Posted on 11/26/2016 7:26:50 PM PST by 2nd amendment mama
Pope Francis sent his condolences following the death of infamous atheist and former Cuban President Fidel Castro Saturday.
“I express to you my sentiments of grief,” said Francis in a message to Castro’s brother, President Raul Castro. He noted that he grieved over the “sad news” and would pray for the former dictator.
Castro died Friday night at the age of 90. He was baptized Catholic and educated by the same Jesuit order to which Francis belongs. Despite his religious upbringing, Castro was a vocal atheist and declared Cuba an atheist state when he rose to power in 1959. He suppressed the Catholic church during his reign, sending priests to re-education camps and restricting the celebration of holidays. Castro was reportedly excommunicated under an anti-Communist decree by Pope Pius XII in 1962
The Catholic church lived on in Cuba, despite the Castro regime’s best efforts to destroy it. While only ten percent of Cubans are practicing Catholics, half identify as such. The Vatican intentionally maintained relations with Cuba throughout the Castro era, despite its generally anti-Communist policy. Local Catholic charities provided relief work in Cuba, particularly after Castro lessened restrictions on religion after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict and Pope Francis all visited the island nation in years following the changes.
Francis, like Castro, is a critic of unregulated capitalism. He is believed to have played a major role in the cessation of the decades-long U.S. embargo on Cuba.
“I will resume praying and turn to the church again if the pope continues in this vein,” said Raul Castro while visiting Rome in May, 2015. “I mean what I say.”
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That was my thought - compassion for commies, but not for the oppressed and victimized? Jesus never got angry at the sinners, only the religious leaders who didn't protect his flock. He called them "Graves full of dead men's bones". That seems rather fitting in this case, unfortunately.
I also echo your sentiments - I'm not a Catholic, but I do pray for those who would have an ear to hear the words of the the Lord, especially those who have been neglected by some who are lifted up as Christian leaders, but do not follow His precepts.
Bingo.
You said it.
Change comes from the bottom up.
I served on my children’s school commission and worked to improve and better the parish school.
I did parish food drives, filled w shoping carts full of thanksgiving meals inlcuding 4-5 huge turkeys every year that I worked at the local grocery store by soliciting fellow employees to donate the turkeys the company gave us each year.
I helped start the endowment for the parish primary school so we could eventually offer free tuiton (fingers crossed the next decade it comes true.)
I co-chaired multiple school auctions that raised more than a half a million dollars for the parish school.
In short....I have doing the Church’s work in deeds.
All through the last 20 yrs while the parish priest has been promoting every leftist agenda politically.
I don’t mean promoting the church doing its work. I mean he promoted leftist government programs like man made global warming and everything else Obama would be promoting as well as preaching contrary to church doctrine.
I continued to support the parish and its mission, as Christ would want me to do despite the human failings of the man assigned to serve the needs of our parish.
I was able to do this because I knew the leader of the church was doing the Lord’s work and following/promiting the doctrines.
Now I am faced with the pope doing exactly what my parish priest was doing....Rev Jeremiah Wright minus the cursing.
You keep saying none of my money goes to Rome...so what.
I am going to starve the local parish of my energy and money and if enough people do the same change will come from the bottom up.
When local parishes cannot pay the nut on their property loans, when they cannot pay staff and have to lay off people, when that happens the dioscesan leaders will pressure upwards and change will happen.
Or I could be wrong
Make sure they know WHY you are not giving, etc.
And you MUST attend Mass on Sundays and other days of obligation.
Of course the Pope is sad. He did not save this well known soul. Failure always makes people sad.
It amazes me the high percentage of Freeper Catholics that do not like (hate?) their current pope.
I’ve read all kinds of things that NEED to be done about him, and ways to make SURE that others like him do NOT emerge in the future.
But; if history past is any kind of indication of history future; NOTHING will happen and the next pope will be selected by the SAME methods that ALWAYS have been used.
While lamenting the fact that Luther apparently had the BALLS to do SOMETHING; they whine over the while visible fact that they have no balls of their own.
That’s literally the dumbest post I’ve ever read here on this topic.
When it’s WITHIN the Church, turning the other cheek is not applicable. We are admonished to take action, either expelling the heretic, or having nothing to do with him.
You know, I've heard this much of my life, but I cannot find any support for this in Scripture. Rather, believers are admonished to treat unbelievers as if they are already dead, and go their way without looking back, even if the unbeliever is a close relative (father.)
The way God looks at it, the default position of every man is justifiable judgement. Why should it be any different for us?
I'm not saying that we shouldn't expend our lives reaching the lost, but that should not be the center of our focus.
The reason why it should be different until the dying moment is because undeserved grace was pressed upon us, therefore we are always right to be part of the process of pressing it upon others. With care of course, that we don’t get so torn up with refusers of pearls that we can’t minister anywhere else. Jesus had infallible perception of who would never believe, and we do not, and therefore we would be exercising hard hearts by taking that attitude towards all unbelievers.
Also “God doth take no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” The sadness does not need to drag us down forever, however to express it in some measure is not an unscriptural thing (as long as we don’t let negative scriptures completely blot out our perception of positive ones).
Excellent answers, all.
But my point still stand, that this isn’t emphasized in Scripture. We are to preach the gospel, but we aren’t to compromise and/or beg people into the Kingdom.
Not sure what you mean by “beg” but a similar word is in fact used by Paul. It would involve making an attractive case for the Kingdom including sincerely showing what it looks like in one’s own life. “We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor 5:20)
We knew only a little of his background when he became pope. His Jesuit training however was a red flag and coming from South America where liberation theology took hold was another. He was a jovial sort at the beginning but early in his career as pope he said he knew good communists and it has been downhill ever since.
And you've been here for almost 16 years; too.
Hey!
I'm Number One at SOMETHING!
As Catholics; 'we' do not get much input into how things are run.
This guy leads the christian community?
I’m sure the Lutheran Lesbian bishops would all agree with you.
Enjoy your pope.
He seems to be really healthy.
I predict a LOOOoooong tenure for you guys.
This pope and all popes are not the vicar of Christ and can not change Scriptures or the God given doctrine therein. The Catholic Church is but a cult group as they have changed the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone to their own doctrinal lie of good works that even Islamic terrorists preach of their god Satan, aka. Allah, who is not at all the Most High but a deceiver and murderer from the beginning. The Vicar of the Church of the God of Israel is Jesus Christ alone. Save yourselves from this evil and untoward generation. Let God be true and every man a liar, in order that thy sayings may be true and you overcome by faith alone without false and ungodly works of the worthless flesh and mind. This Pope is a communist and a liar.
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