.-
In
an interview granted with Spanish-language magazine "La Vanguardia" on
Monday, Pope Francis lauded Pius XII for his efforts in saving Jews,
discussed Orthodox-Catholic relations, as well as the motivations behind
his prayer meeting at the Vatican last Sunday.
Below, please find the full text of his interview in English:
Interview with Pope Francis: “One has to take the secession of a nation with grain of salt.”
“Our world economic system can’t take it anymore,” says the Bishop of
Rome in an interview with La Vanguardia. “I’m no illumined one. I didn’t
bring any personal projects under my arm.” “We are throwing away an
entire generation to maintain a system that isn’t good,” he opines with
respect to unemployed youth.
“The persecuted Christians are a concern that touches me very deeply as a
pastor. I know a lot about persecutions but it doesn’t seem prudent to
talk about them here so I don’t offend anyone. But in some places it is
prohibited to have a Bible or teach the catechism or wear a cross… What I
would like to be clear on is one thing, I am convinced that the
persecution against Christians today is stronger than in the first
centuries of the Church. Today there are more Christian martyrs than in
that period. And, it's not because of fantasy, it’s because of the
numbers."
Pope Francis received us last Monday in the Vatican - a day after the
prayer for peace with the presidents of Israel and Palestine - for this
exclusive interview with “La Vanguardia.” The Pope was happy to have
done everything possible for understanding between Israelis and
Palestinians.
Violence in the name of God dominates the Middle East.
It's a contradiction. Violence in the name of God does not correspond
with our time. It's something ancient. With historical perspective, one
has to say that Christians, at times, have practiced it. When I think of
the Thirty Years War, there was violence in the name of God. Today it
is unimaginable, right? We arrive, sometimes, by way of religion to very
serious, very grave contradictions. Fundamentalism, for example. The
three religions, we have our fundamentalist groups, small in relation to
all the rest.
And, what do you think about fundamentalism?
A fundamentalist group, although it may not kill anyone, although it may
not strike anyone, is violent. The mental structure of fundamentalists
is violence in the name of God.
Some say that you are a revolutionary.
We should call the great Mina Mazzini, the Italian singer, and tell her
“take this hand, gypsy” and have her read into my past, to see what [she
finds]. (He laughs) For me, the great revolution is going to the roots,
recognizing them and seeing what those roots have to say to us today.
There is no contradiction between [being a] revolutionary and going to
the roots. Moreso even, I think that the way to make true changes is
identity. You can never take a step in life if it’s not from behind,
without knowing where I come from, what last name I have, what cultural
or religious last name I have.
You have broken many security protocols to bring yourself closer to the people.
I know that something could happen to me, but it’s in the hands of God. I
remember that in Brazil they had prepared a closed Popemobile for me,
with glass, but I couldn’t greet the people and tell them that I love
them from within a sardine tin. Even if it’s made of glass, for me that
is a wall. It’s true that something could happen to me, but let’s be
realistic, at my age I don’t have much to lose.
Why is it important that the Church be poor and humble?
Poverty and humility are at the center of the Gospel and I say it in a
theological sense, not in a sociological one. You can't understand the
Gospel without poverty, but we have to distinguish it from pauperism. I
think that Jesus wants us bishops not to be princes but servants.
What can the Church do to reduce the growing inequality between the rich and the poor?
It’s proven that with the food that is left over we could feed the
people who are hungry. When you see photographs of undernourished kids
in different parts of the world, you take your head in your hand, it
incomprehensible. I believe that we are in a world economic system that
isn’t good. At the center of all economic systems must be man, man and
woman, and everything else must be in service of this man. But we have
put money at the center, the god of money. We have fallen into a sin of
idolatry, the idolatry of money.
The economy is moved by the ambition of having more and, paradoxically,
it feeds a throwaway culture. Young people are thrown away when their
natality is limited. The elderly are also discarded because they don’t
serve any use anymore, they don’t produce, this passive class… In
throwing away the kids and elderly, the future of a people is thrown
away because the young people are going to push forcefully forward and
because the elderly give us wisdom. They have the memory of that people
and they have to pass it on to the young people. And now also it is in
style to throw the young people away with unemployment. The rate of
unemployment is very worrisome to me, which in some countries is over
50%. Someone told me that 75 million young Europeans under 25 years of
age are unemployed. That is an atrocity. But we are discarding an entire
generation to maintain an economic system that can’t hold up anymore, a
system that to survive must make war, as the great empires have always
done. But as a Third World War can’t be done, they make zonal wars. What
does this mean? That they produce and sell weapons, and with this the
balance sheets of the idolatrous economies, the great world economies
that sacrifice man at the feet of the idol of money, obviously they are
sorted. This unique thought takes away the wealth of diversity of
thought and therefore the wealth of a dialogue between peoples. Well
understood globalization is a wealth. Poorly understood globalization is
that which nullifies differences. It is like a sphere in which all
points are equidistant from the center. A globalization that enriches is
like a polyhedron, all united but each preserving its particularity,
its wealth, its identity, and this isn’t given. And this does not
happen.
Does the conflict between Catalunya and Spain worry you?
All division worries me. There is independence by emancipation and
independence by secession. The independences by emancipation, for
example, are American, that they were emancipated from the European
States. The independences of nations by secession is a dismemberment,
sometimes it’s very obvious. Let’s think of the former Yugoslavia.
Obviously, there are nations with cultures so different that couldn’t
even be stuck together with glue. The Yugoslavian case is very clear,
but I ask myself if it is so clear in other cases. Scotland, Padania,
Catalunya. There will be cases that will be just and cases that will not
be just, but the secession of a nation without an antecedent of
mandatory unity, one has to take it with a lot of grains of salt and
analyze it case by case.
The prayer for peace from Sunday wasn’t easy to organize nor did
it have precedents in the Middle East nor in the world. How did you
feel?
You know that it wasn’t easy because you were there, and much of that
achievement is due to you. I felt that it was something that can
accidentally happen to all of us. Here, in the Vatican,99% said it would
not happen and then the 1% started to grow. I felt that we were feeling
pushed towards something that had not occurred to us and that, little
by little, started to take shape. It was not at all a political act - I
felt that from the beginning - but it was rather a religious act:
opening a window to the world.
Why did you choose to place yourself in the eye of the hurricane, the Middle East?
The true eye of the hurricane, due to the enthusiasm that there was, was
the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro last year. I decided to go to the
Holy Land because President Peres invited me. I knew that his mandate
would finish this Spring, so I felt obliged, in some way, to go
beforehand. His invitation accelerated the trip. I did not think of
doing it.
Why is it important for every Christian to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Land?
Because of revelation. For us, it all started there. It is like “heaven
on earth.” A foretaste of what awaits us hereafter, in the heavenly
Jerusalem.
You and your friend, the Rabbi Skorka, hugged each other in
front of the Western Wall. What importance has that gesture had for the
reconciliation between Christians and Jews?
Well, my good friend professor Omar Abu, president of the Institute for
Inter-religious Dialogue of Buenos Aires, was also at the Wall. I wanted
to invite him. He is a very religious man and a father-of-two. He is
also friends with Rabbi Skorka and I love them both a lot, and I wanted
that that friendship between the three be seen as a witness.
You told me a year ago that “within every Christian there is a Jew.”
Perhaps it would be more correct to say “you cannot live your
Christianity, you cannot be a real Christian, if you do not recognize
your Jewish roots.” I don’t speak of Jewish in the sense of the Semitic
race but rather in the religious sense. I think that inter-religious
dialogue needs to deepen in this, in Christianity’s Jewish root and in
the Christian flowering of Judaism. I understand it is a challenge, a
hot potato, but it can be done as brothers. I pray every day the divine
office every day with the Psalms of David. We do the 150 psalms in one
week. My prayer is Jewish and I have the Eucharist, which is Christian.
How do you see anti-Semitism?
I cannot explain why it happens, but I think it is very linked, in
general, and without it being a fixed rule, to the right wing.
Antisemitism usually nests better in right-wing political tendencies
that in the left, right? And it still continues (like this). We even
have those who deny the holocaust, which is crazy.
One of your projects is to open the Vatican archives on the Holocaust.
They will bring a lot of light.
Does it worry you something could be discovered?
What worries me regarding this subject is the figure of Pius XII, the
Pope that led the Church during World War II. They have said all sorts
of things about poor Pius XII. But we need to remember that before he
was seen as the great defender of the Jews. He hid many in convents in
Rome and in other Italian cities, and also in the residence of Castel
Gandolfo. Forty-two babies, children of Jews and other persecuted who
sought refuge there were born there, in the Pope’s room, in his own bed.
I don’t want to say that Pius XII did not make any mistakes - I myself
make many - but one needs to see his role in the context of the time.
For example, was it better for him not to speak so that more Jews would
not be killed or for him to speak? I also want to say that sometimes I
get “existential hives” when I see that everyone takes it out against
the Church and Pius XII, and they forget the great powers. Did you know
that they knew the rail network of the Nazis perfectly well to take the
Jews to concentration camps? They had the pictures. But they did not
bomb those railroad tracks. Why? It would be best if we spoke a bit
about everything.
Do you still feel like a parish priest or do you assume your role as head of the Church?
The dimension of parish priest is that which most shows my vocation.
Serving the people comes from within me. Turn off the lights to not
spend a lot of money, for example. They are things that a parish priest
does. But I also feel like the Pope. It helps me to do things seriously.
My collaborators are very serious and professional. I have help to
carry out my duty. One doesn’t need to play the parish priest Pope. It
would be immature. When a head of state comes, I have to receive him
with the dignity and the protocol that are deserved. It is true that
with the protocol I have my problems, but one has to respect it.
You are changing a lot of things. Towards what future are these changes going?
I am no illumined one. I don’t have any personal project that I’ve
brought with me under an arm, simply because I never thought that they
were going to leave me here, in the Vatican. Everyone knows this. I came
with a little piece of luggage to go straight back to Buenos Aires.
What I am doing is carrying out what we cardinals reflected upon during
the General Congregations, that is to say, in the meetings that, during
the conclave, we all maintained every day to discuss the problems of the
Church. From there come reflections and recommendations. One very
concrete one was that the next Pope had to count on an external council,
that is, a team of assessors that didn’t live in the Vatican.
And you created the so-called Council of Eight.
They are eight cardinals from all the continents and a coordinator. They
gather every two or three months here. Now, the first of July we have
four days of meetings, and we are going to be making the changes that
the very cardinals ask of us. It is not obligatory that we do it but it
would be imprudent not to listen to those who know.
You have also made a great effort to become closer to the Orthodox Church.
The invitation to Jerusalem from my brother Bartholomew was to
commemorate the encounter between Paul VI and Athenagoras I 50 years
ago. It was an encounter after more than a thousand years of separation.
Since the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has made efforts
to become closer and the Orthodox Church has done the same. some
orthodox churches are closer than others. I wanted Bartholomew to be
with me in Jerusalem and there emerged the plan to also come to the
Vatican to pray. For him it was a risky step because they can throw it
in his face, but this gesture of humility needed to be extended, and for
us it's necessary because it's not conceivable that we Christians are
divided, it's a historical sin that we have to repair.
In the face of the advance of atheism, what is your opinion of
people who believe that science and religion are mutually exclusive?
There was a rise in atheism in the most existential age, perhaps
Sartrian. But after came a step toward spiritual pursuits, of encounter
with God, in a thousand ways, not necessarily the traditional religions.
The clash between science and faith peaked in the Enlightenment, but
that is not so fashionable today, thank God, because we have all
realized the closeness between one thing and the other. Pope Benedict
XVI has a good teaching about the relation between science and faith. In
general lines, the most recent is that the scientists are very
respectful with the faith and the agnostic or atheist scientist says, “I
don’t dare to enter that field.”
You have met many Heads of State.
Many have come and it’s an interesting variety. Each one has their
personality. What has called my attention is the cross made between
young politicians, whether they are from the center, the left or the
right. Maybe they talk about the same problems but with a new music, and
this I like, this gives me hope because politics is one of the more
elevated forms of love, of charity. Why? Because it leads to the common
good, and a person who, [despite] being able to do it, does not get
involved in politics for the common good, is selfish; or that uses
politics for their own good, is corrupt. Some fifteen years ago the
French bishops wrote a pastoral letter reflecting on the theme
“Restoring Politics.” This is a precious text that makes you realize all
of these things.
What do you think of the renunciation of Benedict XVI?
Pope Benedict has made a very significant act. He has opened the door,
has created an institution, that of the of the eventual popes emeritus.
70 years ago, there were no emeritus bishops. Today how many are there?
Well, as we live longer, we arrive to an age where we cannot go on with
things. I will do the same as him, asking the Lord to enlighten me when
the time comes and that he tell me what I have to do, and and he will
tell me for sure.
You have a room reserved in a retirement home in Buenos Aires.
Yes, its a retirement house for elderly priests. I was leaving the
archdiocese at the end of last year and and had already submitted my
resignation to Benedict XVI when I turned 75. I chose a room and said “I
want to come to live here.” I will work as a priest, helping the
parishes. This is what was going to be my future before being Pope.
I am not going to ask you whom you support in the World Cup….
Brazilians asked me to remain neutral (he laughs) and I keep my word because Brazil and Argentina are always antagonistic.
How would you like to be remembered in history?
I have not thought about it, but I like it when someone remembers
someone and says: “He was a good guy, he did what he could. He wasn’t so
bad.” I’m OK with that.
Read more:
http://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20140612/54408951579/entrevista-papa-francisco.html#ixzz34VC9wXkh
This text was translated from the original Spanish by CNA's Alan Holdren, Estefania Augirre and Elise Harris.
Wednesday 18 June 2014
Some christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews
Mainly American Christians do show their disgust with Judaism. Doing so they forget that Jeshua, Jesus Christ, the man who they are supposed to follow was a very devout Jew, belonging to the Jewish sect of the Essenes.
Many Americans say the Jews killed Jesus, but it would be the same as Europeans saying the Americans killed our compatriots in World War II or they killed the Afghanistan and the Iraqis and the Iranians and the Vietnamese and the Koreans and so on. It were some Jews and other people present in Jerusalem at that time who were agitated by the Pharisees and certain Jewish leaders, but not by all the Jews, who also saw in Jesus one of their own.
Also the new Pope is aware it would be better if more Christians started to investigate the Jewish roots of Christianity and the Christian flowering of Judaism.
Francis said.
Too many Christians do not use the Old Testament, but it was the main part of Jesus his teaching. At that time there was only the Old Testament which was brought to the beleivers in the One God, which was the Divine Creator, God of Adam, God of Abraham and the God of Israel, God His people.
Those Jews are still God His people, we may never forget that.
Certain right-wing Christians in their denial of the Jewish connection even go so far to deny the Christians would not have killed many of those people of God. A denial of the Holocaust the pope criticizes as “madness.”
Francis I also defended the record of Pope Pius XII, who led the Roman
Catholic Church during World War II. Francis will soon have to
decide whether to advance the sainthood cause for the controversial
wartime pope, who is accused of failing to speak out publicly against
the mass murder of Jews. For years, Jewish leaders and Nazi hunters have
demanded the Vatican open up its secret wartime files.
Some Jews have accused Pius, who ruled from 1939 to 1958, of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The controversy has put a strain on Catholic-Jewish relations for decades.
Francis said he was concerned about
The Vatican says Pius worked behind the scenes to save thousands of Jews and did not speak out more forcefully for fear that his words could have led to more deaths of both Jews and Christians at the hands of the Nazis
Pope Francis warns us to be careful, all being able to make mistakes.
Francis added that he breaks out in an “existential rash” when he hears people speak against Pius and the church’s wartime record while ignoring inaction by the Allies fighting against Nazi Germany or forgetting the responsibility of the great wartime powers.
Last month, Francis visited the Yad Vashem memorial to Holocaust victims in Jerusalem. The Yad Vashem's website, addressing the issue of the allies' activity during the war, says:
Jewish groups have asked Francis and his predecessors to freeze the process that could lead to sainthood for Pius until the all the World War Two era archives are opened to historians, saying Catholic-Jewish relations could be harmed if the process moved ahead.
Speaking to reporters on the plane returning from Jerusalem last month, Francis said the sainthood cause for Pius was stalled because he had not been credited with performing a miracle, which Church rules require, suggesting it was not stalled because of any outside pressure.
Francis also used that interview to condemn anti-Semitism. He reportedly said it is a continuing problem that was primarily seen in right-wing European political parties which still continue to try to bring a screen in front of the people by ignoring the facts of history like the holocaust.
Francis confirmed that he intends to open the Vatican archives wartime collection.
the Pope said.
During Friday’s interview with the Barcelona daily, Francis was also asked about his own security, saying he refused to travel in a bulletproof “sardine can” vehicle because he wants to mingle with ordinary people.
Many Americans say the Jews killed Jesus, but it would be the same as Europeans saying the Americans killed our compatriots in World War II or they killed the Afghanistan and the Iraqis and the Iranians and the Vietnamese and the Koreans and so on. It were some Jews and other people present in Jerusalem at that time who were agitated by the Pharisees and certain Jewish leaders, but not by all the Jews, who also saw in Jesus one of their own.
Also the new Pope is aware it would be better if more Christians started to investigate the Jewish roots of Christianity and the Christian flowering of Judaism.
Francis said.
“I understand it is a challenge, a hot potato, but it is possible to live as brothers.”Francis’ statement seems to go further than his predecessor, St. John Paul II, who made headlines in 1986 as the first pope to visit Rome’s main synagogue and declared Jews to be the “elder brothers” of the Christian faith.
“Every day, I pray with the Psalms of David. My prayer is Jewish, then I have the Eucharist, which is Christian,”the Argentine pontiff added.
Too many Christians do not use the Old Testament, but it was the main part of Jesus his teaching. At that time there was only the Old Testament which was brought to the beleivers in the One God, which was the Divine Creator, God of Adam, God of Abraham and the God of Israel, God His people.
Those Jews are still God His people, we may never forget that.
Certain right-wing Christians in their denial of the Jewish connection even go so far to deny the Christians would not have killed many of those people of God. A denial of the Holocaust the pope criticizes as “madness.”
 |
| Deutsch: Pius XII., Glückwunschschreiben zum 100. Jubiläum des Pilger in Speyer (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Some Jews have accused Pius, who ruled from 1939 to 1958, of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust. The controversy has put a strain on Catholic-Jewish relations for decades.
Francis said he was concerned about
“everything which has been thrown at poor Pius XII,”while stressing that he sheltered Jews in the convents of Rome and other Italian cities, as well as the popes’ summer residence in Castel Gadolfo. Strange though that the Catholic Church did not come sooner with proof of such actions. We do know about nuns and priests who took all possibilities to bring Jews in safety. Many also told lies to the German soldiers to protect others. Their concious may have got very harsh times. but how was the concious of pope Pius XII?
The Vatican says Pius worked behind the scenes to save thousands of Jews and did not speak out more forcefully for fear that his words could have led to more deaths of both Jews and Christians at the hands of the Nazis
Pope Francis warns us to be careful, all being able to make mistakes.
"I don't want to say that Pius XII did not make any mistakes - I myself make many - but he has to be seen in the context of that era. For example, was it better for him not to speak out so that more Jews were not killed, or that he speak out?"he said and added that Pius XII ordered the Church to hide many Jews in the convents of Rome and other Italian cities, that he sheltered Jews in the papal summer residence south of Rome and that 42 children of Jews and other refugees were born in his apartments there.
Francis added that he breaks out in an “existential rash” when he hears people speak against Pius and the church’s wartime record while ignoring inaction by the Allies fighting against Nazi Germany or forgetting the responsibility of the great wartime powers.
“Did you know that they knew perfectly well the rail network used by the Nazis to take the Jews to the concentration camps? They had photographs,”
“But they did not bomb these rail lines. Why? It would be nice if we spoke a little bit about everything.”Already in the 1930ies English and Americans did know about certain plans of the Germans, but they did not find it appropriate to react then, when there was still time to prtect further escalation.
Last month, Francis visited the Yad Vashem memorial to Holocaust victims in Jerusalem. The Yad Vashem's website, addressing the issue of the allies' activity during the war, says:
"In practice, no military initiatives were taken to prevent or delay the extermination."While some historians have argued those train lines should have been bombed, other historians note the allies were losing planes and airmen at such a high rate, and the lasting effects of the bombing of those train lines would have been so slight, that bombing them made no military or humanitarian sense.
Jewish groups have asked Francis and his predecessors to freeze the process that could lead to sainthood for Pius until the all the World War Two era archives are opened to historians, saying Catholic-Jewish relations could be harmed if the process moved ahead.
Speaking to reporters on the plane returning from Jerusalem last month, Francis said the sainthood cause for Pius was stalled because he had not been credited with performing a miracle, which Church rules require, suggesting it was not stalled because of any outside pressure.
Francis also used that interview to condemn anti-Semitism. He reportedly said it is a continuing problem that was primarily seen in right-wing European political parties which still continue to try to bring a screen in front of the people by ignoring the facts of history like the holocaust.
Francis confirmed that he intends to open the Vatican archives wartime collection.
"They will shed a lot of light,"
the Pope said.
During Friday’s interview with the Barcelona daily, Francis was also asked about his own security, saying he refused to travel in a bulletproof “sardine can” vehicle because he wants to mingle with ordinary people.
“It is true that anything can happen, but let’s face it, at my age I have nothing to lose,”the 77-year-old pontiff said. The way he can now be in contact with young and old is much more important. Such a personal contact can do the Catholic Church some good to reboost it again.
Thursday 12 June 2014
Zionism occupier
Simin Rafati writes:
Iran's Armenians, Assyrians, Jews and Zoroastrians have members in the parliament which is rarely, if any, seen in countries with Christian majority (needless to say I mean representing Islam and not being Muslim but standing for other political parties).
Judaism Rejects Zionism (Photo credit: danny.hammontree)
Judaism has always been separated from Zionism at least since the 1979 revolution and it is Zionism which is considered as occupier, militarist, and a defamation to even Judaism, which is hardly a position for Iran only. Even archbishop Desmond Tutu who experienced apartheid himself was surprised by the Israeli apartheid. Judism is respected as other true religions.
Last but not least, Iran's religion was Shi'ism in the time of the Shah too while with the 1979 revolution people chose for a religious regime. I hope that other countries and those carrying out pew researches can recognize the democratic right of the Iranian people for their choice.
Meet the atheist … who believes in God
By The CNN Editors Opinion by Frank Schaeffer, special to CNN (CNN)
-- All the public debates between celebrity atheists and evangelical pastors are as meaningless as literary awards and Oscar night. They are meaningless because participants lack the objectivity to admit that our beliefs have less to do with facts than with our personal needs and cultural backgrounds. The words we use to label ourselves are just as empty. What exactly is a “believer?” And for that matter what is an “atheist?” Who is the objective observer to define these terms? Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account. Take me, I am an atheist who believes in God. Let me explain.
Read more of this post: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/10/meet-an-atheist-who-believes-in-god/#more-46455
-- All the public debates between celebrity atheists and evangelical pastors are as meaningless as literary awards and Oscar night. They are meaningless because participants lack the objectivity to admit that our beliefs have less to do with facts than with our personal needs and cultural backgrounds. The words we use to label ourselves are just as empty. What exactly is a “believer?” And for that matter what is an “atheist?” Who is the objective observer to define these terms? Maybe we need a new category other than theism, atheism or agnosticism that takes paradox and unknowing into account. Take me, I am an atheist who believes in God. Let me explain.
Read more of this post: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2014/06/10/meet-an-atheist-who-believes-in-god/#more-46455
Our brains are not highly evolved enough to reconcile our hunger for both absolute certainty and transcendent, inexplicable experiences.
If Shroud of Turin was fake, how come no man on earth able to replicate it
In 1988 it was considered that the Shroud of Turin was a fake. For some the Shroud, in a way is like the Staff of Moses, turned into a serpent
since the story of that relic gobbled up whatever fake imitations and
challenges all the naysayers, magicians, scientists and lawyers
concocted.
Jesus himself is already called a figure of imagination, though historically there is more evidence about him than of many other figures of history .
Because the Shroud tells of a story of his crucifixion and resurrection, some people take every effort to get others to believe it is a real tissue with a print of that divine figure.
After doing carbon-14 dating of scraps of the cloth carried out by labs in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona declaring it to be from 1260 to 1390, it seemed a fraud. Later it was find out there was cotton in only the sample taken to be carbon tested and that there was no cotton in the rest of the shroud! As it appeared, the location on the shroud where the sample was taken are later repaired spots, the worst possible place they could have gotten the sample.
Read more about it: >
Jesus himself is already called a figure of imagination, though historically there is more evidence about him than of many other figures of history .
 |
| English: Full_length_negatives_of_the_shroud of Turin (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Because the Shroud tells of a story of his crucifixion and resurrection, some people take every effort to get others to believe it is a real tissue with a print of that divine figure.
After doing carbon-14 dating of scraps of the cloth carried out by labs in Oxford, Zurich and Arizona declaring it to be from 1260 to 1390, it seemed a fraud. Later it was find out there was cotton in only the sample taken to be carbon tested and that there was no cotton in the rest of the shroud! As it appeared, the location on the shroud where the sample was taken are later repaired spots, the worst possible place they could have gotten the sample.
Read more about it: >
The Shroud of Turin Really Is The Face of Jesus, The Staff Of Moses Is Real, And Christ is Alive
Tuesday 3 June 2014
Message of Pope Francis I for the 48th World Communications Day
Communication at the Service of an Authentic Culture of Encounter
[Sunday, 1 June 2014]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today we are living in a world which is growing ever “smaller” and where, as a result, it would seem to be easier for all of us to be neighbours. Developments in travel and communications technology are bringing us closer together and making us more connected, even as globalization makes us increasingly interdependent. Nonetheless, divisions, which are sometimes quite deep, continue to exist within our human family. On the global level we see a scandalous gap between the opulence of the wealthy and the utter destitution of the poor. Often we need only walk the streets of a city to see the contrast between people living on the street and the brilliant lights of the store windows. We have become so accustomed to these things that they no longer unsettle us. Our world suffers from many forms of exclusion, marginalization and poverty, to say nothing of conflicts born of a combination of economic, political, ideological, and, sadly, even religious motives.
In a world like this, media can help us to feel closer to one another, creating a sense of the unity of the human family which can in turn inspire solidarity and serious efforts to ensure a more dignified life for all. Good communication helps us to grow closer, to know one another better, and ultimately, to grow in unity. The walls which divide us can be broken down only if we are prepared to listen and learn from one another. We need to resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow in understanding and mutual respect. A culture of encounter demands that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive. Media can help us greatly in this, especially nowadays, when the networks of human communication have made unprecedented advances. The internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.
This is not to say that certain problems do not exist. The speed with which information is communicated exceeds our capacity for reflection and judgement, and this does not make for more balanced and proper forms of self-expression. The variety of opinions being aired can be seen as helpful, but it also enables people to barricade themselves behind sources of information which only confirm their own wishes and ideas, or political and economic interests. The world of communications can help us either to expand our knowledge or to lose our bearings. The desire for digital connectivity can have the effect of isolating us from our neighbours, from those closest to us. We should not overlook the fact that those who for whatever reason lack access to social media run the risk of being left behind.
While these drawbacks are real, they do not justify rejecting social media; rather, they remind us that communication is ultimately a human rather than technological achievement. What is it, then, that helps us, in the digital environment, to grow in humanity and mutual understanding? We need, for example, to recover a certain sense of deliberateness and calm. This calls for time and the ability to be silent and to listen. We need also to be patient if we want to understand those who are different from us. People only express themselves fully when they are not merely tolerated, but know that they are truly accepted. If we are genuinely attentive in listening to others, we will learn to look at the world with different eyes and come to appreciate the richness of human experience as manifested in different cultures and traditions. We will also learn to appreciate more fully the important values inspired by Christianity, such as the vision of the human person, the nature of marriage and the family, the proper distinction between the religious and political spheres, the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, and many others.
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| La parabola del Buon Samaritano Messina Chiesa della Medaglia Miracolosa Casa di Ospitalità Collereale (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Whenever communication is primarily aimed at promoting consumption or manipulating others, we are dealing with a form of violent aggression like that suffered by the man in the parable, who was beaten by robbers and left abandoned on the road. The Levite and the priest do not regard him as a neighbour, but as a stranger to be kept at a distance. In those days, it was rules of ritual purity which conditioned their response. Nowadays there is a danger that certain media so condition our responses that we fail to see our real neighbour.
It is not enough to be passersby on the digital highways, simply “connected”; connections need to grow into true encounters. We cannot live apart, closed in on ourselves. We need to love and to be loved. We need tenderness. Media strategies do not ensure beauty, goodness and truth in communication. The world of media also has to be concerned with humanity, it too is called to show tenderness. The digital world can be an environment rich in humanity; a network not of wires but of people. The impartiality of media is merely an appearance; only those who go out of themselves in their communication can become a true point of reference for others. Personal engagement is the basis of the trustworthiness of a communicator. Christian witness, thanks to the internet, can thereby reach the peripheries of human existence.
As I have frequently observed, if a choice has to be made between a bruised Church which goes out to the streets and a Church suffering from self-absorption, I certainly prefer the first. Those “streets” are the world where people live and where they can be reached, both effectively and affectively. The digital highway is one of them, a street teeming with people who are often hurting, men and women looking for salvation or hope. By means of the internet, the Christian message can reach “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Keeping the doors of our churches open also means keeping them open in the digital environment so that people, whatever their situation in life, can enter, and so that the Gospel can go out to reach everyone. We are called to show that the Church is the home of all. Are we capable of communicating the image of such a Church? Communication is a means of expressing the missionary vocation of the entire Church; today the social networks are one way to experience this call to discover the beauty of faith, the beauty of encountering Christ. In the area of communications too, we need a Church capable of bringing warmth and of stirring hearts.
Effective Christian witness is not about bombarding people with religious messages, but about our willingness to be available to others “by patiently and respectfully engaging their questions and their doubts as they advance in their search for the truth and the meaning of human existence” (BENEDICT XVI, Message for the 47th World Communications Day, 2013). We need but recall the story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus. We have to be able to dialogue with the men and women of today, to understand their expectations, doubts and hopes, and to bring them the Gospel, Jesus Christ himself, God incarnate, who died and rose to free us from sin and death. We are challenged to be people of depth, attentive to what is happening around us and spiritually alert. To dialogue means to believe that the “other” has something worthwhile to say, and to entertain his or her point of view and perspective. Engaging in dialogue does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions, but the claim that they alone are valid or absolute.
May the image of the Good Samaritan who tended to the wounds of the injured man by pouring oil and wine over them be our inspiration. Let our communication be a balm which relieves pain and a fine wine which gladdens hearts. May the light we bring to others not be the result of cosmetics or special effects, but rather of our being loving and merciful “neighbours” to those wounded and left on the side of the road. Let us boldly become citizens of the digital world. The Church needs to be concerned for, and present in, the world of communication, in order to dialogue with people today and to help them encounter Christ. She needs to be a Church at the side of others, capable of accompanying everyone along the way. The revolution taking place in communications media and in information technologies represents a great and thrilling challenge; may we respond to that challenge with fresh energy and imagination as we seek to share with others the beauty of God.
From the Vatican, 24 January 2014, the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales.
FRANCIS
25 years after Tiananmen
Opinion by William McKenzie, Special to CNN
(CNN) -- Early on the morning of November 28, 2007, Jia Weihan was forced to think the unthinkable: Was her father really a bad man?
At
the time, she was an 11-year-old attending a school in Beijing that
taught her to respect the communist authorities. When 30 or so police
officers arrived to arrest her father, she did not know what to think.
As
it turned out, her father, Shi Weihan, the pastor of a house church,
was simply trying to live out his religious beliefs. That should be a
fundamental right, but in China -- even the more economically
liberalized China – it’s not.
Twenty-five years after Tiananmen Square -- where on June 4, 1989, Chinese soldiers turned their guns on protesting students and activists -- freedom remains elusive.
In
China, Tibetan Buddhists and Uyghur Muslims face worse conditions than
at any time over the past decade, according to a report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The
report warns that independent Protestants and Catholics face arrests,
fines and the closing of their churches. The government recently bulldozed one large church in the city of Wenzhou.
The report also highlights other restrictions, including these problems:
"Practitioners of Falun Gong, as well as other Buddhist, folk religionist, and Protestant groups deemed 'superstitious' or 'evil cults' face long jail terms, forced denunciations of faith and torture in detention, and the government has not sufficiently answered accusations of psychiatric experimentation and organ harvesting."
In
Shi's case, he had decided not to tell Jia and her 7-year-old sister,
Enmei, that he was printing Bibles and Christian literature. That was
against Chinese law, so he did not want to put his children in jeopardy
by letting them in on the secret.
Their children soon came to understand the secret, in a life-altering way.
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So Pius XII, by inclination and training, a diplomat, had about four years in office (in a divided and antisemitic Vatican) before the Nazis took over Northern Italy and installed their own racial laws.
The "Hitler's Pope" meme may have originated, and at any rate was spread, as part of a Communist disinformation campaign.