Posted on 09/26/2015 7:19:09 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Jennifer Hudson, Gloria Estefan, Harry Connick Jr. and other entertainers performed for a jubilant crowd Friday, Sept. 25, at a concert to welcome Pope Francis on his first visit to the U.S. and celebrate his message of faith and goodwill.
The event, called "A Journey in Faith," stretched for two hours at Madison Square Garden with performers standing on a white elevated stage that would soon transform into the altar from which the pope would celebrate Mass.
Hudson, the Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning singer, sang "Hallelujah" backed by an orchestra, and drew roars from the crowd. Estafan sang "Mas Alla," Connick sang "How Great Thou Art" and several Broadway actors performed in the 20,000-seat arena. The audience included dignitaries, members of religious orders and everyday Catholics who won tickets through their local parishes.
Actor Martin Sheen hosted the ceremony, produced by the Archdiocese of New York and featuring an opening performance by a Catholic choir from the Church of St. Charles Borromeo in Harlem. Clad in white robes, they stood on the stage decorated with white flowers and set under a giant crucifix suspended from the arena ceiling.
A Latin Playlist for Pope Francis' U.S. Visit
Stephen Colbert made a video appearance, welcoming to the arena "Catholics and the non-Catholics who arrived really early for a Knicks game." He apologized for not being at the Mass in person, but said he had promised CBS that he would "do (his) new talk show every night."
Additionally, a bishop took the stage and gave a brief history of the papacy including a roll call of pope names, noting there had been "23 Johns, 12 Piuses, six Pauls, 14 Clements, but one Peter and one Francis," which drew loud cheers.
(Excerpt) Read more at billboard.com ...
“By the way. Accusations of “pure nastiness” are nasty.”
Live with it. You are being nasty for no good reason. Not tonite please.
When a religious leader comes to my country espousing communism and addressing issues he clearly does not understand, and he receives unending publicity, anyone has the right of free speech to express their opinions on the matter.
He could have used his time productively to aggressively address the murder of millions of babies by the baby murderers in this country, but instead he was yucking it up with the chief baby murderer.
When he visited the US John Paul II gave many sermons, and never gave the type of message that this Pope is giving. It's not about the Gospels. Communism/socialism is/are responsible for 100s of millions of deaths, and too much pain and suffering, yet this Pope decides to chastise a nation that is incredibly generous and much more respectful of religion than most of the socialist Western European countries (with the exception perhaps of Italy). His messages seem to me to be motivated by his own political biases, and resentment, and that is not consistent with the message of the Gospels. Just my humble opinion.
“He could have used his time productively to aggressively address the murder of millions of babies by the baby murderers in this country, but instead he was yucking it up with the chief baby murderer.”
He could have also used his time to speak to the gang members in the inner cities who are responsible for the annual deaths of many, including innocent children. He could have spoken directly to them, and been compassionate about the terrible waste of humanity gang life is, but it was more important to pay service to his own independent sociopolitical views.
It’s upsetting to me that he did not truly defend the defenseless. Murdered Unborn (Oh, he did make a statement at the UN about respecting life “at all stages”. Guess that included aborted babies) and the genocide of Christians in the Middle East he did not have time for.
But he wanted to tell us to swing our borders wide open. Can’t we screen our immigrants, Pope? You can bet that family (Christian) The Vatican took in was carefully screened and frisked.
The whole thing just irritated the daylights out of me. Can you tell?
You are so right.
To whom much is given, much is expected.
He has to answer for squandering an elegant opportunity to
address these desperate life-and-death situations.
This is a joke and so is this Pope. And, Yes, I’m Catholic.
Where’s Mylie and Rhianna? What, no rap? Thass raciss!
The Pope spit on every Catholic not only in the US but also in the entire world. I have never been so ashamed of being a Catholic. Just a few years removed from the joy of St John Paul II to this Argentinian Antichrist.
I’m not Catholic, but the Pope never uttered those words...it is a made up story.
Anyone invited from the soup kitchens or the park benches in central park?
I respect your opinion but believe we heard two different sets of speeches.
The things that made me uncomfortable were his discussion of “global warming,” and his discussion on immigration.
Everything else was pretty much right in line with respect for life, and the beatitudes.
I don’t believe he was calling for socialism or communism. I just didn’t hear that.
Let’s compare apples to apples. The Pope is a head of state. Secondly, he is the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion people. Those two facts create a gulf of difference. This is not to say Franklin Graham isn’t influential or unimportant, but it is a matter of media scale.
Secondly he did preach the Gospel, and used words where necessary. He called out the importance of life and demonstrated by action Christ’s call to feed the poor and visit the imprisoned, as well as give comfort and counsel (Little Sisters of the Poor).
A pastor tends his flock, and in the US, it is pretty darn big.
One final note, in the US, we tend to view most things through a political lens. While it is true people are going to try and make political hay from anything the pope says or does, it doesn’t mean the pope is trying to be political.
I bet 100 percent that if Jesus was on Earth again and spoke like he did back then, you would hate his guts. In fact I am sure of it.
{I bet 100 percent that if Jesus was on Earth again and spoke like he did back then, you would hate his guts.}
Christ, in righteous indignation, threw the moneychangers out of the temple. I am persuaded that he is saddened by the evil in our country. The blood of millions of babies stains our soil. Their broken bodies fill our garbage dumps and I do not believe he would be timid in expressing his indignation.
If the representative for Christ on Earth for millions of people, who comes to this country, with the entire world watching, speaking from platforms in the highest offices of our land cannot speak for the stolen lives of unborn babies, he will have to answer for it.
He promoted his political agenda. We have enough politicians. We need spiritual leaders to speak to our sin and in no uncertain terms. He had a captive audience and he squandered the opportunity.
Naps: We still have a few freedoms left, free speech being one. I was infuriated and expressed it. No apologies. I was “angry and sinned not”. Further, you do not know my relationship with Jesus.
No harm. It’s an emotional issue, but there are no hard feelings here.
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