Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Congratulations, Argentina: The Archbishop of Buenos Aires Is Elected Bishop of Rome
The Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, has been elected the Bishop of Rome, the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church.
I am pleased that after my last post, in which I criticized Argentina for the policies of its leftist government, I now have the unexpected opportunity to congratulate the great South American state. I praise the Argentines for producing a pastor for their country – and now for the world – who stands for moral truths and who was unafraid to oppose the immoral policies of the last two leftist governments of Nestor Kirchner and his wife, Cristina Fernandez. Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, had criticized Argentina’s legalization of abortion and gay marriage and its provision of free artificial contraception. He has spoken out against abortion and euthanasia, urging the laity to work against these evils and for life, as well as speaking out against gay adoption, which he regards as a form of discrimination against children deprived of parents of both sexes. Cardinal Bergolio recently observed the demagoguery, totalitarianism and corruption of the government of Fernandez, who was an admirer of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez. As I mentioned in my post earlier this month, Chavez had been democratically elected, but became authoritarian.
As Bishop, Bergolio, the son of an Italian immigrant who was a railway worker, had exhibited the virtues of humility by living simply and of charity by emphasizing the need to aid the poor and to reach out and love the marginalized, such as those suffering from A.I.D.S. Like Pope Pius XII, who secretly aided the Jews and others during the Holocaust (See also my post from December of 2009, The Pope’s Declaration of Pius XII’s Heroic Virtue Debunks a Liberal Myth, http://www.williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2009/12/popes-declaration-of-pius-xiis-heroic.html), the Italian-Argentine pastor had quietly aided those in his flock who were persecuted by the right-wing junta. He has, however, spoken out not only against human rights abuses committed by the dictatorship, but by the leftist guerrillas, as well. Bishop Bergolio, a philosopher and Jesuit theologian, had opposed Liberation Theology, a form of Marxism prevalent in Latin American in the 1980s that emphasized aid to the poor under the guise of Catholicism.
Let us pray that the election of Pope Francis, the first Pontifex Maximus (greatest bridge builder) from the Americas and from the Third World, will not only affirm Christians outside of Europe, such as in Latin America, Asia and Africa and continue the spreading of the good news of Christ all over the globe, but lead the developed world away from secularism and back to the roots of its Christian culture. May God Bless Pope Francis. Viva il Papa!
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1 comment:
The election of Pope Francis was truly an act of the Holy Spirit.
Interesting, in terms of the media, those who know nothing of the Church are doing all the talking.
Yesterday I saw in the crowd American Flags. I was impressed by all the young people in joyful hope. Of course, a CBS spokeperson picked out two young men, and asked them what they were there for: faith or curiosity? The one passed the judgment onto the other who said he was there out of curiosity. Now I am sure the CBS journalist already asked other Americans the same quesiton, but this one young man fit perfect for the media to hear.
I was amazed at all the young (the majority) who were present. And to see them praying for the new Pope was inspiring.
It amazes me, however, how the cliche "The Church needs to modernize." The Church has been moderinizing since its founding by Christ, but because it doesn't upold the anti-faith values by rendering to Caesar, it is not modern. The Church must be a sign of contradiction to the world; otherwise it is not serving God but serving Caesar. The history of so many martyrs in the Church bear testimony to this.
It's interesting how many in the Church try to cling on to the 60's and 70's mentality. They want the Church to mondernize but cling on to those decades. They are gone and they are dead. How did they serve humanity world-wide? Where is their modernization? This is a quesion. We still have poverty, war, etc. Most are not aware that Catholic social teching has been responding to the modern world against the injustice, egoism, and extreme individualism/narcissism in the world.
The media loves to push the idea that there is a crisis in the Church. The crisis is not what the media says. Benedict XVI pult it well. It is a crisis of Faith.
God bless Francis I.
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