Posted on 11/19/2014 5:02:53 AM PST by Gamecock
VATICAN CITY Weve all received gifts we cant use or frankly just dont like. They get stuffed away in a back closet or sold. Some are eventually re-gifted to unsuspecting relatives or friends. But if you are the pope, getting rid of unwanted gifts is not as easy as that, what with the Spartan living conditions and protocol and all. So Pope Francis has found a way to turn the generosity of others into good luck for a few.
Starting this week, the Vatican is raffling off tickets for a chance to win unwanted papal gifts that Francis doesnt need. Raffle tickets cost 10 and can be purchased at a select few spots including the Vatican post office and at the Vaticans tourist and pilgrimage bureau in St. Peters Square. The winners will be drawn on January 8, which makes the raffle tickets the perfect Christmas gift.
The prizes are impressive and give a window into just what sort of presents people give the pope. The grand prize is a pristine white Fiat Panda 4X4 with full options. The second, third, and four prizes are bicyclesbaby blue, orange and gray respectively; and the fifth prize is a tandem bicycle built for two which begs the question of just who the giver of that gift thought the pontiff might be cycling around St. Peters Square with.
According to Romes Messaggero newspaper, which broke the story on Tuesday, the potential pontifical consolation prizes include an Illy brand capsule coffee maker, a HD digital camera, a silver picture frame, a Homero Ortega Panama hat, and a vast array of belts and comfortable shoes in the style the pope likes to wear. There are wallets, briefcases, and document holders, too. A Vatican spokesperson told The Daily Beast that the monogrammed items would not be included in the raffle at this time, though he didnt rule out that further raffles would be held if this one proves financially lucrative. There are even electronics like iPhone and iPod docking stations and an assortment of pricey pens intended for the pontiff.
The money raised in the holy raffle will go to the Popes main charity for the poor. The project is being overseen by Father Corrado Krajewski, a Polish priest who has been Franciss papal almoner since his election. Don Corrado, as he is known on the streets of Rome where he frequently distributes gifts of money, food, and clothing to the poor for Francis. Last week, Krajewski initaited a project to install showers for the homeless in the restrooms in St. Peters Square after meeting a man in Rome he had hoped to buy dinner for, who said he really wanted a hot shower instead. Rome charities estimate that there are around 8,000 homeless people in Rome.
Father Corrado also travels to poor areas around Rome to visit people in need to distribute money to pay utility bills, and past-due rents along with distributing rosaries and sacred pictures of saints, according to Messaggero, which says when Francis assigned him he told Krajewski.
You will not be a desk bishop desk. You'll have to be an extension of my me to bring a caress to the dispossessed and the last of the city, Francis reportedly told his good will angel. I can not get out of the Vatican but you will.
The papal raffle is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of euro and should easily clean the papal closets of hundreds of unneeded and unwanted gifts.
Where is the proof? I am on here several times a day and I do not remember ever reading statements like that.
I’m Catholic, and apart from Muslims and some Hindus, am unaware of any modern-day iconoclasts.
Please expand on your claims.
It would be very interesting, because I am not aware of any real Protestant iconoclasm outside of maybe the Amish or related sects, since the Protestant Reformation - the 1600’s or so.
Post 38: Many of the people who post here do not believe in representation of the Christ figure - theyve told me it is an abomination. One fellow suggested the entire Vatican be burned to the ground. Not exactly art lovers.
IMO there's art, there's icons, and then there are idols. Any of the first two can become an idol. I can understand why some FReepers (I'm not one of them) might think that any visual representation of Jesus Christ is sinful. I would imagine that, in their thinking, any art representing a religious figure being prayed to would quickly become an idol.
Yep. They just toss remarks out there and hope some of them stick. Very misleading.
Anything can become an idol, if someone mistakes it for God.
IMHO, the worst (and most common) idol in XXI Century America is the Almighty Self.
Here’s another idol: The incessant bickering, backbiting gotcha-games that characterize the Religion Forum ...
That seems to be the least of the concerns of Catholics here. Their obsession with earthly treasure is rather striking however.
ouch
You noticed that too ey?
Not to play.
“War Games”, 1983.
“WOPR” = War Operations Planned Response ... In my engineering career, I have seen far worse examples of force-fitting words into a cool-sounding acronym.
I try to avoid the FR/RF interdenominational garbage. I’ve seen nothing good come of it in the year that I’ve been here, and a glance through the archives is even worse.
Quite frankly, if I weren’t already Christian, the FR/RF might put me off Christianity entirely.
Oh? Really?
Been to the Vatican and enjoyed it a great deal. One thing I found tacky though were the lines on the floor indicating how large other famous churches were in comparison to the enormity of St Peters. That kind of oneupmanship was not very becoming. The funny thing is the church in the Ivory Coast which is equal or a bit larger than St Peters and was modeled after it wasn’t drawn. ;)
I can't think of a single name at the moment, but I've encountered maybe a half-dozen over the last fourteen years. IIRC all of them were semi-pelagian at best. None of them stuck around very long.
I'll say again: The interdenominational squabbling on this forum, the incessant backbiting, the gotcha-games, are all repugnant.
Enough said.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.