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Opinion

Whaaat? The Pope is still Catholic???

SHOOTING STRAIGHT - Bobit S. Avila - The Philippine Star

I’m not at all surprised that suddenly last Wednesday, the Liberal mainstream international media made a headline report on an issue that has been there at the Vatican for many decades…but the way the international press publicized it, it would seem as if it was a big breaking news. Yes, I’m referring to the report by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) when it unabashedly attacked the Vatican for its handling of sexual abuse cases in the past many years. Hmmm, why only now?

Of course, the Vatican has quietly solved these very ticklish issues without publicizing them… while other priests involved in these sexual cases especially in the United States were exposed and cases filed which even resulted in the bankruptcy of their dioceses. But the UNCRC totally ignored what the Holy See has done, which adheres to the Convention of the Rights of the Child… but their attacks included their not-so-hidden agenda when on the same communiqué, the UNCRC asked that the Holy See change its position on abortion and homosexuality. What? The UNCRC wants to enter into realm of our religious beliefs, whose freedoms are guaranteed by the UN.

This brought Arch. Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the UN in Geneva to believe that the UNCRC has been influenced by non-governmental organizations (NGO) that advocate abortion, same sex marriage, divorce and gay rights. I hope our readers realize that the Filipino family is under attack against a global scourge whose aim is simply destroy the Filipino family, our strongest trait as a people and a nation.

Clearly, just like in our fight against the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, which has become a law in this country… these NGO’s use monies that they acquired from their liberal partners around the world to entice, cajole and just like what happened here in the Philippines bribe our legislators to vote for the RH bill. I just hope that they haven’t bribed the Supreme Court whose decision on the fate of the RH law is still a national cliffhanger.

Perhaps you may be wondering… what happened? Why does the mainstream international media (yes including many liberal minded journalists here) are now in chorus attacking the Vatican? Well, next month on March 13, Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio a.k.a. Pope Francis will be celebrating his one-year as Pope. When Pope Francis appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s before a crowd of hundreds of thousand people, his first request to the people of Rome was “Please pray for me.” That statement was a bit surprising to the crowd because it was the first time a Pope asked for prayers.

The following day was a day of more surprises when the newly-elected Pope did not use his service limousine but rather took a mini-bus together with his fellow Cardinals to get his stuff in his hotel, paying the front desk with his own money. Other Pope’s would have their seconds do these small things for them. But then we did not get an ordinary Pope; we are getting a Pope who was given to us by the Holy Spirit who continues to guide us.

On his return flight from World Youth Day in Brazil, Pope Francis shocked the media accompanying him by granting him an interview on that long haul flight and one of the issues raised was about gay rights to which the Pope said, “Who am I to condemn them if they are seeking God?” Indeed the Catholic Church never condemned gays. It is the sexual act of gays that is condemnable just like sex between unmarried couples is also condemnable.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a million man Pro-Life march in Washington D.C. and Pope Francis issued a statement supporting the Pro-Life movement and condemning abortion when he made a speech in his yearly address to foreign diplomats which is also known as the Pope’s State of the World Address. Pope Francis said, “It is horrific even to think that there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day,”

Because for more than six months into his reign, Pope Francis never spoke out against abortion, so the Liberal Press thought that finally, they had a man inside the Vatican and continued lionizing Pope Francis. This official statement by Pope Francis made last Jan.13th was the last straw for the Liberals for they finally realized that Pope Francis…. is still a Catholic!

Indeed Pope Francis hasn’t changed a single letter in the magisterium of the Catholic Church; he merely wanted the Clergy to focus on the Mercy of God rather than on the teachings against abortion, contraception and homosexuality. Because of their realization that the Pope is Catholic, the UNCRC suddenly goes on a frontal attack against the Vatican. At this point, I dare challenge the UNCRC to publicly condemn the Muslim practice of Muslim men marrying child brides or underage girls or the continue caste system in India that dehumanizes women. But I’m sure they won’t because if they did that, they might get reprisals from fanatical Muslims, while Christianity teaches tolerance…turn the other cheek, which is why they target us.

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.

 

BRVBAR

BUT I

CATHOLIC CHURCH

CONVENTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

FRANCIS

HOLY SEE

HOLY SPIRIT

INDEED POPE FRANCIS

POPE

POPE FRANCIS

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