It is not going to be easy.....

Well, it has been a couple of weeks and now we can see a little more clearly what pope Francis is going to be like. Holy Week is (and certainly it was 2000 year ago) a crucible. Some of us see very hopeful signs in Francis' actions. [Note to readers: no, I'm not Catholic (the church) but rather 'catholic' in the sense of recognizing 'the universal body of Christ of all believers.']
In this article The Last Straw for Traditionalists (and there are others commenting on the same reactionary opinions of traditionalists) we see that the self appointed guardians of the faith find fault in Francis. Horrors! This was the topic of discussion at our annual 12 Course meal for Good Friday at a very Catholic home. What do they think of Francis? "A breath of fresh air." "The beginning of change to revitalize the Church."
  It is not going to be easy. Even small changes in ritual / liturgy will be criticized. Try something bigger (you get to pick what that might be) and we'll see how this goes. My own observation is that the Traditionalists that reside in all churches will first react to liturgy knowing full well that the "worst" comes later. Witness the long battle over modern music and instruments in churches across the land that began 40 years ago. And in some congregations still we see this battle.
   As I've said before, "stay tuned" in to the saga of Francis. It is going to be interesting......

The End of Religion As We Know It

Gary Laderman: The Rise of Religious "Nones" Indicates the End of Religion As We Know It

Here is some analysis from a scholar of religion. His basic point is that the five following factors have had the effect of an increasing number of people who say that "none" is their own religion. Not necessarily atheist (that is not really "none") but that their religion is not bounded or aligned with any particular brand. The factors are not new, their interpretation as factors in a persons religion or spirituality is indeed of interest.

1. The aftereffects of the 1960s social revolution.
2. Popular culture as a "replacement" for religion.
3. Consumerism and our cafeteria view of everything: we pick and choose what we want.
4. Changing relation between church and state; what does and does not constitute religion.
5. The end of religion as we have known it for nearly 2000 years.

My take: he and others who are watching this phenomenon are on to something. Whether "religion" will die or more hopefully morph into something useful is yet to be decided.....

Lest we forget

The only thing that I can add to this is maybe "....and the Congress that voted repeatedly to perpetuate the war and also the many millions of citizens who voted for them."

Round Two: How does Liberation Theology affect Francis?

As I noted the other day, there is some ambivalence in Francis' acceptance / non-acceptance of Liberation Theology. Given that LT is not a uniform set of beliefs (depending on one's perspective: latino, black, feminist, etc) it should not be a surprise that Francis is hard to pin down on this from his previous perch in Buenos Aires.
   My guess: he has worked among the poor for most of his life; that's where he's coming from. However as the leader of the Catholic Church it is not very becoming to pronounce in favor of LT (or a variant) as Pope. Stay tuned. I think it will take some time to figure this out. And given that the fellow who put the kaboosh on LT 30 years ago is the Pope Emeritus, maybe it would be better to wait until he is really really cloistered in his new digs at the Vatican.
Is the New Pope More Liberal Than the Last Two? Why It's Hard to Tell - Emily Chertoff - The Atlantic

Hey, pal: can you spare a couple a Trillion dollars? maybe six?

I am a pacifist. War is almost always a waste. The two Bush Wars will cost the US treasury many times more than the trivial pursuit that Congress is talking about now. So when you think you can conjure up an image of  "war is evil" as 100s of thousands of civilians died in Iraq and Afghanistan, you've come up a several hundred million short. The impact in the USA on millions upon millions of students whose education is shortchanged, the millions of potential recipients of medical aid who can't qualify the more stringent requirements because there simple isn't enough money for Medicaid; etc etc etc. Remember what Ike said so many years ago (April, 1953):

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter with a half-million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. . . . This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.

Iraq War Cost U.S. More Than $2 Trillion, Could Grow to $6 Trillion, Says Watson Institute Study

Why the First Latin American Pope Inspires Less Hope Than We Hoped

Below is the link to the TIME article. This is just one perspective. There will be tons of comments, analysis in the days and weeks to come. This article appeared less than 24 hours after the selection. Francis (Bergoglio) has been around for quite a few years and so I am sure  that there will be information and people's comments.
   I myself sit on the fence on the LGBT largely because my social / familial circle doesn't include hardly any one I know. But I don't think it proper to demonize anyone, especially if your words can be used from the pulpit (intentionally or otherwise) to harm another person. Read on....
Why the First Latin American Pope Inspires Less Hope Than We Hoped | TIME.com

Euphoria in S. America

Big news this evening as the new pope was selected. An Argentinian Jesuit. Both firsts. Indeed the first pope from the southern hemisphere, first from the Americas, first from South America. Local news tonight was completely dominated by the coverage from Rome and Buenos Aires. I was more impressed by the fact that Francis I is a Jesuit. If you remember, the Jesuits and the hierarchical Catholic Church came to blows some hundreds of years ago and it was finally patched up. I have a lot of respect for Jesuits.
   On the flip side, early analysis (surely to be confirmed) indicates that Francis I is "against" Liberation Theology. Not sure what that means, but my guess is that one can't be pope if one is a die-hard Liberation Theology believer. Sad. What caught my attention was Presidenta Cristina K. of Argentina was taped shortly after hearing about Francis I's selection and her comment that she hoped that he will exercise "an option for the poor." A catch phrase from Liberation Theology (and other sources as well.)
  Stay tuned, this will be an interesting topic for sure. But in the meantime "Euphoria in S. America!"