love," Francis told the bank's staff in the pews. "But there are the IOR folks here, excuse me, OK? Everything is necessary, offices are necessary, OK, but they're only necessary up to a certain point: as a help to this story of love. But when the organization loses this primary place, when the love is gone, the poor church becomes an NGO. And this isn't the way to go."

Archbishop Angelo Becciu, under secretary of the Vatican secretariat of state, told the Vatican newspaper a few days later that Francis was by no means hinting that he might shut down the Vatican bank.

___

THE VICAR OF CHRIST SAID WHAT?

Sometimes, Francis' one-liners don't warrant Vatican clarification, but they're worth repeating simply because they came from the lips of the Successor of Peter, Vicar of Christ, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church:

— Francis urged the church to "strip" itself of its worldy attachment to wealth during his Oct. 4 trip to Assisi and focus instead on the basics of Christ's teachings. "You might say, 'Can't we have a more human Christianity, without the cross, without Jesus, without stripping ourselves?'" he asked rhetorically. "In this way we'd become pastry-shop Christians, like a pretty cake and nice sweet things. Pretty, but not true Christians."

—Francis was asked June 7 why he chose to live in the Vatican hotel rather than the fancier Apostolic Palace where his predecessors lived. "If I was living alone, isolated, it wouldn't be good for me," he told students of Jesuit schools. "A professor asked me the same question, 'Why don't you go and live there (in the papal apartments)'? And I replied: 'Listen to me professor, it is for psychiatric reasons.'"

—The pope has urged nuns and sisters to be like joyful mothers to the church, caring for its flock, and not act like they're "old maids." ''It makes me sad when I find sisters who aren't joyful," he lamented during his Oct. 4 visit to a cloistered convent in Assisi. "They might smile, but with just a smile they could be flight attendants!"

Given Francis' wry sense of humor and willingness to regularly ditch speeches prepared for him, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said he wants the faithful to know the difference between a pontifical joke and an encyclical, a clever quip in a homily and infallible teaching.

"There are different genres of expression, some are magisterial and official, others are more pastoral," Lombardi told The Associated Press. "They have a different doctrinal value."

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/10/vatican-misspells-jesus-name-on-papal-medal/
Vatican Misspells Jesus’ Name on Papal Medal
10/10/13

Someone is going to be saying a “mea culpa.”

A medal issued by the Vatican commemorating Pope Francis’ first year as the Bishop of Rome included a rather glaring spelling error, a typo of Biblical proportions.

Engraved with the Latin phrase that the pope says inspired him to join the priesthood as a young man, Italy’s state mint misspelled the name of Jesus, calling the son of God Lesus instead.

The medals, of which 6,000 were pressed in silver and bronze and another 200 in gold, have now been recalled. The design included a portrait of Pope Francis on the obverse and on the reverse a work by the artist Mariangela Crisciotti.

The medals were to go on sale Tuesday and include the Latin inscription: “Vidit ergo Jesus publicanum et quia miserando atque eligendo vidit, ait illi sequere me,” according to the Vatican press office.

Mistakenly, however, the word “Lesus” was printed instead.

The phrase it the pope’s motto. It means, “Jesus, therefore, saw the publican, and because he saw by having mercy and by choosing, He said to him, ‘Follow me.’”

(http://a.abcnews.com/images/International/ht_pope_francis_medal_jesus_misspelled_16x9_608.jpg)

How ironic. And even more so by them having that verse reference about following Jesus, with the pope's image on the other side. ::)

Muslim Leader Says Pope Francis ‘Resonates With the Muslim World’

 The president of the Islamic Affairs Council of Maryland offered high praise for Pope Francis, saying the Catholic leader “resonates with the Muslim world,” much like the saint from whom he takes his name. "From my perspective, Pope Francis is really doing a wonderful job in terms of outreach, in terms of contributing to world peace, in terms of contributing to stopping wars and conflicts, praying for better understanding," said Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat in an interview with Catholic News Service.

http://news.yahoo.com/muslim-leader-says-pope-francis-%E2%80%98resonates-with-the-muslim-world%E2%80%99-233413262.html

What hypocrisy! He praises him, when in reality, he considers the pope, as with any non-Muslims, inferior to Muslims.

Not everyone loves Pope Francis: Conservative Catholics voice concern over 'revolutionary' message
10/15/13
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/15/20886834-not-everyone-loves-pope-francis-conservative-catholics-voice-concern-over-revolutionary-message?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1

Pope Francis' plain-spoken populism has won rave reviews, from people in the pews to the man in the Oval Office, but his pronouncements on everything from atheists to abortion have shaken some conservative and traditional Catholics.

Six months after he was installed on the Throne of St. Peter, the pontiff's comments in a series of interviews are being denounced in scattered corners as "reckless" or even "borderline heretical." One critic called him "the Joe Biden of our era."

"The whispers are rising," said Steve Skojec, 35, a father of six from Manassas, Va., who said a scathing blog post he wrote about the pope's recent remarks got 20,000 views, compared with the usual 500. "There are more and more people who are feeling uncomfortable."

The skepticism rides behind a wave of praise for the down-to-earth Argentine — applauded for choosing Jesuit simplicity over Vatican opulence, emphasizing the poor and tweaking the powerful, and checking stridency at the door when talking about gay marriage, contraception or whether non-believers get into heaven.

"Best pope ever" is a frequent appraisal on Twitter, and President Obama, a Protestant, told CNBC this month that he is "hugely impressed" by the rookie leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics.

The broad-based adulation — only 4% of Americans in a recent poll had an unfavorable view of the pope — is vexing pockets of conservatives who want a harder line on core doctrine and who worry that even if Francis has not altered church teachings, his words will be misinterpreted or exploited.

"I'm very disturbed by these off-the-cuff, informal remarks," said Christopher Ferrara, a columnist for The Remnant, a Catholic newspaper that opposes many of the changes that accompanied Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

"In one sense, there's no harm because church teaching has not been changed, but in the other sense there is tremendous harm because not everyone understands church teaching," added Ferrara, who is drafting a letter to the Vatican requesting clarification on some of the pope's positions.

He pointed to a Kansas women's clinic that posted on its fence a quote from Francis — saying Catholics should not focus only on hot-button issues like abortion and contraception — as a rebuke to protesters.

Julie Burkhart, director of the South Wind Women's Clinic in Wichita, said she put up the sign so "the people coming here to protest us and harassing our patients might pause and think about what else they could be doing with their time."

David Gittrich of Kansans for Life shot back that the quote was "taken out of context" and that it was "ridiculous" for the clinic to suggest the pope wants to dissuade anti-abortion activism.

Many rank-and-file Catholics and commentators, even those who consider themselves religiously conservative, say Francis is tinkering with style, not substance. But others are quietly nervous — or loudly aghast.

“Is Pope Francis a wishy-washy spineless pope?  Perhaps a pawn, to be used by the liberals inside and outside the Church?" asked the author of the Connecticut Catholic Corner blog, who declined to speak on the record.

"I have a very dear Catholic friend who is freaking out because I am 'having issues' with Pope Francis.  It’s not that I don’t WANT to like him and think highly of him, I do.  I really, really do.  But… it’s just not happening for me.”

John Vennari, a traditional Catholicism advocate, put forth a conspiratorial view in a YouTube video, suggesting the pope's interviews are a way for him to get around writing encyclicals that would contradict church doctrine and the powerful Rome-based cardinals who would object to that.

“He’s leaping over their heads just to take this revolutionary message just straight to the people,” Vennari said.

Skojec said that because many people believe — mistakenly, he said — that anything the pope says is "infalliable," a pontiff has to be "very prudent and circumspect." Instead, he wrote, Francis has been "utterly reckless, theologically misleading, and borderline heretical."

Fans of Francis have predicted that his gentler tone might bring lapsed Catholics and young people into the church, but detractors say it might drive away a certain brand of congregant.

The Society of Saint Pius X, a breakaway group, said in a statement that the recent interviews had "provoked some new interest" in them and predicted membership would grow, "if the Holy Father confirms the direction he seems to be taking."

Stephen Heiner — founder of TrueRestoration.org a member of the sedevacantist movement, which argues there hasn't been a true pope in Rome since Vatican II —said the number of people listening to his podcast doubled from about 4,000 to 8,000 in reaction to the pope's statements.

"The fact that we, who could be considered fringe, are attracting listeners speaks to the discontent," he said.

He added that Francis' language in the media interviews was "inelegant," in contrast to the formality of written communiques like encyclicals.

"He's the Joe Biden of our era," he said.

Jeffrey Tucker, editor of the New Liturgical Movement blog, said the super-traditionalists should relax, even though he admitted Francis left him unsettled at first because he is so different from his more formal predecessor.

"All of us miss Benedict — we just do. It's kind of how the kids never like the new stepfather," Tucker said. "You get groovy with it and everything's OK. There's a group of traditionalists that just don't get it, and they're terrified."

Boston College theology professor Thomas Groome said it's easy to see why reactionaries would be on edge. While the pope hasn't messed with doctrine, a shift in priorities and pitch is clearly underway, he said.

"I think it will be a real test for conservative Catholics," he said. "They have always pointed the finger, quoting the pope for the last 35 years. Suddenly, will they stop quoting the pope. It'll be a good test of whether or not they're really Catholics."

Pope Plans to Visit Israel as Early as Next Year
Trip to Israel Would Come After Pontiff's Strong Condemnations of Anti-Semitism

 Pope Francis plans to visit Israel as soon as next year, the Vatican said, in what could be a landmark visit for a pontiff who has already won plaudits from the Jewish community for his strong condemnation of anti-Semitism.

On Thursday, the pope also met at the Vatican with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who invited him to visit Palestine as well. Israeli President Shimon Peres had already extended an invitation to the pope to visit the Holy Land shortly after the pontiff's election in March.

Following the invitation from Mr. Abbas, "we can now start thinking in a more concrete way regarding the planning of the visit," said Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi, adding that it could take place in 2014.

A papal trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories would follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis's predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II. Both sought to promote Christian reconciliation with Judaism as emphasized in the key 1962-65 Second Vatican Council and do away with any vestiges of anti-Semitism after centuries of ambiguity within the church.

A visit by Pope Francis, who has so far made only one overseas trip since his appointment, could advance that dialogue. "We can see the steady and ongoing commitment of the Catholic Church on improving Catholic-Jewish relations," said Chad Pecknold, assistant professor of theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington DC.

During his young papacy, Pope Francis has reached out to the Jewish community on several fronts. Last week, he met with members of Rome's Jewish community to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of deportations of Italian Jews from Rome to Nazi concentration camps during the German occupation of Italy. On Oct. 16, 1943, more than 1,000 Roman Jews were deported. Only 16 returned home.

"For many centuries…the Jewish community and the Church of Rome have lived in our city, with a history—as we well know—that was often traversed by misunderstandings and even true grievances," Pope Francis said at the meeting.

This week, the Vatican also banned churches in Rome from holding a funeral for Erich Priebke, a former German commander who played a role in a wartime massacre of Italian partisans and civilians. Mr. Priebke's arrest, and subsequent conviction and life sentence, was an important milestone for Rome's 2,000-year old Roman Jewish community.

"It's a contradiction for a Christian to be anti-Semitic: His roots are Jewish," the pope said last week.

The pope's visit to the Holy Land would also forward his appeal for peace in the Middle East.

"Pope Francis has already been very clear about his priority for the poor, the marginalized, the suffering and the oppressed of the world," said Scott Appleby, director of the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. "His focus [in the trip to the Holy Land] will be on the human toll of the conflict."

In Thursday's meeting with Mr. Abbas, the two men discussed the political conflict in the region and, in particular, the reinstatement of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in the "hope that this process may bear fruit and enable a just and lasting solution to be found to the conflict," the Vatican said in a statement.

When Pope Francis gave Mr. Abbas as a gift a pen Thursday, the Palestinian president told him, "I hope to use this pen to sign the peace treaty with Israel."

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303680404579141563422438386

Pope Rejects Meeting with Bibi in Rome

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will not be meeting with Pope Francis during his visit to Rome on Wednesday, a diplomatic source told AFP on Sunday. A statement last week from Netanyahu’s office had said he would be "meeting Pope Francis next Wednesday at the Vatican" and with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for updates on nuclear talks with Iran and negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.   

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/173033

Bishop: Pope leading church to 'disaster'
 
Believes world could be entering age of Antichrist


Citing the famous prophecies of Fatima, traditionalist Roman Catholic Bishop Bernard Fellay warned in an address in Kansas City that Pope Francis is precipitating the church’s decline and could be a herald that the world is entering the age of the Antichrist.
 
Fellay, who leads a society that has no canonical status in the Roman Catholic Church, said the “modernist views” professed by the pontiff are at odds with traditional Catholic teaching.
 
“The situation in the Catholic Church is a real disaster and the present pope is making it 10,000 times worse,” Fellay charged Oct. 12 at the Angelus Press Conference in Kansas City.
 
Fellay is superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, whose ministers, according to the Vatican, do not legitimately exercise ministry in the church.
 
Fellay, in his address, drew heavily from the Third Secret of Fatima, which many Catholics believe was given by the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Lucia Santos, one of three poor children who claimed to experience a series of six apparitions of Mary in Fatima, Portugal, between May and October in 1917.

REST: http://www.wnd.com/2013/10/bishop-pope-leading-church-to-disaster/print/

Even worse - this Pope is doing all he can to divide and cause division within his OWN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

Like I mentioned earlier - there's this one GOP establishment forum I go to to get news articles from, and they also lean pro-Catholic. Even the posters on there are divided over this Pope, to the point where some are accusing the so-called "liberal media"(ie-CBS, CNN, ABC, etc) of somehow "distorting" Frankie's comments. Even some of these "liberal media" watchdog groups(which have RCC ties) also accuse the "liberal media" like CBS and CNN of painting Frankie in a bad light.

Pope Francis called right-wing Christian fundamentalism a sickness.

Pope Francis has been very clear about how he feels about ideological purity in religion. He’s been particularly critical of right-wing Christian fundamentalism. Pope Francis has shifted the focus of the Catholic Church to issues facing the poor and the sick. He has railed against economic inequality and has criticized the anti-gay and anti-abortion strains that have come to dominate the Christian Right here in America. Such ideological extremism is dangerous, not only to Christianity, but to the world. And Pope Francis said as much last Thursday.

During a daily Mass last week, Pope Francis called ideological Christianity “an illness” that doesn’t serve Jesus Christ. Instead, it “frightens” people and pushes them away from religion.

"In ideologies there is not Jesus: in his tenderness, his love, his meekness. And ideologies are rigid, always. Of every sign: rigid. And when a Christian becomes a disciple of the ideology, he has lost the faith: he is no longer a disciple of Jesus, he is a disciple of this attitude of thought… For this reason Jesus said to them: ‘You have taken away the key of knowledge.’ The knowledge of Jesus is transformed into an ideological and also moralistic knowledge, because these close the door with many requirements. The faith becomes ideology and ideology frightens, ideology chases away the people, distances, distances the people and distances of the Church of the people. But it is a serious illness, this of ideological Christians. It is an illness, but it is not new, eh?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PvMpUgSAVcM

Based on past statements, Pope Francis’ remarks were aimed mostly at the Christian Right.
 
While Pope Francis did not specifically mention Christian right-wing ideology during the Mass, his past remarks suggest he was talking about that ideology most of all.
 
In September, Pope Francis attacked “savage capitalism” and took up the plight of the unemployed against a system that worships money. Earlier that month, the Pope also criticized conservative Catholics for focusing so much on abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception. And in July, Pope Francis put the brakes on hating gay people, saying that we shouldn’t judge or marginalize them.
 
Clearly, Pope Francis isn’t fond of the extreme ideals of the Christian Right. He supports helping the poor. He believes in economic fairness. He denounces hatred of gay people. He thinks the war against abortion and birth control has gone too far. Considering all of these things, it’s pretty obvious that Pope Francis was mostly talking to right-wing Christians on Thursday. Their ideological fanaticism has damaged religion. They have abandoned the true teachings of Jesus to pursue an extremist agenda. And Pope Francis just called them out for it. Cue right-wing rage in 3, 2, 1…

NO WAY!!! This is Awesome!!!!!!!

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/10/21/pope-francis-right-wing-christians/

Hhhhmmm...some "influential evangelical" made a similar comment over the last decade...

http://web.archive.org/web/20060116060443/http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/religion/13573441.htm
Jan. 08, 2006

Excerpt:

(Rick)Warren predicts that fundamentalism, of all varieties, will be "one of the big enemies of the 21st century."

"Muslim fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Jewish fundamentalism, secular fundamentalism - they're all motivated by fear. Fear of each other."

Yeah - just imagine if Obama, Nancy Pelosi, or Hillary Clinton said the same things Frankie said - there would be a HUGE outrage over this! Especially coming from these "conservative" media watchdog groups like Brent Bozell, Sean Hannity, FOX, etc. But with Frankie saying this instead - nothing? nada? you can hear a pin drop? ::)

The writer of that article about Pope Frank's comments on "Christian extremism" sounds so pompous and arrogant. It's almost funny.

But anyway, did we really expect anything less from this guy?

Not that I endorse the RCC - but something he's doing the previous Popes didn't do - he's craftily dividing the RCC. Just something to watch out for in potentially these last days.

Yeah, that's something I've noticed, as well. Here's hoping that God uses this guy to get a lot of Catholics straightened out and SAVED.

FYI, the word ideology is NOT in the 1828 Webster's...

http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,ideology

Neither is the word ideological...

http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,ideological


Uhm...the Christian Right was formed by the Vatican, pretty much...

Just keep in mind - the whole "religious right"/"moral majority" movement has stood down since 2008(the year Obama first got elected). All by design...

http://news.yahoo.com/why-pope-francis-wont-cause-schism-u-religious-103800581.html
Why Pope Francis won't cause a schism in the U.S. religious right
10/25/13

Protestants and Catholics used to eye each other with mistrust, even deep theological enmity. But somewhere in the midst of shouting matches over the relative merits of grace versus good works, idolatry versus sainthood, and fealty to Rome, an alliance of sorts formed between conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants in America. Opposition to abortion, gay rights, and creeping secularism got both sides singing from the same hymnal. The Religious Right was born.

That alliance has lasted through at least five presidents and two relatively doctrinaire popes. But the anti-culture-war tone from the new supreme pontiff, Pope Francis, has "driven a wedge into the powerful political alliance between conservative Catholics and evangelical Christians that's been instrumental in electing hundreds of Republicans over the past four decades," say McKay Coppins and Hunter Schwarz at BuzzFeed.

Many Protestant culture warriors agree with Bryan Fischer at the American Family Association that the new pope's pronouncements have been disappointing and alarming.

"It raises questions in our mind because the Catholic Church has always been a faithful shoulder-to-shoulder ally to social conservatives in the fight to protect unborn human life" and heterosexual-only marriage, Fischer tells BuzzFeed. "We simply have questions of whether we'll be able to count on the Catholic Church to be comrades-in-arms to continue to fight these battles."

Coppins and Schwarz even get this amazing quote about Pope Francis from Tracy Pyland, a Maryland born-again Christian: "That man needs to read his Bible."

The Dish's Andrew Sullivan is jubilant that, as he sees it, Francis is breaking up the Catholic-evangelical party:

The Catholic hierarchy has been knocked sideways by the emergence of Pope Francis and his eschewal of their fixation on homosexuality, contraception, and abortion. That fixation — essentially a Christianist and de facto Republican alliance among Protestants and Catholic leaders — has now been rendered a far lower priority than, say, preaching the Gospel or serving the poor and the sick. Francis has also endorsed secularism as the proper modern context for religious faith. [The Dish]

Conservative Catholics argue that the media is blowing the new pope's liberal-ish statements out of proportion, but they don't fully disagree with Sullivan, either. "The pope's most controversial statements seem to arise from a single motive: He doesn't like 'right-wing' Catholics, and wants to make it clear to all the world that he's not one of them," says John Zmirak at The American Conservative. (Zmirak doesn't mean that as a compliment.)

And it's true that, as Sullivan says, some of what the pope has to say "could almost be designed to infuriate Protestant Christianists," not to mention conservative Catholics. Here, Pope Francis calls "Christian ideology" a "serious illness" that drives a wedge between people and between the church and the people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvMpUgSAVcM

But it won't drive a serious wedge between conservative Catholics and evangelical Protestants.

The long papacy of happy culture warrior John Paul II didn't turn Ted Kennedy or John Kerry or Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi — Catholics all — into anti-abortion activists. And Pope Francis' shift away from cultural politics won't convert John Boehner or make any of the conservative Catholics on the Supreme Court — Antonin Scalia, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas — less eager to overturn Roe v. Wade (or strike down the death penalty, for that matter).

The pope in many ways sets the tone for the Catholic Church, but it's the local bishops and archbishops who guide the flock, along with the thousands of parish priests. To change the church a pope can tinker with the foundational texts and catechism to some extent, issue encyclicals, and remake the church hierarchy. That last part takes time: Every sitting cardinal and almost every bishop was named by Popes John Paul and Benedict XVI. Frances, at age 76, probably won't remake the episcopate in his image.

For "wayward Catholics," Pope Francis' words "may be an invitation back to a church slowly becoming once again recognizable," says Caitlin Bancroft at PolicyMic. But "his fresh perspective may become nothing more than a brief moment in the religion's long, static history."

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Yeah, it wasn't too long ago when the "religious left" aka the Emergent Church came about(after the turn of the 21st century) - not that I ever endorsed the "religious right", but if anything the RR passed the baton to the RL to help put the final nail in the coffin.