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British journalist produces excellent story on yesterday’s riot in DC

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Today we are all reacting to yesterday’s riots in Washington where Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building.  Here’s an excellent story from the UK’s ITV News. Reported by its Washington correspondent Robert Moore, much of the footage is shot inside as the violent mob stormed in through doors and broken windows.

It’s well done and a shining example of great reporting. Cudos to Mr. Moore and his crew who reported what they saw, asked questions, and put together an extraordinary piece while being in significant danger.

After excusing violence, Trump acknowledges Biden transition

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President Todayville Inc., Honorary Colonel 41 Signal Regiment, Board Member Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award Foundation, Director Canadian Forces Liaison Council (Alberta) musician, photographer, former VP/GM CTV Edmonton.

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Pope Francis Dies on Day after Easter

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By John Leake

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was many “firsts” in papal history.

This morning in Rome, Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo (office for announcing Pope’s death) declared from the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta, where Francis lived:

At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of His Church.

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which made him the first pope from Latin America. He was also the first pope from the Jesuit order, which was banned in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV (and restored by Pope Pius VII in 1814).

Pope Francis was also the first to take the name of Francis of Assisi —the Italian mystic, poet and Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Saint Francis has long been celebrated for his humility, simplicity, and his dedication to ministering to the poor. Pope Francis is said to have been especially inspired by Saint Francis.

The New York Times just published what strikes me as a competently written account of some key aspects of his papacy.

Francis was elected in March 2013 after the resignation of Benedict, the first pontiff to step down in nearly six centuries, amid turmoil and intrigue about secret lobbies and financial chicanery. The cardinal electors sought a reformer with a strong administrative hand, but few anticipated how Francis, then the 76-year-old archbishop of Buenos Aires, would blend reformist zeal and folksy charm in a push to clean house and transform the church.

“Buona sera,” good evening, Francis announced to the faithful in his first remarks as pope from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, breaking the ice with unaffected style. He joked about being from Argentina, noting that in fulfilling their duty to produce a pope, “it seems that my brother cardinals have gone almost to the ends of the Earth to get him.” …

Francis signaled his humble style from the outset. He paid his own bill at the Vatican hotel where he stayed during the conclave that elected him, rode about town in a modest Ford Focus, lived in a Vatican guesthouse rather than the ornate papal apartments and, in a Holy Week ritual performed at a youth prison, washed the feet of a young Muslim woman. Later, in his ailing years, he referred to his own frailty in demanding dignity for the aged.

His humility could be disarming. When asked about a priest who was said to be gay, he responded, “Who am I to judge?”

“Who am I to judge?” This statement seemed to recall Jesus’s statement to the Pharisees when they brought before him a woman condemned to be stoned for adultery. When they asked him if she should be stoned in accordance with the Law of Moses, he replied, “If any one of you is without sin, let him throw the first stone.”

Setting aside Paul’s explicit condemnation of homosexuality in Romans 1:26-27, the trouble with Francis’s statement is, it seems to me, twofold. First is the fact that Roman Catholic priests take a vow of celibacy—that is, they explicitly renounce sexuality.

Secondly, the Pope’s statement was remarkably tone-deaf to scandals that have rocked the Catholic church in recent decades involving gay priests who have abused minors in their congregations.

In 2018, Francis initially ignored Chilean abuse victims when he appointed Juan Barros Madrid to head the diocese of Osorno in Chile. Barros had been mentored by a notorious abuser named Father Fernando Karadima.

I mention the controversial matter of sexuality not in an attempt to adjudicate it, but to point out the broader controversy of Francis’s papacy—namely, his conspicuous embrace of many elements in the globalist agenda, including his advocacy of mass illegal immigration and what may be characterized as the Climate Change Cult.

In 2016, Francis seemed to throw his prestige behind the globalist propaganda campaign to prevent Donald Trump from being elected president. On February 18, 2016, he stated:

A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not in the Gospel.

Seeing this reminded me of the walls around Vatican City. Pope Leo IV commissioned their construction in 846 in response to Saracen attacks that caused significant damage to the St. Peter’s Basilica.

We believe the most disturbing gesture of his papacy was Vatican City’s issuance of a 20 Euro silver coin in 2022. As the Numista catalogue describes it:

The coin depicts a doctor, a nurse and a young person who is ready to receive the vaccine. The Holy Father has repeatedly stressed the importance of vaccination, recalling that healthcare is “a moral obligation”, and it is important to “continue efforts to immunize even the poorest peoples.

Note that the formulation “a young person who is ready to receive the vaccine” is identical to the formulation for a communicant “who is ready to receive the host”—in Italian “pronto a ricevere l’Eucaristia.”

The obverse of the coin bears the name Franciscus, the year 2022 (“Anno MMXXII”) and the Coat of Arms of Pope Francis.

I have no doubt that Francis performed many acts of Christian love and charity during his long life, and I hope he will rest in peace.

 

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Pope Francis has died aged 88

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From LifeSiteNews

Pope Francis’ reign in the papal throne spanned more than a decade, and witnessed the spread of widespread confusion on numerous matters of the Catholic faith.

Pope Francis has died today, aged 88.

The Holy See Press Office announced the news, writing:

A short while ago, His Eminence Cardinal Farrell announced with sorrow the death of Pope Francis with these words:

“Dear brothers and sisters, it is with deep sorrow that I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis.

At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the Father’s house. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church.

He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially toward the poorest and most marginalized.

With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the Triune God.”

Pope Francis’s health had been steadily declining in recent months. He had suffered persistent breathing problems through the winter and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 for bronchitis but was then diagnosed with double pneumonia in what was first described as a “complex” then a “critical” medical scenario. He suffered a number of respiratory crises and failures and presented with symptoms of “mild” kidney failure during his hospitalization. Discharged back to the Vatican after 38-days, Francis began a 2-month convalescence as his doctors revealed he nearly lost his life twice in the spring hospitalization.

He was last in public on Easter Sunday to give the Urbi et Orbi blessing, but looked notably weak, being barely able to raise his arms and with a particularly strained voice.

The Argentinian prelate had led the Catholic Church as Pope since March 13, 2013. He emerged to the world as a surprise successor to Benedict XVI, following the German Pope’s shock resignation in February 2013.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was ordained on December 13, 1969 and was raised to become Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in May 1992, before assuming control of the see in 1998. Created cardinal by Pope John Paul II in February 2001, he served as the vice-president and then president of the episcopal conference of Argentina from 2002 – 2011.

In the papal conclave following Benedict XVI’s resignation, Cardinal Bergoglio was elected to the Papal throne on March 13, 2013, at the age of 76.

Pope Francis: A bishop from ‘the ends of the earth’

Announced as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church on March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on just the second day of the conclave.

Citing concern for the poor as his reason, Bergoglio chose the new papal name of Francis in imitation of St. Francis of Assisi. Addressing the crowds in St. Peter’s Square on the evening of his ascent to the throne, Francis avoided using the term “Pope,” presenting himself instead as “bishop” of Rome. “You know that it was the duty of the Conclave to give Rome a Bishop. It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone to the ends of the earth to get one… but here we are… I thank you for your welcome. The diocesan community of Rome now has its Bishop.”

His appearance on the balcony of St. Peter’s was notable for its departure from tradition: gone were the Pope’s red shoes which symbolized martyrdom; gone were the Papal pectoral cross and ring, with Bergoglio choosing his own instead; gone also was the traditional red mozzetta.

He also dispensed with the usual order of a papal blessing, asking the assembled crowd to pray for him, before imparting a blessing.

The evening was a revelatory one, with many commentators already remarking on the new Pope’s disregard for customs.

He created over 140 cardinals in ten consistories through his reign, and issued well over 3,500 documents, texts or speeches. Among this number were 4 EncyclicalsLumen Fidei, largely written by Pope Benedict and finished by Francis; Fratelli Tutti, which expounded a form of irreligious fraternity dubbed as “blasphemous”; Laudato Si’, which advocated for “climate change” measures and formed the basis for his future ecological writings and interventions; Dilexit Nos, on the Sacred Heart.

Pope Francis also penned 74 Motu Proprios, 92 Apostolic Letters, 7 Apostolic Exhortations, 20 Apostolic Constitutions, and one Papal Bull. Francis made over 40 official papal trips outside of Italy and visited 65 countries as of September 12, 2024.

Credit: Getty Images/ Peter Macdiarmid / Staff163613295
Newly elected Pope Francis speaks to the waiting crowd from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica on March 13, 2013 in Vatican City, Vatican.
Credit: Getty Images/Jeff J Mitchell163615880
Pope Francis bows to receive the prayers of those assembled in St. Peter’s Square, March 13, 2013.

 

Credit: Mazur/CBCEW/Flickr
Newly created Cardinal Arthur Roche greets Pope Francis at the August 2022 Consistory of Cardinals.

 

Getty Images/Cole Burston / Stringer1242111079
Pope Francis wears a traditional headdress that was gifted to him by indigenous leaders following his apology during his visit on July 25, 2022 in Maskwacis, Canada.
Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Istiqlal Mosque Nasaruddin Umar pose for picture in front of the Istiqlal Mosque on September 05, 2024 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

 

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