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| Pope Francis and Cardinal Turkson |
Question: What do the issues of trade-unionism, war and peace, the environment, the death penalty, muslim "migrants" and the well-being of health care workers all have in common?
Answer: Not much.
Unless, of course, you're a leftist "social-justice" activist, in which case they're all linked in the great revolutionary struggle.
I'm referring, of course, to Pope Francis.
In a Motu Proprio;dated two weeks ago released today, the Pope announced the creation of a new Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, to be led by Cardinal Turkson. Among other things, it will take up the work of four pontifical councils that will now cease to exist on 1 January 2017:
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
The Pontifical Council Cor Unum
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants
The Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers
a green light from the Pope to collaborate with non-Catholic institutions.
A major focus will be migrants, and the department will have a special section dedicated to the issue under the specific guidance of the Pope - such an arrangement is highly unusual but reflects Francis’ passionate concern for refugees.
Here is the full text:
Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio by the Supreme Pontiff Francis instituting the DICASTERY FOR PROMOTING INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
In all her being and actions, the Church is called to promote the integral development of the human person in the light of the Gospel. This development takes place by attending to the inestimable goods of justice, peace, and the care of creation. The Successor of the Apostle Peter, in his work of affirming these values, is continuously adapting the institutions which collaborate with him, so that they may better meet the needs of the men and women whom they are called to serve.
So that the Holy See may be solicitous in these areas, as well as in those regarding health and charitable works, I institute the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. This Dicastery will be competent particularly in issues regarding migrants, those in need, the sick, the excluded and marginalized, the imprisoned and the unemployed, as well as victims of armed conflict, natural disasters, and all forms of slavery and torture.
In the new Dicastery, governed by the Statutes that today I approve ad experimentum, the competences of the following Pontifical Councils will be merged, as of 1 January 2017: the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, and the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers. On that date these four Dicasteries will cease exercising their functions and will be suppressed, and articles 142-153 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus will be abrogated.
I decree that what has been set out in this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio have the force of law, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, even if worthy of special mention, and that it be promulgated by publication in L’Osservatore Romano, therefore published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, entering into force on 1 January 2017.
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 17 August 2016, the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Fourth Year of my Pontificate.
So call it the Dicastery for Promoting This-Worldly Human Development? Because in all her being and actions, the Church was called by Jesus to attend to the inestimable goods of justice, peace, and the care of creation in this world.
ReplyDeleteNo more waiting around for the next world. Shaking off our next-worldly concerns, we can finally be the force for good this world has been waiting for. If Jesus were still alive, he would weep with joy.
But Jesus IS alive today!
DeleteI suppose the Vatican's transition to just another NGO is almost complete.
ReplyDeleteI would suspect someone like a George Soros has made it clear what he will pay for and sponsor, and his shill has made that priority one. "I wish all formerly Christian nations to be filled with male Muslims between the ages of 19 and 40." He's getting what he paid for.
ReplyDeleteLord, deliver us from this evil.
The Book of Revelation prophesizes a kind of one-world religion that relies on international economic and political power to thrive and dominate — and that opposes Christianity. Given the Catholic Church’s political ambitions and views of its role over governments throughout history, why shouldn’t it be involved with — let alone oppose — such a prophetic development?
ReplyDeleteIf you think that’s not possible, just look at Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate.”
Moreover, just look at how many other churches have allowed themselves to be co-opted by political elites. The Russian Orthodox are in Putin’s hip pocket, just like they were under the Tzars. Mainline and liberal Protestantism has bought the “Progressive” political agenda hook, line and sinker. Evangelical Protestantism, at least in the United States, has tried to reach some sort of accommodation with the GOP for about 35 years, now. A major reason Europe is spiritually weak is the existence of “state” churches.
The question no longer is whether Francis thinks this way; that’s obvious. The question is whether he represents a substantial segment of opinion among the College of Cardinals — at the very least.
I do not believe this is the mission of the Catholic Church:
ReplyDelete"In all her being and actions, the Church is called to promote the integral development of the human person in the light of the Gospel. This development takes place by attending to the inestimable goods of justice, peace, and the care of creation."
Preaching the Gospel and the salvation of souls is the mission of the Catholic Church. What Pope Francis refers to is the mission of governments and lay people in general.
I do not believe this is the Catholic Church anymore. The mission of the Catholic Church has always been supernatural: the salvation of souls. In my opinion the mission was trashed with Vatican 2's Nostra Aetate and with the elimination of the Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews.
ReplyDeleteSeattle Kim