Pope Francis became
the first pontiff to endorse same-sex civil unions in comments for a
documentary that premiered Wednesday, sparking cheers from gay Catholics
and demands for clarification from conservatives, given the Vatican’s
official teaching on the issue.
The
papal thumbs-up came midway through the feature-length documentary
“Francesco,” which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. The film, which
features fresh interviews with the pope, delves into issues Francis
cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial
and income inequality, and the people most affected by discrimination.
“Homosexual
people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God,”
Francis said. “You can’t kick someone out of a family, nor make their
life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that
way they are legally covered.”
The Vatican is
marking the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical by
calling for the world to map out a sustainable post-coronavirus future
that considers the plight of the hungry and poor.
To
kick off the week, 42 faith organizations from 14 countries announced
they were divesting from fossil fuels. Among them are a handful of
Catholic dioceses and religious orders in Britain, Ireland and the
developing world, as well as some individual Methodist, Baptist and
Quaker churches.
Francis
has made protecting the planet one of the hallmarks of his papacy, and
in 2015 issued a landmark encyclical, “Praised Be,” to lay out his
appeal in the most authoritative teaching document a pope can pen. In
it, Francis denounced the “perverse” economic model that had allowed the
wealthy to exploit the poor and turn the Earth into an “immense pile of
filth.”
Pope Francis donated $500,000 to Mexico-based projects to help migrant communities as media attention has faded, the Vatican said Saturday.
The funds will be distributed between 27 projects associated with 16
Mexican dioceses and congregations, all of which asked for help to
continue providing food, lodging, and basic necessities to those fleeing
their home countries through Mexico.
“In recent months, thousands of migrants
have arrived in Mexico, having travelled more than 4,000 kilometers on
foot and with makeshift vehicles from Honduras, El Salvador and
Guatemala. Men and women, often with young children, flee poverty and
violence, hoping for a better future in the United States. However, the
U.S. border remains closed to them,” said a press release from Peter's Pence, the organization handling the funds.
‘I think constantly of these suffering souls and I pray that the fires
of war will finally die down … I shall never tire of repeating this:
peace is possible’
Pope Francis addressed top South Sudanese civil and church
authorities today, April 11, urging them to overcome what divides them,
reminding that peace is possible and expressing his desire to visit the
country.
His remarks came at the end of their two-day spiritual retreat in the
Vatican, proposed and organized by Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin
Welby, which brought together those who will lead as president and
vice-president of the country following a peace accord signed last
September, and Church representatives, both Catholic and Protestant
leaders.
In his address, Pope Francis stressed: “I urge you, then, to seek
what unites you, beginning with the fact that you belong to one and the
same people, and to overcome all that divides you.”
“People are wearied, exhausted by past conflicts: remember that with
war, all is lost! Your people today are yearning for a better future,
which can only come about through reconciliation and peace.”
The Pope has on various conditions expressed his desire to visit the
civil-war struck nation, along with Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin
Welby, who presented the proposal to organize this retreat and has led
it.
APNews November 5, 2018
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging efforts to ensure that anti-Semitism is “banned from the human community.”
Francis lamented current anti-Semitic attitudes as he
greeted visiting rabbis from the World Congress of Mountain Jews from
the Caucasus at the Vatican Monday. He didn’t mention last month’s
massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. But he referred to the upcoming
80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when German Nazis attacked Jews and
their property, and the recent 75th anniversary of the roundup and
deportation of Jews in Rome, when the city was under Nazi occupation.
Francis said: “Sadly, anti-Semitic attitudes are also
present in our own times. As I have often repeated, a Christian cannot
be an anti-Semite; we share the same roots.”
He added: “We are called to commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community.”
In Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’, mi’ Signore” (“Praise be to you, my Lord”): On The Common Care Of Our Home,[1]the
Pope identifies himself as “the Holy Father,” and as a Christian.
Nevertheless, Francis teaches the following in this encyclical,
“In
the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds
us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and
a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. ‘Praise be to
you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs
us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.’”
Is
Francis endorsing the idea that the earth “governs us” rather than the
Lord? Nowhere in the Bible is the earth called “Mother” or “sister.”
This is demonic theology rooted in the “mystery religion” of Babylon.
Anthropomorphizing the earth, especially as female, has always been a
mark of pagan and Satanic worship. As Alexander Hislop points out,
“It
has been known all along that Popery was baptized Paganism; but God is
now making it manifest, that the Paganism which Rome has baptized is, in
all its essential elements, the very Paganism which prevailed in the
ancient literal Babylon...”[2]
Pope
Francis is first and foremost a Jesuit. As a Jesuit, he is known to be
cunning as a fox. In the third paragraph of the encyclical, he clearly
specifies a crisis and targets his intended audience. “Now, faced as
we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every
person living on this planet…about our common home.”[3]
It remains to be seen, then, why Pope Francis has so early in his reign
come forth with a statement of gross paganism as part of his supposedly
Christian world view.
Biblical Truth
The truth is that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. As the Bible states, “And
the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”[4]
These foundational words aside, Francis has chosen instead to quote
twelfth century Catholic St. Francis’s pagan understanding of the
issue. Therefore, it cannot be by accident that Pope Francis has chosen
to cover his papacy in the supposedly benign robes of Francis of
Assisi.
Basic Untruth
A major fact to be
considered is that Pope Francis believes in his absolute authority. As
his own Roman Church teaching proclaims that the Supreme Pontiff, in
virtue of his office possesses infallible teaching authority.[5] However, the reality is that Jesus Christ alone possesses all power and teaching authority, as Christ Himself proclaimed, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”[6]
Thus does Jesuit Francis, having first covered himself in the pagan
mantel of Francis of Assisi, attempt to usurp divine authority in a
claim that is totally counterfeit. Another example of this Roman
Catholic counterfeited authority by Pope Francis is seen in the
following. Francis professes to impart Christ by Masses and the Holy
Spirit by Sacraments, including his current idea that “As Christians, we
are also called ‘to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a
way of sharing with God and our neighbors on a global scale.’”[7]
Where is there any evidence of scriptural truth and the Gospel in this
spiritually blind papal teaching? The Scripture commands each man to
repent and believe the Gospel, but no man can do this without the
conviction of the Holy Spirit. Yet these elementary facts are silently
set aside as the Pope expands his argument by stating that the Papacy’s
worldview is relevant for today. However, his teaching ends up in
totalitarianism.
Francis starts with our supposed sin against “sister earth,” as the encyclical states, and moves in an entirely unbiblical direction,
“‘This
sister’ (the earth) ‘now cries out to us because of the harm we have
inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with
which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords
and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in
our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of
sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms
of life.”
Francis’s stated view is utterly pantheistic. The Bible states,
“God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high.”[8]
The
Bible states the facts. Contrarily, Francis teaches that the heaven
and earth are parts of the Lord God. This is utter pagan philosophy.
Pope Francis’s Cunning Conjectures
What
must be understood is that Francis’ encyclical, with its elevated and
inspiring tone in pursuit of ethical excellence, is heavily laden with
all the classical assumptions of the Papacy. Principally, what is being
presented in the encyclical is an idealized plan for the world. It is
based on the Vatican’s view of both what the world presently is, and
what it could be, as if the Pope were the temporal “lord-director” of
all things spiritual, political, and economic. The whole argument of
the encyclical hangs upon the veracity of its alleged self-evident
axioms. However, the assumptions are false. If Pope Francis wants to
be a prophetic voice in the modern world, allegedly speaking on Christ’s
behalf, then his assumptions must be evaluated according to the measure
given in the Word of God, namely, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”[9] The Lord Jesus Christ was emphatic that Scripture is absolute truth, that it cannot be refuted. As Scripture states, “Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying; ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’” Thus, from the outset, it becomes clear that Pope Francis is an impostor with an objective.
What Francis does not make explicit in this encyclical is that since
the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century, the Roman Church has
held that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church, and
formally denied the Gospel. Rome formally went apostate at the Council
of Trent. It has never revoked the Council of Trent. Thus rather than
the Gospel to make one right before Holy God, Rome has only sacraments
to offer. These do not deliver salvation, for it is only “the gospel of Christ: it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth….”[10]
Therefore the Papacy must take in hand another tool, it must find
another route by which to snare people into the folds of Modern
Babylon. Dialogue on environmental issues is the current mode. Near
the end of the encyclical, there is much religious talk about God and
the duty of Christians. But this is in fact only a post-script to the
encyclical. The real thrust of the encyclical is promotion of a
political agenda couched in pagan terms. It cannot be otherwise because
in its conception, objective and method, it stands contrary to
Scripture.
In face of this the Lord Jesus Christ’s message to those who are His own is totally different. He proclaims,
“All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world.”[11]
Following
on this message is the assurance that those who by grace alone believe
on Christ alone through faith alone, i.e., the true spiritual family of
people across the globe, are the real family of God. “But as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”[12]
As presented in the Gospel, those who by God’s grace alone through
faith alone believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone, have been declared
“sons of God” through the Lord Jesus Christ’s perfect life and
sacrifice. As the Apostle Paul proclaimed, “…you have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself
bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”[13]
Pope Francis’s Agenda
Throughout
the encyclical Francis’s environmental theme cannot be ignored. With
over one hundred seventy references to global warming, climate change,
environment and environmental issues, it is clear this is the means to
his end. While we are rightly concerned with what Francis is saying, it is also imperative to grasp why he
is saying it. Francis’s encyclical is not in any sense a labor of
original thought. Both his analytical style and argumentative form are
firmly grounded in the Vatican’s preeminent sense of its own
self-importance and presumed lordship over every aspect of human life.
Francis exhaustively demonstrates that his views truly represent the
historical essence of Rome’s religious and social teaching. However,
that teaching is not the teaching of the Bible. Thus, Francis shows
himself again to be a cunning fox. His objective is to firmly ground
his institution’s own welfare and future in terms of an “integral human
development” that acknowledges his primacy as the sole arbiter of ethics
and moral order. It is quite clear that Francis is writing his
encyclical to assert once again the Papacy’s autocratic claims. The aim
of Francis in this encyclical is to propound and promote a type of
world government.
Specifically, he envisions a
renewed and rejuvenated “globalized society” over which the Roman Church
rules as the principal ethical entity. And what better way to gain
moral authority but by weaving together environmental activism based
upon global warming and climate change synthesized by modern “science falsely so called.”[14] Truly
it is a cunning plan to solidify a political base with the
non-religious left, thereby creating a harmonious Church and Global
State. The ecumenical activity since the early days of Vatican II has
been extremely successful in unifying the religious right under Papal
dominance. If this continues, it is just a matter of time before all
are ushered in to another chapter of the Dark Ages.
The term “globalize” is used forty-six times in this document. In the
terms of the argument, it is meant to reinforce not merely the concept
of an inevitable necessary global synthesis but to generate in his words
a “just and sustainable economic order.” Part of Francis’s agenda is
the development of an increasingly globalized society by the nations
seeking for “the common good” of all. But because “there is none righteous, no not one…there is none that doeth good, no not one”[15] and “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,”[16]
there is no such thing as “the common good” on a collective basis such
as the Pope is promoting. Rather in the Bible, the ultimate end of man
is to glorify God through the appreciation and adoration of His Son
Jesus Christ to the complete satisfaction of our souls. In the Bible,
it is on an individual basis that through the commitment to the whole
counsel of God we glory and find our good. Therefore His revealed will
in His Word is the only standard of good for rational creatures. “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”[17]
The emphasis on economics is such that Pope Francis mentions the
concept one hundred thirty-three times. This is the same Francis and
his Vatican system which teach that private property is not personal as
such, but belongs to all people.[18]
A Vatican Council II document upholds the same principle of the
“universal ownership of all goods” and emphatically teaches, “If one is
in extreme necessity, he has the right to procure for himself what he
needs out of the riches of others.”[19]
Pope Francis’s philosophy is simply a justification for theft, whether
on an individual level or a governmental level. The Bible states, “Thou shall not steal…. Thou shall not covet… any thing that is thy neighbor’s.”[20]
Instead, people should be looking to the Father in heaven and His Word
to learn biblical stewardship of their money and property. Catholics,
and now nations across the world, are being exhorted to look to Pope
Francis and his encyclical as a sure path for resuscitation of the
international economy. Biblical principles of divine justice,
creaturely property rights, and equivalent value exchange economics
needed for stability and well being of nations, are negated by Francis’s
economic policies.
Real Legal Power to Implement the Pope’s Agenda
Francis’s
predecessor, Benedict XVI, called for “a reform of the United Nations
Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international
finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real
teeth.”[21]
Social and religious dominance, upheld and maintained by means of civil
law throughout the European nations, is what the Catholic Church
enjoyed and thrived on throughout the Dark Ages and Middle Ages. It is
to that same end which Francis now moves. Listing global warming,
pollution, poverty, global inequality, over-consumption by first world
nations and like issues, he states,
“These
situations have caused sister earth, along with all the abandoned of
our world, to cry out, pleading that we take another course. Never have
we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two
hundred years. Yet we are called to be instruments of God our Father,
so that our planet might be what he desired when he created it and
correspond with his plan for peace, beauty and fullness. The problem is
that we still lack the culture needed to confront this crisis.”
After
personifying the earth, Francis moves smoothly to state, “[To commit]
crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin
against God.”[22]
He then calls for “[t]he establishment of a legal framework[,] which
can set clear boundaries and ensure the protection of ecosystems[,] has
become indispensable….”[23]
His solution of changing the culture by his enforced legal
prescriptions rather than evangelizing the world with the true Gospel of
grace is absolutely unbiblical̶ but it fits seamlessly into the
ongoing papal agenda.
Moreover, the Roman Catholic
Church has much influence in the formulation and implementation of
national and international laws, particularly in the nations in which
she has papal nuncios as ambassadors. At present, she maintains
diplomatic relations with one hundred seventy-four countries at embassy
level. Expediency, deceit, and cunning have always been defining
elements of the Roman Church’s geo-political pronouncements. Pope
Francis and his Vatican desire to maintain official diplomatic
relationships. Their understanding is that political civil power is
subordinate to the spiritual control of apostate Rome. Pope Francis,
the present necessary and willing instrument, is seeking to fulfill
these aspirations and objectives.
Conclusion
That
Francis and his encyclical are intent on ruling religious, political
and economic activities worldwide should not be surprising. Papal
arrogance tallies well with Scripture’s prediction for such claims, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”[24]
There can be but one Vicar of Christ who is infinite, supreme,
omnipotent, and all sufficient; namely, the Holy Spirit. The Papacy is a
demonically energized apostate system that will be judged and utterly
condemned by the Lord.[25] Biblical insight apprehends that “the whole world lies in wickedness”[26] and, “the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand.”[27] The Papal program is wicked and willful, and its genius in means and method, satanic.[28] From the beginning, the Lord God purposed to glorify Himself “in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without endAmen.”[29]
He created the world and formed man for this purpose. His all-wise
design was not defeated when Adam and mankind fell, for Jesus Christ the
Lord was the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world.”[30]
Almighty God’s will is from eternity, and reigns supreme in time. He
sovereignly orders, directs and controls all events. He it is “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”[31] Satan and his present neo-Babylonian empire cannot resist Him. It is written, “The Lord reigns; let the people tremble.”[32]
Please join us in prayer that many people will understand this, and
that they also would be drawn by God’s Spirit to seek His grace. Grace
is unmerited, divine favor. By mercy alone, He saves hell-deserving
sinners, demonstrating that all the glory of redeeming power is His
alone. Since God works all things after the counsel of His own
will, Papal Rome’s modern manipulation of civil power, false ecumenism,
and unbiblical economic policies are merely instruments that God for
His sovereign purposes has allowed.
We can be
sincerely thankful that Almighty God in His supreme wisdom has set
limits to the intrigues of Rome. Pope Francis and the Roman Church will
be punished for their willful rejection of the Lordship of Christ. The
Lord’s people will not be deceived by the powerful delusion that has
descended on the world.[33] Rather they “should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”[34]
True believers are those who adhere only to God and His written Word:
these know that they are saved by grace alone through faith alone in
Christ alone, and that to God solely is due all glory and praise. ♦
[1]
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclicalaudato-
si.htmlPara. 1. 4/20/17See also Para. 87 where an hymn of Francis of
Assisi is quoted mentioning Sir Brother Sun, Brother Wind, Sister Moon,
Sister Water, etc.
[2] Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (Delmarva Publications, 2013 First Printing, Introduction)
[5]
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104 Can. 749 §1. By virtue of his
office, the Supreme Pontiff possesses infallibility in teaching when as
the supreme pastor and teacher of all the Christian faithful, who
strengthens his brothers and sisters in the faith, he proclaims by
definitive act that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held.
[18]
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the [Roman Catholic] Church, Sect.
176 - 178
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#The
universal destination of goods and private property05/20/2017.
[19]
Vatican Council II No. 64,“Gaudium et Spes” Austin Flannery, General
Ed. (Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Doocuments,
Para. 69.) Text also here: http://www.osjspm.org/cst/gs_cos2.htm
[25] Revelation 18:8 “Therefore
shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and
she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who
judges her.”
[33] IIThessalonians 2:8-12, cp. Mark 13:22: For
false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and
wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. In context, “If it were possible,” means that it is not possible because they have received a love of the truth, which the world has not received.
By Jonathan Lemire, Nicole Winfield and Julie Pace | APMay 24
VATICAN CITY — Handshakes, gifts, friendly small talk and big hopes
for peace. Setting aside past differences and rude comments aside,
President Donald Trump and Pope Francis put a determinedly positive face
on their first meeting Wednesday at the Vatican.
The two global
leaders, vastly different in temperament and views of the world, talked
seriously and extensively in a 30-minute private meeting about
terrorism, the radicalization of young people, immigration and climate
change, officials said. Details were not revealed.
But all was upbeat in public, peace the overarching theme.
Francis gave Trump a medal featuring an olive branch.
“We can use peace,” said the president, acknowledging the symbolism.
He
gave the pope a custom-bound, first-edition set of Martin Luther King
Jr.’s works, an engraved stone from the King Memorial in Washington and a
bronze sculpture of a flowering lotus titled “Rising Above.”
“I think you’ll enjoy them. I hope you do,” Trump said.
The
pope’s other gifts could be taken as offering a more pointed message,
though Francis is known to give them to other visitors, too.
He
gave Trump three bound papal documents that he has written that to some
degree define his papacy and priorities. One focuses on the environment,
demanding an end to a “structurally perverse” economic system that has
turned Earth into an “immense pile of filth.” He frames climate change
as an urgent moral crisis and blames global warming on an unfair, fossil
fuel-based industrial model that harms the poor the most.
Trump
has expressed skepticism about global warming and possible causes, and
he has promised changes to spur more coal and oil production in the U.S.
The
president is midway through a grueling nine-day, maiden international
journey which has included Middle East stops in the cradles of Islam and
Judaism.In Saudi Arabia, he addressed dozens of Arab leaders and urged
them to fight extremists at home and isolate Iran, which he depicted as
a menace to the region. In Israel, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to
strong ties with the longtime U.S. ally and urged Israelis and the
Palestinians to work harder toward peace. Washington Post
Reuters
reports, “Pope Francis urged national leaders on Monday to implement
global environmental agreements without delay, a message that looked to
be squarely aimed at U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
“Addressing
a group of scientists that included theoretical physicist Stephen
Hawking, the pope gave his strongest speech on the environment since the
election of Trump, who has threatened to pull out of the 2015 Paris
Agreement on climate change.
‘The ‘distraction’ or delay in
implementing global agreements on the environment shows that politics
has become submissive to a technology and economy which seek profit
above all else,’ Francis said.”
So the pope thinks opposition to the Paris Treaty stems from profit seeking?
How
about all the billions in profits sought by renewable energy
corporations like wind turbine makers General Electric and Siemens or
solar panel makers First Solar and Solar City, whose products can’t
compete economically with fossil fuels or nuclear without massive
government subsidies and mandates?
How about the billions of taxpayer dollars showered on Solyndra and similar now-bankrupt renewable energy companies?
How about all the billions of taxpayers’ dollars showered on the
climate-change research complex to fund its continued modeling that has
achieved the magnificent advance in scientific knowledge since 1978 of
narrowing the estimate of the warming effect of doubled atmospheric CO2
from 1.5-4.5 C to 1.5-4.5 C? (Yes, you read that right — no narrowing
achieved. Scores of billions spent over 38 years and no advance in what
we really need to know.)
How about all the profits sought by
carbon traders who expect to amass billions trading permits whose
economic value rests on nothing but empirically falsified climate models
that project 2 to 3 times the warming actually observed?
All this
isn’t even to mention the anti-capitalistic mentality apparent in the
pope’s implicit condemnation of profit seeking. “But he only condemns
seeking profit “above all else,” you say? Sorry, that doesn’t ring true
to Francis’ past. Despite the fact capitalism has lifted whole societies
out of poverty while socialism has only trapped them in or returned
them to poverty, Francis has been committed to Liberation Theology — a
Latin American variant of Marxism learned by Latin American priests
while studying mostly in Marxist-dominated French seminaries—since early
in his priesthood.
One can’t help
wondering if his embrace of climate alarmism rests on politics rather
than science. That wouldn’t be unique to him, as former U.N. Framework
Convention on Climate Change Secretary General Christiana Figueres said
as much last year.
Certainly the absence of any hard science in
the four paragraphs on climate change in Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’
suggests science didn’t much factor into his opinion. That’s why
hundreds of scientists — including climate scientists — signed the
Cornwall Alliance’s Open Letter to Pope Francis on Climate Change, and
were joined by economists, theologians and ethicists.
If politics
has become submissive to a technology and economy that seeks profit
above all else, the technology is that of renewable energy, which is
subsidized 60 (wind) to 400 (solar) times as much per megawatt-hour of
electricity generated as fossil fuels. How else do you explain
governments’ willingness to sign onto a climate treaty implementation of
which will cost $70-$140 trillion by century’s end while, on the IPCC’s
own assumptions, reducing global average temperature by no more than
0.17 C.
Perhaps Pope Francis, who purports to care so much about
the world’s poor, should consider how much more that money could achieve
to lift people out of poverty if spent on things like water
purification, sewage sanitation, nutrition supplements, infectious
disease control, and health care.
Meanwhile, President-elect
Trump, at whom the pontiff was preaching, should stick to his guns. He
should announce that because President Obama never submitted the Paris
treaty to the Senate for ratification, which the Constitution requires
for the United States to be bound by any treaty, the U.S. is not a party
to the treaty. Then, on the day he’s inaugurated, he should submit the
treaty to the Senate, where it will die the ignominious death it
deserves. Washington Times
Pope Francis this week implored world leaders not to postpone the
implementation of global environmental pacts, an appeal that appeared
aimed at President-elect Donald Trump’s vows to end the United States’
leading role in combating climate change.
The pope’s remarks came
during a gathering of scientists at the Vatican, at which he said there
has “never been such a clear need for science” to guide human actions
to safeguard the future of the planet.
“It is worth noting that
international politics has reacted weakly — albeit with some
praiseworthy exceptions — regarding the concrete will to seek the common
good and universal goods, and the ease with which well-founded
scientific opinion about the state of our planet is disregarded,” the
pontiff said, according to a translation provided
by the Vatican. He added that the “‘distraction’ or delay” in
implementing global agreements on the environment demonstrates how
politics have become submissive “to a technology and an economy which
seek profit above all else.”
Trump,
who is set to become one of the only world leaders to question the
notion of global warming, has vowed to “cancel” U.S. participation in
the international climate accord signed last year in Paris, in which
countries pledged to cut carbon dioxide emissions sharply in coming
years. In addition, Trump has called for rolling back pollution
regulations on the oil, gas and coal industries and shrinking the role
of the Environmental Protection Agency.
This week’s comments echoed an encyclical regarding the environment issued by Francis
last year in which he wrote about the “urgent challenge to protect our
common home” and argued that “the earth herself, burdened and laid
waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor.”
At
the Vatican, Francis praised the work of scientists, who he said must
remain independent and emerge as leaders in fighting for climate action.
“I
would say that it falls to scientists, who work free of political,
economic or ideological interests, to develop a cultural model which can
face the crisis of climatic change and its social consequences,” he
said, “so that the vast potential of productivity will not be reserved
for only a few.”Washington Post
Pope Francis (left) hugs Lutheran Archbishop Antje Jackelen, primate of the Church of Sweden on Monday.
Andrew Medichini/AP
Pope Francis arrived in Sweden on Monday for services marking the
500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation that split Lutherans and
Catholics.
He arrived in the southern city of Malmo, and is scheduled to attend an event with leaders of the Lutheran World Federation on Monday afternoon. He will also lead a service at a Lutheran Cathedral in the city of Lund, and a Mass at the arena in Malmo on Tuesday.
Sweden is a secular, majority-Lutheran country. Some 72 million people belong to the Lutheran church worldwide, according to the Lutheran World Federation. The Vatican estimates about 1.2 billion people have been baptized in the Catholic church.
According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis told the magazine La Civilta Cattolica
that he hopes the trip will encourage Lutherans and Catholics to
support each other, especially in places where Christians of different
denominations are persecuted together.
NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports that the trip is "in keeping with
his efforts to reach out to other branches of Christianity — like the
Russian Orthodox Church — and other faiths, including Islam and
Judaism."
While the pontiff's visit to Sweden is only for two days, it kicks off a yearlong commemoration of the Protestant Reformation.
"It
was the year 1517 when the German monk Martin Luther pinned his 95
Theses to the door of his Catholic church, denouncing the Catholic sale
of indulgences — pardons for sins — and questioning papal authority.
That led to his excommunication and the start of the Protestant
Reformation. "The Catholic Church reacted with the Counter
Reformation, and mutual enmity led to decades of religious wars that
devastated central Europe. ... "The animosity and
resentments left by the Reformation only began to heal after the Second
Vatican Council in the 1960s, with the start of an ecumenical dialogue
aimed at promoting Christian unity. "There are still some
doctrinal disputes. But Pope Francis says that while theologians iron
out their differences, the two churches can work together on social
issues like caring for the poor, migrants and refugees, and combating
persecution of Christians."
Sylvia also notes that, in the spirit of reconciliation,
Pope Francis went so far as to praise Martin Luther as a great reformer.
Luther was long deemed a heretic by the Catholic church.
Still,
differences in theology and ritual remain between the two churches. The
Lutheran church allows women to serve as pastors, while the Catholic
church does not permit women as priests, and the two churches have historically different relationships to the papacy itself. NPR
A year ago, Pope Francis issued the encyclical Laudato Si’, his
clarion call for international action to address the existential crisis
of climate change. Yesterday, the Democratic party signaled it’s with
the program by approving a platform that recognizes climate change as “an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time.”
Of greatest significance is a section on global threats that declares
the United States must take the lead in “forging a robust global
solution to the climate crisis.” Here’s what that means:
We are committed to a national mobilization, and to
leading a global effort to mobilize nations to address this threat on a
scale not seen since World War II. In the first 100 days of the
next administration, the President will convene a summit of the world’s
best engineers, climate scientists, policy experts, activists, and
indigenous communities to chart a course to solve the climate crisis.
The contrast with the Republican platform
could not be starker. That document calls the United Nations’
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “a political mechanism, not an
unbiased scientific institution.” It rejects “the agendas of both the
Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.”
Opining that climate change “is far from this nation’s most pressing
national security issue,” the Republicans pledge their support for “the
development of all forms of energy that are marketable in a free economy
without subsidies, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, and
hydropower.” Without actually denying climate change, they have set
forth a blueprint for doing nothing about it.
That’s not to say that the Democratic agenda doesn’t leave a good
deal to be desired. It proposes to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees
Celsius, a level that some climate scientists believe will have
disastrous consequences and which in any event cannot be achieved if, as
the platform proposes, 2050 is the target date for having the economy
running entirely on clean energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
by 80 percent.
The learning curve remains steep. That’s why the promise of a climate
change summit during the first 100 days of the next administration is
critical. With the right people at the table, this will provide the
marching orders for the World War II-scale mobilization to come.
I’d advise President Clinton to put her vice president in charge of the summit. Tim Kaine’s environmental record is far from perfect, but as governor of a coal-mining state with an endangered low-lying coastline, he learned how to negotiate the politics of climate change as well as anyone in national politics.
Plus Kaine is a Pope Francis Catholic. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he not only has Laudato Si’ on his shelf but has read it from cover to cover. And taken it to heart. Religion News
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has a new chairman, and for the first time, the position will be held by a Catholic priest. Jesuit
priest Father Thomas Reese was first appointed to a two-year term as a
member of the commission by President Barack Obama in 2014, and
re-appointed in 2016.
Now he
will take over as the chair of the organization, an independent,
bipartisan commission that monitors and reviews religious freedom
violations around the world, and makes policy recommendations to the
Secretary of State, Congress and the president.
“I am
honored to serve as USCIRF’s Chair and work with my fellow Commissioners
in support of freedom of religion or belief,” Reese said in a
statement.
“World events underscore the importance of this
fundamental right: A key factor in many of the United States’ foreign
policy challenges, religious freedom is under serious and sustained
attack across much of the globe,” he added.
Created by the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, the
commission issues annual reports on the state of religious freedom
around the world, and names countries that are guilty of severe
religious freedom violations during the previous year. It also holds public hearings and conducts fact-finding missions to aid in its efforts.
In taking over as chair of the body, Reese replaces Princeton law professor Dr. Robert George.
Reese
serves as the senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter.
Previously, he served as editor-in-chief at AmericaMagazine - a
publication of the Jesuit order - from 1998-2005 after being its
associate editor from 1978-1985. Reese also was a senior fellow at the
Woodstock Theological Center from 1985-1998, and again from 2008-2013.
In
his time at America, the Vatican raised issues with several articles
published at the magazine, including some on abortion and homosexuality.
Fr. Reese resigned from the publication in May 2015.
This week,
the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also appointed
two vice-chairs: Dr. Daniel Mark, an assistant professor of political
science at Villanova University and visiting fellow in the Department of
Politics at Princeton University; and Dr.
James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute, and
Managing Director of Zogby Research Services, which conducts specialized
public opinion polling within the Arab world.
Mark had been reappointed as a member of the commission Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in May 2016, and President Barack Obama reappointed Zogby in May 2015 Cruxnow
Nick Hall, evangelist and founder of the PULSE
movement, is calling for one million people to gather in Washington,
D.C. on July 16 to lay down their differences and stand for Jesus on the
National Mall.The event, called Together 2016, aims to bring people from all backgrounds together for a unified day of prayer and worship, asking Jesus to reset the nation.
“During this political year we see so many people of faith becoming
negative, critical and jaded,” Hall said. “Where is our help found?
Where is our hope found? Not in political leaders. What better time to
do something on a large scale that draws our attention back to where it
really matters?”
If successful, Together 2016 will become the largest Christian gathering in American history.
The event will be free to the public and will feature a lineup of more
than 40 speakers, pastors, artists, and leaders from various backgrounds
— including Pope Francis (who will be delivering a video message),
Hillsong United, Kari Jobe, Francis Chan, Lecrae, Passion, and Crowder,
to name a few.
Nick Hall
At the heart of
the program is the message that Jesus offers a “reset” from the issues
that divide the nation — from politics and race to social issues and
theological differences. Hall has been sharing this message at events
all over the world and hopes to deliver it on a larger scale at Together
2016 in order to spur a national catalytic change centered on the hope
and example of Jesus.
“Jesus changes
everything,” Hall said. “He changed history and he can change anyone’s
life. Jesus doesn’t discriminate; he says, ‘Come one, come all.’ If
you’re looking for a second chance, if you think there’s a need for
healing, then come.”
So far, nearly
1,000 churches nationwide have pledged attendance, and people are
travelling from countries as far flung as Africa, China, and Hungary to
attend.
In addition to
the main program on July 16, PULSE is also partnering with many local
organizations to coordinate service opportunities within a 100-mile
radius of Washington, D.C. for individuals, youth groups, and churches
to participate in during the week leading up to the event.
Hall hopes the event will inspire widespread impact.
“I believe this
is a generation that can change the world,” he said. “I want to see us
turn from fear to hope, from hate to love, from division to friendship,
and from shame to grace.” Huffington Post
Pope Francis meets with members of the Institute of Jainology - OSS_ROM
01/06/2016 12:02
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday thanked the Jain community for its commitment to protect “our sister Earth.”
The Pope’s words came as he received members of the Institute of
Jainology in private audience in the Vatican before leading the weekly
General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.
Expressing his joy for the encounter, Pope Francis welcomed the Jains
saying that “this encounter nurtures our responsibility to care for
creation”, and calling creation a “gift that we have all received” he
said “creation is God’s mirror, the mirror of the Creator, the mirror of
nature, and it is our mirror too.” “We all love mother Earth, because she is the one who has given us
life and safeguards us; I would also call her sister Earth, who
accompanies us during the journey of our existence. Our duty is to take
care of her just as we would take care of a mother or of a sister, with
responsibility, with tenderness and with peace” he said.
And he thanked the Jains for what they do to protect and care for the
earth and said “we remain united within this ideal (…) in the awareness
that healing and caring for the Earth is healing and caring for the
whole of humanity”.
After the audience with the Pope a meeting took place between a
delegation from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and
the Chairman of the Institute of Jainology.
A statement was released describing how during this third meeting
between the PCID and Jain delegation satisfaction was expressed for the
cordial relations and cooperation that exist between them. It said that
the desire was expressed to further deepen cooperation and that areas of
convergence were identified as regards the common mission for both
Jains and Christians to work together, joining hands with all believers
and people of good will, to make the earth liveable and peaceable for
all. The Institute of Jainology was established in 1983 and it was subsequently registered as a Charitable Trust.
Compassion and non-violence towards all living beings are the
fundamental principles of Jain philosophy. Its mission is to propagate
Jainism and its values through art, culture and education. Radio Vaticana
Published:
08:18 EST, 22 April 2016
| Updated:
09:11 EST, 22 April 2016
A Christian brother and sister from Syria say they have been 'let down' by the Pope after he left them behind in a Lesbos refugee camp despite promises they would be given a new life in Italy.
Roula
and Malek Abo say they were two of the lucky 'chosen 12' refugees
selected by the Vatican to be taken from the desperate camp and housed
in Rome.
But
what seemed like the chance of a lifetime was cruelly snatched away
when they were told the following day they couldn't go. Instead three
Muslim families were taken.
Roula,
22, and her brother arrived on Lesbos on April 1 – ten days after the
controversial EU deal to return all asylum seekers arriving to Greece
from Turkey.
Their application for asylum is being process and they are waiting to learn if they will be sent back to Turkey.
Stuck on Lesbos, Roula told MailOnline: 'If they can do this for 12 people they can do it for more.
'If you have promised to take people back to Italy will something like registration papers stand in your way?'
Neither
Community Sant'Egidio, the charity which organised the trip, or the
Vatican would explain the selection process over which migrants were
picked.
Spokesman
Massimiliano Signifredi called the incident 'regrettable' - adding:
'The problem here is the three Syrians arrived after the March 20
deadline. They arrived just after the agreement between the European
Union and Turkey.
Mr
Signifredi said: 'Our staff went to Lesbos and spoke with the people
who were selected. But everything was decided by the Vatican.
'The
question why the Pope took only Muslims is difficult to understand and
he was suffering, I think, because he wanted to do something also for
Christians as the chief of the Catholic Church. But he couldn't because
there is this international agreement [with the EU].'
The Vatican declined to comment.
Still
reeling over her dream being so cruelly dashed, Roula had to watch the
three fortunate families board a plane for a new life in Europe while
she and her brother were left behind to face an uncertain future in
Greece.
Pope
Francis, the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina, said the decision
to take a dozen to Italy was a gesture of goodwill to set an example to
the world to extend the hand of friendship during Europe's migrant
crisis.
They are being housed in Rome by Sant'Egidio, which has brought 250 Syrians to Italy since March.
Roula,
her brother, 28, and a third man, their friend Samir, also 28, from
Damascus, say a day or so before the Pope arrived they were approached
by three volunteers believed to be from Sant'Egidio.
She explained: 'They said they would take us to Italy, to pack our bags and to meet them the next day.
'It was so secretive – they didn't announce it to anybody and we were told to keep it a secret.
'It seemed so unofficial – we didn't know who they were or if they would really take us,' Roula added.
'I thought they might be organ traffickers – we had no idea.'
Samir had no such doubts when he was approached, however.
'I
was so excited to go to Italy - it was such a relief,' he said. 'They
offered me my future on a plate, and then 24 hours later they took it
away.
'They
had even told me that after a few months I could be reunited with my
family and they would arrange for them to come from Damascus and join me
in Italy.'
But the next day they received the crushing news that their places were given to another family.
The reason they were given was because they had arrived in Greece after the March 20 deadline for the EU deal.
The
Pope told reporters on the plane back from Lesbos that it had been the
idea of one of his aides and that he had immediately agreed.
'I
felt the spirit was talking to us,' he said, adding that 'everything
was done according to the rules', with documents provided by Italy, the
Vatican and Greece.
Asked
why they were all Muslim, he said there was something wrong with the
papers of a Christian family that had originally been on the list.
All
12 migrants from three families have spoken of their delight at being
set up in their own flats in Rome capital and given Italian lessons.
'It
was an amazing feeling [to be leaving the camp in Lesbos] because this
was our big dream,' said Hasan, a 31-year-old a garden designer who fled
after the Syrian regime tried to make him join the army. He is now in
Rome with his son Riad, two, and wife, Nour.
'When
we came here to Sant'Egidio everyone has been very helpful and kind.
Now we have our own room [apartment] which is just for us.
'We have been treated very, very well. We really feel now at last we are safe.'
But
1,200 miles away in the sweltering makeshift camp with the rats, snakes
and rubbish of those who remain faced with the prospect of being
returned to Turkey is Samir.
'I was very disappointed,' he said.
The
siblings are trying to stay positive as they want to travel to Germany
where their mother is living. But they are at a loss to explain why Sant
Edigio volunteers appeared to 'play god' and got their hopes up only to
let them down.
'We're
happy for the families that went of course,' said Roula, who is hoping
the charity stands by its promise to fast-track their applications and
come back for them, but it is no guarantee.
She went on: 'We don't care for one country over another – I just want to be with my mum.'
Roula and Malek left Qamishli, which is in Syria near the Turkish border, in March, in fear for their lives.
'They killed the Christians in Raqqa we heard, so of course we had to leave,' Roula said.
Malek
added: 'We stayed as long as possible, because it's not easy to get the
money to leave Syria. It takes you 50 years to buy a house so you don't
decide to leave it in a minute.
'We
were clinging to the hope that it will get better. We know that as soon
as we leave the house people will come and take our stuff. We know we
can't go back.
'We wanted to finish university – I studied law and Roula was studying to be a primary school teacher.'
The
pair had hoped finishing their education would give them a better
chance to start a new life in Europe, but Roula had to abandon her
studies to flee.
Samir
left Syria for Turkey late last year, just before Christmas, after he
escaped being forced to join President Assad's army fighting a war he
doesn't believe in and do his military service.
'They force you to sign up and they make you kill people – if you don't, they kill you. I had to leave,' he told MailOnline.
Like
many Syrians, he first tried to make a new life for himself in Turkey,
despite having to wait for months on the Turkish-Syrian border, as
Turkey has abandoned its open door policy to allow refugees fleeing the
violence to safety.
'I
was in Istanbul for three months trying to find work. I tried so hard,
but it was impossible. People look down on you there – they don't want
to hire Syrians,' he said.
So
he joined the thousands of his desperate countrymen and the now
standard fee of €2,000 to cross to Lesbos on a rubber dinghy.
In
Kara Tepe, the camp named in Turkish because it is above the black
cliffs smugglers tell their newly branded captains to aim for, Samir,
Roula and Malek joined 900 other refugees deemed vulnerable and have
their applications on hold.
Much
preferred to the feared Moria detention centre where migrants are sent
upon arrival, the camp is nestled on hillside surrounded by olive trees,
and is exclusively reserved for families who have vulnerable members –
those who are disabled, have severe trauma and are survivors of torture
or rape, or are single women, pregnant or lactating mothers.
Inhabitants are free to go to the supermarket, as long as they have written permission, and are served meals twice a day.
NGOs provide humanitarian assistance and volunteers help out with clothes distribution and activities for the bored children.
While
the residents are free to leave, if they are caught outside the camp
without written permission, they face deportation or will be moved to
the Moria detention centre.
But it is miserable and the atmosphere is tense.
For
many the disappointment of having made it to Greece and across the
water to be told they cannot go any further is too much to bear – made
worse by the conditions.
'We get told that we are lucky to be here in this field,' grandmother Kawther Yousef told MailOnline, 'but what are we, sheep?'
'This
is the fifth snake the boys have killed – they're all about this size,
they're babies – but where is the mother?' another grandmother called
Susan from Kobane added.
The
group of women are all alone – their husbands have either died in the
fighting or they have gone ahead to Europe and are desperate to be
reunited.
All
three families selected by the charity were taken from Kara Tepe camp
to meet the Pope in Mytilene before jetting off to their new lives in
Rome.
But
for the hundreds left behind, the idea of selecting such a small number
people seemingly at random is a hard pill to swallow.
The
three Syrian family brought to Italy by Pope Francis were among the
first to benefit from a special mission by a Catholic organisation to
help refugees reach Europe.
The
Community of Sant'Egidio aims to provide a safe and legal way for the
vulnerable to cross the Mediterranean and find sanctuary within the
European Union.
Massimiliano
Signifredi, Sant'Egidio's spokesman, told MailOnline: 'The Syrian
families were brought to Italy as part of our work to provide a safe and
legal passage [to Europe].
'We want to provide humanitarian corridors for people fleeing war to come to Europe.
'He
have already brought almost 100 Syrian refugees to Italy from Greece
and we hope to bring a further [Syrian refugees] from Lebanon next
month.'
One
Syrian family were brought to Italy in February, 93 Syrians were
brought to Italy in March and a further 150 Syrians are expected to
brought from refugee camps in Lebanon in May, as part of Sant'Egidio's
mission.
Sant'Egidio
Director Valeria Martano told MailOnline: 'Refugees have the right to
seek protection in Europe. We want to provide them with a way to achieve
this by providing a safe passage – so many people have died - and
without having to become involved with people traffickers.
'Once
they arrive in Italy we provide them with everything they need. We find
them somewhere to live and give them [Italian] language lessons so they
can integrate within the local community.
'We have people living in Rome and in other cities such as Trentino in the north of Italy.
'One old Syrian lady is living in a sheltered community because she is very frail.'
Founded
in Rome in 1968 the Community of Sant'Egidio is a Catholic organisation
to help the most desperate and spread the word of Christ.
They
set up hospices for victims of HIV/AIDs while others condemned the
sufferers, they find homes for frail older people, Italian language
classes for migrants and have printed a hand-book which they distribute
to the homeless entitled 'Where to Eat, Sleep and Wash in Rome'.
The
organisation also runs many international missions including mediating
between rival factions in civil wars in Mozambique, Algeria, the
Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Balkans. DailyMail
