Francisco Pope Of The Poor??? Aparecida Brazil

[Gringoboy]

Well, after the PR disaster of the last Pope, Francis is a breath of fresh air.
I'm not particularly religious and certainly not a Catholic but I can almost feel the warmth, honesty and humility that this man exudes.
It's about time a man of his stature took an institution such as this Church and gave it a damned good shake.

 

[Rich One]

I really don't know much about the Vatican, but as far as I can tell, the Catholic Church in Argentina does indeed do a lot of the things mentioned above. I know that a lot of priests live work, live, and serve in the villas, and I constantly see the churches here doing all kinds of things for the poor. Although I haven't stepped foot in a Catholic church, I always see many poor people inside or around all of the churches here, and I know that because of the Church that I have seen some firsthand examples of created employment for them. I really am not a Vatican insider so I couldn't say, but what you are saying sounds like no one in the Vatican cares about the poor or is confronting the issue. I highly doubt this is true. I'm also sure that the Vatican has its share of snakes.

As far as a think tank for helping the poor, South American Catholicism is the think tank for that. South America is where liberation theology was generated, by Jesuit theologians/priests. They have lots of good ideas in that respect. Of course since the rich ruling elite that controls South America likes it the way it is, it's highly doubtful that most of those ideas will ever be implemented. You make it sound like the Catholic Church can just wave its magic wand and make poverty disappear.

What can one say your statement is full of generalities, many, plenty, some,,,!! Sure priests cater to the poor in the villas, some churches help the poor....!!

The Teologia de la Liberacion was severely condemned by Juan Pablo II he Scolded in public the Bishops in Nicaragua...!! for favoring the Liberacion y la Iglesia de Los Pobres...!!

http://infocatolica....-pontificado-de

The Pope admonishing the Bishop of Nicaragua Ernesto Cardenal saying...​

Regulariza tu posición con la Iglesia. Regulariza tu posición con la Iglesia​

 

[camberiu]

Bergoglio is simply the head of a corrupt institution that promotes fraudulent beliefs among gullible people. Nothing more, nothing less.

But there are so damned good competitors. These guys on the video bellow are pros.

http://www.vice.com/Fringes/teenage-exorcists-part-1

 

[nyer4ever]

I just watched Pope Francis say on live TV that he does not have the right to judge gays.

Isn't this a dramatic change for him? I thought that was the reason behind the giant rift between him and CFK...when she pressed for gay marriage in Argentina.
I thought he was seriously ANTI-gay.
It will be interesting to know if he "saw the light" or if this is PR to get more folks in the pews i.e. more tithes.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

I also thought he was anti-gay and I don't think he's just "seen the light." One can't just radicalize the church overnight. He didn't say that he supports gay marriage or women in the pulpit. But, this is a huge step forward (in my eyes) for the church. Yes, the Catholic church has been losing membership for a long time now. The Evangelicals (Protestants) moved into Argentina about 25 years ago and have been gaining momentum at an ever-increasing pace. Camberiu might also have a parallel story to tell about Brasil. The Evangelical movement is huge here in South America and some of the largest congregations are from Brasil!

 

[ajoknoblauch]

The best thing I can say about the Catholic Church is that the evangelicals are far worse.

 

[Jaredberryman]

What can one say your statement is full of generalities, many, plenty, some,,,!! Sure priests cater to the poor in the villas, some churches help the poor....!!

The Teologia de la Liberacion was severely condemned by Juan Pablo II he Scolded in public the Bishops in Nicaragua...!! for favoring the Liberacion y la Iglesia de Los Pobres...!!

http://infocatolica....-pontificado-de

The Pope admonishing the Bishop of Nicaragua Ernesto Cardenal saying...​

Regulariza tu posición con la Iglesia. Regulariza tu posición con la Iglesia​

Not really. I said I have seen firsthand how all the churches here seem to be helping the poor. I know firsthand and could give you several specific examples.

This picture is horrifying, but it's also what's exciting about Pope Francis. Do you think a Jesuit pope would go and scold a priest for his liberation theology publicly? Although the Catholic Church does not have much power any more in Latin America, it would be very nice if the Catholic Church could use what little power it has to influence change in this area. In many Latin American countries, there are some of the worst disparities between rich and poor. In Central American countries like Guatemala, for instance, the poverty is disgusting. Even if the lives of just a few are changed like with the No Chains project, it's a step forward.

 

[Jaredberryman]

You don't need to believe in imaginary beings to be an ethical person. In fact, belief in such beings is often an obstacle to being ethical.

Ajoknoblauch, your insightful comments are so remarkable that I have seen the light and will now become an atheist. Why hadn't I seen it before? Thank you for your remarkable contribution to this thread.

 

[camberiu]

Although the Catholic Church does not have much power any more in Latin America, it would be very nice if the Catholic Church could use what little power it has to influence change in this area. In many Latin American countries, there are some of the worst disparities between rich and poor. In Central American countries like Guatemala, for instance, the poverty is disgusting. Even if the lives of just a few are changed like with the No Chains project, it's a step forward.

As a Latin American myself, I think we can (and should) improve things here without the church's help. Also, as bad as things might be in Guatemala and elsewhere, it has improved a LOT over the past decades, without the help of either the church or atheist left wing revolutionaries. We need neither to improve things in LATAM.

Infant mortality rate in Latin America (1960-2011)

 

[sergio]

His comments about not judging specifically referred to clergy with some sort of same sex attraction. Benedict had been firm that no-one with any sort of homosexual inclination whatsoever would be accepted into the priesthood. As Archbishop of Buenos AIres Bergoglio is said to have urged his fellow bishops to accept civil unions so as to avert same sex marriage, i.e. he viewed civil unions as the lesser of evils. Bishop Aguer, a conservative bishop from La Plata, led the opposition and the bishops conference refused to back Bergoglio. To change teachings on sexuality, fundamental dogma has to be changed, specifically the teaching on natural law. This would be a radical undertaking. To clarify Catholic theology, all sex outisde of marriage is viewed as mortal sin. The Protestant view is essentially the same with the excluision of a few small liberal denominations and even they are divided amongst themselves. Of course Islam is even stricter as well as Orthodox Judaism. I agree that some of Francis's comments suggest that he is far more liberal than his predecessors.