Pope Francis Gives Christmas Presents To 2,000 Immigrants

[kpete]

Two thousand immigrants at the Dono di Maria shelter near the Vatican were thrilled to receive Christmas presents from none other than Pope Francis. He sent them useful gift packages to allow them to connect with family over the holiday season, including a Christmas card signed by the Pope, postage stamps, a pre-paid international calling card, and a free day-pass for the Rome metro, reports Catholic News Agency.

Papal almoner Archbishop Konrad Krajewski personally helped the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity hand out the gifts. Sister Michelle told CNA that "the immigrants received the presents with love and were thankful for the opportunity to call and write their loved ones during the Christmas season."

As an advocate for the poor and marginalized, Pope Francis has specifically spoken out on behalf of immigrants. On the World Day of Migrants and Refugees in September he condemned "slave labor" and human trafficking. "Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity," he said. "They are children, women and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being more."

The Dono di Maria home was founded by Mother Teresa 25 years ago under Pope John Paul II's blessing, according to Patheos.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/pope-francis-christmas-immigrants-_n_4473273.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

[Ghola_Duncan]

1. Good stuff...

[reformist2]

2. Teaching by example is far and away the most powerful way.

It makes me want to do the same thing - although I can't afford to help 2,000. Maybe 2? ;p

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Francis and his holy war against gay people. Here is what he said in 2010 as he attempted

to stop the march of equality and justice in Argentina.
"In the coming weeks, the Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family…At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts.

Let’s not be naive: This is not a simple political fight; it is a destructive proposal to God’s plan. This is not a mere legislative proposal (that’s just it’s form), but a move by the father of lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God… Let’s look to St. Joseph, Mary, and the Child to ask fervently that they defend the Argentine family in this moment… May they support, defend, and accompany us in this war of God."

A man whose history is so full of invective needs to do public relations efforts to soften that image, which teh President of Argentina called 'Medieval and suggestive of the Inquisition'.
We all stand with and for something.....

[Drahthaardogs]

4. It is dishonest to call this a war against individual gay people, it is a war against gay marriage..

You would say that you cannot separate the two, and most would likely agree with you; however, the Church sees a dichotomy where the rest of us probably do not. To the Church, being gay the individual is one thing. Being gay the MARRIED individual with a family is quite another.

This is not out of context with the whole teaching of the Church on the FAMILY as whole. I doubt quite seriously that Pope Francis has a strong opposition to a particular gay person or persons, that does not appear to be consistent with his nature. He has a strong opposition to gay marriage, which by the Magisterium, cannot be viable in the eyes of the RCC for reasons I guess we could explore, but if you do not already know them, it will take time.

The RCC sees the destruction of the family as the #1 threat to their society. I mean, divorced and remarried people are considered adulterors and cannot receive communion in the Church, for their sins against the FAMILY.

Anyway, I guess I post this because you seem to think that Francis has some PR team out there trying to sugar coat his anti-gay message. I, for one, reject that premise. His statements are much in line with current RCC teaching. Being gay is not better nor worse than being straight. Pre-martial sex is no greater a sin among gays than straights. This is a threat against the traditional family, which the RCC is already quite clear about.

I say this, as a divorced and re-married man who was basically shut out of the Catholic Church years ago, because I violated the RCC idea of "FAMILY". I am not allowed to partake of the sacraments and I am not considered a full fledged member of the Church. In addition, as an adutleror, when I die, the RCC teaches that I will go to Hell because I am breaking a Commandment, thus have mortal sin on my soul.

If you want to take it further, even among non-divorced Catholics, those using artificial birth control SHOULD NOT BE TAKING THE SACRAMENTS PER THE MAGISTERIUM. The RCC only accepts first-time, hetersexual people, using only natural birth control methods as full-fledged Catholics. People just ignore that because the priest does not have access to your bedroom.

You are NOT being singled out. You have plenty of company.

[Katashi_itto]

7. +10000

[markpkessinger]

13. The official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church has been, and remains . . .

. . . that homosexuality is "intrinsically disordered." So yes, the Church's disapproval is still very much directed at individual gay people, as well as to gay marriage.

[Drahthaardogs]

14. Quit making shit up. That is NOT the modern Church's view

Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered'. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.[2]
The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.[29]

Like I said, a sinner in the Church's eyes. No more, no less. Quit making shit up please.

[markpkessinger]

15. Yes -- it calls for gay people to be treated with "respect, compassion and sensitivity" . . .

. . . but that is not a fundamental rebuttal of the teaching that "homosexuality is instrinsically disordered," as your own quote from the catechism clearly demonstrates.

And telling a particular group of people that they are divinely "called," by virtue of the gender they happen to be sexually attracted to vis-a-vis their own gender, to deny themselves one of the most primal and fundamental forms of intimate relations is abusive no matter how many times you claim to be "respecting" us or "treating us with sensitivity and compassion."

I am not making shit up, my friend. You, however, ARE whitewashing the RCC's teaching!

[Drahthaardogs]

20. No one is whitewashing anything, just pointing out that it is NOT all about YOU

My point is a direct rebuttal of another poster who seems to believe that there is an all out WAR ON GAYS full of vehement persecution to such a degree as to require a special group of Vatican Spin Doctors to mitigate the damage done by Bergoglio. That is a bullshit statement, as it your contention that gays are somehow "more" targeted than others in the RCC.

The RCC has plenty of disdain for all sorts of people and gays are just a subsect of that group. The RCC treats divorcees with UTTER contempt, even extending to the children of second marriages. Fuck, the Catechism condems divorcees and those who marry them as adulterers doomed to hell. They are, worse than murders, and no salvation is offered.

Women are persecuted within the RCC going as far as to excommunicate an 11 year old girl, her mother, and her doctor because she had an abortion. The poor child was impregnated by her father with twins at tender age of 10. The RCC still saw fit to excommunicate her.

In fact, if you want to get down in the weeds, about the only act that results in AUTOMATIC EXCOMMUNICATION is an abortion, and NOT gay sexual relations. Even in the event of a life threatening situation for the mother, rape, or incest, they are not permitted. What does that tacitly imply?

So, spare me the self-flagellation. The RCC treats many groups with as much or MORE contempt than gays. There is plenty of it to go around. There is no Anti-Gay Rota at the Vatican holding covert meetings and saying special incantations to cause gays harm. I hate to burst your bubble but you are not treated any differently than a host of other people by the RCC.

Anyway, Francis has stated a few things 1) Women need a stronger role in the Church 2) Divorcees need to be welcomed back into the Church and 3) He should not judge gay people who are in good standing with the Lord. Considering 2.2 billion people answer to the Pope, I will embrace these messages as a powerful voice for more tolerance, even if they are not perfect.

[markpkessinger]

21. That the RCC treats other groups badly . . .

...is something I never disputed. I took issue with your original statement that the RCC's opprobrium was not directed individually at LGBT persons, but rather to gay marriage as some kind of assault on the family. But the statement from the catechism describes homosexual orientation, per se, as being "objectively disordered," and so your statement is simply not true.

I never argued for some grand conspiracy against gays. I took issue with ONE point that you made and one point ONLY. And you have gone and read a shit-load into my argument that simply wasn't there.

[Drahthaardogs]

23. My response was to the poster above, who seems to believe there IS a grand conspiracy

The Church it what it is, and they have their rules. Some of them really suck...bad. As noted I, as a married man to a divorced woman, am ostracized from the Church and told I am going to Hell. I do not, even for a second, believe Pope Francis bears a deep seated hatred for me. He doesn't. I am a sinner. I am an adulterer. In the RCC eyes, my wife should be with her first husband (even though he cheated on her and abused her). They think I am bad, but I do not think they HATE me. The modern Church seems to view homosexuals relatively the same way.

However, that sentiment pretty much changes when it comes to marriage, the Church does get very aggressive and they DO have an agenda at that point. If I were dating and sleeping with a formerly married woman, they don't care too much. Marry her, and you get to go to Hell. The focus changes when marriage comes into play, for whatever reason. Gay marriage is a hot button for them, but I do not believe for a second Francis HATES gay people.

[markpkessinger]

24. Perhaps, but it was me you accused of "making shit up" . . .

. . . something I am not in the habit of doing. And you responded with a quote from the catechism that clearly shows I wasn't "making shit up" at all.

[Drahthaardogs]

25. Yes, because you do not completely understand what you read.

To put it simply, the "intrinsically disordered" basically means the parts do not connect correctly.

That might strike you as weird, but in another passage...God made them male and female. 'Because of this, a man will leave behind his father and mother, , and the two will become one flesh.' So, they are no longer two but one flesh. So, that (union) which God yoked together, let not man separate.

This is NOT metaphorically speaking. The RCC is literally concerned how the sex organs match up. Seriously. I am not making this shit up. So "intrinsically disordered" means, and I do not mean to be crude, a penis and anus do not and cannot produce a viable offspring, thus, the union is flawed.

You would have to read JP II teachings on the family to really understand this, and it is a long, and sometimes complicated read.

[markpkessinger]

26. The entire logic of the way "parts match up" . . .

. . . rests upon the assumption that sexuality is solely a matter of procreation -- an assumption I categorically reject, and an assumption that has played, and continues to play an enormous role in the persecution and oppression of LGBT persons.

Keep posting -- your bigotry becomes eminently clearer with each successive post on the subject.

[Drahthaardogs]

27. YOU may reject it

But that is the Church's stance. So EXPLAINING (but never stating I agree with) the way the Church sees it makes me a bigot huh? I see, you're smart huh?

And on EDIT:

Why are you too lazy to actually find out what the Catechism notes to present your argument? Like the people who say "How can Catholics BELIEVE the Pope is infallible?????" Without actually looking up what ex-cathedra means, they spout silliness.

The Catholic Church's stance on gays is wrong. Too bad you are too lazy to actually find out what the stance is. Of course, if you did, then I guess you would be a bigot, right? That's how it works in your world?

Fucking ridiculous.

[markpkessinger]

16. From your own quote of the catechism . . .

. . . . This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. . . .

So whether you use the phrase, "instrinsically disordered," which appears in your first quoted paragraph, or the phrase "objectively disordered, which appears in the second, your quote serves to underscore my point.

Oh, and as to the line from the catechism that homosexuality "constitutes for most [homosexuals] a trial," excuse me, but to the extent homosexuality is a "trial" for gay people, it is precisely BECAUSE of the anti-gay bigotry that has been fed, for centuries, by the Church's teaching!

[Chrom]

5. on the pope’s selection as Person of the Year...by the LGBT community

Although we all understand that the pope is not perfect, some of us are able to see that the positive he provides is much more important than the negative

"The Advocate (an LGBT publication) has named Pope Francis Person of the Year. The LGBT community has a special appreciation for the Pope because he has emphasized the dignity of each person and insisted that it is not possible to devalue another human being based on our understanding of that person’s sins."
http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=1139

[1000words]

22. The Vatican PR team won that award.

The Church understands it needs to re-brand, but that isn't quite evolving. With that stated, it is nice to at least have a likeable figurehead.

[NightWatcher]

6. where was this Pope when they selected Nazi Pope Ratfink?

Seems like Night and Day

[Drahthaardogs]

9. He came in second in the voting

So the rumors say...

[Beacool]

17. Yes, he came in second place.

He could have done so much since 2005, instead the Conclave chose Benedict. What a contrast!!!! The only good thing that Benedict did was resign.

[Brigid]

10. Word is . . .

Francis was almost elected that time.

[NightWatcher]

11. Nice guy or Nazi, hmmmm?

Should it have been that close?

[Drahthaardogs]

12. The Curia at the Vatican wields real power....they always have.

In addition, make no mistake, one of the reasons Francis got in is because he is by birth Argentinaian, but by blood, he is an Italian. After Pope JP II and then Ratzinger, someone with an Italian cognome was going to be elected.


Be happy it was not Scoala. Rumor had it the fix was in among the Italians, but the Americans, and Bishops from Africa and other 3rd world nations but il fine to it and elected Bergoglio.

[Beacool]

18. Yes, it was almost Scoala.

The Church dodged a bullet with that one. The Europeans wanted the Italian, the other Cardinals wanted Jorge Bergoglio.

Yes, Francis is the son of Italians, but most Argentines are of European descent anyway (around 97% of the population).

[Chrom]

8. LOVE Pope Francis!

So awesome to have a pope that is a true spiritual teacher!

[Beacool]

19. What I like is that he gave them practical gifts, not just a signed pic and a prayer.

A metro card, postage stamps and an international phone card are mighty useful when you are a poor immigrant.

[Drunken Irishman]

28. The biggest disappointment with Francis...

Is that he's 77. He may be able to go 10 years - but he's old. Pope John Paul II only made it to 84. Francis is probably not going to be there long. Then we have to worry about the next guy...

[Vashta Nerada]

29. Pope's PR team is busy this season.