This "pope" is not "an advocate of the Gospel, or the person of Christ whatsoever. According to official Vatican sources:
http://themoynihanletters.com/from-the-desk-of/letter-47-to-mary
His very first act as "pope" was to go to slip out of the Vatican, drive across Rome to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the largest basilica in the world DEDICATED TO Mary, the so-called "Mother of God". He then proceeded to pray in front of an ancient ICON, called the Salus Populi Romani, or the Protectress of the Roman People (preposterously held by Roman Catholic tradition to have been painted by St. Luke himself). He also brought flowers and laid them beneath the idolic ICON IN HONOR OF MARY!
So, the very first act of this new "pontificate" was to pray before the idol of the Virgin Mary which he chose to do of his own free will! So much for being an "advocate for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
As an evangelical professor of Biblical and Theological Studies I concur with the genuine spiritual assessment of the situation proclaimed by the spiritually discerning individual below:
"The pope is not an advocate for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He advocates a self-made religion full of tradition and rituals. If the writer is reformed, he ought to know the distance between those who advocate the Gospel from the Scriptures and that promulgated by Rome. This pope is just as errant as all of the rest of them have been and implicitly teaching just as much error."
So, the very first act of this new "pontificate" was to pray before the idol of the Virgin Mary which he chose to do of his own free will! So much for being an "advocate for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!Please learn about Mary (before spouting off): http://www.catholicscomehome.org/mary-the-saints/
RE: This “pope” is not “an advocate of the Gospel, or the person of Christ whatsoever.
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OK, let’s agree on this for the meantime.
My question was not about doctrine however, my question is about the fight to maintain our liberty to worship without government interference.
Is it not possible to disagree doctrinaly YET UNITED on MORAL ISSUES we agree with?
For instance, when Obama forces religious institutions ( which will include non-Catholic Christian institutions ) to pay for abortificents, when the municipalities force Christians to pay for gay “spouses” and force boys scouts to accept gay scout leaders, CAN’T WE AS NON-CATHOLICS WORK TOGETHER WITH CATHOLICS TO FIGHT AGAINST THIS INFRINGEMENT ON OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS?
March 14, 2013, Thursday To MaryThat was the first of 5 things, this is the fifth:1. Mary. At about 8 a.m., he slipped out of the Vatican in a single, unmarked black car a Volkswagen, not a Mercedes without an escort, and drove across Rome to the Basilica of St. Mary Major (painting, below), the largest (and most beautiful) basilica in the world dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God.
There, he prayed in front of an ancient icon, called the Salus Populi Romani, or the Protectress of the Roman People, held by tradition to have been painted by St. Luke himself. He also brought flowers and laid them beneath the icon on honor of Mary (photo below).
So, the first act of his pontificate was to pray before the Virgin Mary.
This is very encouraging.=============
5. Curial posts not reconfirmed. The 5th thing Pope Francis did was something he did not do. He did not reconfirm all of the Curial posts that had been zeroed out by the renunciation by Benedict XVI of the papal throne. As Rocco Palmo writes in his Whispersintheloggia blog: As the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia all lost their posts at the sede vacante, the group of prefects and presidents must be reconfirmed by the new pontiff for the governance of the Church to be resumed. While past Popes have traditionally made the pro forma act within 24 hours of their election, this time it remains conspicuous by its absence. (The officials may subsequently be replaced at any time, as they serve at the pleasure of the pontiff.) Then again, considering the in-house storm that preceded the Conclave, perhaps theres an explanation for the delay namely, that Francis sudden turn-up at the check-in counter wont be the biggest of his early surprises .
Rocco also notes that, on the way back to the Vatican this morning, the Pope called for a detour to the Domus Paulus VI, the clergy lodging across the Tiber that was his pre-Conclave hotel, to collect his things, check out and pay the bill himself (see this incredible photo below):
Pope Francis wanted to set an example by personally running the errand and settling the tab with his own money, Vatican spokesmen said at todays afternoon press briefing.
He is doing things as a regular Joe, taking care of biz.
Hopefully he will truly be like St Francis and care for the poor of the world.
Eliminating some of the superfluous positions at the Vatican should save some money.
And I imagine if they took apart that shrine to Mary (Basilica of St. Mary Major, the largest and most beautiful basilica in the world dedicated to Mary,) they could melt down a lot of precious metals, glean some precious gems, and help the millions of poor Catholics. To start with. And then to others in need.
Go for it, Pope Francis!