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"Vatican to consider classifying 'spiritual abuse' as a new Catholic crime" was in my Google News feed this morning.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Pope Francis wants folks in the Dicastery for Legislative Texts to review rules dealing with folks who misuse alleged supernatural experiences.)

My interests are eclectic. So is what my Google News feed puts in my "Picks for you" section. This morning (Thursday, October 24, 2024), I noticed an AP headline about Pope Francis denouncing something: "Pope Francis denounces a world 'losing its heart' in 4th encyclical of his papacy". I could have checked out what AP says the pope said, but long experience tells me that I'll learn more about what a pope — or anyone else — said by reading or hearing what they actually said. So I went to the Vatican website, and took a look at this new encyclical: More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A link to Dilexit nos, English translation, with two brief excerpts. My first reaction to what the pope wrote, and what I expect from an in-depth look.)

Another election is looming, so I'm reviewing how being a Catholic affects how I vote. I'll mention what the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) calls the "Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching", share some links, and talk about something Pope Francis said. Along with, as usual, whatever else comes to mind. Citizenship and the Common Good Love and Good Ideas Being a Catholic Citizen Political Venom: It's Not New Malevolent Memes of Yesteryear Principles, Priorities — and Prohibition, a Personal View Remembering Prohibition: High Ideals and Speakeasies Pope Francis and Our Choices Doing His Job — and Doing Mine There ARE Bright Sides The End of Civilization as We Know It — As Usual More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Being Catholic and voting. Catholic social teaching: 7 themes. Love and neighbors. The common good. Political cartoons, Prohibition. What Pope Francis said.)

Pope Francis visited the Vatican's exhibits at an international art show last Sunday. So this week I'll talk about the Venice Biennale, why "With My Eyes" doesn't horrify me, share a couple quotes, and show pictures from "Con i miei occhi". Venice Biennale Arte 2024: Propriety, Changes, and Context Plentiful Protest Possibilities That's Odd: Labels, People, and Art Groucho Marx, Samuel Clemens, and "The Whole Law and the Prophets" "Strangers" and "Foreigners", an Etymological Aside Pop Art, Patriotism, and Perceptions Loving America Anyway Living in Isaiah's World A Glimpse Behind Cattelan's Feet at the Venice Art Biennale "Con i miei occhi" / "With my Eyes" "A City of Refuge", "The World Needs Artists", and Pope Francis Moses, George Washington, and Me Personal Perspective, Catholic Concerns More at A Catholic Citizen in America (Pope Francis...

Whether they're called the Swiss Guard, Papal Swiss Guard, or Pontificia Cohors Helvetica, those 135 men wear what may be today's most colorful full dress uniforms. Although they look like something straight out of the Renaissance, the uniform's not much over a century old. Up until 1914, when Pope St. Pius X died, each pope had tweaked the design a bit. Maybe because our next Pope, Benedict XV, came on duty about the same time that World War I started, the Swiss Guard's then-commander, Jules Repond, did the uniform redesign. Or authorized it, at any rate. I gather that the blue, red, and yellow stripes are Medici family colors. The Basque hat reflects Swiss Guard uniforms painted by Raphael. 1 And none of that's what I was going to be talking about today. Background: Vatican by the Tiber — Popes, 16th Century Politics — And Unpaid Troops May 6, 1527: Death and Honor — Remembering the Rearguard: 147 Against 20,000 — Reputations — And Raphael ...

"Urbi et orbi" is Latin for "to the city and to the world". Or, rather "To the city and to the world" is English for "urbi et orbi". Either way an "urbi et orbi" message is both for folks living in Rome and for everyone else. There's a plenary indulgence involved, too, and that's another topic.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (What Pope Francis said on Christmas Day: embedded video and a link to the text. And, VERY briefly, how I see what he said.)

Headlines are supposed to get attention. That's what these did: "Vatican approves blessings for same-sex couples in landmark ruling" (Reuters) "Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples" (The New York Times) "Vatican Issues Guidelines for Same-Sex Blessings" (The Wall Street Journal) I'm not sure about "The 'spirit' of 'Fiducia supllicans'" in The Pillar. Maybe it's attention-grabbing for the publication's demographic. Anyway, what Pope Francis said — what he actually said, not what editors say he said — is not what I'm going to write about this week.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Monday headlines about same-sex marriages and the pope. Excerpt from Vatican News. A link to Fiducia Supplicans. Why I am not writing about it this week.)

(From CTV, used w/o permission.) (Holy Mass for the Opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. (December 8, 2015)) There are reasons for my writing about science or technology most Fridays, and not declaring that you must worship exactly as the Apostles did: in 1962 . Briefly: I'm interested in science and technology, I know a little of what's happened over the last two millennia, and I'm a Catholic. I'm not a traditional, vegetarian, gummy bear, or whatever, Catholic; just a Catholic. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

About two months ago at Holy Mass at St. Bartholomew, during the offertory, God allowed me to see part of the  Third Secret of Fatima .  Lucia told it right.  I saw part of what she wrote about.  It was like being present as it was happening.  Going to Holy Mass I was not thinking of the Third Secret in any way so this vision came suddenly, unexpected, quite shockingly actually.... TO READ MORE CLICK HERE.

“Open wide the doors to Christ,” urged John Paul II during the homily at the Mass when he was installed as pope in 1978. 

I'll be quoting Pope Francis quite a bit today, starting with this bit from the news: " ...Speaking on Sunday (Sept. 13) to the Argentine radio station, FM Milenium, Francis lamented those who posed as his friends to exploit him, and decried religious fundamentalism. " And speaking to Portugal's Radio Renascenca in an interview that aired on Monday, Francis put his own popularity into perspective: 'Jesus also, for a certain time, was very popular, and look at how that turned out.'... " (" Pope Francis: 'Jesus was popular and look how that turned out' ," David Gibson, Religion News Service (September 14, 2015)) David Gibson apparently paid attention to what Pope Francis said. Some other headlines, from derivative stories are — imaginative. Others perhaps show a better understanding of the Pope than displayed by the occasional outraged Catholic.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(From Libreria Editrice Vaticana, used w/o permission.) Pope Francis arrived in Havana, Cuba, yesterday. It's his first stop on the latest apostolic journey.... ...Getting back to the Pope's visit to Cuba and the United States, the Philadelphia Phillies have been giving away Pope Francis Rookie Cards.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I'm pretty sure that the current Pope's 'communist crucifix' will be as well-remembered in the mid-22nd century as Leo XIII's tricycle is today. Pope Francis called it "protest art," said he understands the idea behind it, and isn't offended by the gift. I think that's reasonable. (From PA, via The Telegraph, used w/o permission.) (" The table, which is called an EVO 8000, came with customised bats painted with the Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes flags " ( The Telegraph ) Sometimes diplomatic gifts aren't very diplomatic. For example — the pingpong table British Prime Minister David Cameron gave the American president was a great idea, with just one problem: it was made in China. That was in 2012, so maybe the fuss about a "best of Britain" being made in China has stopped. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

When I learned who currently held the authority my Lord gave Simon Peter, recorded in Matthew 16:13 - 19 , I didn't have much choice: I had to join the Catholic Church. In a sense, I 'knew too much.' I could either claim to follow Jesus and acknowledge the Son of God's authority, passed along in unbroken succession through the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, and civilizations — or not. As Simon Peter said, it's a simple choice.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

On this past Divine Mercy Sunday, two beloved Popes were canonized in St. Peter's Square -- Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. Both popes believed firmly in ushering the Church into the modern world, Pope John XXIII by calling the Second Vatican Council and Pope John Paul II by working tirelessly to implement those conciliar reforms in a way that did justice to the Church's past and her present. But Pope St. John Paul II will always be closer to my heart. When I began contemplating conversion to Catholicism in the late 1990s, Pope John Paul II had already reigned for more than 20 years. The JPII generation was on fire with love for Christ and his Church. They were passionately devout, fiercely intelligent, and quoted passages from the original documents of Vatican II with the same fluency an evangelical might cite Scripture. John Paul II's  Theology of the Body  (or TOB), with its message that our bodies and sex itself were glorious gifts from God, was just bec...

(From Reuters, via BBC News, used w/o permission.) (Early arrivals at St. Peter's, Rome.) About 1/1000th of the world's living Catholics were in Rome today, to be on hand for the canonization of two Popes: John XXIII and John Paul II. We don't have an exact count, since they didn't all fit in St. Peter's Square, but it looks like about a million Catholics came to be near, if not at, the ceremony. (From BBC News, used w/o permission.) (Several thousand of the folks who came to Rome, in St. Peter's Square.) Most of us couldn't make it to Rome: and never will. That won't stop us from celebrating on our home turf, in culturally-appropriate ways: like these folks in the Philippines: (From Reuters, via BBC News, used w/o permission.) ('Mini-popes' and Filipino 'Swiss Guards' in the Philippines.)Two Millennia and Counting More at   A Catholic Citizen in America

Why do  Faithful American Catholics Label  Pope Francis: A Modernist Heretic? Every time Pope Francis speaks, the papers are filled with sensational headlines; he does not emphasize many of the popular, hot issues like abortion and homosexuality, issues which often simply serve to divide voters into an  us  and  them  mentality. When did these issues become  the  only  issue that concerns the Church? Yet when the pope reminds us that our life in Christ is so much more, vocal advocates become extremely angry, denouncing the pope as the anti-pope. How ridiculous! Why such a strong reaction? Perhaps many Americans do not like this South American because Catholics in America were taught that God loves capitalism and that Greed is Good. The Pope has made some pretty negative remarks about the freebooter capitalism that has flourished since the 1990′s and that will make him very unpopular with the freebooters in the US. Som...

On Easter Sunday afternoon in the chapel in the village where I live here in Bacolod City I baptized a girl born in January. At the celebratory dinner later a boy of nine, whom I'll call 'Carlos', approached me with a big smile on his face and told me that he wanted to be like me - a priest. But he had something even more in mind - he wanted to be Pope! And he knows the name he will call himself - Pope John Paul III. 'Carlos' is too young to have any real personal memories of Blessed John Paul but he must have heard, read and seen quite a bit about him for that pope to have made such an impression on him. He goes to Blessed Carmel Sall és School, named after the foundress of the  Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Mary  who run the school. She was canonized last October but there are 'hoops' to be gone through before the Conceptionist Sisters can change its name.  St Carmen Sall és   (1848 - 1911) The three Sisters at...

Its almost a year since we were able to welcome Pope Benedict to the UK and once again this dear man,  at an age when most would be staying at home and just pottering about a bit, is greeting tens of thousands at World Youth Day in Spain. The readings this week so well expounded by Father Sean on the post before this one, is the great and wonderful passage were Simon answers "You are the Christ!" and Jesus gives him his new name and his commission as first Pope. Peter didn't know he was being made Pope then, the position only came into being after Jesus had ascended but from this point on Jesus had given him his job, his role to guide the Church on earth until death. It is a role. a job greater than any one man, it has survived being held by men who were not worthy of it and yet the line back to Peter is unbroken and when the simple man puts on his garments of authority he IS Peter, the Rock, what a rock, what a church! When Holy Father Pope Benedict came to London he too...