Wanted: One TV so parishioners of a 'Poor Church' can watch Bergoglio in Philadelphia

Wanted: One TV so parishioners of a poor church can watch Pope Francis in Philadelphia

St. Francis of Assisi, the poorest parish in Harrisburg, is hopeful and praying that it will come in possession of a TV so parishioners can watch Bergoglio when he visits Philadelphia in September. Most can't afford to travel there.

The good friar is praying for a TV.

That, by most church needs, is not a tall one.

But for the Rev. E. Orlando Reyes, a Capuchin Franciscan friar and head pastor at St. Francis of Assisi in Harrisburg, it could mean the difference between many of his parishioners having a chance to see Pope Francis or missing out on what is certain to be an historic event.

"There's so many people that would love to go but they can't," said Reyes.

His parish - which has been on Market Street in Harrisburg for 114 years - is the poorest in the Harrisburg Diocese. The majority of the parish is made up of immigrants from across most of Latin America, but increasingly from Asia and Africa.

Reyes said many parishioners do not own TVs or cars, and unless he somehow procures a TV, many will miss out on "seeing" Francis when he visits Philadelphia in September as part of his first trip to the U.S.

"We have so many needs every day." -  Rev. Orlando Reyes

Francis, who will make stops in Cuba, Washington, D.C. and New York, will cap of his trip with a stop in Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and 27. He is scheduled to celebrate an outdoor public Mass to an estimated 2 million people that Sunday. He will celebrate Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway. Although the Mass is open to the public transportation restrictions and lodging limitations are bound to make it difficult for visitors to make the pilgrimage.

Reyes is praying - and he knocked on wood - that somehow, out of somewhere, his church comes in possession of a TV, which he would install in the church basement and invite the parish to watch the pope's Mass and public addresses together.

His parish, after all, bears the name of the popular Argentine-born pontiff.

In March 2013, when he was selected to succeed former Pope Benedict XVI, Francis explained that he chose to be called after St. Francis of Assisi, "the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation."

"How I would like a church that is poor and that is for the poor," Francis said at the time.

Reyes has embraced Francis with special admiration and affection not just because he is a fellow Latino, but because of his work with the poor.

"That's what I see in him, another Jesus Christ walking among us, being the gospel to us, a gospel that is sometimes hard to understand," Reyes said. "But we see the way he has embraced the people. That has touched my life."

Reyes said he trust in God to send benefactors, not only to deliver a TV, but to help in the work with the poor, "Not just to talk about the poor but to meet with the poor, to come and help us."

St. Francis may be the poorest church in the diocese - and faces a $741,000 debt - but it runs a soup kitchen that feeds up to 280 people every day of the year, Monday through Saturday. Parishioners also volunteer to visit prison inmates and the sick in hospital.

"We have so many needs every day," said Reyes, who is from El Salvador. "It's the poorest parish but at the same time we do so much here and offer to the community."

Reyes has tickets to the papal events, including the private Mass the pontiff is scheduled to celebrate that Saturday with members of the Philadelphia clergy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Reyes, however, says he probably will stay back in his church.

"My people," he said. "They cannot come. I don't feel comfortable just leaving them and me going over. One of my hopes is - knocking on wood - if someone can least help us or donate a tv or something that we can put in church basement and be able to have the whole celebration to present here in the church."

In spite of the financial hardships that many of his parishioners face, Reyes last year challenged his St. Francis community to renovate the church, which was in disrepair.

Parishioners went above and beyond his call. They stripped and restored the pews, refurbished the statues of saints and took up the old carpet in the altar to reveal a beautiful hardwood floor.

All the materials - from the paint, to brushes, to the machines and tools needed for the various jobs - were donated by parishioners.

"This is amazing," Reyes said. "They have to work two, three jobs to be able to survive with their families but they were able to give back. That is so special. It's such a special community. I'm so blessed with all of it."

St. Francis, he said, also has a dedicated and faithful white membership. The work, Reyes said, brought the community together.

"It's adding to the community. They are taking care of the church," he said. Now, he said, if anyone is caught scratching a pew, fellow parishioners will call out that person.

"Those little things make a whole difference," Reyes said.

Sunday collection at St. Francis - from its four Masses - rarely exceeds $3,500 - nearly $3,000 short of what the church needs to pay its bills and upkeep. That's the reason St. Francis faces a $741,000 debt.

"What can we do?" Reyes said. "Like I told the bishop, what can we do? Just close the church and let them go? I don't think so. We have to do something."

Reyes says he is confident a TV will turn up.

"I have a hope that God will provide," he said. I don't know why I have that certainty but I do. I believe. I tell people we have to pray, we have work, but at the same time we have to find resources to be able to do it."

Source

IRAN AND THE 'BERGOGLIO FACTOR'

BERGOGLIO GIVEN PLATFORM BY CONGRESS

Iran and the Francis Effect...

Congress is giving the left-leaning Pope a platform ahead of a critical vote on the Iran nuclear deal.

Members of Congress trying to derail the Iran nuclear deal will have to contend with the “Francis Factor.”

By sheer scheduling luck — let’s just say it probably wasn’t what House Speaker John Boehner intended — Pope Francis will address a joint session of Congress on Sept. 24.

Story Continued Below

That’s a week after the Republican-led Congress is expected to vote down the nuclear agreement but probably ahead of a vote to override a presidential veto. The next day, Francis speaks at the U.N. General Assembly, whose timing means a slew of global leaders, many of whom favor the deal, also will be rubbing elbows with lawmakers in New York and Washington.

No one knows for sure what Francis will say, but he’s not shy about his opinions, and odds are that he will discuss his support for the Iran deal. If so, his remarks could prove the antithesis of the speech Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made to Congress in March, which was aimed at galvanizing opposition to the deal.

As a result, the White House sees the pope’s visit as a blessing. It insists, however, that it won’t be giving Francis any talking points.

“It’s the pope. So I’m not going to try and divine — no pun intended — what he’s going to say,” a senior administration official said. Still, “the pope is an authoritative voice on this, so obviously the timing is fortuitous.”

Just how much influence Francis will have on lawmakers’ votes is hard to gauge. 

First, it’s still possible that the first vote on the deal won’t even happen on that timetable, particularly if Senate Democrats successfully filibuster a vote. Second, the White House believes it has enough support to sustain a presidential veto of a vote against the agreement, so even a lawmaker who secretly backs the deal but politically can’t vote for it may not feel the need to change his stance between the first and second votes.

And third, how Francis frames the Iran section of his speech could be critical in how it is received.

Already on a range of issues, from the dangers of income inequality to climate change, the left-leaning pontiff has unsettled many American conservatives, including some who are running for president. If Francis gets too blunt, unhappy lawmakers could turn to arguments used against him in the past — saying he should leave politics to politicians and stick to matters of faith.

Stephen Colecchi, a top official with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, predicted Francis would take a positive angle on Iran, “whether to speak words of encouragement for Congress to reconsider if the situation warrants that” or “gratitude if indeed Congress upholds the agreement.” He also batted down the notion that the pope should avoid so-called “political” matters.

“Concern for the poor and concern for peace are profoundly spiritual issues,” Colecchi said. “These are not optional issues. These are at the heart of the gospel.”

The pope’s visit has been planned for months and was built around the World Meeting of Families, a major Catholic gathering in Philadelphia.

Francis lands in D.C. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, after first visiting Cuba, whose recent detente with the U.S. he helped facilitate. The pope will meet with President Barack Obama that Wednesday, then speak to Congress the next day. After his Friday U.N. appearance in New York, Francis heads to Philadelphia, where his schedule includes a visit to a prison.

Boehner, who is Catholic and expected to vote against the nuclear deal, announced in February that Francis had accepted an invitation to speak to a joint session of Congress during his U.S. visit, making him the first pope to do so.

The most serious of the evils that afflict the world these days are youth unemployment and the loneliness of the old. This, to me, is the most urgent problem that the Church is facing." – Pope Francis Oct/2013

When asked what topics the pope may mention in his address, the Republican speaker recently said, “Well, listen, there’s one thing we know about this pope: He’s not afraid to take on the status quo or not afraid to say what he really thinks.”

A number of Catholic organizations have been trying to ramp up support for the Iran nuclear deal, aiming to win over Catholic lawmakers in particular.

When asked about the pope’s influence on their thinking, aides to some of these lawmakers, such as senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), said only that they were still reviewing the agreement. Heitkamp’s office pointed out that she’s said she is “incredibly excited” about Francis’ visit.

Ambassadors from the five other countries who forged the deal with Iran alongside the U.S. have been meeting with American lawmakers to urge them to support the agreement. The U.N. General Assembly could draw an influx of heads of state to Washington during September, adding to the diplomatic pressure.

Netanyahu also will likely raise his objections to the agreement during his speech to the General Assembly. But he’ll have to contend then with Francis’ speech, as well as Obama’s.

Source

Vatican workers listed among users of Ashley Madison site

A number of Vatican addresses are listed among the 37 million users

People working at the Vatican are reportedly among the 37 million users of infidelity website Ashley Madison.

Websites of at least two dozen people with the .va address are among those who had signed up to meet married people for liaisons. There are also 15,000 people with US military addresses and 140 British government workers.

The 9.7 gigabyte file called “Time’s Up!” was posted on the internet by hackers, and includes names ages, addresses, phone numbers and credit card details.

The business works on the promise of anonymity and the motto “Life is short. Have an affair”. The hackers from the “Impact Team” carried it out because they the people are “cheating dirtbags”.

The Ashley Madison website has called it “an act of criminality” and the FBI is now investigating the hack.

Source

New Generation of Nuns Favor Tradition and Thrive

The Sisters of Life is attracting young women while older more "modern" orders are dying out...

Movies such as The Sound of Music, The Blues Brothers and Sister Actevidence the intrigue surrounding the life of a nun.  Nuns in their 30s aren’t as common as they once were so the average person isn't as likely to come into contact with one. In fact, according to Pew Research Center data the numbers of religious in America has declined dramatically since the 1960’s. However, they are on the increase again in some places such as the United Kingdom, with the most attractive institutes interestingly being the more traditional orders, such as those who follow traditional prayer routines and still wear habits.

This week The Wall Street Journal published insights into the life of 30-year-old Sister Bethany Madonna together with seven other Sisters of Life also in their 30s. Based in New York, the Sisters of Life is a reasonably new order established in 1991 by New York Cardinal John O’Connor. Since then, it has thrived.  The impetus for the order came when Cardinal O’Connor visited Dachau, the site of a Nazi death camp. It moved him to start a religious community of women with a fourth vow to protect the sacredness of every human life, in addition to the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Canonically speaking, they are sisters and not nuns, working in the community as they do, rather than living a contemplative life, though they do spend at least four hours in prayer every day.

Earlier this year, the New York Post expressed concern at the city’s declining birth rate and the plight of New York families.  A significant number of births are from the city’s poorest neighborhoods — nearly 6 in 10 moms were on Medicaid or government-financed health insurance for the needy:

The city’s birth rate is the lowest since 1936 — having steadily declined over the past decade, according to data obtained by The Post. “This is a very troubling trend,” said Conservative Party state chairman Mike Long. “The economy is hurting families and the development of families … If we don’t produce enough young people, society won’t be able to pay for Social Security and Medicaid,” he warned.

Blacks had the lowest birth rate citywide, with 12.7 per 1,000 — and more black women are having abortions than babies, at a rate of 55 percent.  “When the abortion ratio reaches nearly 60 percent in some communities, we as community leaders need to examine the choices we are making as we educate our young people,” the New York Metropolitan Clergy for Better Choices said.

As its fertility rate declines and more pregnant mothers struggle, one of the things the Sisters of Life concentrate on is helping pregnant women. This includes welcoming pregnant women in crisis to live among them as guests and practically assisting pregnant women in other ways.  

As eight young women dressed in blue habits and long white veils prepared to offer their final vows as members of the Sisters of Life this month, the Wall Street Journal asked “What could lead a personable young woman from a happy family to give up everything -- especially at a moment when women have never had as many opportunities before them?”.  Eight years of life already within the community have culminated in this day’s decision so it isn’t one made lightly. Journalist, William McGurn, writes:

These are happy, excited women. What is it they believe they have found? Sister Bethany says it’s the “peace in your heart” that comes from knowing you are where you are meant to be. In this case it’s a place so countercultural, it’s almost un-American. For in a nation founded upon the God-given right to the pursuit of happiness, these sisters vow to put the happiness of others before their own … “After eight years,” she says with a smile, “you know if this is the life for you.”

… It is precisely the abandonment of self to Christ that sustains these women in those moments when perhaps they’d rather not obey, when they might prefer not to get out of bed in the middle of the night to help a pregnant mother who is throwing up in the next room …

Perhaps some of the babies they help will one day add to their numbers.

Source

PROTEST PLANNED PARENTHOOD THIS SATURDAY AUGUST 22nd!

#ProtestPP this Saturday, August 22nd. Click here to find a protest near you

They were scraping the brain out of a baby while his heart was still beating.

That's the newest revelation in the series of videos about Planned Parenthood's evil abortion factory.

This Saturday, August 22nd, thousands across the nation are gathering in front of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities to protest the horrific harvesting and selling of aborted baby parts.

At the end of World War II, General George S. Patton marched local citizens through the Nazi concentration camp at Buchenwald. We cannot wait to be forced to see the horrors taking place in our own neighborhoods. WE HAVE A CHANCE TO FIGHT THIS HIDDEN HOLOCAUST HERE AND NOW!

Join us this Saturday and stand firm against an industry that views children the way a butcher views cuts of beef. Click here to find a protest near you

We know the literally satanic ways Planned Parenthood operates. Now we have an opportunity to join in one voice and to shout out on behalf of those who can not speak for themselves.

Christus Vincit,
Michael Hichborn

Related

Horror: Intact Fetus Moves Arms, Legs Outside Womb in Latest Planned Parenthood Video

“I’m looking at this fetus and its heart is beating and I don’t know what to think!”

                                   Immaculate Heart of Mary ora pro nobis!

Eleison comments - Number CDXXII (422)

Entertainer’s Alchemy

To think that two and two are four,
And neither five nor three,
The heart of man has long been sore,
And long ‘tis like to be.
              —A.E. Housman (1859–1936)

A reader of these “Comments” forwarded to me in May a video-clip from the Internet (to be found here) which she said was then circulating widely on Facebook and was having “a massive influence on people.” The clip presents a well-known black American entertainer, Will Smith, being interviewed on “Progressive Thought Patterns,” which is a pompous title for a pile of nonsense. But then who ever resorted to Facebook or to icons of entertainment to hear sense? The interest lies for Catholics in seeing how the exact same Kantian nonsense that has overwhelmed the Church (see Pascendi, as the key to Vatican II) is also fermenting at street level amongst ordinary people without the least knowledge of Kant or of Pascendi. Here is what Will Smith says to his interviewer (with a few comments inserted in italics):—

“I don’t wanna’ (want to) be an icon (which he certainly is, as having been highly successful in Hollywood), I wanna’ be an idea. You know, I wanna’ represent an idea. I wanna’ represent possibilities. I wanna’ represent magic, right, that you’re in a universe, and two plus two equals four. Two plus two equals four only if you accept that two plus two equals four. Two plus two is gonna’ be what I want it to be, you know, and there’s a redemptive (note that word – so what is Redemption?) power that making a choice has, you know, like feeling you’re an effect (perhaps he means “cause”) to all things that are happening. Make a choice, like you just decide what is gonna’ be, who you’re gonna’ be, how you’re gonna’ do it. Just decide, and then from that point the universe is gonna’ get outa’ your way. It’s water, it wants to move and go around, and stuff, you know, so for me I wanna’ represent possibilities. I wanna represent th e idea that you really can make what you want.

“One of my favourite books is The Alchemist by Paul Coelho, and I just believe that. I believe that I can create whatever I wanna’ create. If I can put my head to it, study it and learn the patterns ( . . . ), I feel very strongly that we are who we choose to be. I consider myself an alchemist. An alchemist is basically a mystical chemist, right, and one of the great feats that alchemists used to do is that they would take lead, take a chunk of lead, and make it turn from lead into gold. So I connect it(my idea, presumably) symbolically to being able to turn lead into gold. My grandmother used to say, ‘Life give you a lemon, you go ahead and make lemonade’ (that of course is good old-fashioned common sense, two generations back. But for Will Smith –) To me that’s alchemy. That’s the same concept behind The Alchemist.”

All the above is a close reproduction of Will Smith’ s own words, not in order to make fun of him, but in order to show Kant at work amongst ordinary people who are far from being readers of Kant.

Notice that Will Smith is not completely devoid of common sense. If the word “alchemy” really means making lemonade out of lemons, then it respects reality. But if the word stands for making gold out of lead, as it often does, then it stands for a dream which has been dreamt down the ages and represents escaping from reality, or, worse, the refusal of natural reality and even a resorting to devils for a preternatural bending of it.

Now Will Smith is an entertainer, and his video-clip is quite entertaining, so nothing obliges us to take too seriously anything he says. But just recently a professional mathematician, one who is at the top of his profession, told me what scorn for objective reality he observes amongst his colleagues. The real problem goes way beyond mere entertainment.

Kyrie eleison.

Philadelphia archdiocese cancels LGBT program ahead of Pope Francis visit

The Philadelphia Archdiocese has ordered a local parish hosting events for gay and transgender Catholics during Pope Francis’ U.S. tour next month to cancel the program, organizers said on Tuesday.

Workshops and other discussions around lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues were scheduled to be held at St. John the Evangelist Church on Sept. 26, the day the pope arrives in Philadelphia for a two-day visit.

Pope Francis will attend a summit on families being held in the city, and LGBT Catholic groups have asked for an official presence at the gatherings to express their view that gays and lesbians should be more included in the Church.

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput has said he would allow the presence of openly gay and transgender Catholics at the World Meeting of Families but did not want the groups to lobby for their issues during the event.

Last week, St. John officials told organizers of the LGBT program they were directed by the archdiocese not to hold the event at their parish, organizers said. The LGBT program was not part of the families summit.

“This is yet another instance of the kind of exclusion LGBT Catholics and supporters have endured for decades,” the Equally Blessed Coalition, a gay Catholic coalition and coordinator of the event, said in a statement.

An archdiocese spokesman said parishes decide which programs to offer but it is expected that they have content in line with the Church’s teachings.

“In this case, the Archdiocese was asked to evaluate the program and provide guidance, which it did,” spokesman Kenneth Gavin said. He said the decision was made locally by the parish.

The program’s centerpiece, a workshop about gender identity, will likely take place at a nearby Methodist church, said Francis DeBernardo, workshop organizer and director of LGBT Catholic advocacy group New Ways Ministry.

“The workshop fills a void at the World Meeting of Families,” DeBernardo said in a statement. “No speakers at the World Meeting will address the topic of gender identity, yet this is an issue that is being faced by more and more Catholic families and communities in the U.S.”

The archbishop saw a brochure for the event and a member of his office phoned St. John pastor Father John Daya to say that he did not want it to take place, DeBernardo said. DeBernardo said he was not told why the archbishop wanted the events canceled.

Source

BERGOGLIO: NOW IN CHEESE FORM

Bergoglio cheese will be available from Pastifico in mid-September.

THE BIG CHEESE of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, soon will be available in mozzarella, thanks to South Philly's Pastificio Homemade Pasta Co., which is preparing blocks of cheese in the shape of Pope Francis in advance of his visit next month to Philadelphia.

"There's no doubt about it, it's definitely cheesy," said Anthony Messina, co-owner of Pastificio.

According to Messina, the cheese pope will stand about 6-inches tall, weigh a little more than a pound and will sell for $20.

Pastificio, on Packer Avenue near 15th Street, is already taking preorders and expects to have the cheese pope on the shelves by the second week of September.

Messina, who co-owns Pastificio with Frank Sangiuliano, said he was inspired to make the fermented Holy Father by Fox 29 reporter Jenn Frederick, who featured the shop and its Santa Claus-shaped cheese at Christmastime.

"We were live on the air and she said, 'I think you should make pope cheese,' " Messina said.

Heeding Frederick's advice, Messina contacted ceramic artist Larry E. Buss, who created the mold for the cheese pope.

"I try to think of myself as a more serious craftsman, I don't ordinarily do kitsch, but he asked me and this was too kitschy not to do," Buss said. "I thought, 'Well, that would be a lark,' so that's why I did it."

Source

An Online Petition to have Bergoglio bless Bradford's knees!

There's a online petition to have Pope Francis bless Bradford's knees...

Unless you've been spending the summer in Hades with all of those Dallas Cowboys fans, you are surely well aware of Pope Francis' impending visit to Philadelphia.

The last weekend in September this fall will certainly be an interesting one. And not just because the Eagles take on the New York Jets.

Philadelphians are going Pope crazy. 

The latest example of that is a Change.org petition for Pope Francis to bless the knees of Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (clearly God forgot about him for the past few seasons).

The petition reads:

The Pope is coming to Philly! Our city! With this Eagles season coming up, a lot of our Super Bowl hopes rely on Sam Bradford's knees staying healthy. So, with one of the most religious representatives in the world visiting our wonderful place we call home, how about we get him to bless Bradford's knees during his visit to Philly! This town deserves a Super Bowl, and a healthy Bradford is the only way we will have a parade down Broad Street! Please sign this petition and Go Eagles and Welcome to Philly, Pope Francis!!!!

There are currently over 250 supporters.

View video here.

Pope Francis Institutes World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation!

Greatest threat to man according to Bergoglio…

Which might explain why he remains silent on the Greatest Evils… Baby slaughtering Planned Barronhood and Sodom Ireland.

The celebration of this day on the same date as the Orthodox Church, the Holy Father stated, will provide a valuable opportunity to bear witness to our growing communion with our Orthodox brothers and sisters.

Because according to Bergoglio Earth has turned into an "immense pile of filth!"

Pope Francis Institutes World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation

Bergoglio's  New Religion...

Pope Francis has instituted a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which will be celebrated each year on September 1st.

Francis made this announcement in a letter he sent to Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, which was published by the Holy See Press Office this morning.

In the letter, the Pope reaffirmed how part of our responsibility as Christians involves resolving the ecological crisis which humanity is presently experiencing. In doing so, he stressed, we must first rediscover in our own "rich spiritual patrimony" the deepest motivations for our concern for the care of creation and how Jesus lived in the world.

Recalling his encyclical on the environment 'Laudato Si,' Francis stressed that the ecological crisis summons us to a 'profound spiritual conversion': "Christians are called to “an ecological conversion whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them.” (ibid., 217)

"The annual World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation will offer individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live," he said. 

The celebration of this day on the same date as the Orthodox Church, the Holy Father stated, will provide a valuable opportunity to bear witness to our growing communion with our Orthodox brothers and sisters.

"We live at a time when all Christians are faced with the same decisive challenges, to which we must respond together, in order to be more credible and effective," he said, noting it is his hope that this day will "in some way also involve other Churches and ecclesial Communities, and be celebrated in union with similar initiatives of the World Council of Churches."

Before concluding, Pope Francis invoked upon this initiative the intercession of Mary, Mother of God, and of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose Canticle of the Creatures, he noted, "inspires so many men and women of goodwill to live in praise of the Creator and with respect for creation."

Zenit