Monday, July 29, 2013

Will Love and Compassion Win The Day?

I am cautiously thrilled with Pope Francis.  That he shuns pompous traditions and preaches love and compassion.  That he preaches mankind over money.  That he walks the talk.
Could it be that, under his leadership, Christians everywhere will actually begin to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ?  To love one as you love yourself?  To judge not lest you be judged?  
We can only hope.  Only love can save us from ourselves.
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24 comments:

  1. Brian MillerMonday, July 29, 2013 8:06:00 AM

    so true that only love can save us from ourselves...not being catholic, i have not watched the pope, but will check him out now...

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  2. ellen abbottMonday, July 29, 2013 7:58:00 PM

    He certainly surprised me. but I doubt it will cause the everyday christian to change anything about their behavior.

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  3. Pixel PeeperMonday, July 29, 2013 8:16:00 PM

    Not Catholic, either, and sometimes I'm quite cynical...but yes, how can you not pay attention to a guy who attracts 3 million people to a beach to see him, a guy who says, Who am I to judge? and who rides in a Fiat from the airport to the church?

    He has a sense of humor, too. A journalist asked him about his black bag that he carried with him on the plane ride back to Rome. He said, The keys to the atomic bomb weren't in it.

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    1. Mr. CharlestonMonday, July 29, 2013 9:09:00 PM

      My thoughts exactly. When I saw the photos today of that crowd on the beach I was prompted to write this post. This guy really seems to be for real. What a blessing.

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  4. Vanessa Victoria KilmerMonday, July 29, 2013 8:36:00 PM

    I was raised a Catholic. Now I am more catholic. It would be nice to have a Christian leader who is a follower of Christ's teachings.

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    1. Mr. CharlestonMonday, July 29, 2013 9:10:00 PM

      I'm beginning to think it would be a miracle to have a Christian leader who follows Christ's teachings. Although, to be fair, I know a number of local clergy who do.

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    2. PunchMonday, July 29, 2013 9:45:00 PM

      Let US not begin to count chickens just quite yet.

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    3. Mr. CharlestonTuesday, July 30, 2013 6:47:00 AM

      No counting, just admiring the eggs.

      Delete
  5. Susan Flett SwiderskiMonday, July 29, 2013 10:23:00 PM

    I agree. He's like a breath of fresh air. A humble pope... kinda sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?

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  6. Leslie ParsleyTuesday, July 30, 2013 8:39:00 AM

    He's certainly taken some bold (in an historical sense) small but significant stepts:

    "Pope Francis said gay clergymen should be forgiven and their sins forgotten.

    "The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well," Pope Francis said in a wide-ranging 80-minute long interview with Vatican journalists.

    "It says they should not be marginalised because of this but that they must be integrated into society."

    But he condemned what he described as lobbying by gay people.

    "The problem is not having this orientation," he said. "We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem."

    And then he gets into the role of women in the church.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23489702

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    1. Mr. CharlestonTuesday, July 30, 2013 8:49:00 AM

      These don't seem like "small" steps to me Leslie. Compared to the last guy, these are giant leaps. I only hope he can pull it off.

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    2. Leslie ParsleyTuesday, July 30, 2013 10:25:00 AM

      You're right -- and especially when compared to this b.s. artist:

      http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/07/30/2378451/new-york-archbishop-downplays-pope-francis-gay-remark-homosexual-acts-are-still-a-sin/

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    3. Mr. CharlestonWednesday, July 31, 2013 6:30:00 PM

      No joke. My only misgivings about Francis is that he's too old to last long enough to make a major impact. But, maybe I'll get lucky and die before Armageddon.

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  7. the walking manTuesday, July 30, 2013 9:35:00 AM

    They are large words of acknowledgement to ameliorate the ongoing homosexual population running the church. Though I will admit they will move society in the right direction by taking a touch of the vitriol from the homophobe community.

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    1. Mr. CharlestonTuesday, July 30, 2013 10:08:00 AM

      If he can do nothing more than reduce the vitriol, I'll take it. It's certainly a step in the right direction. We've got to do something to get people talking to each other, cooperating with each other or we're dead for sure.

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  8. JonoTuesday, July 30, 2013 4:22:00 PM

    Has he started selling off the church's wealth to feed the hungry? Maybe he will.

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    1. Mr. CharlestonWednesday, July 31, 2013 6:24:00 PM

      I believe the church's wealth has been spent on pedophile lawsuit settlements.

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  9. yellowdoggrannyWednesday, July 31, 2013 4:17:00 PM

    I can't get worked up about him..he's just another guy in a dress..don't trust the catholic church to do the right thing..ever..

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    1. Mr. CharlestonWednesday, July 31, 2013 6:26:00 PM

      I know what you mean. Seems to me there are a lot of good guys on the ground in local communities. At least, I see a lot of them doing good work here. It's refreshing to see one of them become Pope.

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  10. HarlequinTuesday, August 06, 2013 12:36:00 AM

    I like that sentiment.... cautiously thrilled. I will adopt it. Thanks.

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