— RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A member of a commission set up by Pope Francis to advise him on child abuse says the group is a “token body” exercising in “smoke and mirrors” that won’t help children stay safe from abusive priests.
Peter Saunders, the commission member, is now on a leave of absence as he considers whether to continue with an effort he says he has lost faith in.
Meanwhile, new Catholic bishops are still being taught they’re not obliged to report cases of child abuse by priests to the police.
The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, which Francis set up with much fanfare in 2014, was supposed to issue guidelines for the Vatican on how to deal with child abuse. But the body was never consulted about the training for new bishops on exactly that topic.
These are just some of the signs that Francis’ reform efforts, and his pledge to clean up the Catholic Church’s most damaging crisis, seem to be unraveling before they’ve even really gotten started.
The problems come as Pope Francis pays a visit to Latin America, a region where, as GlobalPost has reported, the church is accused of reassigning and protecting many alleged predator priests. Among the latest scandals in the region, Chileans are outraged that the pope appointed a bishop accused of shielding the country’s most despised pedophile priest from investigation. Read more
The stupid, it burns.
— Julia Bruzzese believes in miracles.
The 12-year-old from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been forced to use a wheelchair after a sudden paralysis that has baffled doctors.
But when Julia, who is in the seventh-grade at St. Bernadette’s in Dyker Heights, had the opportunity to meet Pope Francis as he arrived in New York, she said, “I came here because I wanted to meet the pope, because I believe in a miracle,” CBS New York reported.
Julia said meeting the holy father was “the most precious moment of my life.”
Precious, indeed. According to CBS, five days after Julia received a blessing from Pope Francis doctors seem to be closer to a firm diagnosis.
“The miracle has begun. Yesterday, I went to the doctor and for the first time they saw Lyme disease activity in my blood and that just shows a miracle can happen if you believe, just like I did. If you believe and pray everything can happen,” she told CBS last week Read more
Says head of number one “virgin” institution. Pope is sounding more and more stupid every day 😀
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We need more kids..slurp
Pope Francis has chided couples who choose not to have children, saying the decision is a “selfish” act. The statement, made in his general audience in St Peter’s Square, will be seen as especially controversial in Italy, which has recorded a steady drop in its birth rate for decades.
“A society with a greedy generation, that doesn’t want to surround itself with children, that considers them above all worrisome, a weight, a risk, is a depressed society,” the pope said. “The choice to not have children is selfish. Life rejuvenates and acquires energy when it multiplies: It is enriched, not impoverished.”
The address was focused primarily on the joy of children and their role in society. The pope recalled a childhood memory, when his mother was asked which of her five children was her favourite. “She would say, ‘I have five children like I have five fingers. If they beat one of my fingers, all five hurt. All of my children are mine, but each one is different,’” he said.
“You love your child because he is a child, not because he is beautiful, healthy, and good; not because he thinks like me, or embodies my desires. A child is a child: a life created by us but destined for him.” Read more
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Smack them all.. but not the face, capice Amen Hellelujah
Vatican defends comments about ‘disciplining with justice’ after facing previous criticism from UN over attitude to corporal punishment
Pope Francis told parents it is OK to spank their children to discipline them – as long as their dignity is maintained.
Francis made the remarks this week during his weekly general audience, which was devoted to the role of fathers in the family.
Francis outlined the traits of a good father: one who forgives but is able to “correct with firmness” while not discouraging the child.
“One time, I heard a father in a meeting with married couples say ‘I sometimes have to smack my children a bit, but never in the face so as to not humiliate them’,” Francis said.
“How beautiful.” he added. “He knows the sense of dignity! He has to punish them but does it justly and moves on.”
The Rev Thomas Rosica, who collaborates with the Vatican press office, said the pope was obviously not speaking about committing violence or cruelty against a child but rather about “helping someone to grow and mature”. Read more
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Bahhh fuck that, god will burn me in hell forever, that gives me right to make fun of faith 🙂
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Holyween-er party? 😉
MANILA, Philippines — Pope Francis suggested there are limits to freedom of expression, saying in response to the Charlie Hebdo terror attack that “one cannot make fun of faith” and that anyone who throws insults can expect a “punch.”
The pontiff said that both freedom of faith and freedom of speech were fundamental human rights and that “every religion has its dignity.”
“One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people’s faith, one cannot make fun of faith,” he said. “There is a limit. Every religion has its dignity … in freedom of expression there are limits.”
The pope was speaking to reporters on a plane as he flew from Sri Lanka to the Philippines on his tour of Asia. Read more
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When Pope Francis visits the Philippines next week, traffic enforcers won’t let the capital’s streets get gridlocked if they have to answer the call of nature.
About 2,000 traffic enforcers who will be on duty during the Jan. 15-19 papal visit will be required to wear adult diapers, said Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino.
Tolentino also encouraged people who will wait for hours to see the pope to also wear diapers.
The prospect of wearing diapers while on duty was “well received” by his men, he said Wednesday.
Tolentino said the idea will be tested on Friday by 800 traffic enforcers who work shifts during the nearly 24-hour annual procession of the Black Nazarene. It will be the first time that traffic enforcers in the Philippines will wear diapers while on duty in the streets, he said.
The Black Nazarene procession attracts hundreds of thousands of barefoot mostly-male Filipino Roman Catholics who parade a centuries-old black statue of Jesus Christ which devotees believe possess mystical powers that could cure ailments and answer wishes of good health and fortune. Read more
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A member of a commission set up by Pope Francis to advise him on child abuse says the group is a “token body” exercising in “smoke and mirrors” that won’t help children stay safe from abusive priests.
DoctorE 