End of remarkable synod sees pontiff beatify Pope Paul VI

[bananas]

Source: Associated Press

Pope Francis on Sunday beatified Pope Paul VI, concluding the remarkable meeting of bishops debating family issues that drew parallels to the tumultuous reforms of the Second Vatican Council which Paul oversaw and implemented.

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI was on hand for the Mass, which took place just hours after Catholic bishops approved a document charting a more pastoral approach to ministering to Catholic families.

They failed to reach consensus on the two most divisive issues at the synod: on welcoming gays and divorced and civilly remarried couples. But the issues remain up for discussion ahead of another meeting of bishops next year.

While the synod scrapped its ground-breaking welcome and showed deep divisions on hot-button issues, the fact that the questions are on the table is significant given that they had been taboo until Francis' papacy.

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Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/end-of-remarkable-synod-sees-pontiff-beatify-pope-paul-vi/

[bananas]

1. Pope Paul VI, first pontiff to visit Israel, is beatified

http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.621524

Pope Paul VI, first pontiff to visit Israel, is beatified
At the time of the pope's visit, Vatican did not recognize Israel as a state.
By JTA | Oct. 19, 2014 | 3:35 PM

Pope Paul VI, the first pontiff to visit Israel and the pope who opened the Roman Catholic Church to formal dialogue with the Jewish world, has moved a step closer to sainthood.

Pope Francis beatified Paul at a Vatican ceremony Sunday at the close of a synod of bishops.

Paul VI reigned from 1963-1978. He visited Jerusalem in January 1964 on a brief trip to Israel and Jordan. It was the first time a reigning pope had visited the Holy Land, but at the time the Vatican did not recognize Israel as a state – Israel and the Holy See established full diplomatic relations in 1993 – and Paul did not pronounce the word “Israel” in public during his tenure.

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Vatican Radio described Paul as “the pope who steered and implemented the Second Vatican Council” and whose decisions “were often met with psychological resistance from those around him for moving with the times.”

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[bananas]

2. Pope Francis takes predecessor a step closer to sainthood

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/19/world/europe/vatican-beatification/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Pope Francis takes predecessor a step closer to sainthood
By Ben Brumfield, CNN
updated 7:00 AM EDT, Sun October 19, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

- A relic and a miracle are required for Pope Paul VI to be beatified
- The relic is a blood-stained vest from an attempt on his life in the Philippines
- The miracle involves a woman who refused to abort an unborn child for medical reasons
- Pope Paul was known for his world travels and ministry to the poor

(CNN) -- Pope Francis moved a predecessor closer to sainthood on Sunday, beatifying Pope Paul VI on the last day of a gathering in Rome of church leaders from around the world.

It was a ceremonious close to this year's Synod of the Bishops on the Family, which has ended in clinches over how to minister to gay and lesbian people or whether to give Holy Communion to Catholics who have divorced and remarried -- which the Catholic Church considers adultery.

Paul VI, who was pontiff from 1963 until his death in 1978, had faced similar pressures during the advent of free love, when the church came out against birth control. Pope Paul VI based the decision on Catholic teachings on marriage.

But the church is honoring other aspects of his work, highlighting his efforts to spread social justice and minister to the poor, topics Pope Francis also carries on his banner.

Paul VI is also known for having pioneered papal world visits, traveling to Africa, Latin America and Asia. He was the first pope to visit five continents, the Vatican has said.

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[jehop61]

3. Pope Paul is also the pontiff who

reiterated the Church's ban on birth control. How appros to beatify him right after the Bishops reaffirmed his decree

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. They will be able to make him the patron saint of overpopulation

and of increased maternal death rates.

[LiberalElite]

5. Anyone else remember this '60s classic poster?

[JDPriestly]

6. Sorry. I self-deleted because I posted something about the wrong pope.

[cbayer]

7. Thanks bananas.

What this did was uncover the deep divide in the hierarchy. It will now have to be recognized and addressed, which is the first step towards any kind of change.

I would have wished for more, but this may be as far as they could go at this point.

We shall see what happens next year.

[Monk06]

8. Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints. So every pope becomes a saint after

death. As every Caesar becomes a god, every pope is elevated to sainthood. It's become the Vatican version of the gold watch.

[Gore1FL]

10. Being a cult leader has it's perks. n/t

[olegramps]

11. When the people asked for passionate changes Paul VI gave them:

The Stones of Humanae Vitae, reaffirming the church's ban on contraception and Sacerddotalis Caelibatus maintaining the celibacy of priests.

Both of these encyclicals proved to be disastrous blunders. Most Catholics don't even know that a commission appointed Pope John XXIII after extensive examination of the issue of contraception recommended that the church modify its ban. Paul VI, under the influence of the future Pope John Paul II, disregarded their recommendations and issued his encyclical reaffirming the ban. The result was the massive exodus of millions of Catholics from the church. The response was the same in regard to his reaffirmation of priestly celibacy with thousands of priests leaving the active ministry. Their exodus was mild in comparison to the number of nuns who packed up and left.

Both Paul VI and John Paul II are fully responsible for demise of the church's influence especially in regard to the vast majority of young people. It was especially shocking to learn that Pope John Paul II was to be canonized when he protected one of the church's most notorious pedophiles while closing his eyes to the entire disaster. Marciel Maciel, the founder of the Legions of Christ, established numerous minor seminaries that were designed to attract young adolescents to the priesthood. It was a controversial issue and several American bishops refused to allow them to be establish seminaries in their dioceses. Numerous men testified at the Vatican over the years that they had been sexually abused by Marciel but their testimony was ignored by Pope John Paul II and Marciel remained to be one of his close confidents. He was a darling of the conservatives and the pope since he was providing the church with fresh crop of brain washed zombies to carry on the traditions of ignorance.

It was only after John Paul's death that Vatican was able to take action against Marciel and launched a investigation of not only him but his Legions of Christ organization. It was revealed that he not only abused numerous young boys, but had father at least one child and possibly several more. Many can not help to wonder if he is the church's patron saint of pedophiles. What can those men think whose complaints were totally ignored by the so called Vicar of Christ other than to be disgusted by a church that honors this moral failure.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. I met him when I was 12. Make him a 'saint' at your own risk.

That's all.