Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby cptmarginal » Thu Jun 18, 2015 11:44 pm

Hmm...

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32879571

Vatican bank sees a 20-fold increase in earnings

25 May 2015

The Vatican bank, officially known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), has seen a sharp jump in its profits for 2014.

The bank earned €69.3m (£49m) last year, compared to just €2.9m in 2013, when it was hit by bad investments and clean-up costs.

Last year the management was replaced as part of an overhaul ordered by the Pope to stamp out corruption.

The bank has promised to improve its returns to customers.

"The main focus is on fundamentally improving our overall client service standards and further professionalising our asset management services," IOR chairman Jean-Baptiste de Franssu said in a statement.

As part of the overhaul, the bank pledged to screen all its accounts, bringing in anti-money laundering experts to carry out the task. As a result it has closed more than 4,000 accounts since May 2013, most of which were dormant, but 554 of which were closed because they did not meet the bank's new standards for clients.

The IOR moves money around the world to finance Catholic missions and provides banking services for the Pope, clergy and religious orders.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/j ... uthorities

Vatican bank agrees to open its books to US tax authorities

10 June 2015

The Vatican bank will automatically report information about American holders of its accounts to US tax authorities under an agreement signed on Wednesday that the American ambassador to the Holy See said was a “very significant step” to combating tax evasion.

The agreement – the first inter-governmental deal between the Vatican and the US – was hailed as a “type of stamp of approval” of the Vatican bank’s efforts to be more transparent, said the US ambassador, Kenneth Hackett.

The bank, which is formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion, has been dogged for years by accusations that it has helped launder money for rich Italians, among others, who were seeking to evade taxes and carry out other illicit activity. It began a clean-up process at the end of Pope Benedict’s tenure, following intense pressure by the Bank of Italy, which essentially sought to cut the bank off from working with other banks in Italy if it did not change its ways and adopt internationally recognised anti-money laundering regulations.

Pope Francis has also put financial reform at the top of his agenda, and the bank has spent millions of euros on consultants, including US advisory firm Promontory Financial Group, in its effort to implement a modern compliance programme and weed out problematic accounts.

Under the terms of Wednesday’s agreement, the Vatican will be party to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in the US, which was passed in 2010 to target non-compliance with US tax obligations. Under US law, American citizens who live abroad or have foreign bank accounts are required to report those accounts to the Internal Revenue Service.

In a signing ceremony at the Vatican, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations at the Holy See, emphasised the importance of paying taxes as a matter of charity and justice. “As Pope Francis frequently reminds us, evading just taxes is stealing both from the state and from the poor,” he said.

Signing the agreement was a step in the Vatican’s long-term strategy to “ensure and promote legality, transparency and ethical behaviour in the economic and financial fields” he added.

US holders of Vatican bank accounts will not be caught off guard by the new arrangement. Marji Christian, an official at the US embassy to the Holy See, said the negotiations that led to the agreement had been continuing for two years, but declined to comment on areas of contention between the parties.

The US embassy would not comment on the number of Americans who hold accounts with the Vatican bank, but the figure is believed to be in the hundreds, not thousands. A spokesman for the IOR did not immediately return a request for comment.

Similar agreements have been arranged between the Vatican and other countries, including Italy, though none includes automatic notification requirements. Under the Italian agreement, the Vatican must simply comply with requests for information.
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby Luther Blissett » Wed Jul 01, 2015 4:45 pm

I have to admit that I'm intrigued by the pope tapping Naomi Klein to participate in a conversation on climate change and global capitalism.

Check this terrible link: http://reason.com/blog/2015/06/29/pope- ... oth-hate-f
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby Nordic » Wed Jul 01, 2015 5:05 pm

Luther Blissett » Wed Jul 01, 2015 3:45 pm wrote:I have to admit that I'm intrigued by the pope tapping Naomi Klein to participate in a conversation on climate change and global capitalism.

Check this terrible link: http://reason.com/blog/2015/06/29/pope- ... oth-hate-f


Right. If you hate pollution and rampant exploitation of people and ecocide, you really love poverty and hunger and are a hopeless Luddite.

Here's Mr Strawman himself:

http://reason.com/people/ronald-bailey/all

Bailey is the author of the book Liberation Biology: The Moral and Scientific Case for the Biotech Revolution (Prometheus, 2005), and his work was featured in The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004.

In 2006, Bailey was shortlisted by the editors of Nature Biotechnology as one of the personalities who have made the "most significant contributions" to biotechnology in the last 10 years.

From 1987 to 1990, Bailey was a staff writer for Forbes magazine, covering economic, scientific and business topics. His articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Commentary, The Public Interest, Smithsonian, TechCentralStation, National Review, Reader's Digest and many other publications.

Prior to joining Reason in 1997, Bailey produced several weekly national public television series including Think Tank and TechnoPolitics, as well as several documentaries for PBS television and ABC News. In 1993, he was the Warren T. Brookes Fellow in Environmental Journalism at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Bailey won a 2004 Southern California Journalism Award for best magazine feature for his story, "The Battle For Your Brain," which delved into the ethical and political conflicts over new brain enhancement technologies. In 2005, Bailey won a first place Southern California Journalism Award for best online commentary for his series on creationism, "Creation Summer Camp."

Bailey is the editor of several books, including Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths: How the Environmental Movement Uses False Science to Scare Us to Death (Prima Publishing, 2002), Earth Report 2000: Revisiting The True State of The Planet (McGraw Hill, 1999), and The True State of the Planet (The Free Press, 1995). He is the author of ECOSCAM: The False Prophets of Ecological Apocalypse (St. Martins Press, 1993)
.
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby Luther Blissett » Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:22 pm

On a project related to the Pope's U.S. visit, I am planning a project culled in part from sources on this thread, especially the earlier part. I hope I have everyone's permission to utilize their research, and will share here.

I wish I understood "Gorbachev is the new pope" though.
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby cptmarginal » Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:54 am

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2 ... -archives/

Vatican For Sale: Very Wealthy Rent the Sistine Chapel, Dine with the Pope and Buy Secret Archives

8.10.2015 - By Jim Dobson

With philanthropist and homeless advocate Pope Francis in charge, things are really changing inside the walls of the venerable institution, and the Vatican will never be the same again.

Over the last year the Vatican has been involved with countless fund-raising opportunities that have brought in private corporate dollars as well as income from high-profile celebrities and billionaires.

Last year Pope Francis for the very first time allowed the Sistine Chapel to be rented out for a private corporate event, with the proceeds going to his homeless charities. The Vatican would not reveal how much it was paid for the event, but the ultimate visit arranged by Porsche cost over $10,000 per person. The 40 wealthy guests enjoyed a spectacular dinner and concert in the Sistine Chapel, beneath its famed Michelangelo ceiling. The concert was performed by a choir from the historic Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

It is believed this is the first time that the chapel, which was built by Pope Sixtus IV starting in 1473, has been leased out to a company for a private event. The Pope now wants to use the Vatican’s treasures to good use for the benefit of the poor. Porsche was required to make a sizeable donation for the use of the Sistine Chapel, with the money then passed onto charity.

But as the fundraising event was revealed, the Vatican announced it would limit the number of visitors allowed inside the chapel to just six million per year, fearing that the frescoes were being damaged by the huge swarms of tourists.

While Pope Francis urges the world to care for the poor, he presides over the world’s most valuable collection of treasures. According to Catholic Church historian Michael Walsh, “If sold, the money could lift millions out of destitution. Pope Paul VI, whom Francis has just beatified, was so conscious of this paradox that he sold the papal tiara – the triple-tiered crown used in his coronation – to raise alms for the poor. It was bought by an American cardinal, and there has never been a papal ‘coronation’ since. But not everything is saleable. Certainly not the Sistine Chapel. The next best thing is to allow its use as a money-making enterprise with the profits going to the poor.”

Celebrities and billionaires have always had the opportunity to score private visits to the Vatican museums. Justin Bieber was reported to have offered over $50,000 on an exclusive private tour. Angelina Jolie met Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican this year as the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Recently Pope Francis startled the old guard by closing portions of the Vatican and welcoming a group of 150 homeless for a VIP private tour including the Pope’s residence in the St. Martha guesthouse. After visiting the Carriage Pavilion, the large group ventured into the Upper Galleries with the Gallery of the Candelabra and the Gallery of Maps – before making a unique visit to the apartment of Pius V and finally the Sistine Chapel itself. They were then treated to a private sit down dinner.

The brainchild of Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the visit was designed to show the city’s homeless population not just the beauty from outside St. Peter’s Basilica, but also the beauty within, which belongs to everyone, including those who have met misfortune and are living in poverty.

Now word has come that even the most revered Vatican Secret Archives are for sale to very wealthy buyers. Billionaires now have the opportunity to not only visit the Archives but also purchase a one-of-a-kind high quality copy of a transcript on parchment with a very high price tag (over $100,000 per page). But only an elite group of investors know how to get involved in this opportunity.

As an attempt to showcase the Archives, the Vatican invited a journalist for the very first time to visit the inner sanctum. Belgian publisher Paul Van den Heuvel was handpicked to create a $5,000 photo coffee table book on the Secret Archives, which has now become a catalog of sorts for buyers worldwide. The one caveat is that no documents after 1939 were available to view, which for obvious reasons includes the most scandalous periods of time for the Vatican.

Scholars have been allowed in the archive since 2003, as long as they knew exactly which documents they will research. But now, elite visitors may have the opportunity to have the ultimate in bragging rights. They will be able to walk through an enormous pair of brass doors, through multiple security checkpoints, up a narrow winding staircase to the 73m Tower of the Winds, which was built by Ottavinao Mascherino in 1578. This is a sacred place where the public is never admitted.

Beyond the Tower of Winds are rooms lined with 50 miles (roughly the length of the Panama Canal), filled with dark wooden shelves. Inside are hundreds of thousands of volumes (some almost two feet thick) filled with antiquated parchment. This is the Vatican secret archive, the most mysterious collection of documents in the world.

Among the historic documents are: Handwritten records of Galileo’s trial before the Inquisition; the 1530 petition from England’s House of Lords asking the Pope to annul Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon; letters from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis during the U.S. Civil War; the papal bull excommunicating Martin Luther, and letters from Michelangelo including one where he complained about not receiving payment for his work on the Sistine Chapel.

Some of the more controversial, and much argued theories about hidden documents include; documentation of the Jesus bloodline; secular historical proof of Jesus’s existence, with correspondence between Saint Paul and Emperor Nero; secular historical proof via the same correspondence that Jesus did not exist; and contemporary depictions of Jesus (formal portraits of Jesus made by people who actually saw and depicted him in real life).

Many historians and scholars have also hinted the Church has hidden the existence of various Biblical relics, either the relics themselves, or reliable documentation as to their whereabouts, including the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the True Cross, the truth about the Shroud of Turin, and many others.

Once, Napoleon had the whole of the secret archive transported to Paris. In 1817 it was eventually returned with countless documents missing. Private investors have speculated about what truly is available in the public sector, hidden for decades.

For now, the future of the Vatican is certainly changing forever. Many more opportunities will be unveiled in the coming year with fund raising efforts giving help to a lot of people less fortunate…. thanks to Pope Francis.
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby Luther Blissett » Tue Sep 15, 2015 11:28 am

Pope should rescind 'Doctrine of Discovery'

As Pope Francis prepares to come to Philadelphia this month for the 2015 World Meeting of Families, the first pontiff from the so-called New World has the attention of indigenous peoples. They hope that finally there is a leader of the Holy See who understands the Catholic Church's role in the devastation visited upon native peoples in the five centuries since Europeans first sailed across the Atlantic on a mission of conquest and evangelization.

"I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offenses of the church herself, but also for the crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called conquest of America," the pope said this summer during a Mass in Bolivia.

The pope did not just place blame on conquistadores for the genocidal campaign of subjugation, massacres, starvation, displacement, and disease. He properly put blame on the church itself for providing the spiritual and legal justification for those crimes. But the pope stopped short of the most important step he can take to heal wounds that continue to fester more than 500 years after that conquest began. He did not renounce and rescind the Doctrine of Discovery.

The series of 15th-century papal proclamations that form the doctrine directed European explorers who "discovered" lands unoccupied by Christians to consider them empty and seize them in the name of their sovereigns.

We urge Pope Francis to listen to the leaders of world religions, including the Quakers, who benefited from William Penn's establishment of a colony along the banks of the Delaware, on land of the Lenape Nation, under a 1681 royal charter that traces its legitimacy to the doctrine.

"The Discovery Doctrine was the justification of European monarchs to send royal representatives, explorers, and colonizers forth in a conquering manner to take over indigenous lands and possessions, and to enslave, kill, or subject the indigenous peoples they encountered," the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's Indian Committee declared in 2010. "For us to continue to remain silent would be tantamount to our giving continuing approval to these abusive acts of theft and cultural genocide."

The Quakers joined the Episcopal Convention and the World Council of Churches in calling on the Holy See to rescind the doctrine.

Catholic voices are speaking out as well. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an association of nuns, has called on the pope "to lead us in formally repudiating the period of Christian history that used religion to justify political and personal violence against indigenous nations and peoples and their cultural, religious, and territorial identities."

The Leadership Conference urged the pope to "issue a pastoral statement to the courts of settler nations, urging them to change those elements of their laws that derived from these papal bulls and that harm indigenous peoples even to this day."

The sisters are correct, despite protestations by the papal nuncio at the United Nations that the doctrine is merely ancient history.

As recently as 2005, in a case rejecting the Oneida nation's claims to upstate New York land that had belonged to it under treaties with the United States, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, "Under the Doctrine of Discovery ... fee title to the land occupied by Indians when the colonists arrived became vested in the sovereign - first the discovering European nation and later the original States and the United States."

It is clear who was left out of that equation: the people who had lived here for millennia before the Europeans' arrival.

That is why indigenous peoples from around the Western Hemisphere will converge on Sept. 24, the day before the pope's arrival, in downtown Philadelphia. This gathering will call on the U.N. Special Committee on Decolonization to confront the doctrine's legacy in the Americas and ask the pope to rescind it. We hope that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, the son of a Potawatomi mother and the only Native American bishop in the Church, will join the call for justice.

The gathering will also be an affirmation of indigenous nationhood. No matter how hard the conquerors tried to eliminate indigenous culture and peoples over the centuries, they remain strong and proud witnesses to history and the demands of justice.

The ills of globalization so widely debated in the 21st century began for indigenous peoples in the 15th, with European invaders' unholy merger of economic exploitation and evangelical justification. Indigenous peoples, called by history and belief to heal the Earth, cannot do so on this continent so long as the doctrine remains a pathogen infecting the world.

The first pope from the Americas must complete his mission to create a true new world. It is time to rescind, renounce, and dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery.

Enrique Acosta is a member of the Nahuatl nation and firekeeper for the Continental Confederacy of Original Nations. chantlaca@tonatierra.org

Patricia Shore and Paul Ricker are clerks of the Society of Friends (Quakers) Indian Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. tricia.shore@gmail.com phricker1@hotmail.com
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby conniption » Fri Sep 25, 2015 5:11 pm

The Intercept
(embedded links)

Pope Decries “Shameful and Culpable Silence” on Arms Sales “Drenched in Innocent Blood”


Dan Froomkin
Sep. 24 2015


Pope Francis on Thursday gently scolded Congress on a variety of issues, from immigration to foreign policy, but on one unexpected topic — the weapons sales that fuel armed conflicts around the world — he couldn’t have been much more blunt.

He was speaking about his determination “to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world,” when he said this:

Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.


Those were fighting words, especially given where he spoke them. The U.S. is by far the largest arms supplier in the world, with domestic manufacturers selling more than $23.7 billion in weapons in 2014 to nearly 100 different countries. During the Obama administration, weapons sales have surged to record levels, in large part due to huge shipments to Gulf States, particularly Saudi Arabia.

The weapons sales to Saudi Arabia include cluster bombs and other munitions being used to hit densely populated areas, schools, and even a camp for displaced people in Yemen.

And a healthy chunk of those arms sales — especially to Israel and Egypt — are heavily subsidized by the U.S. taxpayer.

Congress, which could have blocked any of this, went along happily — in no small part because of the approximately $150 million a year the defense industry spends on lobbying and direct campaign contributions.

William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy, praised the Pope’s comments as “a refreshing change from the antiseptic language that too often surrounds discussions in this country concerning the global arms trade.”

Hartung wrote in an email to The Intercept:

The recognition that arms sales can result in the spilling of “innocent blood” for profit is a far cry from the cover stories so often used to justify multi-billion-dollar arms deals — that they promote “stability” and are only for “defensive purposes.” As the country that reaps the most money from the international arms trade, the United States bears a responsibility to take the leadership in curbing weapons trading around the world. A good start would be to cut off U.S. supplies to Saudi Arabia until they stop engaging in indiscriminate bombing in Yemen, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe of the highest order.


Hartung’s research shows that the volume of major arms deals concluded by Obama in his first five years far exceeds the amount approved during the eight years of the Bush administration.

U.S. firms make up seven of the top 10 arms-exporting companies, with Lockheed Martin and Boeing coming in at numbers one and two. Also in the top 10: Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, United Technologies and L-3 Communications.

In June, the State Department announced it was lifting the freeze it imposed on the repressive government of Bahrain, despite recent human rights abuses including arbitrary detention of children, torture, restrictions for journalists and a brutal government crackdown on peaceful protestors in 2011.

And in August, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that he would even further speed up U.S. arms sales to Gulf countries. As part of his attempt to reassure Gulf states alarmed by negotiations with Iran, he said the U.S. “had agreed to expedite certain arms sales that are needed and that have taken too long in the past.”

Thursday’s speech was not the first time the Pope has spoken out about the arms trade. He referred to it as “the industry of death” in a talk with Italian schoolchildren in May. “Why do so many powerful people not want peace? Because they live off war,” he said.

“This is serious. Some powerful people make their living with the production of arms and sell them to one country for them to use against another country,” he said. “The economic system orbits around money and not men, women. … So war is waged in order to defend money. This is why some people don’t want peace: They make more money from war, although wars make money but lose lives, health, education.”


~


Pope Francis addresses US congress – live footage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te0_bWQNFn4
euronews (in English)
Published on Sep 24, 2015

In an historic address Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff in history to speak to a joint meeting of the United States Congress in Washington.


~

Rolling Stone

Why Do We Care Whose Side the Pope Is On?


The unseemly left-right war over the pope's affections

By Matt Taibbi
September 23, 2015


Image
Pope Francis departs the Vatican's diplomatic mission in Washington, DC on September 23rd, 2015 Cliff Owen/Corbis
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby Luther Blissett » Fri Sep 25, 2015 9:30 pm

That Taibbi piece is great.

I created a zine for distribution this weekend about the crimes of the Catholic church in South America, namely the Doctrine of Discovery, the Dirty War, and shipping pedophile priests off to new parishes in Paraguay or Colombia, and it's crazy out there. Right now it's a ghost town, but the military and TSA presence is insane, and all of the fencing, blockades, mobile showers, closed roads, and metal detectors really give one a taste of an immediate post-collapse city. All the same, it was pretty fun and I plan to go out again tomorrow.

If anything, the cops are relatively hands-off and there might even be more homeless than normal.
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby backtoiam » Sat Sep 26, 2015 2:23 am

I won't write anything else about this because then I would have to write more to talk about what i already talked about and I don't have the energy for it. But this is curious keyword bread crumb trail I "discovered"

Paraguay is an interesting place.

and shipping pedophile priests off to new parishes in Paraguay or Colombia,



Bush
Merkel (maybe)
pope
Black goo
quantum physics
nano tech
magic
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby jingofever » Sat Sep 26, 2015 3:05 am

Malachi Martin wrote a book of "faction", Windswept House:

Windswept House describes a satanic ritual - the enthronement of Lucifer - taking place at Saint-Paul's Chapel inside Vatican City, on June 29, 1963. The book gives a scary depiction of high ranking churchmen, cardinals, archbishops and prelatees of the Roman curia, taking oaths signed with their own blood, plotting to destroy the Church from within. It tells the story of an international organized attempt by these Vatican insiders and secular internationalists to force a pope of the Catholic Church to abdicate, so that a successor may be chosen that will fundamentally change orthodox faith and establish a New World Order.

When it was published, 1998, the idea of a pope abdicating was ridiculous. Not so ridiculous is the idea of a group of Vatican insiders plotting against a pope, and we have new claims of that:

At the launch of the book in Brussels this week, the cardinal said he was part of a secret club of cardinals opposed to Pope Benedict XVI.

He called it a “mafia” club that bore the name of St. Gallen. The group wanted a drastic reform of the Church, to make it “much more modern”, and for Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio to head it.

The cardinal is Cardinal Danneels, who has been discussed here before. You only need to do a Google search for 'Alex Jones pope new world order' to see that the rest of the plot fits.
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby conniption » Sat Sep 26, 2015 7:25 am

Information Clearing House

Pope Francis' Full Address to the UN General Assembly


Video and Transcript

Pope Francis’ address to the United Nations on Friday as prepared for delivery and translated by the Vatican:

Watch Pope Francis' full address to the UN General Assembly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJXnTb47GEc
PBS NewsHour
Published on Sep 25, 2015

Transcript:

September 25, 2015 "Information Clearing House" -

Mr President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,


Thank you for your kind words. Once again, following a tradition by which I feel honored, the Secretary General of the United Nations has invited the Pope to address this distinguished assembly of nations. In my own name, and that of the entire Catholic community, I wish to express to you, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, my heartfelt gratitude.

I greet the Heads of State and Heads of Government present, as well as the ambassadors, diplomats and political and technical officials accompanying them, the personnel of the United Nations engaged in this 70th Session of the General Assembly, the personnel of the various programs and agencies of the United Nations family, and all those who, in one way or another, take part in this meeting. Through you, I also greet the citizens of all the nations represented in this hall. I thank you, each and all, for your efforts in the service of mankind.

This is the fifth time that a Pope has visited the United Nations. I follow in the footsteps of my predecessors Paul VI, in1965, John Paul II, in 1979 and 1995, and my most recent predecessor, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in 2008. All of them expressed their great esteem for the Organization, which they considered the appropriate juridical and political response to this present moment of history, marked by our technical ability to overcome distances and frontiers and, apparently, to overcome all natural limits to the exercise of power. An essential response, inasmuch as technological power, in the hands of nationalistic or falsely universalist ideologies, is capable of perpetrating tremendous atrocities. I can only reiterate the appreciation expressed by my predecessors, in reaffirming the importance which the Catholic Church attaches to this Institution and the hope which she places in its activities.

The United Nations is presently celebrating its 70th anniversary. The history of this organized community of states is one of important common achievements over a period of unusually fast-paced changes. Without claiming to be exhaustive, we can mention the codification and development of international law, the establishment of international norms regarding human rights, advances in humanitarian law, the resolution of numerous conflicts, operations of peace-keeping and reconciliation, and any number of other accomplishments in every area of international activity and endeavor. All these achievements are lights which help to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness. Certainly, many grave problems remain to be resolved, yet it is clear that, without all those interventions on the international level, mankind would not have been able to survive the unchecked use of its own possibilities. Every one of these political, juridical and technical advances is a path towards attaining the ideal of human fraternity and a means for its greater realization.

For this reason I pay homage to all those men and women whose loyalty and self-sacrifice have benefitted humanity as a whole in these past seventy years. In particular, I would recall today those who gave their lives for peace and reconciliation among peoples, from Dag Hammarskjöld to the many United Nations officials at every level who have been killed in the course of humanitarian missions, and missions of peace and reconciliation.

Beyond these achievements, the experience of the past 70 years has made it clear that reform and adaptation to the times is always necessary in the pursuit of the ultimate goal of granting all countries, without exception, a share in, and a genuine and equitable influence on, decision-making processes. The need for greater equity is especially true in the case of those bodies with effective executive capability, such as the Security Council, the Financial Agencies and the groups or mechanisms specifically created to deal with economic crises. This will help limit every kind of abuse or usury, especially where developing countries are concerned. The International Financial Agencies are should care for the sustainable development of countries and should ensure that they are not subjected to oppressive lending systems which, far from promoting progress, subject people to mechanisms which generate greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.

The work of the United Nations, according to the principles set forth in the Preamble and the first Articles of its founding Charter, can be seen as the development and promotion of the rule of law, based on the realization that justice is an essential condition for achieving the ideal of universal fraternity. In this context, it is helpful to recall that the limitation of power is an idea implicit in the concept of law itself. To give to each his own, to cite the classic definition of justice, means that no human individual or group can consider itself absolute, permitted to bypass the dignity and the rights of other individuals or their social groupings.

The effective distribution of power (political, economic, defense-related, technological, etc.) among a plurality of subjects, and the creation of a juridical system for regulating claims and interests, are one concrete way of limiting power. Yet today’s world presents us with many false rights and – at the same time – broad sectors which are vulnerable, victims of power badly exercised: for example, the natural environment and the vast ranks of the excluded. These sectors are closely interconnected and made increasingly fragile by dominant political and economic relationships.

That is why their rights must be forcefully affirmed, by working to protect the environment and by putting an end to exclusion.

First, it must be stated that a true “right of the environment” does exist, for two reasons. First, because we human beings are part of the environment. We live in communion with it, since the environment itself entails ethical limits which human activity must acknowledge and respect. Man, for all his remarkable gifts, which “are signs of a uniqueness which transcends the spheres of physics and biology” (Laudato Si’, 81), is at the same time a part of these spheres. He possesses a body shaped by physical, chemical and biological elements, and can only survive and develop if the ecological environment is favorable. Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity.

Second, because every creature, particularly a living creature, has an intrinsic value, in its existence, its life, its beauty and its interdependence with other creatures. We Christians, together with the other monotheistic religions, believe that the universe is the fruit of a loving decision by the Creator, who permits man respectfully to use creation for the good of his fellow men and for the glory of the Creator; he is not authorized to abuse it, much less to destroy it. In all religions, the environment is a fundamental good (cf. ibid.).

The misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion. In effect, a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged, either because they are differently abled (handicapped), or because they lack adequate information and technical expertise, or are incapable of decisive political action. Economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a grave offense against human rights and the environment. The poorest are those who suffer most from such offenses, for three serious reasons: they are cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the abuse of the environment. They are part of today’s widespread and quietly growing “culture of waste”.

The dramatic reality this whole situation of exclusion and inequality, with its evident effects, has led me, in union with the entire Christian people and many others, to take stock of my grave responsibility in this regard and to speak out, together with all those who are seeking urgently-needed and effective solutions. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the World Summit, which opens today, is an important sign of hope. I am similarly confident that the Paris Conference on Climatic Change will secure fundamental and effective agreements.

Solemn commitments, however, are not enough, even though they are a necessary step toward solutions. The classic definition of justice which I mentioned earlier contains as one of its essential elements a constant and perpetual will: Iustitia est constans et perpetua voluntas ius sum cuique tribuendi. Our world demands of all government leaders a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences: human trafficking, the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labor, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crime. Such is the magnitude of these situations and their toll in innocent lives, that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences. We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective in the struggle against all these scourges.

The number and complexity of the problems require that we possess technical instruments of verification. But this involves two risks. We can rest content with the bureaucratic exercise of drawing up long lists of good proposals – goals, objectives and statistical indicators – or we can think that a single theoretical and aprioristic solution will provide an answer to all the challenges. It must never be forgotten that political and economic activity is only effective when it is understood as a prudential activity, guided by a perennial concept of justice and constantly conscious of the fact that, above and beyond our plans and programs, we are dealing with real men and women who live, struggle and suffer, and are often forced to live in great poverty, deprived of all rights.

To enable these real men and women to escape from extreme poverty, we must allow them to be dignified agents of their own destiny. Integral human development and the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed. They must be built up and allowed to unfold for each individual, for every family, in communion with others, and in a right relationship with all those areas in which human social life develops – friends, communities, towns and cities, schools, businesses and unions, provinces, nations, etc. This presupposes and requires the right to education – also for girls (excluded in certain places) – which is ensured first and foremost by respecting and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate its children, as well as the right of churches and social groups to support and assist families in the education of their children. Education conceived in this way is the basis for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and for reclaiming the environment.

At the same time, government leaders must do everything possible to ensure that all can have the minimum spiritual and material means needed to live in dignity and to create and support a family, which is the primary cell of any social development. In practical terms, this absolute minimum has three names: lodging, labor, and land; and one spiritual name: spiritual freedom, which includes religious freedom, the right to education and other civil rights.

For all this, the simplest and best measure and indicator of the implementation of the new agenda for development will be effective, practical and immediate access, on the part of all, to essential material and spiritual goods: housing, dignified and properly remunerated employment, adequate food and drinking water; religious freedom and, more generally, spiritual freedom and education. These pillars of integral human development have a common foundation, which is the right to life and, more generally, what we could call the right to existence of human nature itself.

The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species. The baneful consequences of an irresponsible mismanagement of the global economy, guided only by ambition for wealth and power, must serve as a summons to a forthright reflection on man: “man is not only a freedom which he creates for himself. Man does not create himself. He is spirit and will, but also nature” (Benedict XVI, Address to the Bundestag, 22 September 2011, cited in Laudato Si’, 6). Creation is compromised “where we ourselves have the final word… The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any instance above ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves” (ID. Address to the Clergy of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone, 6 August 2008, cited ibid.). Consequently, the defense of the environment and the fight against exclusion demand that we recognize a moral law written into human nature itself, one which includes the natural difference between man and woman (cf. Laudato Si’, 155), and absolute respect for life in all its stages and dimensions (cf. ibid., 123, 136).

Without the recognition of certain incontestable natural ethical limits and without the immediate implementation of those pillars of integral human development, the ideal of “saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war” (Charter of the United Nations, Preamble), and “promoting social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom” (ibid.), risks becoming an unattainable illusion, or, even worse, idle chatter which serves as a cover for all kinds of abuse and corruption, or for carrying out an ideological colonization by the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.

War is the negation of all rights and a dramatic assault on the environment. If we want true integral human development for all, we must work tirelessly to avoid war between nations and between peoples.

To this end, there is a need to ensure the uncontested rule of law and tireless recourse to negotiation, mediation and arbitration, as proposed by the Charter of the United Nations, which constitutes truly a fundamental juridical norm. The experience of these seventy years since the founding of the United Nations in general, and in particular the experience of these first fifteen years of the third millennium, reveal both the effectiveness of the full application of international norms and the ineffectiveness of their lack of enforcement.

When the Charter of the United Nations is respected and applied with transparency and sincerity, and without ulterior motives, as an obligatory reference point of justice and not as a means of masking spurious intentions, peaceful results will be obtained. When, on the other hand, the norm is considered simply as an instrument to be used whenever it proves favorable, and to be avoided when it is not, a true Pandora’s box is opened, releasing uncontrollable forces which gravely harm defenseless populations, the cultural milieu and even the biological environment.

The Preamble and the first Article of the Charter of the United Nations set forth the foundations of the international juridical framework: peace, the pacific solution of disputes and the development of friendly relations between the nations. Strongly opposed to such statements, and in practice denying them, is the constant tendency to the proliferation of arms, especially weapons of mass distraction, such as nuclear weapons. An ethics and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction – and possibly the destruction of all mankind – are self-contradictory and an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations, which would end up as “nations united by fear and distrust”. There is urgent need to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, in full application of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, in letter and spirit, with the goal of a complete prohibition of these weapons.

The recent agreement reached on the nuclear question in a sensitive region of Asia and the Middle East is proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy. I express my hope that this agreement will be lasting and efficacious, and bring forth the desired fruits with the cooperation of all the parties involved.

In this sense, hard evidence is not lacking of the negative effects of military and political interventions which are not coordinated between members of the international community. For this reason, while regretting to have to do so, I must renew my repeated appeals regarding to the painful situation of the entire Middle East, North Africa and other African countries, where Christians, together with other cultural or ethnic groups, and even members of the majority religion who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and folly, have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property, and have faced the alternative either of fleeing or of paying for their adhesion to good and to peace by their own lives, or by enslavement.

These realities should serve as a grave summons to an examination of conscience on the part of those charged with the conduct of international affairs. Not only in cases of religious or cultural persecution, but in every situation of conflict, as in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region, real human beings take precedence over partisan interests, however legitimate the latter may be. In wars and conflicts there are individual persons, our brothers and sisters, men and women, young and old, boys and girls who weep, suffer and die. Human beings who are easily discarded when our only response is to draw up lists of problems, strategies and disagreements.

As I wrote in my letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 9 August 2014, “the most basic understanding of human dignity compels the international community, particularly through the norms and mechanisms of international law, to do all that it can to stop and to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities” and to protect innocent peoples.

Along the same lines I would mention another kind of conflict which is not always so open, yet is silently killing millions of people. Another kind of war experienced by many of our societies as a result of the narcotics trade. A war which is taken for granted and poorly fought. Drug trafficking is by its very nature accompanied by trafficking in persons, money laundering, the arms trade, child exploitation and other forms of corruption. A corruption which has penetrated to different levels of social, political, military, artistic and religious life, and, in many cases, has given rise to a parallel structure which threatens the credibility of our institutions.

I began this speech recalling the visits of my predecessors. I would hope that my words will be taken above all as a continuation of the final words of the address of Pope Paul VI; although spoken almost exactly fifty years ago, they remain ever timely. “The hour has come when a pause, a moment of recollection, reflection, even of prayer, is absolutely needed so that we may think back over our common origin, our history, our common destiny. The appeal to the moral conscience of man has never been as necessary as it is today… For the danger comes neither from progress nor from science; if these are used well, they can help to solve a great number of the serious problems besetting mankind (Address to the United Nations Organization, 4 October 1965). Among other things, human genius, well applied, will surely help to meet the grave challenges of ecological deterioration and of exclusion. As Paul VI said: “The real danger comes from man, who has at his disposal ever more powerful instruments that are as well fitted to bring about ruin as they are to achieve lofty conquests” (ibid.).

The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic. This common home of all men and women must also be built on the understanding of a certain sacredness of created nature.

Such understanding and respect call for a higher degree of wisdom, one which accepts transcendence, rejects the creation of an all-powerful élite, and recognizes that the full meaning of individual and collective life is found in selfless service to others and in the sage and respectful use of creation for the common good. To repeat the words of Paul VI, “the edifice of modern civilization has to be built on spiritual principles, for they are the only ones capable not only of supporting it, but of shedding light on it” (ibid.).

El Gaucho Martín Fierro, a classic of literature in my native land, says: “Brothers should stand by each other, because this is the first law; keep a true bond between you always, at every time – because if you fight among yourselves, you’ll be devoured by those outside”.

The contemporary world, so apparently connected, is experiencing a growing and steady social fragmentation, which places at risk “the foundations of social life” and consequently leads to “battles over conflicting interests” (Laudato Si’, 229).

The present time invites us to give priority to actions which generate new processes in society, so as to bear fruit in significant and positive historical events (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 223). We cannot permit ourselves to postpone “certain agendas” for the future. The future demands of us critical and global decisions in the face of worldwide conflicts which increase the number of the excluded and those in need.

The praiseworthy international juridical framework of the United Nations Organization and of all its activities, like any other human endeavor, can be improved, yet it remains necessary; at the same time it can be the pledge of a secure and happy future for future generations. And so it will, if the representatives of the States can set aside partisan and ideological interests, and sincerely strive to serve the common good. I pray to Almighty God that this will be the case, and I assure you of my support and my prayers, and the support and prayers of all the faithful of the Catholic Church, that this Institution, all its member States, and each of its officials, will always render an effective service to mankind, a service respectful of diversity and capable of bringing out, for sake of the common good, the best in each people and in every individual.

Upon all of you, and the peoples you represent, I invoke the blessing of the Most High, and all peace and prosperity. Thank you.
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby divideandconquer » Sat Sep 26, 2015 12:18 pm

Between his checkered past--part minister to the poor and marginalized (saint), part agent of powerful criminals (sinner)--and his recent global appeal, seemingly as much an representative of the UN as he is of the Catholic Church, Jesuit Pope Francis makes me nervous. I don't think he is what he presents to the public. From a personal perspective, everyone I know love him from my highly religious, mostly conservative Roman Catholic parents to my sister who left the church long ago, to my friends, co-workers, etc., whether they're religious or not.

Whatever you think of the historical Catholic religion or Church, order out of chaos seems to be the blueprint here. I think the subtle breaking down, watering down of the Catholic religion has been going on for decades. The nail in its coffin occurred when the media was given the green light to expose pedophilia in the Catholic Church (the only powerful institution exposed in the mainstream to the point where pedophilia and Catholic Church are practically synonymous), which resulted in the chaos they needed to resurrect a new religion, a new world religion.

I've read the John Jay report on the pedophilia scandal and when you break it down, it turns out that a little over 1% of priests are actual pedophiles, with maybe 5-10% of the priests being pederasts...that is, priests engaged in sexual relationships with male teenagers over the age of 14, some consensual, some not. I'm certainly not defending the behavior of these priests, especially the behavior of those who covered it up, but the numbers do not reflect the "reality" created by the media.

The media has made it seem as if the majority of all priests are pedophiles when that is just not true. Also, this pedophile/pederast problem exploded in the late 1960s and 1970s, after Vatican II when the bar was lowered for entrance into the priesthood. There are cases where entire rectories were transformed into brothels starting in the late 60s continuing into the 1970s. Homosexual priests are not the issue. Some of the greatest and most devout priests are/have been homosexual, however, the temptation is much higher for homosexual men just because of the all male world they live in and the escape provided from a hostile world that doesn't accept homosexuals for who they are. Also, heterosexual pederasts (think Elvis bringing home his child bride) are practically sanctioned by the public whereas homosexual pederasts are NOT.

All I'm saying is that I believe the Catholic Church, whatever you may think of it, is being used to usher in this new world religion, but it will not be the historical Catholic religion of the last 2,000 years. It will be the new world religion needed to bring about a new global governance and Pope Francis is the appointed usher.
'I see clearly that man in this world deceives himself by admiring and esteeming things which are not, and neither sees nor esteems the things which are.' — St. Catherine of Genoa
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby 82_28 » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:00 pm

Well said D&C. I just don't know. But when I was watching the live "coverage" I kept thinking that if this shit is believed by clergy to be real, wouldn't you be saying to yourself, why the fuck am I wearing all this shit? Why are millions of people turning out in person to see me? Why has my mere presence allowed for the shutdown of three major cities so I can mutter platitudes in a quiet, incoherent tone? I noticed some taped footage of him kissing disabled kids and shit and didn't notice them "come to" once. Why is the only "miracle" I can think of that "the church" has come up with be the apparition of the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast. I am willing to accept that divinity shows up in the most subtle of places. But the great circus is still very baffling.

Image

Which I fired up an OP here some time ago. . .

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=36331
There is no me. There is no you. There is all. There is no you. There is no me. And that is all. A profound acceptance of an enormous pageantry. A haunting certainty that the unifying principle of this universe is love. -- Propagandhi
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby divideandconquer » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:42 pm

82_28 » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:00 pm wrote:Well said D&C. I just don't know. But when I was watching the live "coverage" I kept thinking that if this shit is believed by clergy to be real, wouldn't you be saying to yourself, why the fuck am I wearing all this shit? Why are millions of people turning out in person to see me? Why has my mere presence allowed for the shutdown of three major cities so I can mutter platitudes in a quiet, incoherent tone? I noticed some taped footage of him kissing disabled kids and shit and didn't notice them "come to" once. Why is the only "miracle" I can think of that "the church" has come up with be the apparition of the Virgin Mary on a piece of toast. I am willing to accept that divinity shows up in the most subtle of places. But the great circus is still very baffling.

Image

Which I fired up an OP here some time ago. . .

http://www.rigorousintuition.ca/board2/ ... =8&t=36331


82_28, I'm not sure if I understand. Are you wondering if the Pope knows his role in perhaps ushering in a new world religion? Or, about all of the pomp and circumstance that surrounds the Pope in general? The pope is not a saint, therefore, he doesn't work miracles. The miracles are normally associated with saints of the Catholic Church, which is (used to be) a very rigorous process of discerning whether those miracles really happened amongst other criteria that must be met. It can take centuries to discern. However, very recently there is supposedly a fast-track to sainthood.

I don't remember it being like this when Pope John Paul II came to Philly in 1979. Sure, it was a big deal, but my mom and grandparents decided to go see him at the last moment and despite their lack of planning, they all got to shake the pope's hand.
'I see clearly that man in this world deceives himself by admiring and esteeming things which are not, and neither sees nor esteems the things which are.' — St. Catherine of Genoa
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Re: Habemus Papam! Pope Francis l

Postby 82_28 » Sat Sep 26, 2015 1:51 pm

I was basically saying that doesn't it occur to you at some point in life that this is pretty stupid when you think about it?

I am "spiritual", but being the only guy in a crowd of millions still wearing that get-up would make me think of how absurd it all is. It made sense centuries ago when there was no instant search, no malls or big box stores to go to. I've long said that the Vatican was the first JC Penney's (department store) of sorts. It's always been a way to dazzle with shit po-folk had never seen before and then extract from the flock -- keeping control. Even going way back to the 1970s or as early as the 1970s one kept time by the clock and bells in the distance.
There is no me. There is no you. There is all. There is no you. There is no me. And that is all. A profound acceptance of an enormous pageantry. A haunting certainty that the unifying principle of this universe is love. -- Propagandhi
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