Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-04/pope-francis-dies-on-easter-monday-aged-88.html
https://insidethevatican.com/magazine/people/people-5/
President Joe Biden awards Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction, the highest civilian honor in the United States, recognizing his dedication to peace, human rights, care for the poor, and environmental protection.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis
Pope Francis[b] (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;[c] 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death. He was the first pope from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.
Pope Francis‘s last wish in his last public address on Easter Sunday?
End the war in Gaza!
I had posted this in the Happy Easter thread early this morning:
“Pope Francis, though he was out in public for a brief period and said a few words on Easter, sadly passed away this morning (12:35 AM CDT). May he rest in peace.”
I thought he was a very compassionate and humble man. I wonder if he overdid it yesterday though that may be irrelevant.
By WxFollower - April 21, 2025, 7:27 a.m.
Thanks for those consoling words, Larry!
The world was made MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better by this great man.
https://www.newsweek.com/pope-francis-dead-papal-conclave-frontrunners-2035569
A key issue for the conclave will be Francis's handling of sexual abuse cases, which has divided Church leaders. "Most importantly, can the voters trust that the person they elect is not a sexual predator who could be exposed?" Lehner asked.
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I found that question/point to be either extremely ignorant or intentionally offensive.
This isn't denial by me of the Catholic Churches pedophile scandal or the MANY priests involved who committed horrible sexual crimes with minors or the horrible cover up by the Catholic Church.
However, to suggest that its so prevalent (and the standards for being a pope so minimal) that somebody that did this could be elected as a Pope is EXTREMELY offensive(or just ignorance).
https://www.newsweek.com/pope-francis-dead-vatican-obituary-life-pictures-2033116
https://www.newsweek.com/pope-francis-life-photos-family-birth-vatican-city-2035613
https://www.newsweek.com/how-francis-radically-reshaped-catholic-church-2035465
https://www.newsweek.com/roman-catholic-church-pope-explainer-vatican-city-2034701
One thing that I strongly disagreed with Pope Francis about was his views on a climate crisis.
As an environmentalist, I was in complete agreement on almost all of his environmental views outside of the climate crisis part.
The real environmental crisis's
31 responses |
Started by metmike - April 10, 2019, 7:11 p.m.
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/topic/27498/
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However, his understanding was only as good as his Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the United Nations/IPCC that provided the information to base his position on.
His constant claim that climate change was reducing the global food supply was in direct contrast to the real, GREENING world and massive contribution to more food production because of the role that CO2 plays in photosynthesis.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontifical_Academy_of_Sciences
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"As-salaam Alaikum" or "peace be upon you," Pope Francis ventured in Arabic while talking to parishioners in Gaza earlier this year.
A short video released by the Vatican upon his death showed his intimate relationship with the Palestinian territory's tiny Christian community, many of whom he came to know by name.
During 18-months of war, he took to calling them nightly to check on their wellbeing.
"What did you eat today?" the Pope asks the local priests in the video, having switched to Italian. "The rest of the chicken from yesterday," replies Father Gabriel Romanelli.
Only a few hundred Christians remain in Gaza among the territory's almost entirely Muslim population of more than 2 million. Many have been living, as well as worshipping, at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City.
With the Pope's death they feel they have lost a dear friend.
"He used to call us daily during the war, on the black days under the bombing - on the days when people were killed and injured," Father Romanelli said.
"Sometimes, we didn't have a phone connection for hours and the Pope with all of his responsibilities would try to reach us."
George Anton, a local Catholic, is the emergency coordinator in the Holy Family church. He told me that shock left him virtually speechless the first time he spoke to the Pope but that he ended up talking to him regularly on video calls.
He explained to the pontiff how he had lost his home and relatives.
"He was all the time blessing me and he was totally understanding our situation and he always encouraged us to be strong," Mr Anton said. "And he asked 'What can I do for you? What more can I do for you'?"
The Gazan Christians say they will now miss a great source of comfort and support.
"We felt like 'Oh my God, we're like orphans now'," Mr Anton said.
"There will be no calls from the Pope, we will not hear this voice. We will not hear his sense of humour. You know Pope Francis has a special relation with Gaza, and with every one of us."
Pope Francis' use of the term "white flag" while speaking in an interview about the war in Ukraine has raised questions, which the Vatican press office tried to explain. The pope's hope "is for a diplomatic solution for a just and lasting peace," said Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office.
Justin McLellan
March 10, 2024
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Encouraging negotiations to end Russia's war on Ukraine, Pope Francis called for the warring sides to have the "courage of the white flag," a term usually associated with surrender.
Asked in an interview whether Ukraine should surrender and if doing so would legitimize the actions of the stronger power, the pope said that "the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates."
Popes Francis and John Paul II were easily the greatest popes of my lifetime from a compassion and humility perspective.
Did y’all realize that JP2 started out as pope as only a relative mere lad of 58?
Thanks, Larry!
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is usually quick to issue statements on the passing of major international figures. It took him four days to issue a terse, 28-word statement on the official Prime Minister account, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has been silent. The only immediate official condolences came from Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role and who praised Francis for being “a man of deep faith and boundless compassion.”
But everything changed after the war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’ deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
While expressing sympathy for Israeli victims and hostages, Francis has suggested Israel’s subsequent attacks in Gaza and Lebanon were “immoral” and disproportionate. He also called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, a charge Israel denies while investigations at the U.N.'s top courts proceed.
For most of Francis’ papacy, ties between Israel and the Vatican steadily improved — highlighted by a visit to the Holy Land in 2014.
“Pope Francis condemned what happened on Oct. 7, but he was clear also that what happened on Oct. 7 does not justify what has been happening since Oct. 7,” said Wadie Abunassar, who heads a group that represents Christians in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Pope Francis was like a friend who tells the truth, even if that’s not exactly what you want to hear, Abunassar said.
Throughout the war, Francis walked a delicate balance between his close ties with Israel and condemning the devastating losses in Gaza, according to Amnon Ramon, an expert on Christianity in Israel and a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research. Francis was exceptionally close to Gaza’s local parish priest, who, like the former pontiff, is from Argentina.
“Pope Francis was one of the best friends of Israel, but Israeli leadership didn’t understand him properly,” said Abunassar, the coordinator of the Holy Land Christian forum. Abunassar, a Catholic from the northern Israeli city of Haifa, said he was angry that the Israeli government hadn’t sent official condolences except through the president.
“The man was the leader of the most important church in the world. The man was the head of state. The man has followers among people who are Israeli taxpayers. The man deserves some respect.”
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More powerful evidence to clearly demonstrate the diabolical, pathological thinking of Netanyahu and arrogance with which he displays it in the form of disrespecting anybody that isn't on board with his genocide.
Especially sad for the MAJOR damage that Netanyahu has done to Israel;s image and the massive increase in hatred towards Jews as a result of Netanyahu.
This pope has always recognized today's Jews as the descendants of God's chosen people, which is what I was taught in Catholic school growing up. He expressed his love of Jews many times.
https://apnews.com/article/italy-vatican-pope-funeral-dignitaries-b8c206d03e3535b8ee3b18d42667b803
Francis was the ultimate Vatican outsider and charted a more progressive course in his approach to marginalized groups.
Cardinals, conclaves and popes, in five charts
Papal elections are speeding up as popes get older.
Of the popes since 1600, Pope Francis was the second oldest to serve.
The mindset of this great pope reminds me of some recently passed people.
RIP President Jimmy Carter
14 responses |
Started by metmike - Dec. 29, 2024, 5:31 p.m.
https://www.marketforum.com/forum/reply_post/111474/
A tribute to our Dad, Frank Maguire 9-16-1925 to 11-21-2024
24 responses |
Started by metmike - Nov. 22, 2024, 2:04 p.m.
One thing that I strongly disagreed with Pope Francis about was his view on the Tridentine Mass and liturgies. He used Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to stifle the use of this Rite.
It was the ordinary form of the mass for almost 400 years. For me it is a time of deep reflection. I am "attached with such love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms which had deeply shaped their culture and spirit"(SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM)
The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or the Traditional Latin Mass, is the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church as codified in 1570. It was in use until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, when the Novus Ordo (Ordinary Form) was introduced. Key characteristics of the Tridentine Mass include its exclusive use of Latin, the priest facing East, and a more passive role for the congregation.
History and Development:
cutworm,
I completely understand your views here and this is part of why the more conservative/traditional Catholics bumped heads with Pope Francis.
People that grow up with the rituals, prayers and specific worshiping traditions of their religious faiths, passed on for many hundreds of years become extremely connected to them. They become very indoctrinated and tied to things passed on from the past when the world was much different.
I understand the belief that God's word doesn't change with time and respect those that don't want the interpretations of it to change either. However, almost every other aspect of humanity has changed drastically the last XXX number of years.
Pope Francis was focused more on applications of the faith in the year 2025 (in the real world) so that we best serve the needs of humanity in this age.
In his earlier years I was on the conservative side but the last several years had a drastic change of heart that lined up closer to Francis.............except that his Pontifical Academy of Sciences, in cahoots with the United Nations fed him bad science on the fake climate crisis(but his objective was still pure).
When it comes to religion, it's even tougher to change views compared to politics so on this one, I'll just understand why the conservative Catholics feel the way they do but state that our Church has always been slow to respond to the times in order to remain relevant.
His was a dramatic papacy, frustrating conservatives and progressives alike. Beloved by the faithful, he leaves behind a divided Church.
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I think the new pope will be much more conservative in order to try to unite the church and the very powerful conservatives will be exploiting their influence to the max.
What do you think, cutworm?
...... However, almost every other aspect of humanity has changed drastically the last XXX number of years.
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My opinion
In the realm of religious belief what has changed? When you boil it all down, sin is still sin. Evel has not changed. Human nature has not changed. Sin has been with us since the beginning. It is in our nature. The war is between principles and principalities.
Why does the Tridentine Rite have to be pushed aside? I personally find that it is much more reverent than the Novis Ordo.
"People that grow up with the rituals, prayers and specific worshiping traditions of their religious faiths, passed on for many hundreds of years become extremely connected to them. They become very indoctrinated and tied to things passed on from the past when the world was much different."
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I grew up, went to a catholic school and learned to serve during the changes. Had 1 year of Tridentine, but then was schooled in the Novis Ordo. In my high school years the guitar masses and the liturgical dance really turned me off. I felt that there was no moral direction. Exposed again to the Tridentine mass I traveled 75 miles each way to go to mass, for years.
Bishop Charles Thompson has been very understanding, allowing separate parishes for this rite. I thank him for that
Thanks, cutworm.
Wow! This is clearly very important to you that you would drive that far for it.
That should be respected even if its not me.
We had an 11 am guitar mass too in the St. Alphonsus Catholic school gym for the young people.
A big reason was that 11am mass in the church was overflowing with people. If you didn’t get there early, you might not get a seat.
I actually liked the church setting more because the powerful organ and familiar songs resonated better than guitars and different songs. I’ve always loved singing and that’s my favorite times of the mass.
I remember the Vatican 2 changes!
I started receiving holy communion in 2nd grade BEFORE Vatican 2 rules were implemented. .
At St. Albert the Great Catholic school we all went to mass every day.
BEFORE Vatican 2, we needed to fast from food for 5 hours before receiving communion.
So all the kids in 2nd grade and older ate breakfast in their home rooms AFTER mass.
Vatican 2 changed the fasting time to 1 hour. The Catholic teachers loved it, I imagine. They could start teaching immediately after mass instead of feeding all the students breakfast first.w
Breakfast was a choice of several different cereals in little, 1 serving boxes. We would cut them open and they would serve as the bowl to eat the cereal after a little milk was poured in.
A few years after that we had a nun that decided to use one of the changes to no longer wear the traditional “habit”.
.Sister Clare Selma always looked weird and out of place in street clothes!
What is your recollection of those things, cutworm?
I went to a Catholic high school (all 4 years) because the school was one of the higher quality college preparatory schools, many of my friends went there, and it was pretty closeby. The public school option wasn’t the best. About 1/2 the students weren’t Catholic, maybe more.
Being non-Catholic, I, of course, wasn’t required to participate in masses. But everyone had to be in the auditorium and could observe, which I found enjoyable/interesting. There were only 1-2 each year during school days. One (and possibly the only regular one) was on November 1st, All Saints Day. All students loved that day because we got to go home early!
The couple of times per week religion class catered to each student’s religion. So, they were breakout classes.
Teachers for all classes were either priests, lay, or nun (one).
My two favorite teachers were a priest and the only nun. The priests almost all wore complete black with a Roman collar. The main exception was the priest who was one of our favrite teachers as he wore different colored shirts and often had his collar undone. He was eccentric and that why we loved him in addition to his being a great teacher. The nun would gently hit a student’s hands with a ruler if she got mad, but it was no big deal to the recipients. She wore no habit and had on regular clothes. (Mike, her last name was the same as yours. She was born in Maryland and thus I realize it’s very highly doubtful y’all are related being how common the name is.)
WOW!
I never knew that about you, Larry and loved reading it.
What was the name of your school? Is it still open?
In our senior year, we had a semester of "Religions of the world" where they taught us about all the other religions in our religion class.
At the time, I thought that was silly for a Catholic school to be teaching students about the rest of the religions but in retrospect find it very impressive.
Girls had to wear uniforms and boys dress up with ties and short hair. This was in the 60's to 1974 (when I graduated) when long hair was popular. I was pretty rebellious and begged my parents to let me go to the public school, Fordson to have long hair and not follow the same rules.
We were small so our sports teams didn't compete in the same class as Fordson which allowed me to do better at several sports, with less competitive athletes. Even though our teams will often champions in every sport with my class having some gifted athletes.
Hey Mike,
1. I just added this to my prior post:
“The priests almost all wore complete black with a Roman collar. The main exception was the priest who was one of our favorite teachers as he wore different colored shirts and often had his collar undone. He was eccentric and that’s why we loved him in addition to his being a great teacher.”
2. I was the opposite of you, not at all a rebellious kid. I was shy.
3. Sorry but I’d prefer not to say for privacy. I know we’re opposites in that way!
Thanks, Larry!
I understand completely and it makes me appreciate you even more because you share so much here despite that.
I should have been kicked out a couple of times for vandalism but my Dad, who was active in the Dad's Club with 6 children at our school and extremely assertive, went to bat for me and got the principal, Sister Agnes Charles to just suspend me both times, along with visits to a psychiatrist.
I think that in the end, though I didn't appreciate her enough, SAC(what we called her) and her empathy for my home situation because Mom was mentally ill and pretty abusive at times(despite her tremendous love for all of us).
Dad kept us together and never gave up on Mom, who he healed after 25 years of devotion. He and his kids replaced all my Moms bad memories with good ones (she lost both parents as a young child and was raised by older brothers , struggling themselves and not capable of providing parental type love).
At the same time, growing up with this adversity taught me how to understand it, manage it and not judge mentally ill people by watching the MASTER doing it every day in our house.
Dad NEVER complained even 1 time raising us and not once lost his temper or responded back to Mom with the same garbage she would feed him. He always stayed above it and went about being the best dad and husband undeterred by the circumstances.
Amazing since he never met his dad, while growing up in the inner city of Detroit! I owe so much to him.
The best part is that I was able to give back so much to him after growing up!
https://apnews.com/article/vatican-pope-conclave-electors-17091445fa0670cb1bd741b3af31365e
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgxk40ndk1o
Who will be the next pope?
The decision will be made when the College of Cardinals begins meeting in conclave from 16:30 on 7 May in the 15th Century Sistine Chapel.
It will involve 133 cardinals aged under 80, who will debate and then vote for their preferred candidate until a single name secures the support of two-thirds of them.
Their choice could have a profound impact on the Catholic Church and the world's 1.4 billion baptised Roman Catholics, and it is harder than ever to predict who it will be.
With 80% of the cardinals appointed by Pope Francis himself, most are not only electing a pope for the first time, but will offer a broad global perspective.
For the first time in history, fewer than half of those given a vote will be European.
And although the college may be dominated by his appointments, they were not exclusively "progressive" or "traditionalist".
Could the cardinals elect an African, an Asian or even an American pope, or might they favour one of the old hands of the Vatican administration?
Getty Images+++++++++++++++++++++
The College of Cardinals are meeting again Thursday to vote in a papal conclave -- a secret ballot where two-thirds majority is required for the election of a new pontiff. After each round of submissions, ballots are read aloud and then burned. The ashes are used to notify audiences around the world and onlookers in St. Peter's Square of the election's status.
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/vatican-pope-election-catholic-church
Tagle has cut into much of Parolin’s lead on Kalshi and Polymarket, online prediction markets legally authorized to accept bets in the U.S., after three rounds of voting have yet to produce a pope on day two of the conclave.
Parolin maintains a slim lead over Tagle on Kalshi, where bettors have given Parolin a 27% chance and Tagle a 25% shot at winning the papacy, closer odds than Wednesday, when Parolin led Tagle 31%-21%.
Parolin maintains more of a lead on Polymarket, where he leads Tagle 28%-23%, though his lead on that platform was much larger on Wednesday morning, about 28%-19%.
Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state who is considered more moderate than the liberal-leaning Francis, and Tagle, a liberal-leaning cardinal whose advocacy for the poor has drawn comparisons to Francis, have both been floated by papal experts as likely leading candidates.
Bettors on the next pope have wagered more than $25 million in total on Polymarket and $9 million on Kalshi.
Italians Matteo Zuppi and Pierbattista Pizzaballa, also considered by experts to be possible candidates, rank third (10%) and fourth (10%) on Polymarket, while their positions are swapped on Kalshi.
Hungary’s Peter Erdo ranks fifth on both Polymarket and Kalshi with 7% odds, while Ghana’s Peter Turkson ranks sixth on both platforms
USA TODAY
The identity of Pope Francis’ successor will be revealed shortly by Dominique Mamberti, the senior cardinal deacon, who convention says will appear on St. Peter’s balcony and announce, “Habemus Papam” — “we have a pope.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/religion/vatican-conclave-choses-new-pope-rcna205539
The new pope is from Chicago. This is a HUGE shocker!!!
Pope Leo the XIV!
Leo XIV could be considered the first Black pope in the history of the Catholic Church, though it is unclear how he identifies racially.
A member of a religious order named for the famous African saint Augustine of Hippo, Pope Leo XIV is also the first Roman pontiff of African ancestry since Pope St. Gelasius I, who died in 496 and was of Berber origin.
According to the U.S. Census, Prevost’s mother, the late Mildred Martinez, was the mixed-race daughter of Black property owners, the Haitian-born Joseph Martinez and New Orleans native Louise Baquié, a Creole.
https://www.blackcatholicmessenger.org/pope-leo-xiv-ancestry/amp/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/us/pope-leo-creole-lineage-hnk
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I think this is just the MSM doing what they do best. Sensationalizing something to make us think it's more significant than it really is based on the information in the article that I copied below.
"The newly elected pontiff is not known to have publicly commented on his Creole ancestry. But his brother told The New York Times the family did not identify as Black.
John Prevost told The New York Times he and his brothers didn’t discuss the Creole lineage, saying “It was never an issue.”
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Let's think critically here. The media is telling us this may play into his thinking as pope. Yet he has not once mentioned it in his long career of speaking to people about his beliefs and his brother states that his actual family never discussed it.
Why would it suddenly be something important to him as pope?
This would be like a professional baseball player, retired and in the hall of fame and surrounding himself with baseball his entire life but having a great grand father that played some football for a short while, being suddenly expected to make football important to how he conducts himself in a new role. .......with 0 indication it was important at any point in his long life.
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Is this interesting?
Yes, as are the roots of almost all of us.
Does this play a big role in making him different than somebody that didn’t have this background?
Youll have to show some evidence that points directly to it for me to believe that.