The Catholic Church has officially selected 76-year-old Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio to succeed Pope Benedict XVI as the next pope. He has taken on the regnal name Pope Francis I.
I have carefully avoided watching ANY of the coverage of this ridiculous event, so I was a little late in hearing the news. Which is just fine with me because I still don't give a shit.
I mean maybe if the Catholics had appointed some progressive, hip younger Bishop who spoke out against pedophilia, and thought that abortion was nobody's damn business except for the woman, I might manage to get a little excited about it.
But check out the opinions of this new Pope, and see if you can see where they veer off from the LAST old guy in a stupid hat and satin bathrobe:
On same-sex marriage: The new pope has called gay marraige “a scheme to destroy God’s plan” and “a real and dire anthropological throwback.” In 2010, he was a vocal opponent of the Argentinian government’s proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage.
On homosexuality: Bergoglio is reportedly “unwaveringly orthodox” on such moral issues.
On abortion: He has rallied his clergy against the “culture of death” that is the pro-abortion movement.
On contraceptives: The new pope strongly opposed Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner‘s efforts to distribute free contraceptives, likely seeing it as part of the aforementioned “culture of death.”
On same-sex adoption: Bergoglio has called it a form of discrimination against children.
Such a welcoming and loving religion right? Well unless you're gay of course, in which case they essentially go all Westboro Baptist on your ass with their message of "Fuck you, God hates you."
Oh yeah, the Catholic church is essentially stumbling toward progress like an alcoholic Alzheimer patient in a snowstorm. Not likely to get their anytime soon.
I think the sooner these old religious institutions die out the better it will be for the progress of all mankind.
Update: The priceless Betty Bowers weighs in.
Well yeah, all that, but remember he is a reformer...in a world where reform is changing prayer books from black to purple.
ReplyDeleteJust more Bronze Age superstition to keep the sheeple corralled and filling the Sunday collection basket. Sad.
DeleteAnd supplying fresh young meat for randy priests.
Yes more of the SOS :(
DeleteHey Dan Brown time for a update Book!!!
The Catholic Church is a killer.
They have killed peeps who wrote books against the Catholic church. One being Laurence Gardner who wrote several expose type books and then suddenly he's dead.
Todd and his Mafia would fit right in.
Killing in the name of god.
Oh this is a great write up...
Deletehttp://mohawknationnews.com/blog/2013/03/10/smoke-signal
Didn't even mention pedophile once but got the "skirts higher for the priest" in there.
So Sarah Palin.
There is even a troll there similar to...
Krusty! I'm sure it isn't but they all spew such stupidity in defense of their "Religions" "god" and perceived "FreeDums" waiting for a puff of smoke while the god dammed house is burning down!
The Catholic Church is a killer.
DeleteDo you ever wonder why Pope John-Paul I is never mentioned...ANYWHERE?
I would have been impressed if they chose a black woman, but this guy?
ReplyDeleteMeh.
I voted for the black guy - I tended to stay with who was currently on the nominated list - forgot about the write in option
DeleteI would have liked to see the US branch demanding to see his birth certificate - they no doubt think Africa - the country - is not eligible to have popes.
Can you imagine the exploding pinheads if an African would have got it? What a spectacle that would have been! It wouldn't have been so much that Africa wouldn't be eligible to have a pope...they would have been howling that we needed a pope who looked more like Christ; you know, the blue eyed light brown haired Christ.
DeleteTS - the black guy on the list of potential popes???? The one who actively wants gays to be put to death??? That guy???
DeleteThe people in power in the Vatican should be pleased. This new pope cuddles up with the power elite (see junta love in Argentina).
ReplyDeleteHe's 76, so quite likely he won't last long before going into the usual semi-retirement (ie pope-mobile-ing while the real power players run the vast monetary holdings of the catholic church).
I wish I could care less about Pope(s). Unfortunately, the Catholic church is a major force in suppressing women's access to birth control. Also, the Catholic church has an enormous impact on young girls in that they are constantly reminded that positions of power are exclusively male.
Hmmms .... some reports say that he favored liberation theology? anyone have a definitive?
DeleteNo, sadly, he didn't, according to NPR. (Sorry--I didn't note down the program, or I'd source it.) I guess he was like Mother Teresa--show compassion one-on-one to the poor, but do nothing about/ suck up to the social and power structures which make and keep them that way.
DeleteSomewhat O/T, but maybe not... The history of women healers, and what the church did to get monopoly in spiritual things as well as in healing :/
ReplyDeletehttp://tmh.floonet.net/articles/witches.html
The Pope may well have blood on his hands. Argentina's Dirty War and Operation Condor linked to this pope.
ReplyDeletewww.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/jan/04/argenitina-videla-bergoglio-repentance
"Not only did the generals slaughter thousands unjustly, often dropping them out of aeroplanes over the River Plate and selling off their orphan children to the highest bidder, they also murdered at least two bishops and many priests. Yet even the execution of other men of the cloth did nothing to shake the support of senior clerics, including representatives of the Holy See, for the criminality of their leader General Jorge Rafael Videla and his minions."
This too:
"The extent of the church's complicity in the dark deeds was excellently set out by Horacio Verbitsky, one of Argentina's most notable journalists, in his book El Silencio (Silence). He recounts how the Argentinian navy with the connivance of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now the Jesuit archbishop of Buenos Aires, hid from a visiting delegation of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission the dictatorship's political prisoners. Bergoglio was hiding them in nothing less than his holiday home in an island called El Silencio in the River Plate."
Color us unsurprised.
DeleteKilling, raping, intimidating since Constantine legitimized the cult 1800 years ago.
About that article about women healers... Remember it was written in the 70s, when there were not as many women doctors around as we have nowadays...
ReplyDeleteChange the nameplate on the door but the business never changes from the same ol' same ol' as its always been.
ReplyDeleteMeet the new boss, same as the old boss.
DeleteThe red glare in his eyes is so fitting. I was raised catholic and this crap continues to drive me away from the church. Maybe next time, huh?
ReplyDeletecontinues to drive you away? If you haven't left yet, you are complicit in misogyny, pedophilia, etc.
DeleteI hate to sound like a feminist but...when will all these old men finally die off so women can have a chance to clean up the toxic waste they have left behind?
ReplyDeleteNot as along as women keep supplying them with fresh young meat.
DeleteDon't hate to sound like a feminist. Everyone should sound like feminists.
Delete“unwaveringly orthodox” is code for "closeted pedophile", right? Am I right?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletean alcholic with dementia in a snowstorm would make more progress than the catholic church. this guy was chosen because he would keep business as usual which means the altar boys better keep their asses squeezed tight.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had the news on all day....it is so hard to believe this amount of money spent on pomp and circumstance is still relevent today, by a bunch of old men who are clueless of regular life. These men are elevated beyond imagination with adoration and riches while the masses suffer, it is like so many other parts of religion...opposite of what Jesus was supposed to be about. The Pope is like the Wizard of Oz...worshipped for smoke and mirrors, but with alot more money, fancy clothes, jewelry and a palace.
ReplyDeleteDon't let it get to you. Yes, they are all-powerful. But, only because they speak only to themselves.
DeleteIRRELEVANT ! ! !
Sharon, the pope's personal..that is PERSONAL-for his own use and purposes is $200 Million/yr.
Delete@Boscoe4:01 PM No you're not right. This thing of implying that all Roman Catholic clergy are child molesters is lazy thinking and simply not true. The cases get lots of publicity as I suppose they should, but incidents of sexual misconduct are actually more frequent in the "Protestant" denominations. I am not a believer but I have two cousins that I love who are Catholic priests they would never harm a child or anyone else for that matter.
ReplyDeleteI think he should be given a chance.
DeleteHow about pals around with convicted war criminals?
DeleteHormonally anecdotal. Have any facts? You know, those pesky liberal-leaning things..
DeleteBut they would cover up for their "brother priests" and do what their bishop told them. Complicit bastards - ALL!
DeleteAnd Gar, I also have priests in the family so speak from "insider knowledge" ,though I am no longer RCC - and as a mother would consider leaving my sons alone with ANY priest child endangerment.
DeleteYou SUPPOSE they should?
DeleteNo, they most definitely should.
I have two priests in my italian family - one was my godfather. If you were a gay man in an italian household 3 generations ago, you became a priest.
DeleteThis much I know is true.
One question the Pope ought to be asked: Why is convicted war criminal (and Argentine Roman Catholic priest) Christian Federico von Wernich still allowed to practice as he serves a life sentence for murder and kidnapping? The Pope is directly implicated in this.
ReplyDelete"Christian Federico von Wernich, who was born in 1938 and who is of German origin, became chaplain of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police in 1976.
Von Wernich was accused of having abused his position in the clergy in order to obtain information from political prisoners during confession.
One of the most serious crimes in which von Wernich was said to have participated was that of the "group of seven" (Grupo de los siete) students who he allegedly “broke” during confessions and who were later killed. It was alleged that he often visited the relatives of the seven students asking for money and telling them that their children would soon be released if they cooperated. He allegedly promised the same to the students, as in the case of Cecilia Idiart, who later was murdered.
The report “Nunca Más” ("Never Again") produced by the National Commission on the Disappeared (CONADEP), contained important information about the role played by von Wernich during the repression and about his alleged complicity in torture and arbitrary detention. The report related several testimonies implicating the churchman. An Argentinean official, for instance, who had taken part in the killing of a member of the opposition in the presence of Von Wernich later testified: “Father Von Wernich saw that what had happened had shocked me, and so spoke to me telling me that what we had done was necessary; it was a patriotic act and God knew that it was for the good of the country. “"
http://www.trial-ch.org/en/resources/trial-watch/trial-watch/profiles/profile/456/action/show/controller/Profile/tab/fact.html
Just like the pedophile priests, someone helped the war criminal escape justice for decades.
" After the end of the dictatorship, von Wernich was sent by the church to the Parish of 9 July some 250 kilometres from Buenos Aires where he remained until 1996. After that, he moved to Chile where he worked as a priest in El Quisco under the false name of Cristian Gonzalez.
In 2003, he was discovered there by Hernan Brienza, a journalist who was investigating his involvement in the crimes and who was the author of "Maldito tu eres", a book on the links between von Wernich and the repressive regime in Argentina. As a consequence, in May 2003, von Wernich resigned from all his priestly duties."
Same link as above.
But he was apparently still a priest. Pope Bergoglio commented at the time (after the war criminal Wrernich's conviction):
"In a statement after the priest's conviction, a church official here declared that it was "moved by the pain caused by the participation of a priest in grave crimes," as found in the verdict.
"We believe that the steps that justice takes in the clarifying of these deeds should serve to bolster the efforts of all citizens on the road to reconciliation and as a call to leave behind impunity as well as hate and rancor," the church said in a statement from the office of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires.
Whether Von Wernich would remain a priest was unclear."
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/10/world/fg-priest10
Then this more recent report:
"BUENOS AIRES, Feb 1 2010 (IPS) - More than two years after he was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the 1976-1983 dictatorship in Argentina, former police chaplain Christian von Wernich has not been penalised by the Catholic Church.
IPS found out that the 71-year-old priest even celebrates mass in prison."
http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/02/argentina-torture-priest-still-celebrating-mass-behind-bars/
Like you didn't already know how this would end.
Draw your own conclusions from the above facts.
Eeeeeek!!!!!! Facts!!!!! You libruls!!!!!!
DeleteWho in their right mind (a progressive mind) thinks that the changing of the guard at the Vatican is going to bring Catholics into the 21 Century? It's not!
ReplyDeletePeople! Get your respective heads out of your respective asses and join the rest of the world. Sex is a natural part of being human.
Women need and demand effective, reliable birth control. Children need to be wanted at conception, nurtured and educated. Teachers need to be able to teach science and technology in order for children to advance and compete with the changing dynamics of the world economy.
Get over your worry that some big 'eye in the sky' is watching your every move and if you don't 'move' the right way, you're going to burn in a fiery pit for eternity. No, it's not going to happen!
Pope? Why not just elect a dogcatcher and clean up the world's poop pile. there's a bunch of it in Rome and the rest of the world.
The Gospel according to St Anonymous. (Love it!)
Delete4:31pm
DeleteSilly, they are only changing the guard at the Vatican because the former pope, Ratzinger, was about to be indicted for his crimes and the crimes of his organization. They're hiding the old pope and hiring a new pope, who of course, has his own giant bag of problems he's bringing with him. How long until they have to repeat this process?
4:31 I was thinking the same thing. This guy may be poisoned in a month like JP1 and there is a Francis 2 waiting in the wings - the real antichrist...oooga booga lol
DeleteActing Venezuelan President: Hugo Chavez May Have Influenced Jesus To Pick A South American Pope
ReplyDeleteIf you were looking for a truly unique take on the selection of a new Pope, look no further than Venezuela, where acting president Nicolas Maduro, who said today at a book fair that Hugo Chavez, the late Venezuelan leader who died last week, may have personally influenced Jesus Christ to guide the hand of the College of Cardinals toward a South American Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Maduro hailed the choice of Bergoglio as a sign that “South America’s time has come,” and credited the late Chavez with playing a hand in his ascension.
“We know that our commander ascended to the heights and is face-to-face with Christ. Something influenced the choice of a South American pope, someone new arrived at Christ’s side and said to him: ‘Well, it seems to us South America’s time has come.’”
Maduro also said that Chavez may one day “call a constitutional assembly in Heaven” in order to lead a movement to reform the Catholic Church and allow “the pure people of Christ” to govern the world. Chavez conflicted with the Catholic Church a number of times during his presidency.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/acting-venezuelan-president-hugo-chavez-may-have-influenced-jesus-to-pick-a-south-american-pope/
There's no such thing as a "progressive, hip, younger bishop". Even wising for something like that is creepy. The Catholic church--in the U.S. anyway-- is slowly evolving to something more like contemporary ethics-free christianist "religions" under the pressure of popular culture. But that's not an improvement by any means. Catholics who no longer participate have mostly moved on because there's no distinguishing difference between the contemporary practice of Catholicism and any other organized christianist club. It's all crap.
ReplyDeleteWell yes, all of that and then some.
ReplyDeleteThe one positive I hear about this guy is that he's passionate about helping the least fortunate in society. That he doesn't give a shit about personal wealth and the comforts wealth can provide.
Hopefully he will be a voice against the insanity that is called austerity. And which destroys so so so many lives.
Gays/abortion etc. - what'd you expect?
Mind you, I was raised Roman Catholic. Then I grew up and obtained a mind of my own.
He's a fraud, and it's all a charade. Perhaps an act of repentence,or contrition, hoping we will all forget he was the buttboy for the rich and powerful , while they were in power, that is.
DeleteLet's all hope and...well you know...that Malachy was right in the twelfth century.
Betty Bowers is my go to gal since Guido Sarducci retired.
ReplyDeleteFuck the Catholic Church and those ridiculous Cardinal fuck-ups and all the other affiliated chumps at the altar. They can burn in "hell" for their atrocities on humankind.
ReplyDeleteI was raised Catholic and I am ashamed to even admit it. I renounce every bit of that fraudulent religion.
Meh, business as usual for the Catholic church...from Nazi Hitler Youth to a South American Junta Death Squad enabler. Same shit, different day. Besides this pope isn't really Latino. He's the son of Italians who emigrated to Argentina, so really it's another European pope.
ReplyDeleteFor every Catholic criminal, there are untold numbers who just see it as a way to learn about God, and follow his will. I'm not an active Catholic, and that's my choice, but to paint all Catholics with such broad, popular, easy brushes is simply not right. The Catholic Church is not a democracy, and to expect it to behave as such is ludicrous. For the church, just choosing someone other than a European, and to choose a Jesuit, shows incremental change. You guys are sounding like the Tea Party jumping on Obama. Since you're not Catholic, why do you care? Let it go.
ReplyDeleteBecause this ass hat and his fellow coreligionists influence millions of people and those who rule them. They cause untold misery with their archaic policies and push otherwise sane people to do evil things.
DeleteYou saw what they did in CA with Prop 8 didn't you? GET IT NOW?
Church is not a democracy, and to expect it to behave as such is ludicrous.
DeleteYou are so right. It's not a democracy. It's a business, and the faithful (left at the altar long ago) are the customers.
"I owe my soul to the company store..."
What you stated above are the reasons I'm not a Catholic. Duh. Yes, 7:53, I get it now, and probably did before you. Sorry, that was petty, I have no idea how old you are. Just saying, I'm learning that one thing I find useful when I view the global insanities is just pulling back, working on myself, and then jumping back into the fray.
DeleteI don't know this guy, haven't lived his life. And will not agree with much of what he says. But he frightens me less than the P.Emeritus. Because I always expect the worst possible outcome, I'm just saying.
You guys sound like the Tea Party clamoring for a piece of Obama. I'm no longer an active Catholic, my choice, but for every Catholic criminal, there are untold numbers of people who believe the Church to be a way to know and serve God. To paint them all with such a broad, popular, easy brush is simply not right. Since you're not Catholic, why do you care? Let it go, let's see what differences arise after a non-European Jesuit is in the hot seat.
ReplyDeleteI paid no attention to the circus either. Well, at least we know this pope isn't the fictional antichrist as the antichrist is supposed to seem like a great changer in the beginnig....this guy, not so much.
ReplyDeleteI agree that as soon as people realize we do not need religions in order to survive, the world will be a better place. Not in my lifetime.
The Catholic Church is more of a business than a religion
ReplyDeleteIf the Catholic church truly cared about the poor, contraception would not be forbidden.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if they were going to select a new pope from South America, why didn't they pick Sofia Vergara?
ReplyDeleteTom, in FL