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Rhode Island parents moved to tears after Pope Francis kisses their disabled son, 8,
DM ^ | 4/2/13 | Daily Mail Reporter

Posted on 04/02/2013 1:42:08 PM PDT by envisio

A Rhode Island couple has revealed how they were moved to tears when Pope Francis kissed their disabled eight-year-old son in front of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square on Easter Sunday. Paul and Christina Gondreau of Johnston and their five children, including son Dominic who suffers from cerebral palsy, attended Easter Mass at the Vatican. An usher directed Dominic and his mother to an area designated for handicapped children, said Paul Gondreau, a theology professor at Providence College who is teaching this semester in Rome. When the pope's vehicle arrived, the usher motioned to the driver to stop and with the help of the mother, held the boy up to Pope Francis, who took the boy in his arms and kissed him.

'It was really moving... There was not a dry eye,' his mother Christiana told CNN. 'Dominic is a people person but I think he understood that was exceptionally special. 'I think you can see that in the pictures and video because he broke out in a huge smile and wrapped his arm around the pope, which was very moving as a mother... It was a beautiful moment.'

Her husband Paul called the experience 'an incredibly moving encounter' in an article online. At first, he was not aware that his son was being embraced by the pope until one of his other children, Lucas, screamed, 'It's Dominic!' Only when Lucas said, 'The pope is holding Dominic', did his father look at the giant video screen and see the two embracing. 'I was speechless, and I was moved to tears, along with Lucas,' Mr Gondreau said.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Religion
KEYWORDS: disability; pope; popefrancis
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To: Secret Agent Man

Pope Francis is showing his humbleness and his persona to be a people oriented leader of the church by all these acts of kindness. It’s a persona that he has. I wouldn’t call it attention but grace.


21 posted on 04/02/2013 8:50:57 PM PDT by VRWC For Truth (Roberts has perverted the Constitution)
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To: VRWC For Truth

I am sorry to say, you can’t read either. At least not without your filters making you infer things I didn’t write.

I wasn’t making a statement about him, if you read my comments. I was making a statement about everyone else reacting to him. If you read my statement, you’ll see that I agree with your characterization of him.


22 posted on 04/02/2013 9:22:24 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

moron and einstein in the same slander. Wonderful. Which shall I choose?
You were not stating truths. You were expressing a benighted opinion.


23 posted on 04/03/2013 7:04:10 AM PDT by Louis Foxwell (Better the devil we can destroy than the Judas we must tolerate.)
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To: envisio
The child was already extra-special, which is why God chose him for the blessing in the first place. Think about it this way: The story has gone viral and if one person finds faith because of it, then Pope Francis will have fulfilled his mission for the day.

Although Pope Francis may not have known this at the time, his selection of this particular child was no accident: The child's father is a a popular and revered professor of theology at Providence College, which is the only college in the United States that is run by the Dominican Order and indeed, a significant number of the administration and faculty at Providence College are Dominican Friars and Sisters. Several members of every graduating class are called to God and accept the vocation and become Dominican priests. And it is no coincidence that the young boy who Pope Francis blessed in named “Dominic.” Perhaps a few students at Providence College will find life-changing inspiration from this particular experience to dedicate their lives to sharing their faith and spreading the word of God.

24 posted on 04/03/2013 9:08:10 AM PDT by Labyrinthos
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To: Louis Foxwell

Okay, you can’t read or comprehend what you read, I will spell it out for you.

1. “He is not God.” That is truth. Given what we know of him and how he has lived, he himself would totally agree.

2. “I might say he himself would not like the kind of attention and big deal people are making over him.” Again given his apparent simple life and modesty, there’s no indication he would want people treating him like God, fawning over him like a rock star, or mega-celebrity, etc. Not when people are all fixated on him instead of Jesus Christ.


25 posted on 04/03/2013 10:07:44 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: Secret Agent Man
You are tilting at windmills. No one believes the Pope is God. As to his notoriety he refused consideration as Pope in the last selection. This time he acceded knowing that it precisely and specifically generates enormous attention and makes him a “big deal”.

His humility is apart from his role as the leader of the largest institution in the world. He may bring a personal attitude of humility to the role but he is not so deluded as to believe his every breath is not a very big deal. He has deliberately and willfully taken this on as his personal shibboleth.

26 posted on 04/03/2013 3:01:43 PM PDT by Louis Foxwell (Better the devil we can destroy than the Judas we must tolerate.)
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To: Secret Agent Man
You are tilting at windmills. No one believes the Pope is God. As to his notoriety he refused consideration as Pope in the last selection. This time he acceded knowing that it precisely and specifically generates enormous attention and makes him a “big deal”.

His humility is apart from his role as the leader of the largest institution in the world. He may bring a personal attitude of humility to the role but he is not so deluded as to believe his every breath is not a very big deal. He has deliberately and willfully taken this on as his personal shibboleth.

27 posted on 04/03/2013 3:10:01 PM PDT by Louis Foxwell (Better the devil we can destroy than the Judas we must tolerate.)
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To: Louis Foxwell

My gosh you really can’t read.

I never said anywhere I thought he thought he was a big deal. I am saying OTHERS think he’s a big deal, and that given his character, whether he really cares for that, and would rather have them focus on Christ, which is how his whole life apparently has been - simple, low key, not one to draw attention to himself, etc.

You really have to read better. You’re not comprehending the words that are in front of you. You’re reading what you think I’m saying, you’re sticking in assumptions that are not there.

People are increadibly hyped and ultra-intense on him and I am just saying given who he is and his personality, there’s every reason to believe he’d prefer them be that hyped and excited and intensely focused about Jesus Christ rather than him.

Now if you feel you have to reply, please re-read my post three more times before replying. I am sure you didn’t read it correctly based on all your past replies.


28 posted on 04/03/2013 3:15:10 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

Now it is my turn. You are an argumentative idiot.


29 posted on 04/03/2013 8:21:04 PM PDT by Louis Foxwell (Better the devil we can destroy than the Judas we must tolerate.)
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To: Louis Foxwell

read your own posts before calling other people that.


30 posted on 04/03/2013 10:28:49 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I can neither confirm or deny that; even if I could, I couldn't - it's classified.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

LOL


31 posted on 04/04/2013 11:29:05 AM PDT by Louis Foxwell (Better the devil we can destroy than the Judas we must tolerate.)
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