Just saw in the news that Pope Francis is going to visit the US! http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/world/pope-francis-i.htm Are you going to see the Pope when he visits the United States?
No, I'm not Catholic. If I were Catholic, I think I'd be pretty confused by the current Pope, as he seems to be inventing some other religion that I would think Catholics would have trouble recognizing. Perhaps it could be thought of as creating a new reality, or substantially transforming the Catholic Church.
I'm not Catholic either, but I had a lot of respect for Pope John Paul. He was the real deal as far as Christians go, imo. This Pope, not so much. I was thinking the same thing as Ken, before I read his post. If I were Catholic, I would distance myself from this guy...fast!
I am former Catholic despite I'm not longer a religious person, more likely pagan. However while I like Pope Francis for the sole fact of being the first Pope from the Americas, and love how he has imposed his own rules when it comes to lifestyle at the Vatican, I don't see the point to attend any event where he goes because I don't longer feel the faith necessary to believe in God, whether is the Pope or any other minister from a different cult. I believe in a supreme power, indeed, but I question myself if this power is really God and, if so, why he does not act really like the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent being religion taught me. By the way, and related to the comment on the Pope being inventing another religion, not really. What happens is that in the Catholic Church there are different "branches" (religious congregations) and because Catholics believe in Saints, Virgins, Angels and Archangels as intermediaries to Jesus (who has different denominations according to different stages in his life) and to God (the Father) So that every Catholic church may be affiliate to a specific congregation; some serve to the Holy Virgin Mary, Some other to Saint Charbel, St. Jude Thaddeus, other saints or archangels, or one of the different manifestations of Jesus. Pope Francis belongs to a congregation called "Jesuitas" (Society of Jesus) a branch of the Catholic church.
I see Pope Francis, as a servant of God, with a heart for the poor and needy of this world. May God bless him and his visit!
Raised Catholic, not so much practicing. Not going to see the Pope Francis, but would feel it to be quite the privilege, if I did get to see him. I would say this whether or not I was Catholic. For example, if the Queen of England came to town, I would go see her because it would be a honor. In my opinion, one of his admiring characteristics is his sense of humor. I find it to be quite refreshing.
I think it's great that Pope Francis is coming to America. The last Pope to actually come to America was of course John Paul II. I remember this quite well, because my state was one that he came to. I highly doubt Francis will becoming to Arizona as well, but it's still a great moment to have another Pope come here. I like Francis I think he is a Pope of the people, he seems to want to care for the poor and he also realizes that the church needs to come into the 21st Century and look at some of its beliefs.
Just a segue. When the Pope came here in January, it was big deal since the Philippines is predominantly Catholic in population. A 2-day holiday was declared, in effect creating a 4-day weekend. We are also Catholics but we seized the opportunity of that long weekend to go on vacation to a northern province - that's an 8-hour trip by car. The town of Bolinao has great beaches and clear sea water. But in fairness to us, we were in the beach resort that afternoon when the Pope arrived in the airport. We were watching what's happening on the tv by the poolside. The Pope has that charisma that he seemed to have a magnet for people. There were big crowds in all the streets that he would pass by. Indeed he was the trending topic here during that month of his visit.
The Pope will be addressing Congress while he is here, as well as speaking at the UN 70th session in New York City on the 25th of September. Not only will the pope be here in America at that time, but also Russian president Vladimer Putin, and the Chinese president will attend the UN session. Since that time frame also marks the end of the 500 days that the French ambassador spoke to Kerry about, we might also be seeing whatever "climate chaos" means , also happening during the latter end of September.
I am nominally Catholic but I have never practiced. I do, though, quite like the cut of this fellow's jib. It's about time the Catholic Church got somewhere near the 21st century and Francis seems to be nudging it in the right direction. Much more of this and the Catholic Church might be in danger of getting a good name.
I'm not so sure the Catholic church should be anywhere near the 21st century. The Catholic church I grew up in was quite comforting, in it's traditional setting and all. Somewhere along the way, mass that used to be in Latin, changed to English. People playing musical instruments turned Sunday mass into some kind of sideshow. That's about the time I retired from being a Catholic. There was sort of a rebellion over all the changes. Some churches clung to the old ways. I admired them for that and would have attended, had there been one in our area. These days, what was once wrong, is now right. Not a good thing, IMO.
Yeah, I too miss the tradition of the old mass with those old organs. Granted sermons had switched from Latin to English by the time I was born, but my parents recall this happening. Some might wonder, why go to church, if you do not understand the language, but the thing is for me was the atmosphere that gave me comfort. So, I get what you are saying about comfort. Same goes for design of the old cathedrals, I don't see the benefit in changing to all modern. Last I visited my hometown for a funeral, disappointing to find out they swapped the pews for chairs. It might seem trivial, but it really bothered me to see the kneelers gone, too. In regards to policy changes, I don't think there has been much change in any big way. Mostly from my limited view, the pope speaks more about forgiveness and being less judgmental in character, but the overall doctrine remains the same.
This comment brought to mind the time when the etiquette requirement for women to wear a veil and "decent" clothes were lifted too. It was the early or mid 70s and I was still a child growing up with the inner need to find a religious identity that certainly listening to The Beatles music played at the church would not give me. I used to get into the church with my radio to listen my favorite band while attending mass, but that was irreverence, not a wish to listen modern music playing instead of sacred hymns. I think those amendments to modernize the Catholic church were contributing factors to make me try to find a religious pathway elsewhere.