Francis-Bergoglio will visit DC Sept. 22-25. Obama hints at what he expects to speak with Pope Francis.

Two peas in the same pod. Socialist degenerates.

Pope Francis will visit Washington, D.C. Sept. 22 to Sept. 25, the Archdiocese of Washington confirmed on Tuesday. President Obama hinted at what he expects to speak with Pope Francis when they meet in September at the White House, including poverty, climate change and conflict in the Middle East.

Obama said they will likely talk about reducing conflict and reducing war in the Middle East “where Christians have been viciously attacked.” Pope Francis has become a force in foreign policy, regularly speaking out against the persecution of Christians.

The leaders will also likely talk about climate change, Obama said in a new interview with the Wall Street Journal. Pope Francis is poised to weigh in on climate change with an encyclical this summer.

The following section is from the Journal’s interview released today.

Seib: What are you going to tell him? What do you expect he’s going to want to tell you?

Obama: Well, I’ve had the honor of meeting him already once, an extraordinary individual, I think, a transformative leader, not just within the Catholic Church but globally.

You know, in our last conversation, we spent a lot of time talking about issues of poverty and how we help the least of these across the globe, and I suspect that that’s a theme that he’s going to continue to be interested in. We’re going to talk about climate change, I’m sure, because he is very clear that part of the Church’s teachings and part of my faith is we have to be good stewards of this incredible planet that we have been given, and there are steps that can be taken there, and the vulnerabilities of the poorest of the poor when it comes to climate change if we don’t help deal with the issue.

And I think issues of war and peace. You know, he is somebody who rightly, I think, expresses concerns about reducing conflict and reducing war, including in the Middle East, where Christians have been viciously attacked. And we consult with the Church very closely about how we can protect religious minorities in some of these war zones.

The two are expected to meet on Sept. 23 at the White House, reunited since they first met in March 2014 at the Vatican. Pope Francis is also expected tocelebrate an outdoor Mass at Catholic University on Sept. 23.

Plans for Francis’ visit also include an address to Congress on Sept. 24 and address to the United Nations on Sept. 25 in New York City. He isexpected to celebrate an outdoor Mass in Philadelphia around the events of the World Meeting of Families.

Pope Francis is also planning to visit Cuba ahead of his trip to the United States.

Video here

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WTH?? KNEEL BEFORE THE POOR!!

Resist Bergoglio.

Commie Bergoglio: Christians should kneel before the poor!

Pope Francis said on Tuesday that poverty is the great teaching Jesus gave us and we can find his face among the poor and needy. Stressing that the poor are not a burden but a resource, he said he wished that both the city of Rome and the local Church community could be more attentive, caring and considerate towards those in need and that Christians could knee before a poor person. The Pope’s words came during a video message which was broadcast at a charity theater performance organized by Caritas Roma.

“If it were not for you” was the title of the fund-raising performance at Rome’s Brancaccio theater where the cast were not professional actors but instead the poor and needy who are being sheltered at Caritas hostels in the capital. The performers explored the theme of love that included unhappy love stories, the love they bear for their children and parents, for life and for God.

In his video message Pope Francis told the performers that they will be conveying a precious teaching not just on the theme of love, but also on our need for each other, on solidarity and how amidst all the difficulties we can discover God’s love for us.

Poverty, he said, is the great teaching that Jesus gave us and he assured the performers that they are never a burden for us. Instead they represent a resource without which our attempts to discover the face of Jesus would be in vain.

He concluded his address by saying how much he wished that the city of Rome could shine with the light of its compassion and its welcome for those who are suffering, who are fleeing from war and death, and respond with a smile to all those who have lost hope. Pope Francis said he wished for the same on the part of the Church community in Rome so that it may be more attentive, caring and considerate towards the poor and vulnerable and recognize in them the face of our Lord.

How I wish, he said, that Christians could kneel in veneration when a poor person enters the church. (?!)

Source

Pope Francis meets UN chief ahead of key environmental statement

Pope Francis meets United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon for informal talks on environmental issues…

Pope Francis has met with United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon for informal talks, just weeks before the Vatican is due to issue a statement on environmental issues that could have a profound impact on the worldwide debate on global warming.

The two leaders had a private talk for half an hour on the sidelines of a workshop on moral questions relating to climate change and sustainable development, Vatican officials said without divulging what had been discussed.

Addressing the seminar, Mr Ban said his talks with the pontiff had been “fruitful and wide-ranging”.

He said he was looking forward to the upcoming encyclical from the church, expected in June or July this year.

An encyclical is a statement of fundamental principles issued in the form of a letter from the Pope to bishops around the world.

“Science and religion are not at odds on climate change,” Mr Ban said.

“Indeed they are fully aligned.”

Campaigners on climate change believe that an expression of concern from the church about the impact of global warming and a signal of support for steps to reduce the fossil fuel consumption needs to be made.

They believe the church could have great influence on the global debate over the scale of global warming.

Pope Francis is due to address the UN Special Summit on Sustainable Development in September.

The international community will seek to agree a universal agreement on climate change at a summit in Paris in December.

“Paris is not the end point, but must be a turning point in finding a common way forward in meeting the climate challenge,” he said.

Climate change skeptics have warned the Pope that it would be folly for the Catholic Church to integrate the UN’s view of global warming into its official teaching, arguing that the views of people like Mr Ban are not grounded in reliable science.

Source

Centuries of history turned to rubble in minutes

Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Exodus 20:3 DRB

Dies Irae – Lacrimosa dies illa!

“Woe to the world should it lack monasteries and convents!

Men do not comprehend their importance, for, if they understood, they would do all in their power to multiply them, because in them can be found the remedy for all physical and moral evils… No one on the face of the earth is aware whence comes the salvation of souls, the conversion of great sinners, the end of great scourges, the fertility of the land, the end of pestilence and wars, and the harmony between nations. All this is due to the prayers that rise up from monasteries and convents.

“Know, moreover, that Divine Justice releases terrible chastisements on entire nations, not only for the sins of the people, but for those of priests and religious persons. For the latter are called, by the perfection of their state, to be the salt of the earth, the masters of truth, and the deflectors of Divine Wrath. Straying from their divine mission, they degrade themselves in such a way that, before the eyes of God they quicken the rigor of the punishments…” - Our Lady of Success ora pro nobis!

Centuries of history turned to rubble in minutes: How Nepal earthquake destroyed many of the country's iconic landmarks

The Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu was brought down by the force of yesterday's 7.8 magnitude earthquake

Durbar Square in the center of the Nepalese capital is filled with rubble after historic temple collapse!

Complex above the city which is considered one of the holiest sites in Buddhism was also hit by the disaster
More than 2,500 people are believed to have died in the devastating earthquake in Nepal and neighboring countries.

These shocking photographs reveal the terrible toll the Nepal earthquake has had on some of the country's most beautiful and historic landmarks.

The monuments of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, are recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site because of their unique architecture.

But several of the most recognizable buildings in the city, including towers and temples, now lie in rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country yesterday morning.

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Destruction: The Dharahara Tower, which was first built in 1832, has been almost completely obliterated by Nepal's earthquake

Historic: The now-destroyed tower was a UNESCO World Heritage Site until its destruction this weekend

Before: The Kathmandu Durbar Square, at the heart of Nepal's capital, is full of temples and historic houses with their distinctive roofs

After: The square is now piled with rubble after tall temples were brought down by the force of the earthquake

More than 2,500 people died in the quake as buildings collapsed raining down debris on the streets below, while enormous avalanches on Mount Everest left climbers dead.

One of the most prominent landmarks to be destroyed by the earthquake was the Dharahara Tower, also known at the Bhimsen Tower, which has almost totally collapsed after more than 180 years of standing in Kathmandu.

The 200ft tower was built in 1832 by prime minister Bhimsen Thapa as a gift to the queen, who was also his niece.

It had to be rebuilt after a previous earthquake in 1934, but the latest disaster has left the tower as nothing more than a stump, killing scores of people who were trapped inside at the time.

Destination: Another view of the Kathmandu Durbar Square shows how it was a thriving hub for the city

Reconstruction: Policemen were sent in to the square after it was badly affected by the quake

Venerable: The Durbar High School in the square is a neo-classical building which was shabby but grand before the earthquake

Debris: The school is now surrounded by bricks shaken from the building in the quake

Heritage: The Bhaktapur Durbar Square, pictured before the quake, is another one of the three main public spaces in the Kathmandu area

Kathmandu's three 'Durbar Squares', the courtyards outside the city's old royal palaces, were devastated by the earthquake, with historic temples razed to the ground by the shocks.

In the largest, known as the Kathmandu Durbar Square, rubble was piled up today after a large stepped temple was obliterated in the quake.

Images of the Durbar Squares in Patan and Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, were also devastated by the shocks.

The streets of Bhaktapur were impassable because of the rubble which lay several feet deep, with fragments of religious sculptures among the stonework on the ground.

In Patan, a temple had its tower broken in half, while the square was strewn with bricks.

Centre: The Patan Durbar Square, pictured before the disaster, is the third major hub of the historic royal family which has been devastated

Shock: Religious sculptures were lying on the ground in Patan after the temples they were once part of collapsed

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will destroy the names of idols out of the earth, and they shall be remembered no more: and I will take away the false prophets, and the unclean spirit out of the earth. Zacharias (Zachariah) 13:2

Decapitated: A statue of the Hindu deity Garud was knocked off its pedestal at Patan Durbar Square

Crooked: The stupa of a temple was almost completely ripped off by the force of the quake

Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou shalt not do their works, but shalt destroy them, and break their statues. Exodus 23:24 DRB

Holy: The Syambhunaath Stupa, known as the monkey temple, is pictured before and after the quake

Witness: A monk surveys the aftermath of the quake, which left the main building untouched

The Syambhunaath Stupa, known as the 'monkey temple' which stands on a hill above the capital, also suffered severe damage.

While the complex's main golden tower was thankfully untouched, many other temple buildings were totally destroyed.

The Buddhist site dates back 1,500 years, and is considered one of the holiest places in the world for residents of neighbouring Tibet.

The 7.8 magnitude quake struck just before midday yesterday, sending tremors through the Kathmandu Valley and the nearby city of Pokhara.

Busy: The packed streets of Kathmandu pictured as they were before the disaster

Damage: A huge crack opened in the middle of the highway after the earthquake

The majority of fatalities were reported in Nepal, with deaths also being confirmed in India, Tibet, Bangladesh and the Nepal-China border.

About an hour after the initial quake, a magnitude 6.6 aftershock hit and smaller aftershocks could be felt through the region for hours.

Rescuers are still battling to save the lives of those trapped in the rubble, while climbers on Everest are waiting to be rescued by helicopter.

Daily Mail

Church cancels pig wrestling event after complaints by advocacy group!

Church cancels pig wrestling event after complaints by advocacy group who said animals were 'punched in the face, body slammed and jumped on!'

.St Patrick's Parish in Wisconsin said its four-decade tradition, Original Pig Rassle, will be replaced with human mud foosball this summer

.Global Conversation Group started online petition last August to cancel event claiming it was inhumane; it collected more than 81,000 signatures

.The group said they are 'very proud of the church for doing what's right' and consider this a huge step for animal welfare

A Wisconsin church's four-decade tradition of people mud-wrestling pigs at a summer fund-raiser has been canceled after complaints the animals were 'punched in the face, body slammed and jumped on'.

St Patrick's Parish in Stephensville, Wisconsin said in a statement that the Original Pig Rassle will be replaced this August with a human mud foosball tournament.

Global Conservation Group, an animal advocacy group, launched an on line petition claiming the tournament was inhumane to the pigs. It garnered more than 81,000 signatures in efforts to cancel the event.

Deacon Ken Bilgrien of St Patrick's Parish told Christian Today on Wednesday that the church is moving in a different direction for its 45th annual Roundup, but declined to discuss the controversy surrounding the event.

Global Conservation Group, an animal advocacy group that launched an on-line petition claiming the tournament was inhumane to the pigs, garnered more than 80,000 signatures in efforts to cancel the event

On August 10, 2014, the church held a 'pig wrestling' event where the animals were 'punched in the face, kicked, body-slammed, yelled at and thrown onto a barrel', according to the Global Conversation Group.

'Wrestling, as a sport, is contested by two human opponents, evenly matched, each of whom enters into the match voluntarily with mutually agreed-upon rules and a common goal,' the group wrote on its website.

'Not so in "matches" like pig wrestling, where frightened animals are unwilling participants exploited by teams of humans for entertainment.'

The group also accused the church of being in violation of Wisconsin Chapter 951, Crimes Against Animals, which outlaws cockfighting, dog fighting and any other similar fighting between animals or animals and humans, according to its Change.org page.

The church announced in a statement that moving forward the parish's talents could be 'spent in areas that are less controversial'.

'After much prayer and many hours of discussion, we realize that what we had for 44 years in the Original Pig Rassle was memorable, legal and great family fun,' the statement on its website read.

The group said during the August 2014 'pig rassle', the pigs were 'punched in the face, kicked, body-slammed, yelled at and thrown onto a barrel'

The Wisconsin parish (above) said during its 45th annual Roundup fund-raiser this August, the Original Pig Rassle will be replaced with a human mud foosball tournament

Global Conservation Group said they consider the church's decision a victory for their 260-day campaign and consider this a huge step for animal welfare

'We also realize that our parish and diocesan talents could be better spent in areas that are less controversial.

'It is with great regret that we have discontinued the Original Pig Rassle, we are however, very excited to begin this new tradition at St. Patrick Parish.'

Following the news, Global Conservation Group, which protested the church's 'pig rassle' last August, wrote on its Change.org page on April 21: 'This is huge! After 260 days of non-stop campaigning, the church announced today that no further animal abuse events will be held.'

'We're very happy. We consider this a victory for our campaign,' Jordan Turner, Global Conservation Group President told WBAY.

'We're very proud of the church for doing what's right for all involved. And we certainly consider this a huge step for animal welfare.'

Biglrien said the church is moving on as they look forward to the new event that will be apart of its annual Roundup this summer.

'You know, we've had problems in the past and this is something new and exciting that we want to do,' he told WBAY.

Daily Mail

A man is buried up to his neck in rubble as the rescue teams attempt to dig him free from the collapsed building in the capital of Nepal

The quake that killed in four countries: 1,500 people dead after monster 7.8 tremor flattens Nepalese capital while India and Bangladesh report damage and casualties hundreds of miles away

Dan Fredinburg suffered fatal head injuries in the avalanche on Saturday
He used to photograph high peaks for Google Maps, dated Sophia Bush
Powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused rock and ice to fall down peak
At least 18 people have died and more than 30 injured on the mountain
There are reports the avalanche has buried people in tents at base camp
The death toll has risen to 1,500 in the quake which hit four countries

The deadliest day ever on Mount Everest is unfolding as the death toll of at least 18 climbers, including a 33-year-old Google executive, continues to rise.

Dan Fredinburg, who used to date One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush, is the first confirmed fatality on the mountain after a shattering 7.8 magnitude earthquake ripped across Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh on Saturday.

He is one of at least 1,500 people who lost their lives in the quake, which demolished centuries-old temples in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

It is the worst earthquake Nepal has ever seen, and the highest death toll ever recorded on Everest, which has never seen more than 16 annual fatalities.

Fredinburg and other Google executives were climbing with the Everest adventure team Jagged Globe. The rest of his team sustained non life-threatening injuries.

His job title was 'Google Adventurer'. He used to photograph the world's high peaks for Google Maps, and was also head of privacy for the firm's elusive invention factory Google X.

His former girlfriend Bush, who ended their one-year relationship last February, delivered the news in an emotional post on Instagram, which paid tribute to 'one of the great loves of my life' who was 'one of a kind'.

In a long statement, Bush said: 'There are no adequate words. Today I find myself attempting to pick up the pieces of my heart that have broken into such tiny shards, I'll likely never find them all.

'Today I, and so many of my loved ones, lost an incredible friend. Dan Fredinburg was one-of-a-kind. Fearless. Funny. A dancing robot who liked to ride dinosaurs and chase the sun and envision a better future for the world.'

The couple separated in February 2014 due to long distance despite friends' suspicions they might one day marry. But they stayed close.

Last April, before they had announced their split, Fredinburg narrowly survived another Mount Everest avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas - and Bush took to Twitter to assure her followers he was all right.

Bush tweeted: 'For all concerned, @danfredinburg & team are safe at Camp 1 on #Everest after the avalanche. Please keep the Sherpas in your prayers.'

Fredinburg's death was first confirmed by his younger sister Megan, who posted a picture of her brother climbing a mountain to his Instagram account with an explanatory caption.

SOPHIA BUSH TRIBUTE TO 'ONE OF MY GREATEST LOVES' DAN FREDINBURG

There are no adequate words. Today I find myself attempting to pick up the pieces of my heart that have broken into such tiny shards, I'll likely never find them all. Today I, and so many of my loved ones, lost an incredible friend. Dan Fredinburg was one-of-a-kind. Fearless. Funny. A dancing robot who liked to ride dinosaurs and chase the sun and envision a better future for the world. His brain knew how to build it. His heart was constantly evolving to push himself to make it so.

He was one of my favorite human beings on Earth. He was one of the great loves of my life. He was one of my truest friends. He was an incredible brother, a brilliant engineer, and a damn good man. I'm devastated and simultaneously so deeply grateful to have known and loved him, and to have counted him as one of my tribe. I was so looking forward to our planned download of 'all the things' when he got home. I am crushed that I will never hear that story.

I am crushed knowing that there are over 1,000 people in Nepal suffering this exact feeling, knowing that they too will never hear another tale about an adventure lived from someone that they love. Disasters like this are often unquantifiable, the enormity is too much to understand. Please remember that each person who is now gone was someone's Dan. Please remember that our time on this Earth is not guaranteed. Please tell those you love that you do. Right now. This very minute.

And please send a kiss to the sky for my friend Dan. His energy is so big and so bright, and it's all around us, so put some love toward him today. And then hug your loved ones again. #goodbyesweetfriend #savetheice #Nepal

She wrote: 'This is Dan's little sister Megan. I regret to inform all who loved him that during the avalanche on Everest early this morning our Dan suffered from a major head injury and didn't make it. We appreciate all of the love that has been sent our way thus far and know his soul and his spirit will live on in so many of us. All our love and thanks to those who shared this life with our favorite hilarious strong willed man. He was and is everything to us. Thank you.'

More than 1,500 people have died in the Nepalese earthquake that ripped across four countries.

Disaster response specialists, including experts in search and rescue, will travel to Nepal overnight where they will assess the scale of the damage caused by the quake, which destroyed homes, businesses and temples in the capital of Kathmandu.

The earthquake also triggered a massive avalanche on Mount Everest killing eight people and injuring at least 30 climbers. There are also a number of climbers still missing.

It buried part of base camp, raising fears for the safety of hundreds of climbers who are in the area, said Gyanendra Shrestha from the Tourism Ministry in Kathmandu.

A number of Americans are among those who have not been heard from since the quake.

The United States Geological Survey said the quake struck 81 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Kathmandu at 06.11 GMT, with walls crumbling and families racing outside of their homes

A senior mountaineering guide, Ang Tshering, said an avalanche swept the face of Everest after the earthquake

The avalanche is believed to have occurred between the Khumbu Icefall, a rugged area of collapsed ice and snow, and basecamp

'All those who are unharmed organise help with the rescue efforts. Men, women and Sherpas are working side-by-side. The job right now is to assist the doctors in the camp here.'

Chinese media has reported that a Chinese climber and two Sherpa guides were among the dead.

Climber Robin Trygg told Swedish news agency TT his Sherpa guides had been in radio contact with other guides on Everest and they reported an avalanche there hitting as many as 80 people.

'We were sitting in the tent and drinking tea when the earth, all of a sudden, began shaking. We didn't understand what happened,' he told the news agency.

If you are searching for someone or have information about a person's whereabouts, you can visit www.google.org/personfinder/2015-nepal-earthquake.

CATHOLIC 4 LIFE

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus