Free Republic

Before he became Pope Francis, the Argentine cardinal’s doctrine would have excluded Vice President Joe Biden and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi from Communion. Father Shenan J. Boquet president of Human Life International explains: While we cannot know what is truly in someone’s heart, all too often political or other high-profile figures who profess to be members of the Catholic faith give rise to scandal when they publicly promote intrinsic evils such as abortion, euthanasia, the redefinition of marriage, and contraception–several of which have been championed by Vice President Biden and Rep. Pelosi throughout their political careers. As Cardinal Bergoglio,...

Having spent most of his life in Buenos Aires, Pope Francis has given proof that he can rise above his environment. As his compatriot Bishop Alberto Bochatey remarked, “he is a man of few words.” I lived half of my life in Buenos Aires. Few things are more difficult there than finding leaders with his humble demeanor and his preference for teaching by example. Most in his native Argentina have been captured by a political and economic environment ruled by a government dominated “social justice” mentality. Hopefully, Pope Francis will also rise above his culture and help recover a different...

A statement from Jesuit Superior General Father Adolfo Nicholas, following yesterday’s meeting with his fellow Jesuit, Pope Francis: “At the personal invitation of the Pope Francis, I went to the Santa Marta House, which had been used for the Cardinals present at the Conclave, at 5:30 p.m. He was at the entrance and received me with the usual Jesuit embrace. We had a few pictures taken, at his request, and at my apologies for not keeping protocol he insisted that I treat him like any other Jesuit at the Tulevel, so I did not have to worry about treatments, “Holiness”...

One thing amazed me about the new pope being appointed last week. For the first time in Church history---after about 800 years---a pope chose the name Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. I hadn’t realized this was the first time ever. Well, it’s about time. Francis of Assisi, for whom one of our great cities is named (San Francisco) was a delightful Christian example for Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians alike. If more of us who profess to follow Christ were more like him, we would have a much stronger witness before the watching world. Francis Bernardone (1182-1226)...

“My Brother Andrew”The key thing that Pope Francis did today was to greet Patriarch Bartholomew I, ecumenical patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, based in Constantinople, as “my brother Andrew.”Now, Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter, the first Bishop of Rome. They were fishermen together on the Sea of Galilee, 2,000 years ago.So Pope Francis, the successor of Peter, in 2013, is expressing the sense of friendship he feels toward the Orthodox, a friendship which reaches the level of fraternal feelings: the two men, Francis and Bartholomew, are as the brothers Peter and Andrew.The patriarchs of Constantinople are considered...

Q1: Could you please outline the canonical problems inherent in the fact that now we have two living Popes? –Rhonda Q2: Considering that all priests and bishops must belong to a diocese or religious order, my question would be this: now that Benedict has renounced the Chair of Peter but will be living on the Vatican grounds, as a Bishop, what diocese must he belong to? –Michael A: Now that we Catholics are gradually getting used to the notion that we have a Pope from Argentina named Francis, it’s only natural that many are also starting to wonder what it’s...

Pope Francis's unexpected encounter with an Ulsterman The Telegraph's John Bingham, an Ulster Protestant, was in the Vatican City on Sunday when, suddenly, he found himself face to face with the new Pope. He describes what happened next. By John Bingham, Vatican City 6:14PM GMT 17 Mar 2013 Mr Paisley, I hope you are sitting down if you read this. In an unwitting ecumenical gesture, Pope Francis shook hands with the first Ulster protestant of his reign today: me. Pope Francis greets crowds, including the Daily Telegraph's reporter John Bingham (circled), before his Angelus prayer in the Vatican (Reuters) I...

Pope Francis did not denounce me to Argentinian junta, says priest Francisco Jalics, who was imprisoned for five months in the 1970s, says he and the new pope reconciled in 2000" Jonathan Watts The Guardian, Wednesday 20 March 2013 ..."I myself was once inclined to believe that we were the victims of a denunciation," Jalics said. "[But] at the end of the 90s, after numerous conversations, it became clear to me that this suspicion was unfounded. It is therefore wrong to assert that our capture took place at the initiative of Father Bergoglio."... ...The latest comments follow a less categorical...

Media: The left has been trying to paint the new Pope Francis as someone with a dark past dating to Argentina's dirty war. One problem: Their allegations are falling apart. So now it's all about endlessly repeated innuendo. Tell a lie often enough, and it becomes truth. That seems to be the premise for the constant references to "persistent doubts," "raising questions," "alleged charges" and other weasel-word qualifiers the press uses about the new pope. They can be found in the likes of the New York Times, the Daily Beast, the BBC, Der Spiegel and others. The idea seems to...

Jorge Mario Bergoglio has fought both poverty and radical leftism. Liberation theology is a radical, pseudo-Marxist school of Catholic social thought that first emerged in Latin America during the mid–20th century. On March 5, one of its strongest advocates died in Venezuela. Eight days later, one of its strongest critics was named pope. Each event could represent a watershed moment for Latin America.The late Hugo Chávez frequently clashed with Venezuela’s top Catholic authorities, who broadly opposed his efforts to create a socialist dictatorship in their overwhelmingly Catholic country. In 2005, for example, Archbishop Baltazar Porras of Mérida, who was then...

One of the little-known legacies of Pope Benedict XVI is his consistent push to have pro-abortion politicians given the opportunity to repent and come back to a right relationship with God by refusing them Holy Communion. Benedict’s public role in the matter began in 2004 prior to his pontificate, while head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under Pope John Paul II.

Buenos Aires (CNN) -- Less than an hour after he fired off an angry letter to Catholic Church leaders about their handling of Argentina's same-sex marriage debate, Marcelo Marquez says his phone rang. He was surprised to hear the voice on the other end of the line. It was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, then the archbishop of Buenos Aires, and now the pope. What Bergoglio said to him at a meeting soon afterward that year, 2010, was even more surprising, Marquez said.

Pro-abortion Catholics Vice President Joe Biden and House Leader Nancy Pelosi both received Holy Communion at the inauguration Mass of Pope Francis in the Vatican yesterday. However, while the Pope did administer Communion to deacons assisting at the altar, he did not distribute Communion to any of the dignitaries present. Pope Benedict XVI stressed throughout his pontificate and before it began that pro-abortion politicians should be denied Communion. Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro, the head of the Rome office of Human Life International told LifeSiteNews that “While some Americans were perfectly entitled to received Communion, like Congressman Smith, as Cardinal Raymond Burke...

Along with the tradition of naming a new pope, there’s the symbolism. The name Francis is in reference to St. Francis of Assisi– who shares much in common with the new pope. Sister Alicia Torres from the Franciscans of the Eucharist spoke about the importance. VIDEO AT LINK.

Today I took in the Audience Pope Francis held for the College of Cardinals in the Sala Clementina. It was entirely charming.There was a little scare, however. After the first greeting by the Dean of the College, Card Sodano, the Pope rose to go down to him and he almost fell on the stair. I noticed that in during the Mass yesterday he also had a little help going down the step from his chair.He again came in only the white cassock… I hope he will bend to decorum over time… and gave a talk that was partly prepared and...

Many millions of Catholics around the world were joyous with the naming of a new pope -- a holy man from the Third World no less. Even in choosing his name, Pope Francis is emphasizing a devotion to the poor, and humility in his clothing and manners. The liberal media should be lapping this up. There was an accurate recounting of the global rejoicing, especially in Argentina. There were hopeful words about his pastoral modesty. But as the day came for the pope to be installed, the natural secular liberal nastiness toward the oldest Christian faith bubbled up in demands...

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner says she has asked for the Pope's intervention in the Falklands dispute between her country and the UK. Visiting the Vatican, Ms Fernandez said she had asked the Pope to promote dialogue between the two sides. Argentine Pope Francis was elected last week and will be formally installed as pontiff at a Mass on Tuesday. In the past he has said the Falkland Islands, a UK overseas territory, belong to Argentina. Before Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected, the 76-year-old was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Relations between him, Ms Fernandez, and her late husband...

Baby-killing advocates Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi have told the press that they received communion at the papal mass. And I've seen loads of pictures of both at the papal mass. Seeing how the big news story their presence spurs is whether they'd receive communion, is there any evidence that they did? It's not like both have not directly lied about their relationships with the Catholic faith. Please understand that I am not making an assertion that they did NOT. I am only trying to find confirmation that they DID.

On Gay Unions, a Pragmatist Before He Was a Pope By SIMON ROMERO and EMILY SCHMALL Published: March 19, 2013 BUENOS AIRES — The very idea was anathema to many of the bishops in the room. Argentina was on the verge of approving gay marriage, and the Roman Catholic Church was desperate to stop that from happening. It would lead tens of thousands of its followers in protest on the streets of Buenos Aires and publicly condemn the proposed law, a direct threat to church teaching, as the work of the devil. But behind the scenes, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio,...

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe said on Tuesday the newly elected Roman Catholic Church leader, Pope Francis, should take time to visit the African continent during his tenure as well as treat all believers in the church equally. President Mugabe, a devout Catholic, joined scores of international leaders and hundreds of thousands of Catholics who thronged St Peter’s Square in the Vatican City, for Pope Francis’s inauguration mass, Zimbabwe's news agency New Ziana reported. Pope Francis, formerly the Arch-Bishop of Buenos Aires in Argentina was appointed to the helm of one of the world’s oldest churches last week, replacing 85-year-old Pope...