Pope 'snub' of concert stuns cardinals, sends signal

[Generic Other]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by In_The_Wind (a host of the General Discussion forum).

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The gala classical concert on Saturday was scheduled before his election in March. But the white papal armchair set up in the presumption that he would be there remained empty... The picture of the empty chair was used in many Italian papers, with Monday's Corriere della Sera newspaper calling his decision "a show of force" to illustrate the simple style he wants Church officials to embrace.

Since his election on March 13, Francis, the former cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, has not spent a single night in the opulent and spacious papal apartments.

He has preferred to live in a small suite in a busy Vatican guest house, where he takes most meals in a communal dining room and says Mass every morning in the house chapel rather than the private papal chapel in the Apostolic Palace...The day before the concert, Francis said bishops should be "close to the people" and not have "the mentality of a prince."

http://news.yahoo.com/pope-snub-concert-stuns-cardinals-sends-signal-143358270.html

on edit: sorry pic is so big. And I meant to say, the Pope is acting amazingly Christ-like. And I mean that in a good way.

on re-edit: I do not approve of the Pope's position on gay issues at all. I find it hypocritical in fact. I also am not trying to start a religion thread. I am sorry if it came off that way. I am saying I noticed a professed Christian who is the religious head of state with a large number of followers actually did something that seemed in keeping with his beliefs. I am not a Catholic nor have I ever been one (although related to others who are), I am not a Christian and normally am very critical of church hypocrisy in every religion. So it seemed I should be honest and acknowledge when a cleric seemed to be doing something progressive to make the world a better place unlike their usual behaviors in so many instances. Again, not meaning to offend on either side here.

Maybe I should delete the thread as Mineral Man has chastised me for even posting it. I must assume though it has not been deemed a religion thread. And as I would again state, it is not meant to be.

[HERVEPA]

1. Oh, didn't realize homophobia was Christ-like. My mistake I guess

[Generic Other]

4. You are right that is an issue

I am just surprised when a religious head of state seems to be taking the side of the poor. Not something you see every day. I will re-edit my comment.

[HERVEPA]

7. Thanks for your response. :-)

[Duer 157099]

2. Oh that photo is begging for so many captions. But I'll resist.

But it is so hard.

[MineralMan]

3. The Pope is a misogynistic, anti-choice homophobe.

The rest is irrelevant, in my opinion. He is the leader of a church that also has those two characteristics. What it does, in general, does not interest me, because of that.

Any Pope thread is a religion thread and doesn't match the SOP for the General Discussion forum, in my opinion.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. +1

[theHandpuppet]

6. Ditto that

First it was flooding the LBN forum with daily Pope threads, now its GD.

[The Straight Story]

8. I would disagree to some extent

While he is not today, technically, a political leader he is still somewhat of one and wields a lot of political clout across the globe.

Speaking about political leaders is something we do here, especially when it comes to how they are changing their country (or in this case, Vatican city - though his actions will reverberate in other countries as well).

If this were a discussion of Catholicism on a simply theological level that would be one thing. The pope is attempting to make far reaching changes that could well have impact in many other countries over time and is worth discussing (especially when he slides to more liberal positions which could help open the mind of right leaning/voting Catholics in this and other countries).

[Generic Other]

9. You have been all these things too

So is the rest of your opinion irrelevent too? You say you changed and I decided to take you at your word. Now I am not so sure since you are so quick to lead the attack now. You blow with the wind.

Sometimes I have an impulse to try to build bridges in the world not just burn them as I normally do.

Not many women have ever approved of the church's stance on birth control and abortion. One thing I have admired about them is they do allow their congregations to be educated, thus there is always possibility of evolution and change, right?

Maybe this is a time when a cleric with this much power can be convinced to do more good in the world than not? I think it is interesting to see Latin Americans embrace liberal ideas about compassion toward the poor. They stand out even in their own church.

I think this thread does indicate that we have a hard time reaching out to the religious people in the world even though many progressives identify themselves as members of various religions. Most of the religions have not lived up to scrutiny regarding their inconsistent behaviors. It seems fair to acknowledge when they seem to move in a leftward direction. I am for pushing them further our direction. Not back where they were.

[rug]

10. +1

[rug]

11. Don't be apologetic. Any news involving a shift in an entity of one billion people is noteworthy.

[In_The_Wind]

12. Locking

Statement of Purpose

Discuss politics, issues, and current events. No posts about Israel/Palestine, religion, guns, showbiz, or sports unless there is really big news. No conspiracy theories. No whining about DU.