- He did not wear bishop’s regalia,
- He used public transportation, travelling on the bus in a simple priest's cassock,
- Lived in small apartment, not bishop’s palace,
- In that apartment, he cared for an elder sickly bishop, and cooks for both of them himself,
- He wandered the slums, looking for people to catechize and baptize,
- Helped people flee Argentina's dictatorship,
- In 2000, he ordered all priests in Argentina to wear garments of penance to atone for sins committed during Argentina's military regime,
- Said to be a capable administrator,
- Refused a Curial position with the plea, "Please, I would die in the Curia.",
- In 2001, he washed and kissed the feet of 12 AIDS patients.
- When elevated to cardinal, he forbad people to come and celebrate with him. He ordered them to give the plane fare they would have spent to the poor.
- Rejects liberation theology
- He is believed to be close to Comunione e Liberazione (their site)
- Hated clericalism
- Probably not a fan of the Traditional Mass
- Additional evidence of no love for the Traditional Mass
- "Arranged for Latin Mass to be offered within his diocese within 48 hours of Summorum Pontificum"
- He is not at all squeamish about attacking major political figures.
- His archbishop motto: "Miserable yet chosen"
Some quotes:
On abortion: “Abortion is the death penalty for the unborn”
On homosexual marriage: “Let's not be naïve, we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”
In 2010: "Homosexual adoption is discrimination against children."
"We should commit ourselves to 'eucharistic coherence', that is, we should be conscious that people cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act or speak against the commandments, in particular when abortion, euthanasia, and other serious crimes against life and family are facilitated. This responsibility applies particularly to legislators, governors, and health professionals."
In 2005: "Defend the unborn against abortion even if they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take you to court or kill you. No child should be deprived of the right to be born, the right to be fed, the right to go to school. No elderly person should be left alone, abandoned."
St. Francis of Assisi is commonly acknowledged to have cleansed and saved a corrupt, wastrel Church bureaucracy by living a holy, simple life that caused everyone to flock to live his example. His simple life embarrassed the rich and pompous priests and bishops. Many began to imitate him, and so the Church was transformed.
11 comments:
Don't tell the Rorate people that. Most of them are convinced he is the spawn of a twisted union of Benedict IX and Alexander VI.
If they haven't beclowned themselves already, hopefully Pope Francis is a holy pope, if only to shame them.
Rorate isn’t known for making exaggerated and ridiculous statements. If anything, I feel they’re too reserved, almost academic.
While I cannot speak for all "Rorate people" (which presumably includes commenters, for whose opinions the blog owner and blog contributors and moderators are not responsible), I think I can say that Kevin's hyperbole is gravely unfair
Do you know where the quote on abortion comes from? I can't find a source but I'd really like to share it!
Just to clarify, I was wondering about the 2005 quote on abortion.
It was from Lifesite News. I've also put the link into the article.
Jordanes551,
I speak for some (not all) of the writers on that site for posting wild nonsense (the amount of languages a pope knows or doesn't know, that he isn't a curial officer like Sodano or Bertone means he shouldn't be pope, that he was weaksauce on gay marriage and abortion when the evidence is clearly otherwise) and a lot of the people in the comment boxes, who really need help.
Saying you aren't responsible for people in comment boxes is all well and good, but every now and then, at least once, if they are spouting paranoid delusions, it's wise to say they are paranoid delusions, and to knock it off. There's a difference between how they handled it and someone like Fr. Z and just about every other Catholic blogger handled it.
Heck, even the SSPX was more charitable than they were for crying out loud.
I appreciate your concerns. Now, moderating policy at Rorate Caeli has varied at times from very strict to very lenient -- it's now in a pretty lenient phase. But whatever the moderating policy, commenters' opinions are their own, and not even an opinion expressed by one of the contributors is necessarily the position of Rorate Caeli (which is determined by the blog owner "New Catholic"). Sometimes moderators do make interventions in the comment box, but within certain boundaries (no anti-Semitism, for example, no direct sedevacantist or Eastern Orthodox polemics or propaganda, etc.) we generally try to keep a low profile and let the commenters have their say.
In case you're curious, I found the original homily in Spanish from whence came the 2005 quote on abortion. Unfortunately, he didn't actually use those words. He would probably agree with the quote as stated, but it's not a direct quote.
My rough translation:
(First paragraph of the homily) "Jesus words are difficult, they tell us that if we carry his message forward, others will persecute us, speak falsely against us, set traps for us to take us to court, and kill us. But go forward, and be astute, to distinguish the serpents from the doves."
(Then, in the second to last paragraph, after expounding on the culture of life/culture of death in Argentina, and its relationship to the anti-abortion/pro-life cause) "These words remind me that I have to fight for life, to care for life. There should not be a single child that doesn't have a right to be born, or fed, or go to school."
http://www.aica.org/aica/documentos_files/Obispos_Argentinos/Bergoglio/2005/2005_08_31_SanRamonNonato.htm"
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