Remember that answer to a rhetorical question? I think many of the "old school" members would answer no right now. He's shakin' things up. He's wonderful! If I were to consider being religious, Catholicism would be right at the top with this Pope.....if it weren't for those pesky abortion and ordination of women things.. lol All emphasis mine.

Pope Francis issues mission statement for papacy, urges reform

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis issued the mission statement for his papacy Tuesday, outlining how the Catholic Church and the papacy itself must be reformed to create a more missionary and merciful church that gets its hands dirty as it seeks out the poor and oppressed.

In the document, Francis pulled together the priorities he has laid out in eight months of homilies, speeches and interviews and put them in the broader context of how to reinvigorate the church's evangelical zeal in a world marked by indifference, secularization and vast income inequalities.

He explained his most controversial remarks criticizing the church's "obsession" with transmitting a disjointed set of moral doctrines, saying that in the church's "hierarchy of truths," mercy is paramount, proportion is necessary, and that what counts is inviting the faithful in.

He went even further in the new document, saying some of the church's historical customs can even be cast aside if they no longer serve to communicate the faith. Citing St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, Francis stressed the need for moderation in norms "so as to not burden the lives of the faithful."

At the same time, Francis restated the church's opposition to abortion, making clear that this doctrine is non-negotiable and is at the core of the church's insistence on the dignity of every human being.

The document, Evangelii Gaudium, (The Joy of the Gospel), is the second major teaching document issued by Francis but is the first actually written by him since the encyclical "The Light of Faith," issued in July, was penned almost entirely by Pope Benedict XVI before he resigned.

Francis' concerns are laced throughout, and the theological and historical citations leave no doubt about his own points of reference and priorities: Popes John XXIII and Paul VI, who presided over the Second Vatican Council, which brought the church into the modern world, are cited repeatedly.

"I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security," he wrote. "I do not want a church concerned with being at the centre and then ends up by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures."

"More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us, 'Give them something to eat."'

In the frank and often funny style that has come to define Francis' preaching, the Argentine Jesuit chastised priests for their complacency, giving them a lesson on preparing homilies that don't put the faithful to sleep. He reminded them that confession shouldn't be "torture," and told them to get out of their sacristies, get their shoes muddy, and get involved in the lives of their faithful and not be defeatist "sourpusses."

He said their greatest concern must be the poor and marginalized, since they are victims of an unjust, global economic system that prizes profit over people. He said the poor need the tender, merciful love that the church can provide.

While again ruling out women's ordination, Francis called for greater role for women in making decisions in the church and said the faithful ought not to think that just because priests preside over Mass that they are more important than the people who make up the church itself.

"The church, as the agent of evangelization, is more than an organic hierarchical institution; she is first and foremost a people advancing on its pilgrim way towards God," he wrote.

Francis cited Vatican II documents calling for a more decentralized church authority and said he too must rethink the papacy and Vatican bureaucracy to achieve the goals of spreading the faith. Francis is currently overseeing a major overhaul of the Vatican's dysfunctional administration.

"Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the church's life and her missionary outreach," he said.


Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/pope-franci ... z2ll0Peaa3

The next KABOOM we hear will be "conservative" heads exploding en masse ~ Pope Francis seems clear-thinking, plain-talking, and intent on changing the trajectory of "conservative thinking" ~ ~ Sooz

Pope Francis rips capitalism and trickle-down economics to shreds in new policy statement
By Travis Gettys
Tuesday, November 26, 2013 11:48 EST

In case there was any doubt left, Pope Francis made it clear that he shares little in common with U.S. conservatives.

The pontiff released his Evangelii Gadium, or Joy of the Gospel, attacking capitalism as a form of tyranny and calling on church and political leaders to address the needs of the poor.

“As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems,” the pope said in the 224-page document that essentially serves as his official platform.

Pope Francis said that inequality was the root of social ills, and prayed for world leaders with more empathy and sense of social justice.

“I beg the Lord to grant us more politicians who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society, the people, the lives of the poor!” Pope Francis wrote. “It is vital that government leaders and financial leaders take heed and broaden their horizons, working to ensure that all citizens have dignified work, education and healthcare.”

The pope has already drawn the ire of some conservative Catholics, particularly in the U.S., for his open-minded comments on social issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception, and he’s also previously criticized capitalism for promoting greed.

But his latest statements put those concerns into sharper focus – and puts him in sharp contrast to American conservative leaders who prize the unfettered free market and promote the Randian theory of objectivism, or rational self-interest.

“I am interested only in helping those who are in thrall to an individualistic, indifferent and self-centered mentality to be freed from those unworthy chains and to attain a way of living and thinking which is more humane, noble and fruitful, and which will bring dignity to their presence on this earth,” the pope wrote.

He also launched a broadside against former President Ronald Reagan’s signature economic theory, which continues to serve as conservative Republican dogma.

“Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories which assume that economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world,” Pope Francis wrote. “This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts, expresses a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic power and in the sacralized workings of the prevailing economic system.”

The pope lamented that people had “calmly accepted (the) dominion” of money over themselves and society, which he said was expressed in the recent financial crisis and the continuing promotion of consumer-based economies.

“We have created new idols,” the pope wrote. “The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption.”

The pope decried the growing gap between rich and poor as a social and political problem.

“This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,” Pope Francis wrote. “Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for the common good, to exercise any form of control. A new tyranny is thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly imposes its own laws and rules.”

The pope noted that corporations and individuals were failing to pay taxes in nations around the world, depriving governments of funding needed to serve all their citizens, and banks and loan organizations had crippled emerging economies with staggering interest obligations.

“The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits,” Pope Francis wrote. “In this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule.”

Pope Francis said this political and economic system was inherently sinful because it violated the biblical prohibition against killing.

“Such an economy kills,” he wrote. “How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape.”

The pope said that human beings themselves are used and discarded as mere consumer goods in this “disposable culture.”

“It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new,” Pope Francis wrote. “Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of the society in which we live; those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised – they are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the ‘exploited’ but the outcast, the ‘leftovers.’”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/26/pope-francis-rips-capitalism-and-trickle-down-economics-to-shreds-in-new-policy-statement/

The Catholic Church soon will be on Bachmann's commie list.

Sorry, roseanne ~ in my sleep-deprived state earlier, I didn't notice you had already posted on this ~ I'm going to roll this later thread into yours ~

Sooz

This is how religion can modernize, and have something to offer today's people. It's the idea of community and social responsibility--the fellowship of human kind. It's what our society lacks, and it is a part of every positive religious experience I've ever heard of.

I hope the churches follow this guy. Stop arguing about how many angels fit on a pin and who should sleep with who or having stupid conversations about how dinosaurs and humans lived together in the garden of eden because a book written thousands of years ago based on the oral traditions of Assyria and Babylon sort of said so.

Form a spirituality based on the emotional needs and desire for connection, and based on fulfilling the needs of our fellow humans and religion may have something valuable to offer today's people.

hope the churches follow this guy. Stop arguing about how many angels fit on a pin and who should sleep with who or having stupid conversations about how dinosaurs and humans lived together in the garden of eden because a book written thousands of years ago based on the oral traditions of Assyria and Babylon sort of said so.

Form a spirituality based on the emotional needs and desire for connection, and based on fulfilling the needs of our fellow humans and religion may have something valuable to offer today's people.

A nice idea but utopian in the extreme. Even a cursory glance at religions shows almost all of them have a book of 'Shalt nots' and punishments for transgressions. All clubs have rules and penalties for backsliding but these rules are also the social glue welding together the faithful. A tolerant religion (or club) is an oxymoron

joe, apparently the new "rage" in parts of Europe and North America is something ridiculously called "atheist churches" ~ my understanding is that they are promoting something very close to what greeny identifies ~ but I'm thinking that would make atheism itself a "religion" of sorts ~

Sooz

but i think that's true of any group of people. we have rules, laws, etc. it's just whether or not those rules are based on anything that means anything, or if they're based on a bunch of crap that's hundreds of years old and was probably put into place to increase the population after the plague anyway (like the ban on abortion or homosexuality)

I'd have to say as a dyed in the wool atheist sooz that anyone building anything even remotely resembling a church in its name should be ashamed, if not shot!

I don't get it either, CM ~ it must be the odd combination that makes me remember the words "atheist church" ~ but I've seen several articles on it within the past week to 10 days ~ I'll see if I can find a couple again ~

Sooz

Is the Pope Catholic?

He's Argentinian.

A nice idea but utopian in the extreme. Even a cursory glance at religions shows almost all of them have a book of 'Shalt nots' and punishments for transgressions. All clubs have rules and penalties for backsliding but these rules are also the social glue welding together the faithful. A tolerant religion (or club) is an oxymoron

Right you are. However, the Christian fundamentalists in the US (and other places) have taken it to the extreme. They are more set on denying social services to the poor than they are concerned about feeding the hungry. They are more involved with trying to make abortions illegal than they are concerned with providing health care for the children already born. They are tilting at windmills where gay marriage is concerned, yet they have a very high rate of divorce compared to the general population. Religious leaders have placed themselves on a pedestal and daren't get their hands dirty actually doing good works.

While the above observances are certainly true and warranted, they wring their hands and cry "persecution" instead of trying to foment change.

They have, in the last decade or so, strayed away from the "Faith, hope and charity.....the greatest of these being charity" that is suppose to be the very foundation of a religion. While all religions have the "shalt nots", those should never supercede the "thou shalts", imo. I admire that this Pope is struggling to bring about a 180 degree change for the better in those areas.

I didn't realize that Catholic is a nationality.

Didn't say it was.

Ok then. I don't get it. I'm tired, cranky and stressed. Sorry.