Happy Place Diversion ~ What if God was One of Us?

The new Pope Francis from Venezuela is considered a "man of the people" who said the other day he wants a "Poor Church to Feed the Poor." And he is trying harder than any Pope within living memory to prove that early in his Papacy.

Pope Francis ditches bullet-proof "pope mobile" for open Jeep and frequent stops to embrace Easter week crowds. @thenation @hardball

— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) March 24, 2013

Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Thursday mass in a juvenile detention center rather than the Vatican. @thenation @hardball

— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) March 24, 2013

From USA Today - the Pope on Palm Sunday

The square overflowed with some 250,000 pilgrims, tourists and Romans eager to join the new pope at the start of solemn Holy Week ceremonies, which lead up to Easter, Christianity's most important day.

. . . Francis even climbed down from the vehicle, kissed a woman in the crowd and chatted briefly with her, and another man in the crowd leaned over a barrier to squeeze the pontiff on a shoulder — an unheard of familiarity in the previous pontificate of the reserved Benedict XVI.

. . . Francis said Jesus "awakened so many hopes in the heart, above all among humble, simple, poor, forgotten people, those who don't matter in the eyes of the world."
Francis then told an off-the-cuff story from his childhood in Argentina. "My grandmother used to say, 'children, burial shrouds don't have' pockets'" the pope said, in a variation of "you can't take it with you."

So lately I've been thinking about Joan Osborne's hit "What if God was One of Us?" When the song came out many people thought it was somehow sacrilegious, but I never understood that criticism. She is asking age-old questions about faith and belief that all real Christians consider. She sings about Jesus being a human, which according to scripture he was, which is the whole point of the New Testament and all his sermons. Jesus experienced human life and let his disciples ask him questions. He was a man of the people and went out amongst the sinners. He didn't shun the poor, the unwell, or the prostitutes (which the GOP would call "sluts"). He led by example. He never said a single thing about hating gay people, or black people, or anyone with a different religion. Yes, the Church has unfortunately had leaders who felt that way over the centuries, but that is not the message of Jesus or a reason to hate all Christians.



Gandhi said, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."

Exactly. Many so-called Christians have forgotten the actual teachings of Christ, just as many denominations that consider themselves Protestant have drifted away from the simplicity of Martin Luther. Some churches have became more and more ostentatious and outrageous as they try to out-do the churches down the street instead of using their tithes to help the indigent and feed poor children. Jesus threw the moneychangers out of the Temple, and I think he would have the same reaction to all the politics in the church today. For instance, the Tea Partiers are so focused on what they think is "right" about abortion and the unborn that they want to sacrifice those who have been born, who are already existing and need our help: the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden.

Many so-called Christians have spent the last ten years preparing for Armageddon, or the Rapture, or the Mayan Apocalypse. And because they consider themselves to be "The Chosen" because of which church they followed, they became so self-absorbed with either death or survival that they just didn't care about anyone else. That is not what the church teaches at all.


They even made fun of it on the Simpsons several times: once in "Bart's Comet", when Ned Flanders builds a Bunker just large enough to save his family and his neighbors, but then the whole town shows up; and in Thank God It's Doomsday in which Homer is scared by the Left Behind movies and believes the Rapture is coming soon, but discovers he isn't much of a Prophet after all. Unfortunately for modern Christianity, Homer-as-Everyman isn't far from reality. And throughout history the church has dealt with "false prophets." An aunt of mine who recently died said people would frighten children with the same stories back in the 1920s, and my Grandmother told me years ago that Haley's Comet caused the same fear at the turn of the century. Human nature just doesn't change very much.

But I still think it's much more sacrilegious to pretend to be a Catholic, Protestant, Jew - whatever - and ask "What would Ayn Rand do?" Or even worse, "What would Grover Norquist do?" Ugh. The GOP cynicism they spout while expecting us to believe they are devoutly religious has nothing to do with God or Jesus. They are NOT "one of us," nor do they care anything about the slobs on the bus. Christianity did not "create" the Congress we have right now, but I'm happy to say the elections last year when the "people" spoke are a good first step in getting the hypocrite Pharisees out of our government.

Pope Francis Meets the World

The first Latin American Pope was chosen in the Vatican City in Rome yesterday, Pope Francis I from Venezuela.

From NBC News

Pope Francis is unique not just for being the first Latin American pope. He's also the first Jesuit pope, possibly signaling a renewed emphasis on traditional Catholic theology by the church.

The Society of Jesus, as the Jesuits are formally known, observes a vow of poverty, and as archbishop of Buenos Aires, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was known for his accessibility and simplicity, said Michael Sheeran, president-elect of the American Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
"Pope Francis took the bus to work every day," Sheeran said in a live online discussion of Bergoglio's election. "He sold the cardinal's residence and lived in a small apartment where he cooked for himself."

. . . "I'm amazed (Francis) was selected," Sheeran said, because "the Jesuits steer clear of getting high-ranking jobs like this."
The society was founded in Rome in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier as a movement devoted to living in the imitation of Jesus.

No Joke ~ Pope Resigns and Lightning Strikes the Vatican

Photo Credit: AFP
Today something unprecedented happened: a Pope decided to quit the Vatican BEFORE his death. The last time this occurred was 700 years ago, so yeah, this is a big deal for the Catholic Church. The world reacted with shock at the news, but we have to hope this is a chance for the church to choose someone different, not just an old white European guy, and certainly not someone connected to the Hitler Youth, as the present Pope was in his youth. Never again. And please, someone who won't make excuses for the cover up of child abuse within the priesthood - the world has had enough. For the Church to survive, something has got to change.

Of course not everyone is Catholic, and not everyone takes the Pope seriously or has any respect left for the office. Thus, major snark took over Twitter for most of the day:
Snark Amendment: Holy Jokes







~~~~~~~~~~

Yahoo News

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict stunned the Roman Catholic Church on Monday when he announced he would stand down, the first pope to do so in 700 years, saying he no longer had the mental and physical strength to carry on.

Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution, but the decision could lead to uncertainty in a Church already besieged by scandal for covering up sexual abuse of children by priests.

The soft-spoken German, who always maintained that he never wanted to be pope, was an uncompromising conservative on social and theological issues, fighting what he regarded as the increasing secularization of society.

. . . It is not clear if Benedict will have a public life after he resigns. Lombardi said Benedict would first go to the papal summer residence south of Rome and then move into a cloistered convent inside the Vatican walls.

The resignation means that cardinals from around the world will begin arriving in Rome in March and after preliminary meetings, lock themselves in a secret conclave and elect the new pope from among themselves in votes in the Sistine Chapel.

There has been growing pressure on the Church for it to choose a pope from the developing world to better reflect where most Catholics live and where the Church is growing.

"It could be time for a black pope, or a yellow one, or a red one, or a Latin American," said Guatemala's Archbishop Oscar Julio Vian Morales.

Strangely, lightning struck the Vatican just after the announcement, confirmed by the Weather Channel radar analysis.


From The Weather Channel

Lightning struck the St. Peter's Basilica Monday, hours after Pope Benedict XVI announced that he will resign as leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics on February 28. In this photo taken by Filippo Monteforte, the St. Peter's iconic dome received a direct hit from lightning during stormy weather.

Sydney Morning Herald

Pope Benedict XVI's resignation came like a bolt from the blue overnight.

And the weather around the Vatican was eerily appropriate, with lightning striking St Peter's Basilica, one of the holiest Catholic sites, on the same day that Pope Benedict announced he would be stepping down.
A message from above? ... lightning strikes St Peter's dome at the Vatican hours after Pope Benedict XVI resigned.

A message from above? ... lightning strikes St Peter's dome at the Vatican hours after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. Photo: AFP

Global news agency Agence France-Presse published an image of lightning striking the basilica's dome, which it said was taken "on the day the Pope" announced his resignation.
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AFP said the striking image was captured by photographer Filippo Monteforte, who works for Italian national news and photo agency ANSA.

Sublime Truth from Rick Santorum: GOP is Party of Stupid

Pic from Whovian on Democratic Underground
In a sublime moment of probably unintentional clarity and funniness, Rick Santorum looked out over the Tea Party crowd at the Values Voter Summit and earnestly called them "stupid" and "uneducated." But that's okay - they don't need those elite brainiacs in their party telling them what to do. According to Santorum that's the job of the church.

Somehow this is both an epic fail and an epic win. Truth is good - hearing a conservative speak the truth, priceless.

We will never have the media on our side, ever, in this country. We will never have the elite smart people on our side, because they believe they should have the power to tell you what to do. So our colleges and universities, they’re not going to be on our side.

The conservative movement will always be – and that’s why we founded Patriot Voices – the basic premise of America and American values will always be sustained through two institutions, the church and the family. (Applause.)

And so economic conservatism - libertarian types can say, oh, well, we don’t want to talk about the social issues. Without the church and the family, there is no conservative movement. There is no basic values in America in force, and there is no future for our country. (Applause.)

So it is our job in this election, it is our job, to go out and make a difference. It is our job to go out and talk to fellow believers. And I don’t mean Christians. I mean fellow believers in the American creed, fellow believers in those basic principles that built our country.

Full Transcript of Santorum's Speech on Politico

Sister Simone Campbell: A Real Christian

Sister Simone Campbell is a Catholic Nun and a progressive advocate for families. She has taken a strong stand against the draconian policies of the Paul Ryan budget, and working with a coalition from various faiths to come up with alternatives for the poor.

She calls the Ryan Budget "immoral," and is in agreement with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops who have stated that "a just spending bill cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor and vulnerable persons."

In April, Paul Ryan faced censure in a sternly-worded letter from Georgetown University, signed by 90 members of the faculty including theologians and Jesuit priests:

In short, your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the Gospel values of compassion and love.
. . . While you often appeal to Catholic teaching on “subsidiarity” as a rationale for gutting government programs, you are profoundly misreading Church teaching.

Around that same time, Sister Simone others went on a bus tour:


From their website:

Every hour of each day, Catholic Sisters stand in solidarity with all who live in poverty, and we confront injustice and systems that cause suffering.

We cannot stand by silently when the U.S. Congress considers further enriching the wealthiest Americans at the expense of struggling, impoverished families.

As part of our campaign for budget fairness we are taking a bus trip. Our bus will travel to places in many states where Sisters actively serve people in need. For they are our best witnesses to the suffering our federal government must not ignore.

We ask all who visit this website to join us in prayer and to support our work to defeat government actions that would add to the suffering of already struggling families.

This bus trip has been organized and is sponsored by NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, and the NETWORK Education Program.

Click Here to Donate to Nuns on the Bus




Transcript courtesy of Religion News Service

Good evening, I'm Sister Simone Campbell, and I'm one of the "nuns on the bus." So, yes, we have nuns on the bus. And a nun on the podium!

Let me explain why I'm here. In June, I joined other Catholic sisters on a 2,700-mile bus journey through nine states to tell Americans about the budget Congressman Paul Ryan wrote and Governor Romney endorsed.

Paul Ryan claims his budget reflects the principles of our shared Catholic faith. But the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops stated that the Ryan budget failed a basic moral test, because it would harm families living in poverty.

We agree with our bishops, and that's why we went on the road: to stand with struggling families and to lift up our Catholic sisters who serve them. Their work to alleviate suffering would be seriously harmed by the Romney-Ryan budget, and that is wrong.

During our journey, I rediscovered a few truths. First, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are correct when they say that each individual should be responsible. But their budget goes astray in not acknowledging that we are responsible not only for ourselves and our immediate families. Rather, our faith strongly affirms that we are all responsible for one another.

I am my sister's keeper. I am my brother's keeper.


While we were in Toledo, I met 10-year-old twins Matt and Mark, who had gotten into trouble at school for fighting. Sister Virginia and the staff at the Padua Center took them in when they were suspended and discovered on a home visit that these 10-year-olds were trying to care for their bedridden mother who has MS and diabetes.

They were her only caregivers. The sisters got her medical help and are giving the boys some stability. Now the boys are free to claim much of the childhood they were losing. Clearly, we all share responsibility for the Matts and Marks in our nation.

In Milwaukee, I met Billy and his wife and two boys at St. Benedict's dining room. Billy's work hours were cut back in the recession. Billy is taking responsibility for himself and his family, but right now without food stamps, he and his wife could not put food on their family table.

We all share responsibility for creating an economy where parents with jobs earn enough to take care of their families. In order to cut taxes for the very wealthy, the Romney-Ryan budget would make it even tougher for hard-working Americans like Billy to feed their families. Paul Ryan says this budget is in keeping with the moral values of our shared faith. I disagree.

In Cincinnati, I met Jini, who had just come from her sister's memorial service. When Jini's sister Margaret lost her job, she lost her health insurance. She developed cancer and had no access to diagnosis or treatment. She died unnecessarily. And that is tragic. And it is wrong.

The Affordable Care Act will cover people like Margaret. We all share responsibility to ensure that this vital health care reform law is properly implemented and that all governors, all governors, expand Medicaid coverage so no more Margarets die from lack of care. This is part of my pro-life stance and the right thing to do.



I have so many other stories but let me tell you one more. In Hershey, Pennsylvania, a woman in her late thirties approached us. She asked for the names of some people she could talk to, because she felt alone and isolated. Her neighbors have been polarized by politics masquerading as values. She cares about the well-being of the people in her community.

She wishes they, and the rest of the nation, would listen to one another with kindness and compassion. Listen to one another rather than yell at each other. I told her then, and I tell her now, that she is not alone.

Looking out at you tonight, I feel your presence combined with that of the thousands of caring people we met on our journey. Together, we understand that an immoral budget that hurts already struggling families does not reflect our nation's values. We are better than that.

So I urge you, I urge you, join us on the bus. Join us as together we stand with Matt and Mark, Billy and his family, the woman in Hershey and the Margarets of our nation.

This is what we nuns on the bus are all about: We care for the 100 percent, and that will secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our nation. So join us as we nuns and all of us drive for faith, family and fairness.

Learn More about Paul Ryan

Boston Globe: Ryan's Selection Shrouded in Secrecy

New York Times: Small Town Conservative

 Media Matters: What Wisconsin Journalists Say about Ryan

Daily Beast: Ryan's Catholic Problem

Salon: Paul Ryan, Randian Poseur by Joan Walsh

Forbes ~ Ryan Would Slash Federal Senior Services

Washington Post: The Fight to Define Ryan
 

The War on Women - Keep Walkin' Boots

These boots are made for walkin', and that's just what they'll do.

One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.

~ Nancy Sinatra's 1966 #1 Hit

OMG - look at those mini-skirts! Even in 1966 women didn't have to hide much on TV.

And yet, in Michigan in 2012, two female congresswomen were silenced for saying the word "vagina" in a debate about . . . wait for it . . . an abortion bill!

From The Detroit Free Press  

State Reps. Lisa Brown, D-West Bloomfield, and Barb Byrum, D-Onondaga, were told today that they wouldn’t be recognized to publicly speak on any matters before the House because of comments they made Wednesday during an emotional debate on a bill that puts new restrictions on abortion providers.
Brown, who voted against the legislation, told supporters of the bill, “I’m flattered you’re all so concerned about my vagina. But no means no.”
And Byrum was gaveled out of order after she protested when she wasn’t allowed to speak on her amendment to the bill that would have required proof of a medical emergency or that a man’s life was in danger before a doctor could perform a vasectomy.

This week Rush Limbaugh said a group of nuns had "Gone Feminazi." Yes . . . Nuns. Wow - yeah, the Nuns are just on a rampage these days. And he thinks the Vatican is right to "tamp it down." Wow - I thought that American Nuns were able to vote or campaign for anyone they chose since they are citizens too.

RUSH: “By contrast, CBS played up the supporters of a group of left-leaning Catholic nuns during four on-air segments between May 30 and June 1, 2012. Correspondent Wyatt Andrews hyped how ‘hundreds of Catholics have rallied behind the sisters,’ and that ‘protests in support of the nuns have been held in almost 50 cities.’” Have you heard about any of this? One paragraph Snerdley said he saw on the 164 rallies across the country. The nun story. Do you know what the nun story is? Yep. Yeah, but what are the nuns doing? Do you know what the nuns are doing? The nuns have gone feminazi on everybody. This small group of nuns in the Catholic Church is going feminist, and the Vatican is obviously — well, a figure of speech, slapping them down. And the Vatican is trying to tamp it down and say, “No, no, no, that doesn’t happen. There’s no such thing as a feminist nun.”

And on Fox News, anchor Gretchen Carlson finally showed the right spirit and walked out as her doofus male cohosts were dissing women. She was so fed up she walked off the set. From Think Progress

Thursday morning, Steve Doocy interviewed members of the U.S. Navy Band about the band’s recent inclusion of women. Reacting to the segment, Brian Kilmeade remarked, “Women are everywhere. We’re letting them play golf and tennis now. It’s out of control.” Visibly upset, Gretchen Carlson, the only female host, walked off of the set. “You read the headlines. Since men are so great. Take them [women] away,” she said. Kilmeade responded, “All right. Finally.” Then, as she walked further off of the set, Kilmeade jeered, “Leaving an all male crew” and added “she needed a shower.” Watch it:

If I were her, I would have kept on walkin' and demanded more respect. But look where you are, honey - FOX! Keep walkin' boots . . . yeah!