The Independent News Source
NCR on Kindle - NCR classifieds - YouTube - Twitter - Facebook - Email Alerts - RSS
Printer-friendly version
PDF versionPope to new cardinals: ‘Forget power and glory’
by John L Allen Jr on Feb. 18, 2012
Italian paper calls Dolan a papal candidate
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Rome
Pope Benedict XVI legendarily thinks in centuries, so it’s almost always a category mistake to read his public oratory as a commentary on current events. Yet it was hard to listen to him this morning without at least flashing on the recent Vatican leaks scandal, which has created widespread impressions of power struggles and senior churchmen stabbing one another in the back.
In comments today to 22 new cardinals taking part in Benedict’s fourth consistory, with most of the Vatican’s senior leadership looking on, the pope issued a strong plea for a spirit of service.
“Serving God and others, self-giving: this is the logic which authentic faith imparts and develops in our daily lives,” the pope said, “and which is not the type of power and glory which belongs to this world.”
Benedict noted that from the very beginning, not everyone in leadership positions among Christ’s followers has been up to that challenge.
Reflecting on the New Testament story of James and John, two disciples who requested positions of honor when Christ returns, Benedict said “it is not easy to enter into the logic of the Gospel and to let go of power and glory.”
The pope quoted two fathers of the church along the same lines.
“Saint John Chrysostom affirms that all of the apostles were imperfect, whether it was the two who wished to lift themselves above the other ten, or whether it was the ten who were jealous of them,” the pope said.
He then quoted St. Cyril of Alexandria: “The disciples had fallen into human weakness and were discussing among themselves which one would be the leader and superior to the others… This happened and is recounted for our advantage… What happened to the holy Apostles can be understood by us as an incentive to humility.”
Benedict said the temptation to pursue self-interest and power is eternal.
“Dominion and service, egoism and altruism, possession and gift, self-interest and gratuitousness: these profoundly contrasting approaches confront each other in every age and place,” he said.
The Biblical reminders, the pope said, “represent an invitation and a reminder, a commission and an encouragement especially for you, dear and venerable brothers who are about to be enrolled in the College of Cardinals.”
Benedict created 22 new cardinals this morning, including Timothy Dolan and Edwin O’Brien of the United States. This afternoon, the new cardinals will hold receptions in various rooms of the Apostolic Palace, one of the few times it's open to the general public, and the Paul VI audience hall.
Subscribe to NCR
Want to read more about important issues in the life of the Church? A subscription to NCR will keep you up to date and informed.
Yesterday, Benedict XVI presided over a “day of reflection and prayer” in which 133 cardinals took part, as well as the 22 new inductees in the church’s most exclusive club.
The main act of the day was a speech on the new evangelization by Dolan, who delivered a vintage performance emphasizing the need to present the Christian message in a positive light, and to avoid demonizing the secular world.
At one point Dolan even allowed his sense to humor to surface, jokingly asking Benedict if he could be exempted from the part of the new cardinals’ oath in which they promise to defend the faith “up to the shedding of blood.”
Video feeds showed the pope smiled at the quip. A Vatican statement issued later in the day said Benedict found the speech “exciting, joyous and profound.”
There was also more evidence of a boomlet around Dolan this morning in the Italian media. Il Messaggero’s Vatican writer, Franca Giansoldati, published a piece on the consistory under the headline, “Among the 22 new cardinals, a new papabile breaks out: the American Dolan.”
Papabile is the Italian word for a candidate to be pope.
If the pope and cardinals
If the pope and cardinals didn't live opulently, with complete power and control in every area of the faith, I could believe the pope's admonishment. Timothy Dolan one day this month told his faithful in NYC to give someone they know a meal, and the next day he took a jet for a 10-day pilgrimage in the Holy Land with 50 priests - at a cost of easily over $150,000, while he joked in the press about drinking Jerusalem beer. Why would anybody ever give money to the archdiocese of New York again? I have been putting my donations in the poor box, that is until I heard the pastor was taking the money to give to the seminary.
THE JOHN ALLEN METHOD
THE JOHN ALLEN METHOD ......... Thanks, anoy. The "John Allen Method" is becoming increasingly obvious and troubling. He too often rushes out with negative hierarchical stories in an understated way, then undermines them by parroting papal spin as the correct view. Readers then think the original negative, but truthful, stories were really no big deal.
This method has serious consequences. Intentionally or not, and I want to believe it is unintentional, John is facilitating an imperial and unChristian papal strategy. This shameful strategy currently risks demolishing American women's health protections, as well as defenseless children's safety. Lives are at stake.
Please, John, for the love of God, think more about the impact of your method. You can do better and have often done better. You serve NCR readers and Catholics worldwide, not just the hierarchy and their well funded apologists. Catholics deserve a more forthright and balanced approach in these challenging times.
Dear Jerry, Wow! you know how
Dear Jerry,
Wow! you know how to call a spade a spade! Thank you for this comment/response re John Allen. Your responses both here for NCR and C4C are always educational, informative and most of all interesting and truthful. MANY THANKS!
Sincerely, Theresa M. Coleman, North Wales, Pa
What? Bishops and priests can
What? Bishops and priests can never travel to the Holy Land? You never go on a vacation or a pilgrimmage?
I have been putting my
I have been putting my donations in the poor box, that is until I heard the pastor was taking the money to give to the seminary.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, that will teach you. I'd never give that priest one more thin dime. Better to give your charitable contributions to Quakers or to a Jewish charity. It will go to the parties or the cause for which it is intended.
Made secrecy pledge, "all new
Made secrecy pledge, "all new cardinals made to make pledge to keep secret anything that would damage or bring dishonor to the church". Vatican Mafia, keeping secrets, hiding evidence, denial and minimize all crimes and evils committed by these criminals and enablers of financial misdeeds and sexual, and other abuses.
Such codes of silence and hiding, denials of the truth about the crimes the clergy commits brings DAMAGE and DISHONOR TO THE CHURCH. The pope is the leader of a criminal organization that is self-serving and corrupt.
this whole very partisan
this whole very partisan "religious freedom" thingie BRINGS DAMAGE AND DISHONOR TO THE CHURCH!!
Like, each Sunday I am asked to translate the US parish priest's homily into Spanish here on the border. Today I had to tell people not to vote for Obama. I ain't a translating anymore. More fun at the Cathedral in Juarez.
If the Pope told the newly
If the Pope told the newly confirmed Cardinals to proclaim an oath that they will not make public anything that can bring "dishonor or damage" to the Church, then it is absurd to argue that this Pope has no control over Cardinals and Bishops (who do what the Cardinals tell them) in the United States and is immune from being sued or being subject to criminal prosecution.
Can you ever imagine Jesus telling his followers not to tell the truth? No way! The truth shall set you free.
The Curia is the Vatican Club. In order to belong you’ve got to be friends with one of the insiders who will put in a very good word on your behalf.
That’s not the way Jesus selected apostles and disciples..
Should we wonder why the
Should we wonder why the Obama Justice Department looks the other way as these embezzlers and bandits in purple and scarlet continue to lie, manipulate the truth, live in the shadows of enforced silence and secrecy, and then end up absconding with the laity's money? Only to spend funds raised under false pretenses on themselves?
Widespread abuse of power and flagrant malfeasance, like the seduction of young boys, is going to surface from the catacombs of unrevealed criminality. It will be the next great shoe to fall in the unfolding caper of prelatical corruption from the Gang in Red continuing to go unpunished.
The Mafia has a code of
The Mafia has a code of silence,but it never kept some of their members from going to jail. The same should be true for cardinals and bishops, but with the U.S.Justice Department keeping a thumb on the scales of justice, these old "princes" in drag continue to laugh at the law and live the life of Riley spending our money.
And they truly believe that
And they truly believe that upon the return of Jesus Christ, he will step into the Vatican and take over the same secrets and deceptions to protect the Catholic Church at all costs? Something of the Light needs no secrets or protections, its transparent and clear for all to see. I think the minute these guys get their Cardinal outfits on it goes straight to their head, and they become drunk with power and arrogance over Gods people. May I be wrong about this new batch of "Holy Men", who are suppose to be the closests things to Jesus we could possibly experience here on Earth.
Secrecy code. John Allen Jr.
Secrecy code. John Allen Jr. fails to report that in this ceremony, made briefer due to B16 health, the pope has the cardinals proclaim an oath that they will not make public anything that can bring "dishonor or damage" to the Church.
This is a disgusting demand, the code of secrecy, the same code that has resulted in widespread sexual abuses continuation (see recent crimes of 2010 and 2011, Finn and Lahey, bishop, archbishop). There are also widespread financial abuses too by the Vatican and the worldwide RC Church.
Secrecy and lack of transparency, dishonesty and lack of accountability has all ready caused enormous disgrace to the RC Church. Benedict XVI is very wrong to demand secrecy from the new cardinals.
Collins, new cardinal, upon being made archbishop, said he thought he got that promotion because "he asks no questions, and does what he is told". His explanation how he got to be archbishop. Sickening if this is the criteria for the rest of those new cardinals.
Company Men. In the church,
Company Men.
In the church, disgusting.
And Jesus weeps.
every time these guys open
every time these guys open their mouths they bring damage and dishonor to our Holy Mother Church
Charles the corollary for
Charles the corollary for what you said: We can tell when they are lying when the Bishops move their lips!
The secrecy code? I wonder
The secrecy code? I wonder where the known or suspected sexual abuse of children falls under this definition>
"Il Messaggero’s Vatican
"Il Messaggero’s Vatican writer, Franca Giansoldati, published a piece on the consistory under the headline, “Among the 22 new cardinals, a new papabile breaks out: the American Dolan.”
http://www.ilmessaggero.it/articolo.php?id=181960&sez=HOME_NELMONDO&ssez=
80/1: Those are the odds PADDY POWER is giving Cardinal Dolan.
http://www.paddypower.com/bet/current-affairs/the-next-pope?ev_oc_grp_id...
"Dominion and service,egoism
"Dominion and service,egoism and altruism,possession and gift,self interest and gratuitness: these profoundly contrasting approaches confront each other in every age and place"
Pope Benedict's words quoted by Mr. Allen are profoundly curious and indeed telling. It is interesting that he used "and" to connect rather than "or" to disconnect and demonstrate their contradiction. Language only but think about it. Are not these contradictions, these vice-value conflicts precisely the operative mode of the hierarchy? Let's just reflect on the one: dominion and service.
"Dominion and service": They "serve" from and only from a presumed position of and demand for domination. The service they profess to provide is essentially the institutional form and content - absolute truth delivered with absolute authority. "Their truth" trumps "sensus fidelium", all else is fodder to "their truth". Ordinationn renders clergy 'ontologically' distinct from ordinary human beings; elevation to "the fullness of priesthood" - to hierarchy - renders them, it would seem, "ontologicallier" different from ordinary clergy and even further from we mere men (and even moreso from women). Why did he not say dominion OR service?
Maybe he said exactly what he meant, or meant exactly what he said.
I would reserve judgment as
I would reserve judgment as to Cardinal Dolan's suitability for leadership, given his approach to asserting the Catholic Church's "freedom of conscience" in the US. Despite his posturing as an everyman, he appears out of touch with the majority of people in the Church. His claim to the everyman status can only be based on his lack of sophistication in dealing with people who have power. He undermined big time his stated goal of presenting the Christian message in a positive light and not demonizing the secular world.
He's big enough to be "more
He's big enough to be "more than one" man!
Take dieting seriouns, Timmy, or you'll never live to even vote for a pope!
This from an old man dressed
This from an old man dressed in gold and silks to a room full of old men dressed in fancy silks wearing gold who call themselves princes. Give me a break!
Then Jesus said to his
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:23
POPE DOLAN, GOD HELP US !
POPE DOLAN, GOD HELP US ! ..... "Forget power and glory" like I did, says the current papal Wizard wearing Dorothy's red slippers. Right!! Where is Dorothy's dog, Toto, when we need him!
Timothy Dolan is mainly a creation of longtime curial power, Cardinal Justin Rigali, Dolan's mentor in St. Louis. Rigali recently followed the shameful example of his chum, Bernard Law, by evading for now a Philly criminal pedophile proceeding. This is about to go to trial next week when Rigali's top aide, Msgr. Lynn, begins facing jury selection.
Another Rigali protege and Opus Dei member, Bishop Finn, is scheduled to be tried in several months for criminally failing to report a pedophile priest who preyed on young children. The pedophile is also facing a Federal criminal trial that may involve Finn.
Dolan himself may soon have testify in Federal court about allegedly hiding Milwaukee diocese assets from priest sex abuse victims. Dolan's own record on dealing with alleged priest child sex abusers, such as Fr. Becker in Milwaukee and, as recently as last year, Fr. Harris in New York, appears similarly seriously deficient.
On top of this, Dolan's US leadership of the pope's current "anti-contraception crusade", aimed mainly at helping Republicans destroy Obama's health insurance program, will likely soon explode.
Obama has stepped up Federal criminal prosecutions of child sexual abusers, including the pedophile involved in the case of Rigali's protege, Finn. The pope, and Rigali and Dolan, evidentally are seeking to replace Obama as US prosecutor-in-chief with a pliable Republican.
If the pope can help Santorum get elected, the pope likely will get both a "friendly" prosecutor and a rigid opponent of women's reproductive rights, including contraception . Would a papal "Church-State" in the US be far behind? Where also are the Founding Fathers when we need them? Will the Pilgrims now go back to Holland?
If the pope has to demolish women's health insurance to keep bishops from being prosecuted , that is a price the pope, Rigali and Dolan appear willing to pay. Women and children weren't very high on their agenda anyway.
Dolan's purported papal prospects seem to rest on the claim Dolan would not be any worse than the current and proceeding pope. The case against Dolan is the same--he wouldn't be any better than his two predecessors either. That is the problem. Catholics deserve better, much better!
For more details on Dolan's poor record, please read the comment,"Dolan As Comic", readily accessible by clicking on at:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/rome-notebook-dolans-rock-star-cons...
For more details on the current Vatican situation that Dolan is now entering , please read the comment, "Curial 'Mafioso' Panic?", readily accessible by clicking on at:
http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/five-questions-about-vati...
Amen, amen, Jerry. God help
Amen, amen, Jerry. God help us, indeed!
Thanks Jerry Slevin. Spot on
Thanks Jerry Slevin. Spot on as always
Dear Jerry, ROCK ON with your
Dear Jerry,
ROCK ON with your insightful and truthful description about Dolan. As one responder said: "Eloi, Eloi,lama sabachtani."
After selling us out to the
After selling us out to the Republicans,
forget power and glory in the hereafter as well,
simoniacs.
Rendering our glorious Holy Mother Church a shoddy Wall streetwalker
since 1979.
"Dolan, who delivered a
"Dolan, who delivered a vintage performance emphasizing the need to present the Christian message in a positive light, and to avoid demonizing the secular world."
yeah, NOT an "Obama-hater."
“Among the 22 new cardinals,
“Among the 22 new cardinals, a new papabile breaks out: the American Dolan.”
o . . .m . . .g . . .
"Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?"
How does it go? He who
How does it go? He who enters the conclave a pope, leaves a cardinal.
Would that had been true with this papa.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/nc
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/dolan-denies-rumor-snub-obama-envoy
while snubbing our government, he has the cojones to claim: "the need to present the Christian message in a positive light, and to avoid demonizing the secular world."
yeah, not an "Obama-hater"
Mr. Allen, Generally, I
Mr. Allen,
Generally, I enjoy reading what you have to say on almost any topic. I admire your wisdom and am impressed with how you walk that fine line of fairness to both sides. However, your fawning and obsequious treatment of Timothy Dolan is making me wonder if he spiked your drink with something. Please don't take all of the smiles and "one of the guys stuff" as real. He is putting on an act. This man is an empty suit, ( or empty cassock, as the case may be). Look at the financial shenanigans he pulled in Milwaukee. Shady, to say the least. He will use you for as long as you are useful to him, but don't ever cross him or you will be cut off at the knees and then you will see that smile of his disappear quickly.
Easy there, CTC. The Vatican
Easy there, CTC. The Vatican shill knows full well that as soon as he stops toeing the party line, he's in the unemployment line.
How do you know this? If you
How do you know this? If you can't provide proof, you're guilty of defamation of character. Do you find that preferable to Dolan's lifestyle?
I don't know that the Curia
I don't know that the Curia would go for an American as Pope. I would not be surprised to see the Italians recapture the Papacy after Benedict.
"Forgetting power and glory"
"Forgetting power and glory" cannot come easily to men who dress in mediaeval splendor, are accorded, even today, canonical privileges which even senior archbishops wisely won't mess with, and expect deferential treatment from heads of state, chief justices, prime ministers, ambassadors . . . everybody in short but (maybe) the pope himself.
Nor does "forgetting power and glory" come easily to a new generation of North American College students (alums too) who, having witnessed today's consistory, see temselves wearing "Roman purple" in a few years. Or is it mere coincidence that both USA cardinals created this day are former NAC rectors?
One of today's new "princes" is already looking to impose his own controversial notion of "religious freedom" on his countrymen and -women, in the guise of securing ever greater "liberty of conscience" for bishops and institutions while denying even that Catholic women have the right to make up their own minds and form their own consciences about birth control and such.
Petrus suggests that our church leaders may be spending too much time in the office or the smoke-filled room (where deals are made and other political horses are traded), and might benefit themselves and their flocks by spending more time in the garden. When we forget how to dig in the earth and tend the soil, we swiftly forget who we are: the dust of the earth, to which we sooner or later shall return.
Very well stated!
Very well stated!
QUERY: Would Jesus dress
QUERY: Would Jesus dress like these guys? Makes one wonder. WWJD
one Gospel reports his
one Gospel reports his seamless garment . . .
He sent his disciples on missions wearing really very little for their journey, with a purpose to their poverty in compassion.
Memo to Pope Benedict: Good
Memo to Pope Benedict:
Good luck with that.
The pope addresses
The pope addresses servant-leadership to men who are being made "Princes of the Church" with all the rights, honors, privileges --- and costumery appertaining thereto(!).
Am I the only one who sees irony here?
As the child in the crowd
As the child in the crowd shouted....the emperor has no clothes....They fool only themselves.
While anything is possible
While anything is possible with the Holy Spirt, it is still hard to seriously think of an American as 'papabile'
Dolan, however will be a 'great- elector', or if you will a 'king-maker' at the conclave with influence beyond the USA delegation.
Other famous examples of
Other famous examples of bumfodder:
Of course I'll love you tomorrow.
The check is in the mail.
We're from the Vatican and we are here to help you.
A NEW CARDINAL: SIGNS AND
A NEW CARDINAL: SIGNS AND SYMBOLS
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/a-new-cardinal-signs-and-sy...
THE COST OF LOOKING GOOD IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM
http://www.richardsipe.com/Burke_Gallery/The%20Cost%20of%20Looking%20Good%202007[2].pdf
One cardinal red outfit = ~ $30,000!!!
Necessary, of course, for servant-leadership :-)
"And Jesus wept."
Wow. I really never gave it
Wow. I really never gave it much thought, but I suppose the paper is correct, if there is any American prelate who is papabile, it would be His Eminence, Cardinal Dolan. What a great choice that would be!
Your lips to God's ear...
The opulence of this
The opulence of this performance makes it embarrassing to be a Catholic. There is no moral reason for this extravagent bestowing of wealth or a pompus ceremony on positions that owe it's origins in Roman pagan cult. Cardinals were invented by the Roman church after the schism with the Greek church in 1050 Ad. After the schism, the Roman Catholic church reverted back to positions of leadership found in the pagan Roman religion that pre-dated Christianity, namely the positions of Cardinals, the college of Cardinals, and the curia. This is paganism. The Greek and Middle Eastern Christian church had Patriarchs and Bishops, and do to this day. Cardinals came into existance in 11th century and somehow Christian survived the first 11 centuries without the Roman pagan cult which diefied emperiors. But, in the college of Cardinals, paganism reared it's ugly head again in the 11th centure on. Whatever you want to call this egocentric and vain display, it isn't rooted in Christianity, but rooted in paganism. That is why it is so offensive to the Christian spirit.
This is so outside of the humbleness of Jesus and his Jewish followers.
Could you please let your
Could you please let your readers know what the pagan Roman equivalent of Cardinals is? Do you regard them as successors of the Flamines, or the Pontifices, or the XV viri sacris faciundis, or the Fratres Arvales or of any other organisation of pagan priests?
Are there any papal
Are there any papal condidates who have lived and served in overpopulated countries where starvation and suffering is common?
Even if there are, you can be
Even if there are, you can be sure that they did NOT starve or suffer, except in having to see such devastation around them rather than the beautiful streets of Rome or NYC.
Scuppered! One historical and
Scuppered!
One historical and time-honoured method of scuppering Papal ambitions below the waterline, is to proclaim some Cardinal or other 'papabile' and to go into a PR chunter about how eminently suited he is. So the instruction to 'forget power and glory' may have been a painfully well-timed one for Card Dolan...
;-)
That was at least as funny as his joke about forgoing the bit about shedding one's own blood in defence of the Faith.
Timothy Dolan symbolizes all
Timothy Dolan symbolizes all that is WRONG with institutional religion regardless of denomination. May God preserve us from the likes of this King of the Good Ole Boys!
Well.Pomp and circumstance.If
Well.Pomp and circumstance.If there's one thing the church can be depended on,it's to put on a quasi-eccliastical circus.How long are catholics going to tolerate the empty,dead,useless"smoke and mirrors"religiosity of this sideshow institution?? In the interest of full disclosure I myself am a Protestant(non-denominational),and God knows we have our own circuses("televangelists",anyone?)And I deplore their shenanigans as much as anyone,but the Roman Catholic Church...as long as I've studied this institution(over 20 years),I'm still at a loss as to how my catholic friends allow themselves and their children to be so cruelly misused,lied to,robbed,spiritually raped,conned and scammed,abused...I could go on,but I think my point is made.As things stand,as I write this,the Roman Catholic Church has zero credibility and absolutely nothing to recommend it. Nothing.The longer it exists,the less and less relevance it has;catholics have been held hostage for so long by this soul-destroying,mind-melting organization,they've literally lost the ability to think for themselves when it comes this institution;its like the longest-running case of"Stockholm Syndrome"in human history!I mean really,catholics!!When are you going to start worshipping and serving the True and Living God instead of men?Is it really that hard? Really?How long is it going to take to open your eyes??Or are you simply unable to not keep putting yourselves and you innocent children into the hands of this soul-killng institution?
It has a few things to
It has a few things to recommend it. For one, it is possible to go to many, if not most, Catholic churches any time one is in the mood to pray in a church. For another, its clergy are supposedly on call at all times to provide Sacraments to the sick and dying. In fact, the Sacraments stand alone in their value to Catholics with the clergy being a necessary, but secondary element in their application. I can probably think of more, but rounding this out, it is the Catholic Church's practices that keep us cognizant of the life of Christ and allow us to participate in it, particularly during Lent.
Wow - you certainly called us
Wow - you certainly called us Catholics to task, didn't you? And in response, I would offer you these thoughts. First of all, since you have "studied" Catholicism for so long, you must have come across ample date of how the Chuch has cared for the world's poor and destitute in so many ways, right up to the current moment (ever heard of Cathulic Charities?), it's schools, orphanages, treatment centers, food banks, foreign aid in the middle of wars and plagues, the murder of priests and religious from the Holocost of Nazi Europe to the present day Middle East, Catholic hospitals and clinics, outreach to those abandoned by mainstream society, and so on. What this means is that if one studies the entirety of Catholicim, one cannot hold the views you do, unless it is driven by some other agenda. This is the struggle that we have been having since the day Vatican Council II opened and that continues to this day: how to move our Church beyond its own regressive pull to the past to the present world that presents new challenges and opportunities. None of what you vilify us for is incorrect in one way or another, and none of what you find wrong with us is indeed found in all Protestant and independent churches. And, above all - if you cared to look a little further - we are a world-wide community of firm believers in Christ Jesus and strive each and every day to live as He told us to, just as, I am certain, you do as well. Many Catholics do not "worship" our heirarchy and are fighting to engage in open dialogue with them (something that is a little hard to do right now, granted). And please know that one of the strongest statements of Vatican II was that the Holy Spirit shares with ALL Christian Churches - even yours - the grace of God and offers His guidance to all who call themselves Christian. In that we all share a common heritage. Your presentation here about us is neither studied nor balanced - but is forgiven just as you should go beyond your distorted "understanding" of Catholics and give us the respect Christ mandated for all His followers. No one I know judges Protestant or non-denomination Churches in the way you judge us. So I will pray for you all during Lent, and I ask for your prayers in return, so that we both - and those like us - can reflect on what that Jesus was really all about.
Pope, "Do as I say, not as I
Pope, "Do as I say, not as I do."
More Vatican Spin, now rolling into high gear for glad-hander, Dolan.
And under pain of eternal
And under pain of eternal damnation not one of you shall ever mention the words "Sensus Fidelium". Go forward now and always be faithful to your communio. Surely the same thing which made the Mafia so successsful can be used by us too. The admonition from the pope read like a string of confessions on matters he himself has been a prime example. Where is the Holy Spirit in all this.
Deus in adjutorium nostrum intende.
TomC
Post new comment