Pope Francis and the Eastern Orthodox

In a monumentally historic gesture, it has been announced that Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople will be attending the installation liturgy of Pope Francis this Tuesday. Here is the story:

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I will attend Pope Francis's inaugural Mass. The Ecumenical Patriarchate Press Office informed AsiaNews about the decision, noting that this is the first time such an event occurs since the Catholic-Orthodox split in 1054, an important sign for Christian unity.

The ecumenical patriarch will be accompanied by Ioannis Zizioulas, metropolitan of Pergamon and co-president of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Church, as well as Tarassios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Argentina, and Gennadios, Orthodox Metropolitan of Italy.

Naturally, there is much work to be done regarding the reconciliation of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, but this is HUGE and most likely would not have been possible without the efforts of Pope Benedict XVI. May you live in interesting times, indeed.

Pope Francis Myths Debunked

Mark Shea calls out a hoax which has Pope Francis, as Cardinal Bergoglio, saying something about women that he didn't actually say. Mark also calls out some atheists (who love to crow about evidence-based conclusions) who apparently have been pushing this myth without any regard to researching the story and providing actual, you know, evidence.

Mark links to the someone who actually did research this apparently bogus story:

Here is the latest Urban Legend making its way through the internet like wildfire and being attributed to Pope Francis in 2007 when Cristina Kirchner was running for President of Argentina. The quote is:

“Buenos Aires, 4 de junio (Télam) - El arzobispo de Buenos Aires, cardenal Jorge Bergoglio, afirmó que “las mujeres son naturalmente ineptas para ejercer cargos políticos”, refiriéndose a la candidatura presidencial de la Senadora Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. “El orden natural y los hechos nos enseñan que el hombre es el ser político por excelencia; las Escrituras nos demuestran que la mujer siempre es el apoyo del hombre pensador y hacedor, pero nada más que eso”.

The quote above begins with: “Women are naturally inept to exercise political office..the order of nature and human activity teach us that a man is superior in the realm of politics…”

“Télam” is the “AP” or major press organization of Argentina. When people research all of the Télam articles of June 4, 2007, they come up empty for this quote. The reason is because the quote was invented out of thin air and posted in a “Yahoo Answers” by an Argentinian who went by the name “Bumper Crop” and who at the time did not cite a link because the entire phrase was posted to smear Cardinal Bergoglio and make him look like he was attacking Cristina Kirchner.

In addition, the phrase completely contradicts Bergoglio known friendship and admiration for various Argentine women who have held political office and who were congratulated by him upon election.

A man who is usually very critical of the Catholic Church, but honest about Urban Legends, has published a very good exposé of this fraud

http://www.forosperu.net/showthread.php?t=441037

Texas Hill Country and the Pope

My wife and I spent the last week touring the Texas Hill Country exploring the contributions of German and Czech immigrants to Texas history. We stayed at a couple of B&Bs, explored wineries, caverns, and a couple of historic painted churches. When we got the SMS alert from popealarm.com that white smoke had been spotted, we had just finished a tour of Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye, TX, which produces fine Texas bourbon. Needless to say, we were out in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, we were able to watch the papal announcement of Pope Francis as I had just enough of a cell signal to stream the live video on my iPhone while sitting in the parking lot of the distillery. Technology is great when it works with you :)

Habemus Papam! Papa Francisco!

I'm still taking in this extraordinary event. Thanks be to God for Pope Francis! Thanks to CatholicVote for this video. I also came across this photo of him, Cardinal Bergoglio, in 2008 casually riding the subway in Buenos Aires.

Ignore the inane secular media who essentially want a non-Catholic pope. Pope Francis, like popes before him, reaffirms a commitment to social justice that is rooted in the church's consistent social teaching on the innate dignity of the every human person from conception to natural death. The secular world insists on aligning people into ideological categories, and it frustrates them that the Catholic faith transcends those categories internationally. It isn't always easy for Catholics to accept it either, but it isn't supposed to be easy. It's never supposed to be easy. To be a true follower of Christ means to take up the Cross, and the Cross makes hypocrites of us all.

 

There's a Saint for that!

Cool apostolate: There's a saint for that! Ask our brothers and sisters of the faith to pray for your specific intentions.