Today, on the second day of the papal conclave, the cardinal electors—133 members of the College of Cardinals who were under the age of 80 when Pope Francis died on April 21—elected a new pope.
Yes, a decent American now on the world stage, counter to the U.S. White House criminal.
And as we have the new Pope Leo – from Chicago and two years in the slums of Peru – let’s celebrate how decency means openness. For instance, to Japan.
“A Japanese sentence is often as mongrel as a Japanese street. While walking through a shopping arcade in Osaka – here a tatami tearoom, there a French café, in between a McDonald’s – you’ll notice Chinese characters, known as kanji, on many storefront signs. Elsewhere are words written in a simplified Japanese syllabary (hiragana), and also in another syllabary (katakana), generally used for transliterating foreign terms; . . .. You’ll even come across Roman letters, as well as Arabic numerals, making for a mixture drawn from many places that remains exclusively Japanese.”
The above quotation comes from the first words in a piece by Pico Iyer in The New York Times Style Magazine, “J Is for JAPAN,” April 27, 2025.
I quote Mr. Iyer partly to note the larger wisdom in his piece, on how a vibrant culture will of course show openness to “others” – embrace others wisely.
I also quote him to distinguish decency from the virulence now ruling U.S., Russian, Hungarian, North Korean, Iranian, Saudi, and Israeli cultures – all vying for today’s most demeaning, despicable views of “others”: immigrants, gays, women outside the home, and foreign and domestic workers kept destitute for billionaires.
An embittered, noxious world our overlords now rule, one which Heather’s readers may take comfort in knowing also has islands of decency, from sentences or streets in Japan, to our new Pope Leo in Rome.
Two DECADES NOT TWO YEARS...in Peru. I was an exchange student there and am glad that not only the United States but a representative of Latin American countries as well is part of the history of this Pope. We can support missions of caring in the world via the church perhaps more since the current administration wants to punish those less well off than they are instead of embracing world problems too. Thank goodness Bill Gates foundation cares as well unlike the current richest man in the world who has no problem starving children at all as long as they are not White.
Ned, I do okay on a keyboard, but OMG my texts!! I seem to be unable to break the habit of looking at the keys then hitting send--without reading them.
One of my daughters told me my texts "give her headaches".
If my nieces were daughters bombarded with my texts, they would be heavily sedated. One biggie with texts for me is that I make enough mistakes as it is only to *be (¿see?) compounded by A.I. substituting something wrong for the made-up word or deliberately mis-placed word I intended to use. A.I. has linear brains but *lacks non-linear levity.
Ned, that is it EXACTLY. Sometimes, the AI does put in a real word, but othertimes, good grief! My niece said she is generally able "to interpret" what I send.
I am retired, but I have a few friends still working so I sent them a greeting a week or so ago to tell them "Happy LAB week".
"We all do better when we all do better." Paul Wellstone
"Even as you do it unto the least of these, you do it unto me" Matthew 25: 34-46
"Richard, you must always remember to help those less fortunate than you." My mother while sending me off to school barefoot in 1947 because the one pair of shoes that I had were in the repair shop.
"The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." Frances Perkins, FDR's Sec. of Labor and the person responsible for Social Security.
It's curious, but the history is long - how females have been and are presently discriminated against in Islam, Judaism, (Confucianism) and Christianity. Will there ever be a female pope, or will Christianity have disappeared by then? The decline of those committed to Christian principles in the U.S. is accelerating at a rapid pace. MAGA Christians are the principal piece of evidence - tens of millions of them.
An Orthodox Rabbi said a female Rabbi was as incongruous as an orange on a Seder plate. We now have female Rabbis and many of us have added an Orange to our Seder plate
Yes. Unfortunately, reforms will likely be staged. First married clergy, which used to exist. Then with normality empowered would come the ordination of women. Then would come ordination of L.G.B.T.Q.+ faithful. Such a widened clergy would likely mitigate the problems that have injured the Church. Additionally, the widened clergy would return catholicity to the R.C.s,
You are very welcome. Alan. I learned that word in Latin America. I think of us referring to ourselves as 'Americans' as coming across as arrogant; yet, I suspect the reason underlying the appropriation of that wider designation is that statements like, "I am U.S." are simply too awkward to say.
I think that’s the one area Trumo does not discriminate. There’s plenty of White MAGA children who will be denied benefits and he doesn’t care.
And when they are hungry and look to their MAGA parents with an empty belly and substandard living and they will tell their white children that they are hungry because of a trans kid playing volleyball in Maine or Black or Asian or woman and then they’ll watch FOX to feed on hate.
Great post. However, the 10 based numbering system was INVENTED IN INDIA in 7th to 8th century and brought to the West by Arabs in 12th century. There is NOTHING that is ARABIC numbering system. There are numerous things that the Arabs contributed to humanity but 10 based numbering system is NOT one of those.
By the way, we live in Rome as well as in SF, Ca. Now we are in Rome. We were watching news when the White smoke came out. It was a festival atmosphere. An hour or so later when Robert Prevest's name was announced from the balcony, the silence was immense. My husband said, "America is not a liked nation anymore." Everyone seemed to watch their phone. The silence broke into loud roar only when Pope Leo appeared. The smart phones informed the crowd that he was almost chosen by Francis himself. My WhatsApp chats lit up by our Italian friends and neighbors, "An American Pope!"
Not for me! Not when a Woman cannot be Pope or Priest. Not when Women have to die because Men in white robes do not want her life or her baby's life to exist if that would involve abortion. Not when pedophile priests are excused and moved to another place to continue their evil.
Barb, it has taken so long because the Catholic Church, like most of the rest of societies in the world, are patriarchies. They realized very early that they had to control women because they got in the way of thinking about God. I always think about those guys sitting on pillars in the desert, to try to make themselves so uncomfortable that they could not think about women. Also men want to be sure that their children are theirs because their seed is so important. I recommend reading Genesis to understand this. There is a great book called Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven which describes the Church and its attitude to sex. When I finished it, I thought no wonder we are so mixed up about sexuality. Women get in the way of serious male business. As soon as they are present, all hell breaks loose. The current regime reflects the need for men to put women in their place....PG and in the kitchen.
I agree with all of that, but also celebrate the shifting from ossified self-serving patriarchy to acknowledgement that the purpose of the church is to implement Jesus' teachings: to love and care for all humans (including their habitat) rather than focusing on exclusion and shame. They seem to be beginning to take the word "all" to heart . If that includes "the unborn", I'm ok with that stance, but you love and humanely care for people no matter their CHOICE.
In many ways The Roman Catholic Church runs like a large corporation. Sometimes they forget their core purpose, as seen in the way they handled the pedophile priests by keeping silent, saving the wrongdoing priest by moving him to another location and ignoring the life shattering effects on the victims……allowing this travesty to continue. They forget that the Church is the people, not their coffers, not the power and status of their male hierarchy.
Like large corporations, like many in power.., they forget their core purpose.
Lest we forget, Jesus had 12 apostles, one of them denied him 3 times, another sold him for 30 pieces of silver.
They, like all of us, and the other apostles were human. They erred, as do we, as did the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
This is not to excuse or pardon the hierarchy. And we pray for God’s love to enfold these victims every second of their lives.
For forgiveness in the sacrament of Confession, we must do a penance. The church hierarchy has attempted to do so, maybe not perfectly, but it is a forward going journey.
Jesus’s church was human with a Divine leader. Perhaps our « raison d’être » is to make the church and all of society closer to Jesus’s church/teachings.
And it very likely will take from now to eternity for each of us, members of the earth, to do so.
I want to be counted by the US govt in favor of this event at this time. (Voting with my feet.) The sanctioned wounding of the past has caused too much trauma, I realize. I can be in church without being triggered. The issues you mention, YES! I’m viewing now from a ‘progress not perfection’ stance.
There are variations on the theme of "Catholic." We had a dispute in the 1980s regading prison chaplains, some who were "Liberal Catholics." Some "Young Rite" leaders said anyone requesting ordination should receive it.
E.G. Santa Barbara National Catholic Church in Miami is not a Roman Catholic church. However, Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Hialeah is.
The website of the National Catholic Church says: "We recognize the right of women to equality at all levels of society and the Church, including ordained ministry." https://www.nccofa.org/
When I asked a Catholic priest about it, he told me the "National" variation did not require celibasy.
You most likely will not find the pope’s words (from either Francis or Leo) repeated there. The bulk of Catholic teaching at the parish level drove me out of there - antiabortion, antiwoman, antidemocratic.
When my family was in turmoil due to addiction, mental and physical health deterioration, and poverty, the Catholics threw me out of catechism for spotty attendance, to say, I didn't leave the church. The church left me when my family was in need. I was somewhat heartened by Pope Francis and his overtures toward communities marginalized in the Catholic church (like my gay wedding), but there has been a movement within the US to recruit the worst of the fundamentalists into the ranks. I've found these converts highly annoying, with their performative Friday fish in the lunchroom microwave and fake piety. People raised in the church have a fundamental understanding of the hypocrisy of Catholicism and have an innate grace about it. The converts? They seem to miss the hypocrisy , and then go on to embrace those particular qualities.
And then... yesterday. The worst of it all was the media highlighting the ignorant Americans chanting USA and waving flags like this was some kind of American superiority moment. The shame and embarrassment of being an American these days just keeps getting deeper. I hope Pope Leo can continue to provide anti-Nazi leadership in the church, continue to make institutional repair to the lives and relationships ruptured by clergy abuse, and provide an alternate voice to the "spiritual leader" pedos informing the POTUS.
Yep. My thought of going is to be counted by our US govt, in case numbers grow and are pushback to Vance and others trying to build cultural support at this time.
Leaving at least improves our own moral code and supports following the generous inclusion that Jesus offered us and allows us to recognize fascism when we see it. See my “never again, again” post.
Oh my goodness, I just said this to my husband. Even atheists I know attend services where goodness, kindness and tolerance are hallmarks. I am spiritual but found the Catholic Church shame based and the sexual abuse of children and the history of abhorrent abuse too upsetting to attend services. I was raised Catholic and only attend when absolutely necessary but might give the monks up the road another chance. I about spit out my coffee when I read what you posted.
I gave up the RCC at the age of 60. Reading about the sex scandals, the way women and nuns were treated, money laundering for the Nazis in WW 2, stealing land from black Americans for use as a school, owning slaves, and going further back to the time when indulgences and cardinalships were sold to the highest bidders, Popes with mistresses, unholy wars, and the obscene wealth of the Vatican in a church that is not supposed to focus on wealth but routinely conducted collections to shore up physical facilities in Rome. No thanks. The good never seemed to outweigh the bad on a practical level. I don't need a religion to be a good person. Just follow Jesus. That's challenging enough in today's world.
Purobi, the change in attitude withing the crowd in Piazza San Pedro when they learned about an American Pope, but a good soul and decent one should be followed by the election of a similar American President.
Absolutely. All our neighbors in Rome keep on telling us they are happy that the face of America has changed with this Pope's entry to the world stage. At least the most famous American is no longer a convicted fellon.
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi who was pretty much responsible for creating modern algebra, studied and popularized the Hindu system of representing numbers. I believe the notation he used (the form of the numerals, but not the numbering system itself) are of Arabic origin.
He studied algebra in India. The entire ten based numbering system was invented in India a century before Ibn Musa was born. This Persian mathematician was a great mind and we are all indebted to him for his contribution. Modern algebra was created from contributions by many, many people from Greece, Babylon, and India (although there was no country named India at that time) to name a few. No one person can take credit for it.
And in Sanskrit it is called Bijaganita. We grew up learning Bijaganita including Sridharacharya's quadratic equation solution. The Sansrit words for Atoms and Molecules existed way before these English terms.
JD, I echo Linda Preston's puzzlement at your comment. Leo's election seems to be an intentional extension of Francis's theology and policy. In my estimation, the U-turn occurred when Francis was elected.
See response to Linda Preston…. Or Ricardo Grinbank “…the change in attitude within the crowd…” Sorry I didn’t make that clear, but Phil’s original response was way back there…
Considering how established Substack seems to be as a platform, its composition and conversation tracking tools are exceptionally primitive. I get the point of keeping it simple, and don't need gimmicks, but the ability to italicize (for example) seems a plus not more clutter, and labeling who is responding to who would seem to cost nothing. Also I hate how easily (for me) text not yet sent is lost.
I agree, Dale, and a tangled web for this 85 year old, though it’s not meant to deceive. Challenging when there are so many excellent comments and we are limited in time.
My comment was my reaction to what Purobi Phillips said for the most part. When Prevest’s name was announced, only silence. Turned into a loud roar when the crowd realized that he was a close associate of Pope Francis. Says a lot to me.
I was sitting in a restaurant with a former diocesan colleague and we were talking with one eye on my phone’s live coverage. I heard “Roberto Francisco” in Latin but couldn’t catch the rest. Seconds later we understood! We almost shouted. This pope has a connection to our diocese as the (now former) head of the dicastery for bishops! I was high all day, best I’ve felt since before November’s election. (Also, Pope Leo is from south Chicago, minutes away from where I grew up.)
MLMinET, Time wise I guess a number of us here in U.S. were having lunch when the white smoke came. I too was with 3 former Diocesan colleagues at an Irish Pub. The owner turned on the large ( usually sports) monitor for us. We spent the rest of lunch waiting along with everyone else to see who it was.
So you have former dio colleagues. You know how soul-crushing it can be to work for the largest, most persistent patriarchy on earth. It can also be wonderful. <sigh> Not-yet-cardinal Prevost had a hand in getting rid of our bishop not long after he arrived at the dicastery for bishops. For that we are eternally grateful.
My 100% religiously antireligious husband Bob is delighted that Papa Leone was known as Padre Bob. I feel your joy. It feels like the entire Rome is joyous today.
Yes, a very strategic and choice pick from the Sistine Chapel, in the newly anointed Pope Leo. Finally, an adult in the room. One who has hit the ground running and is already using the soft power of the papacy against MAGA Christofascists. He's taken one look at those red-capped muthaf*ckers, waving their crucifixes around like assault rifles, and thought, 'Nah, not on my watch.' May they drown in kindness and inconvenient theology.
Inconvenient theology. Boy, have the “christians in the MAGAt community kicked Jesus to the curb. His theology (as I learned it in my youth ), resonates not at all with the MAGAts. Prosperity gospel does, and the adherents are greedy bastards or stupid.
I used to follow a Facebook parody page called "Christain Men Against Liberals." The misspelled rants were hilarious. The creator was constantly getting angry, indignant responses from people who missed the word, "satire," in the page description.
I thought the subtle misspelling of ChriSTAIN was perfect. Autocorrect, however, really fights hard to spell it the other way.
I agree with this, Jocelyn. This (current disappearance of Christianity among the Christians) will be the topic of a book, a Ph.D. dissertation or a Master's thesis, soon. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." Donald Trump?
I can't take credit for this, but one of the social media pundits (Tennessee Brando? Brian Tyler Cohen?) recently made a very astute comment. He said that "Jesus is the victim of Identity Theft"
Replacing the teachings of Jesus with the evil word salad of chump certainly qualifies. Seems to be a favorite ploy of evil (Putin, Netanyahu, Pol Pot, etc). Although it’s not Christianity in all cases. Just a religious justification for the most heinous acts
Also, as a member of the Augustinian religious order, he celebrates the community and service. Here is a longer description—he’s in essence the opposite of Trump.
The charism of the Augustinians centers on life in community, where members strive to be “of one mind and one heart on the way to God.” This communal life is rooted in the teachings and example of St. Augustine, emphasizing unity, charity, and the sharing of all things-spiritual and material-among brothers.
Key elements of the Augustinian charism include:
• Genuine community life, marked by mutual affection, respect, and service to others.
• The pursuit of truth through learning, balanced with practical love of neighbor.
• A deep interior life-seeking God together-and openness to serve the Church.
• Living out the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience, inspired by the early Christian community described in Acts 4:32.
In summary, the Augustinian charism is unity in charity within community, a shared journey toward God, and service to the Church and the world.
We have the former Augustine University of Cuba here in Baghdad By the Sea. Now called St. Thomas University. Formerly Biscayne College. https://www.stu.edu/
They have a law school. Hopefully Pope Leo will cause an epiphany among their graduates.
Our current ethically challenged mayor's father graduated from. Villanova, undergraduate school before he went on to Harvard Law and became a lawyer/politician here. Sonny boy had aspirations to run for president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Suarez
Suarez is not the only Miami city leader in the midst of controversy.
During a city commission meeting earlier in January, two commissioners almost got into a physical altercation.
It came shortly after a federal judge directed U.S Marshal to seize Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo’s possessions after Carollo lost a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought on by a pair of local business owners who said Carollo used his office to harass them.
Another city controversy is the removal of City Commissioner Alex Diaz De La Portilla after he was arraigned on charges that included money laundering and bribery.
DeSantis suspended de la Portilla from the District 1 commission seat, which has since been filled.
Hiya: The Professional Medievalist thanks you MLM for pointing out the Augustinian mission, which is quite different--in both its origins and its intentions--from other religious orders. And also, would like to point out that JustaDick Vance's understanding of the history of the Catholic Church and its primary theologians (Augustine of Hippo being up there at the top) is about as ill-conceived and ignorant as they come. Augustine was actually all about the OPPOSITE of what Vance claims the Ordo Amoris to be. Indeed, when the Augustinian Order was established in the late 12th/early 13th century, following the Rule of St. Augustine (from ca 400) and not the Rule of St Benedict, its approach was focused on community and service to the community as its primary directive, which is why they were organized as Canons, not as Monks (in other words not required to be cloistered). It was also the most popular order for establishing new nunneries because they could also serve their communities, if in a more localized way, and were not entirely confined to the convent. I have a lot off beefs with Augustine ("God give me chastity, but not quite yet"), mostly having to do with the theology of Original Sin, but he was probably the most sophisticated thinker Western Christianity had for several hundred years. And JustaDick is a puny nothingburger in comparison.
I am very proud to have attended Merrimack College from 1957 thru 1959. Fr. No Charity Flaherty was my very favorite professor, English Lit. When I literally ran down Seabrook beach many years later, after having made the bad decision to end my education to marry a year later, and my 3 sons were in their teens,. I stopped his walk and said, « Fr. Flaherty, I’m going back to finish my degree at Furman University. » He replied « Good, Miss Bellefeuille, I expect nothing less than Summa Cum L’Aude »!
We knew not the quality of education we received from all the Augustinian priests at Merrimack at that time. They were invested in the best outcome for each of their students.
"In the U.S., President Donald Trump, who said he would like to be pope and then posted a picture of himself dressed as a pope on May 2, prompting an angry backlash by those who thought it was disrespectful, posted on social media that the election of the first pope from the United States was 'a Great Honor for our Country' and that he looks forward to meeting him. ‘It will be a very meaningful moment!' he added." So, it will be interesting to see what Trump will say to Pope Leo XIV when Trump's Halloween costume is discussed. When Trump feels the heat on its way, he seems to always want to prepare a softer landing for himself. A "meaningful moment" for who, exactly? How will he make this "moment" "meaningful?" It's always all about him. He'll add on the nuances, the shade he wants, so that *he* looks better after sticking his foot in his mouth. Kazz, Trump is already drowning in his own 💩, something well less than kindness and "inconvenient theology" (I love that term, by the way. I'd very much like to use it when applicable.)
My query would be: where would he put the final decision smokestack? I have a suggestion as to where it may go, but I don't think HCR or the administrator for this site would approve.
If tRump goes to Rome, I hope any meeting will be on the plaza, NOT inside so as not to pollute the places considered blessed. Maybe T will not be allowed back in the US. Just dreaming!
Phil Balla, I somehow knew you would be a first responder to Heather’s letter this morning.
Perhaps we are about to learn from a new story we can all have a part in creating as the history of humanity continues to unfold.
As to your reference to signage you see in modern Osaka, If I were a world traveler, Japan would be a destination high on my list.
Let’s all give Pope Leo a love-affirming part in our story.
You, Phil, are always encouraging us to look to essays and books to learn the fundamental lessons of living. The story is about to get very interesting.
Holy Cheeses Mercy - you say an American Pope? No it wasn’t, was it? Did they…? Was it a fair vote…? Is it, dag gone it, Pope Donald I?
Oh no please Lord, say it ain’t so. Please forgive I’m not up on the news right now. I’m in Florence, Italy. I escaped from the New Nazi Dis-United States of America. So is it he — The Donald? Well, he can’t have both roles so which would it be better for us and the world; Pope Donald or Julius Caesar Trump?
As religious pontiff, he will have access to the beggar’s plate and turn Jesus money into Crypto Religio Currency. Followed by a Tump Hotel in the Vatican.
I need to return to sleep. This is a bad dream. I’ll soon awaken and take a stroll through Vasari’s Corridor from the Medici Palace to the Uffici. Those guys didn’t need to walk among commoners. They had their own corridors.
Steady down, Bill Katz - it's OK. He was born in Chicago but has been so long in Peru that he's taken Peruvian citizenship - he prefers Latinos... Didn't use English once in his address to the People. And he's an Augustinian, so he's OK. Go into the Uffizi and look at some Botticellis.
But… but… but… it isn’t Pope Donald I? Am right now sitting in Piazza Signoria sipping a cappuccino looking out at the David across way in front of the Medici Palace. It’s not the real David mind you. There are quite a few replicas around town just like the phoney replicas in Washington.
David and all those other naked gay statutes and now there is a gigantic woman sculpture on the plan holding cell device.i ant tell from this vantage she too is naked. I hope she is. Why would modesty exist only for t female form. I say let it all hang out. She is a new maybe temporary display. Of course she could be trans. I’ll need to walk closer to see if she has the transfer works. You never know about these Florentines. I lived here once and this time it’s just a sentimental journey to a once home.
Bill, will you SHUT UP about Italy? - You are just making us all so jealous! I can almost smell that coffee - and feel the sunshine warm on my back. . .where's my passport. . .?
No, it's not Pope Donald. When he saw himself in the picture, he noticed that the hat covered up his beautiful hair. You need a nice gelato. And don't forget to stroke the Porcellino's nose for good luck.
It could be a much, much worse selection, Bill Katz. This new pope, Pope Leo XIV, was very close to Pope Francis. He refuted things VD Chance wrote about migrants on X. He spent many years in Peru and is a Peruvian citizen.
I've been to Peru - the Amazon, Lima, other areas. The poverty is overwhelming.
Yes Colleen..., not being a 'believer', I would utter these two words: The new Pope would appear to be a real 'God-send'. The Catholic Church surely needs one along with this nation that's succumbing to the whims of Rectumus and his religiou$ zealots.
I've an essay writing program for schools of one country so students may learn to see (and quote) peers in another country as individuals. Get past all those hoary stereotypes.
Schools in Korea and China also not interested in getting past their stereotypes.
Runs deep, and America could be a beacon for the dispossessed of the world, as our Statue of Liberty signified. But she will likely be replaced with a golden calf (chump) who is only a beacon for the likes of muskrat.
Aside, I expect an announcement from Warren Buffet. Am I dreaming?
That he will join Bill in the effort to rid himself of all that green before he passes over…. Bill’s ex has joined the wealthy in her effort to support equality for women. A trend maybe. The war of the titans, who can write a script.
Its hard to find places where xenophobia is not going on. I know that the Japanese tend to have there own set of prejudices; but I experienced many encounters I will always treasure in the few weeks I was there, and by daughter and her husband, who were there for a year did also.
Oh, I absolutely agree! I really adore Japan, I wouldn't have been there four times if I hated it ;) I love the culture, I love the food, I love the fact that Japanese have group mentality instead of "me, me, me" and I had many warm and lovely moments with Japanese people. But, as said, the xenophobia _is_ a shadow in their culture which cannot be denied.
And what hypocrisy and pretense uttered by trump while appearing to be congratulating the new pope. In the meantime who is going to stop trump from creating more egregious calamities? To criticize trump as he poses as a man of goodness is what makes the honest criticism of him a moral and intellectual necessity.
Trump's toxic ego is so out of proportion to the reality of his minimal intelligence, he will be incapable of seeing the truth much less acknowledge that the Pope is a leader of - as you pointed out - the world....
Yes, Stephanie -- he poses as a lot of things. Many contradicting each other.
His most "egregious calamities"? How he emboldens the world's worst mass murderers? How he comforts and rewards the U.S.'s worst billionaire predators? How he shows crime does pay -- and handsomely for the most corrupt, from Thiel to Vance, from Leo and Harlan to their Clarence, from Musk to Putin, from AIPAC to several hundred of the highest-placed in Washington, D.C.
Thank you for amplifying his worst and mounting calamities. His latest....firing the Library of Congress's librarian - excuse me - where did she commit fraud??? (Oh, it's about Obama - he hired her.)
Interesting part of his family comes from New Orleans and has African American heritage. This is part of American history many times highlighted by Dr Henry Louis Gates in his PBS series. The musical Showboat has this part of history as well.
On another note Dr Carla Hayden from the Library of Congress was fired. The Librsry is wonderful and houses many historical items such as one copy of the Guttenberg Bible. It also has a research department solely fir Congress.
I have already written to my representatives in Congress and the Senatecascwell as toDrvLsura Patton head abd president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This with all the other unethical and ignorant actions is like icing on the cake of Trumps Captain Hook’s cake gift to Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.
I am thrilled at Phil Bala’s deep and marvelous engagement of the swirl of factors that constitute humanity. It is the fervent inclusion of all of us including the least of these in the application of the Golden Rule.
These reactionary right wing political efforts to abandon the sectors of human need that are the world refugees represent an anti-Christian and non-religious reaction to need.
We must all join in this effort to ensure honoring human dignity is our responsibility.
Thank you, Art. It's only going to worsen -- our refugee crises -- as does climate change.
And, meanwhile, the schools now internationally follow the imaginatively criminal U.S. testing models. To cripple as many as possible by as heavy as possible group-think and category-beholden blinders.
If only we could all agree with the philosophy of Pope Leo XIV and remember the words of Pope Leo XIII, the country and the world might reverse the hatred of right wing politics and leaders. I’m not Catholic (Southern Baptist), but “Evangelical Christians “ don’t seem to understand the words of Jesus. Not verbatim, but, “ In as much as you have done it for the least of these, you have done it for me.”
Great Phil, but on a recent episode of 60 Minutes, the topic was the falling birth rate in Japan. It was suggested that immigration might be a partial solution. The man looked shocked, and said that the Japanese society was pretty homogeneous and that might not work. Of course, Tokyo is an international city, but made me wonder if the US is the only country where we are all mutts…
The homogeneity biz comes up predictably often, JD.
The shoguns, the patriarchy, and the four-class tribalism all enforced it.
But throughout, too, strong independence of thought co-existed. Shinto kept dynamism in nature alive. Great poets of individual vulnerability. Great designers of fabrics. Chefs well in touch with the 72 mini-seasons. So, always kaleidoscope.
Today Japan pulses with international visitors from the best of all the arts. And the worst threat to all this vitality? The onerous weight of U.S.-imported testing which has strangled all the high schools, all the test-prep juku (all night cram schools), and now sinks tentacles also into the junior highs.
Good shot into the darkness there Phil. I have to admit (I'm guilty) to viewing the "new Pope" from Chicago as just another finagled act by the billionaires who are now in charge. And, of course the bloviations emanating from The Rectumus (little-bigman trump), via the FOX-nose (same same as the chickens-ass) about how wonderful it is to have an Chicagoan as 'our' Pope. I'm sorry if my thought offends anyone, but if you don't think they those-with$$$ could pull something like that off, just look at who is $itting in the Whitehouse..., for the $econd time.., among$t his benefactor$. No? Ye$$! So, I'm still a sceptic. After-all, having the first church on Mars be Catholic.., now there ya go. Speak to Eon.. In Musk we Musk. Sick of it! And so.., so sick of all the photo-ops of Rectumus.
Before that can happen, America has to feel shame again.
Before redemption, the sinner must feel regret and some of the pain he has caused others, otherwise he will not repent. Francis and Leo delivered the beginnings of a needed bitch-slap in February, which of course enraged sadistic, hypocritical wormtongues like Laura Loomer no end.
“We are encrusted with riches and power,” Pope Innocent III tells the disheveled young Francis in Franco Zeffirelli’s wonderful retelling of the life of Francis of Assisi in “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” The humbled pope, skillfully portrayed by Sir Alec Guinness, then adds: “you, in your poverty, put us to shame” before kissing his dirty bare feet.
I look forward to the day when the poor will have what they need to live with dignity and the Laura Loomers of this world can go suck eggs.
May Leo XIV call out the far right Catholics who embrace hate and cruelty over love and caring for one another.
And may Leo XIV work to eliminate the long held Catholic promotion of the patriarchy by allowing women to become priests and allowing priests to marry.
Behind every "great" politician is a woman that keeps them on the right path.
Interesting. I hadn't heard that, but I'm not surprised. Leonard has unlimited access to funds, but apparently the papacy wasn't for sale this time. Time will tell.
I agree, Gary. I left the Catholic Church just over 50 years ago; butbas someone who believes that women should run the world whenever and wherever possible, I think Catholic orthodoxy won't allow female priests during the rest of my lifetime, at least (except possibly as in the situation of the Conclave movie, the ending of which I won't spoil if you've not seen it). I'd love to see priests be able to marry -- that would be a huge step by itself.
As a woman who has a PhD in Theology and has worked in the church most of my adult life ( except for 10 years as a TV News anchor/reporter) I tend to agree that it will be awhile before we have women priests. BUT, there is no theological reason against and a lot of historical precedence for ordaining women as Permanent Deacons. That could happen tomorrow!! I am hoping our new Pope will make public the as yet unpublished reports of the past two study groups on women deacons and take it from there!
As to married Catholic priests-- we have precedence in history for that ( squashed for celibacy in 11th c. Because of church properties going to family instead of church ( always follow the money)). Also, we already have married priests in the Episcopalians that were allowed to become Roman Catholic under Pope Benedict! So, in that sense we are already there. But I take your point. Diocesan priests ought to be allowed to marry. Let religious order guys and monastics living in community promise celibacy! The other guys need the support of partners and family.
Makes perfect sense though! I know of a monastery in the Northeast (I'll leave the location vague) which I've been told will allow followers to enter the fold, but only after signing away all of their earthly possessions. This was related to me by a Congregationalist minister who had some inside
info. It's run by a couple people who are in charge of all decisions, financial and otherwise.
Carol, excellent background info -- many thanks! And I completely agree with your last point.
I seem to recall reading many years ago of men living in some 3rd-world country that were quietly allowed to enter the priesthood after marriage, but that it was a carefully-managed secret. I admit that my recall may be off from the truth.
Pope Leo XIV says that when it comes to the ecological crisis, it’s time to move “from words to action.”
May his leadership echo the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. And may all people of goodwill find in this new beginning a renewed call to protect the gift of creation.
We pray for Pope Leo XIV as he begins his papacy and we accompany him in his service to God, to the Church, and to the world.
With humility and hope, we receive this moment as an invitation to deepen our commitment to ecological conversion and peace.
Laudato Si'. May the correction of religious direction and course to the LEFT come soon! The American Evangelical Nationalists, and hard rights, have soured the souls of too many in America. And, the tRump and JD Vance hearts are frozen.
perhaps these hard rights and Evangelist Nationalist could be found in the Puritans ( think The Scarlet Letter and its hypocrisy) and perhaps the forcing of their religion by the Inquisition and the Crusades. There were a lot of deaths involved there and not very Christian like
Good one, Kathy. I presume you may be referring to Ms Melania (as expressed by her jacket) as an aside? Fortunately, her thoughts have been of little consequence.., low noise-level. Then again, maybe she was actually broadcasting the position clearly demonstrated by the Rss-hole party.
Richard, the word "hope" just crossed my mind regarding Pope Leo XIV. Yesterday, I was denigrating the far right Catholics like Leonard Leo and the the 6 far-right SCOTUS justices.
Republican's including the 6 far-right SC justices ignore the teachings of Christ regarding the Pharisees.
Jesus Condemns the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law of Moses (Mark 12.38-40; Luke 11.37-52; 20.45-47)
As a Catholic, I have no use for these people either, and they have far too much influence in the U.S., where we still have many prelates appointed by Popes John Paul and Benedict XVI.
I can’t help but think that both Francis, an Argentine by birth, and Leo, a naturalized Peruvian, chose to follow a theology of justice and humility because of the corruption, repression, and authoritarianism they witnessed in their respective countries. Being a Christian faith leader of any denomination comes with the responsibility of being an example of Christ-like love, acceptance, and welcome. A new era began under Francis, one that I hope Pope Leo XIV will continue with inspiration and energy.
Not all of it surely, not the radical aspects with Marxist undertones. But he did emphasize social justice and caring for the poor. He lived humbly in the Casa Santa Marta rather than the expansive papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace. He lived according to the principles that defined his Christian ministry of love.
"When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist."
Archbishop Helder Camara
Pope Francis may have lived an exemplary life, but he didn't alter core Catholic doctrine. In his last New Year's Day address he reaffirmed the church's opposition to abortion. Now women in America are suffering the same oppression and harm that women in Catholic countries are used to.
In Chicago, the buying question "Is the Pope a Cubs fan?" This from the Chicago Tribune.
It didn’t take long for Chicago Cubs fans to welcome the first American pope into their arms, or for White Sox fans to claim him as their own.
When Pope Leo XIV’s election was announced Thursday, ABC News reported Robert Prevost, of Dolton, was a Cubs fan.
The jokes were flying on social media, many of them suggesting Pope Leo XIV was a perfect choice to heal the world’s suffering, thanks to his allegiance to the Cubs.
That begged the question: Would the Cubs ask the new pope to throw a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field?
I hear that when Pope Leo’s brother was interviewed he said that the Pope has been a life long Sox fan. Too bad, but I still like the new guy; I won’t hold it against him.
Yeah, well if Pope Leo turned out to be a Cub fan, it would be imperative the he hate the Cardinals. (Whoa - his red-robed buddies or STL?) In actuality, he was born in a south suburb (Dolton) and that makes him a White Sox fan. BTW - current records: Cubs - 1st place (22-16) WSox - Last place (10-28) Go Cubs, Go.
I confess that I'm not a great fan of the Catholic church (I'm a lapsed Catholic, whatever that means). However, Prevost's election seems to have disturbed the MAGA faithful.
Russell, That was my thought exactly on reading HCR’s encapsulation of the Vance v Vatican debate. If Kirk and Loomer (and we can assume Vance?) are appalled we who care about the targets of the Regime’s cruelty can applaud.
JD Vance converted to catholicism only about 6 years ago which is another piece of the puzzle to add to his shapeshifting ways. He said he was drawn to the Catholic Church because "it was just so old". Maybe he really has found some spirituality in it but it's obvious that he was trying to use his position to influence and push the MAGA ideology when he met with Pope Francis, and now is with Pope Leo.
Also I remember that Erik Prince(of Blackwater, now Constellis) had converted to catholicism many years ago. Something strange about it for sure with those two.
Erik Prince married a woman who was Catholic and converted from the Christian Reformed Church. His wife later died of cancer. Personally, I think Vance did it for show, and apparently Dominicans led his RCIA study. He doesn’t seem to understand Catholicism, and his real philosophy is Yarvin’s dangerously dystopian ideas.
Hi Kathy, yes, and finishing RCIA is just the beginning of ongoing formation and catechesis. Sounds as if he was initiated into the narrower politicized far right version of the moment.
Thank you for clarifying Kathy. I read Jeremy Scahill’s book ‘Blackwater’ when it came out and he mentioned that Erik Prince converted, but I don’t remember if he said he became Catholic for his wife or that she had died. It’s so incredibly sad to lose someone you love to cancer(or any terminal illness), even for someone like Prince who started such a nefarious mercenary apparatus.
And JD Vance is all about show, it’s not even his real name. Vance as in advancements, not pious but clambering his way to the top with a truly evil regime that is heading in the wrong direction.
Probably not, at least not for his incomplete Catholic formation. But I expect him to receive some papal rebuke when he pops up with utterly wrong interpretations of Catholic social teaching like he did regarding amoris ordo. Jeez. Keep your ignorance under a blanket JDV.
People who are deeply damaged and who reinvent themselves tend to do so very superficially. So it's not at all surprising that Vance, in choosing a Catholic 'identity' would also invert the logic of some doctrine to suit his new image of himself, complete with rationalizations for abhorrent behaviors. 'Hillbilly Elegy' is no 'elegy.' He couldn't even get that word right.
JD Vance only proves that humans can claim they are "religious" and that they the follow the "correct" religion" . But they have NO CLUE and a heart AND head of stone..
That highly dubious aphorism has informed US foreign policy far too often, especially in Latin America and south-east Asia. Popes can safely castigate world leaders from their lofty position of invulnerability (after all, who's going to argue with 1.4bn Catholics) but world leaders will no longer take the road to Canossa.
The "far right" is showing themselves morally bankrupt and, actually, irrelevant. But like a wounded wild animal, when they feel threatened is when they are most dangerous.
I really wish the Democratic Party would take up the cause of migrants and immigrants and stop letting anti-immigrant bigots like Homan control the debate. We don't need more "border security." The border is more than sufficiently secure and has been for a long time. (Yes, there can be improvements, but we don't need a militarized border.) We need a humane, workable, and just immigration policy.
KiKi, she was also terrific on Colbert the other night, crisp, positive and to the point. Love her focus on " in all 50 states every single day there are protests."
but he does not have a cult following and is very unlikely to develop one. So maybe the cool light of reason may penetrate the MAGAts if he is their 'leader' - or the Loomers and Greenes and Voughts and Yarvins will all devour each other (if we're lucky)
Jhon, he might not have a cult followers due his lack of charisma, but he'll have the power and control that this regime is fast and hard building and creating the conditions to preserve. Not a great future for we the people. Thanks for your reply 👍
Respectfully, John, you and many others seem to be clinging to JD's lack of charisma as the hoped-for end of MAGA influence. All I know is that many religions and cults have persisted long after the original founder died, because someone came along and claimed to be a messenger sent by the founder.
Cults and religions develop because the followers have consciously or unconsciously decided to suspend their disbelief in order to belong to something.
I hope Vance fails to secure a position of Trump's "minister of the gospel," but I'm not betting on it. The MAGA faithful have already demonstrated that they'll believe anything, no matter how preposterous, if it's presented by an "ordained minister."
Ricardo, good point! In Maine-speak (as I've learned the language,,) both those clowns qualify as ree-tarrrds. you know.., people with 'special needs', recalling a time during the 50 & 60's when we didn't realize certain words or expressions might be hurtful. So, RFK is another one whom we've lost somewhere out there on the spectrum. And, should we decide to consider "the spectrum" to be that proverbial "barrel-of-apples", then these bozos need to be recognized for the damage they are doing. Problem is holding them to account, to heck with which is worse. They be bad apples.., process them accordingly.
I am hopeful that Pope Leo will be able to lead those Catholics who have supported trump to realize that they have been lied to for years and that they have been manipulated by a cult of hate and division.
Another breath of fresh air after Pope Francis. God is in control. Praying for Leo and for you Heather. And so very thankful for you. Peace to you all.
I'm suprised some Trump administration aholes haven't been excommunicated. "A very sad day has dawned," said Arcbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a guest commentary in The Washington Post. The bishops' conference "had to make the gut-wrenching decision this week to end our work with the federal government to resettle refugees and coordinate support services on the government’s behalf for unaccompanied children entering the United States."
Maybe Leo will continue... In July 2024, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Vatican's former apostolic ambassador to the United States, was excommunicated for schism by the Vatican. The Vatican found him guilty of refusing to recognize the authority of Pope Francis and the legitimacy of the Second Vatican Council. This action was taken after a penal process in which Viganò was found to have withdrawn from the Church's communion and rejected its teachings
Seems there are many more that seem more Homan like Inquisitors that deserve excommunication.
I was baptized but not confirmed as a Catholic after watching too many that raised their children, as we did through Catholic schools, though the least inspirational ones had despicable moral lapses that they claimed they confessed to and were forgiven for. They were not like the best, truest, followers of the faith that I met later, and most admired for their dedication to protection and support of all in need.
If they had anything to confess and be forgiven for, it seemed it could only be for thoughts, certainly not actions, as I couldn't imagine them being able to do more for others than they did.
People “believe” whatever suits them. That is, whatever they prefer. Some like fries with catsup, others with mayonnaise, still others with salt. People also “believe” according to fashion. Gucci? Or Laurent? With some, belief is like the wind.
So interesting to have the first American born Pope while we are in the middle of all the Trump/MAGA business. I’m sure it won’t be long before Trump starts badmouthing the Pope. It would be nice if this helped balance out the craziness but it will probably just become another divisive scene for Trump.
Habla Espanol? Hhahahaa.., I wonder if Rectum had Spanish class in the special school he attended during his prodigal youth? Probably not. His vocabulary seems pretty limited as it is. He speaks FOX fluently enough.
The Orange Dictator will probably say that the new pope "wasn't very nice to him", get angry, and simply claim himself "Pope of America", or better yet, "the Real Pope Ordained by God Himself". It's true. Everybody says it. Everybody's gonna love it. Not that Peruvian Pope, no. He cannot do it. Only Trump can. So only Trump can be the real pope, everybody knows that.
If Pope Leo XIV is smart, he'll stay FAR AWAY from the US! trump may try to use an executive order to declare Pope Leo XIV an illegal American. Then trump will put a 20% tariff on all rosarys sold at the Vatican and vance will approve it at once.
Because you KNOW trump's going to try to get SOMETHING...some concession somewhere....out of the new Pope Leo XIV.
But Pope Leo is no one's fool. He knows what DECADES of history have shown us all...EVERYTHING trump TOUCHES DIES .
And, believe me, you don't have to be a Pope to know that.
But I do believe that with the trump regime... it's only a matter of time. The bigmouth idiots ALWAYS take THEMSELVES DOWN. They don't need ANY help from anyone else. The GOP WILL have buyer's remorse when it comes to trump. Just ask Mitch McConnell.
I am not well versed in the Catholic religion but I find the choice of an American cardinal simply outstanding. Pope Leo XIV speaks 5 different languages and closely aligned with the now deceased Pope Francis. My last thought about Pope Francis was where I saw a picture of him washing the feet of female prisoners and then kissing those feet. Hours later, he would succumb. That small gesture, to me, is what we are missing in this country…the love of your fellow man, your neighbor. Leo XIV spoke of the migrants and how their existence is important. I am certain he upset the likes of Leonard Leo and Russell Vought, the nasty little men behind Project 2025 and The Heritage Foundation. That makes me extremely happy.
Conclave elects Pope Leo XIV ! Loser claims election was rigged, peddles new Bible, appoints twelve disciples and issues his own Ten Commandments. Read all about it!
Some of the Orange Jesus's revised 10 Commandments indeed seem fit to him. (Clicking on the initial image onscreen will open a larger, readable image.)
There is a universal nature to who this new pope is - lived decades in Peru, speaks 5 languages, was head of the international Order of St. Augustine... what really, really bothered me yesterday was the small groups of Americans in St. Peter's square changing "USA, USA, USA" as if they were at a sporting event. The raw nationalism seemed out of place for the election of a spiritual leader to lead the universal church (and it seemed crass, tone deaf, boorish ugly-American behavior)...
Cruise ships in their modern form, involving the invasion of thousands of American tourists, did a lot to ruin the goodwill associated with welcoming visitors to your communities. Familiarity breeds contempt?
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
I am a life-long atheist - but I had great respect for Pope Francis and much (not all) of what he stood for and I am delighted that the new Pope is Leo. His face is kind and his words are inclusive and compassionate. And, petty though it may be, I take delight in the fact that MAGA is losing its shit over this.
When Pope Francis left us, it was like a bright light for democracy and the kindness possible in the best of religions had left us. Fear wracked me. My mother was Catholic and did not love religion, but rather its often latent capacity for kindness and love for all People. In its best moments, Catholicism has been this way, though like most religions, not often. Francis lived this kindness and showed that this bent of heart and mind can be made real for those of us, like myself, who are not religious but rather spiritual, because religion is so often used to advance political and monetary power on Earth at the terrible cost of the human ability for love and kindness. In the cudgel view, religion is a harsh crack to the heart and mindl instead of a support. Vance, Trump, and MAGA so exemplify the cudgel that religion is. They love to beat people about the head and body. According to them and many like them, this is how God is--a giant cudgel in the sky. Beating people and the Earth are two of their favorite things. Then, the Catholic church chose another great People Pope, a man who has lived the reality of kindness his whole life as a Priest. The Catholic church will be led again by such a person as Francis, and his great work can continue. This gives me immense hope for the religion this man will lead.
My parting words (at 12 years old), to the last Baptist Preacher I spoke to leaving his fire and brimstone church was that I would never lead a life where my actions were dependent upon the fear of God, I would though, try to be the best person I could be to earn the love of God.
Yes, a decent American now on the world stage, counter to the U.S. White House criminal.
And as we have the new Pope Leo – from Chicago and two years in the slums of Peru – let’s celebrate how decency means openness. For instance, to Japan.
“A Japanese sentence is often as mongrel as a Japanese street. While walking through a shopping arcade in Osaka – here a tatami tearoom, there a French café, in between a McDonald’s – you’ll notice Chinese characters, known as kanji, on many storefront signs. Elsewhere are words written in a simplified Japanese syllabary (hiragana), and also in another syllabary (katakana), generally used for transliterating foreign terms; . . .. You’ll even come across Roman letters, as well as Arabic numerals, making for a mixture drawn from many places that remains exclusively Japanese.”
The above quotation comes from the first words in a piece by Pico Iyer in The New York Times Style Magazine, “J Is for JAPAN,” April 27, 2025.
I quote Mr. Iyer partly to note the larger wisdom in his piece, on how a vibrant culture will of course show openness to “others” – embrace others wisely.
I also quote him to distinguish decency from the virulence now ruling U.S., Russian, Hungarian, North Korean, Iranian, Saudi, and Israeli cultures – all vying for today’s most demeaning, despicable views of “others”: immigrants, gays, women outside the home, and foreign and domestic workers kept destitute for billionaires.
An embittered, noxious world our overlords now rule, one which Heather’s readers may take comfort in knowing also has islands of decency, from sentences or streets in Japan, to our new Pope Leo in Rome.
Two DECADES NOT TWO YEARS...in Peru. I was an exchange student there and am glad that not only the United States but a representative of Latin American countries as well is part of the history of this Pope. We can support missions of caring in the world via the church perhaps more since the current administration wants to punish those less well off than they are instead of embracing world problems too. Thank goodness Bill Gates foundation cares as well unlike the current richest man in the world who has no problem starving children at all as long as they are not White.
Thank you, Carol, for the good correction.
And for your enthusiasm as to policies and priorities much more befitting a certain Nazarene of 2,000 years ago.
As one whose typoes have driven others to distraction, I salute your gracious response, Phil.
Ned, I do okay on a keyboard, but OMG my texts!! I seem to be unable to break the habit of looking at the keys then hitting send--without reading them.
One of my daughters told me my texts "give her headaches".
If my nieces were daughters bombarded with my texts, they would be heavily sedated. One biggie with texts for me is that I make enough mistakes as it is only to *be (¿see?) compounded by A.I. substituting something wrong for the made-up word or deliberately mis-placed word I intended to use. A.I. has linear brains but *lacks non-linear levity.
Ned, that is it EXACTLY. Sometimes, the AI does put in a real word, but othertimes, good grief! My niece said she is generally able "to interpret" what I send.
I am retired, but I have a few friends still working so I sent them a greeting a week or so ago to tell them "Happy LAB week".
One texted back saying "what's kad week?"
I hear ya, Miselle. Autocorrect should be renamed Autoerror!
Does anyone know how to make autoerror disappear as I write a plain old simple email????
Me too.
It's how people can tell they're really from me.
You haven’t been taking lessons from Rick S., have you? OMG!
Too funny. Boy does that one want attention.
Riad, Don’t mention his name, he may show up! 😂 I don’t answer him, he wants the attention.
Pardon my ignorance, I don't know who that is. I assume that is a good thing?
You can correct by clicking on the 3 dots to the right and “edit”.
Marlo, that's Anne-Louise's job. ;-)
:-)
I think of her like our big sister on the LFAA.
And I mean that in a good way.
HEH! HEH! HEH! Exactly so!!
Good to see your considered thinking batting lead-off today.
"We all do better when we all do better." Paul Wellstone
"Even as you do it unto the least of these, you do it unto me" Matthew 25: 34-46
"Richard, you must always remember to help those less fortunate than you." My mother while sending me off to school barefoot in 1947 because the one pair of shoes that I had were in the repair shop.
"The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." Frances Perkins, FDR's Sec. of Labor and the person responsible for Social Security.
Wonderful group of sayings. May we ALL follow them!
My mother had a saying you reminded me of. “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet”
Does the richest man in the world care wether the starving children are white or not? Somehow I doubt it. Anyway, HOORAY for Bill Gates!!
Let’s not forget Melinda who is quietly driving many of these initiatives.
Right. However, they are divorced now, so I want to give him credit for continuing with his charities.
The richest man, I think, just cares if they are his.
Truly American Pope, not simply estadounidense; truly international Pope. Hopefully, he will confront the issue of allowing the clergy to marry.
Ned. I pray for the same married priest SND women priests.
It's curious, but the history is long - how females have been and are presently discriminated against in Islam, Judaism, (Confucianism) and Christianity. Will there ever be a female pope, or will Christianity have disappeared by then? The decline of those committed to Christian principles in the U.S. is accelerating at a rapid pace. MAGA Christians are the principal piece of evidence - tens of millions of them.
An Orthodox Rabbi said a female Rabbi was as incongruous as an orange on a Seder plate. We now have female Rabbis and many of us have added an Orange to our Seder plate
Biggest thing he could do to resurrect his Church. Other than welcome women to the clergy, of course.
Yes. Unfortunately, reforms will likely be staged. First married clergy, which used to exist. Then with normality empowered would come the ordination of women. Then would come ordination of L.G.B.T.Q.+ faithful. Such a widened clergy would likely mitigate the problems that have injured the Church. Additionally, the widened clergy would return catholicity to the R.C.s,
Ned, in my 76 years I had never learned and possibly had never seen the word, "estadounidense." Delighted to learn it. Thanks!
You are very welcome. Alan. I learned that word in Latin America. I think of us referring to ourselves as 'Americans' as coming across as arrogant; yet, I suspect the reason underlying the appropriation of that wider designation is that statements like, "I am U.S." are simply too awkward to say.
I think that’s the one area Trumo does not discriminate. There’s plenty of White MAGA children who will be denied benefits and he doesn’t care.
And when they are hungry and look to their MAGA parents with an empty belly and substandard living and they will tell their white children that they are hungry because of a trans kid playing volleyball in Maine or Black or Asian or woman and then they’ll watch FOX to feed on hate.
Great post. However, the 10 based numbering system was INVENTED IN INDIA in 7th to 8th century and brought to the West by Arabs in 12th century. There is NOTHING that is ARABIC numbering system. There are numerous things that the Arabs contributed to humanity but 10 based numbering system is NOT one of those.
By the way, we live in Rome as well as in SF, Ca. Now we are in Rome. We were watching news when the White smoke came out. It was a festival atmosphere. An hour or so later when Robert Prevest's name was announced from the balcony, the silence was immense. My husband said, "America is not a liked nation anymore." Everyone seemed to watch their phone. The silence broke into loud roar only when Pope Leo appeared. The smart phones informed the crowd that he was almost chosen by Francis himself. My WhatsApp chats lit up by our Italian friends and neighbors, "An American Pope!"
Non-religious, my spirituality and activism might bring me to slide into worship at a local Catholic Church.
Not for me! Not when a Woman cannot be Pope or Priest. Not when Women have to die because Men in white robes do not want her life or her baby's life to exist if that would involve abortion. Not when pedophile priests are excused and moved to another place to continue their evil.
I hear you but Francis was the first one to say that the molesting priests need to be tried in secular courts. But trust me, I do hear you.
Then why has it taken so long? It's inexcusable. And those priests must be permanently banned from serving.
Why is it taking so long for us to put the 34 count convicted fellon behind bars?
Barb, it has taken so long because the Catholic Church, like most of the rest of societies in the world, are patriarchies. They realized very early that they had to control women because they got in the way of thinking about God. I always think about those guys sitting on pillars in the desert, to try to make themselves so uncomfortable that they could not think about women. Also men want to be sure that their children are theirs because their seed is so important. I recommend reading Genesis to understand this. There is a great book called Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven which describes the Church and its attitude to sex. When I finished it, I thought no wonder we are so mixed up about sexuality. Women get in the way of serious male business. As soon as they are present, all hell breaks loose. The current regime reflects the need for men to put women in their place....PG and in the kitchen.
I agree with all of that, but also celebrate the shifting from ossified self-serving patriarchy to acknowledgement that the purpose of the church is to implement Jesus' teachings: to love and care for all humans (including their habitat) rather than focusing on exclusion and shame. They seem to be beginning to take the word "all" to heart . If that includes "the unborn", I'm ok with that stance, but you love and humanely care for people no matter their CHOICE.
In many ways The Roman Catholic Church runs like a large corporation. Sometimes they forget their core purpose, as seen in the way they handled the pedophile priests by keeping silent, saving the wrongdoing priest by moving him to another location and ignoring the life shattering effects on the victims……allowing this travesty to continue. They forget that the Church is the people, not their coffers, not the power and status of their male hierarchy.
Like large corporations, like many in power.., they forget their core purpose.
Thanks Pat.
Lest we forget, Jesus had 12 apostles, one of them denied him 3 times, another sold him for 30 pieces of silver.
They, like all of us, and the other apostles were human. They erred, as do we, as did the Roman Catholic hierarchy.
This is not to excuse or pardon the hierarchy. And we pray for God’s love to enfold these victims every second of their lives.
For forgiveness in the sacrament of Confession, we must do a penance. The church hierarchy has attempted to do so, maybe not perfectly, but it is a forward going journey.
Jesus’s church was human with a Divine leader. Perhaps our « raison d’être » is to make the church and all of society closer to Jesus’s church/teachings.
And it very likely will take from now to eternity for each of us, members of the earth, to do so.
I want to be counted by the US govt in favor of this event at this time. (Voting with my feet.) The sanctioned wounding of the past has caused too much trauma, I realize. I can be in church without being triggered. The issues you mention, YES! I’m viewing now from a ‘progress not perfection’ stance.
There are variations on the theme of "Catholic." We had a dispute in the 1980s regading prison chaplains, some who were "Liberal Catholics." Some "Young Rite" leaders said anyone requesting ordination should receive it.
E.G. Santa Barbara National Catholic Church in Miami is not a Roman Catholic church. However, Santa Barbara Catholic Church in Hialeah is.
The website of the National Catholic Church says: "We recognize the right of women to equality at all levels of society and the Church, including ordained ministry." https://www.nccofa.org/
When I asked a Catholic priest about it, he told me the "National" variation did not require celibasy.
You most likely will not find the pope’s words (from either Francis or Leo) repeated there. The bulk of Catholic teaching at the parish level drove me out of there - antiabortion, antiwoman, antidemocratic.
When my family was in turmoil due to addiction, mental and physical health deterioration, and poverty, the Catholics threw me out of catechism for spotty attendance, to say, I didn't leave the church. The church left me when my family was in need. I was somewhat heartened by Pope Francis and his overtures toward communities marginalized in the Catholic church (like my gay wedding), but there has been a movement within the US to recruit the worst of the fundamentalists into the ranks. I've found these converts highly annoying, with their performative Friday fish in the lunchroom microwave and fake piety. People raised in the church have a fundamental understanding of the hypocrisy of Catholicism and have an innate grace about it. The converts? They seem to miss the hypocrisy , and then go on to embrace those particular qualities.
And then... yesterday. The worst of it all was the media highlighting the ignorant Americans chanting USA and waving flags like this was some kind of American superiority moment. The shame and embarrassment of being an American these days just keeps getting deeper. I hope Pope Leo can continue to provide anti-Nazi leadership in the church, continue to make institutional repair to the lives and relationships ruptured by clergy abuse, and provide an alternate voice to the "spiritual leader" pedos informing the POTUS.
I’m sorry for the pain you have experienced in the church, EssBee. Dominus vobiscum .
Yep. My thought of going is to be counted by our US govt, in case numbers grow and are pushback to Vance and others trying to build cultural support at this time.
How did/does the church improve when we do this, Myra?
Leaving at least improves our own moral code and supports following the generous inclusion that Jesus offered us and allows us to recognize fascism when we see it. See my “never again, again” post.
Oh my goodness, I just said this to my husband. Even atheists I know attend services where goodness, kindness and tolerance are hallmarks. I am spiritual but found the Catholic Church shame based and the sexual abuse of children and the history of abhorrent abuse too upsetting to attend services. I was raised Catholic and only attend when absolutely necessary but might give the monks up the road another chance. I about spit out my coffee when I read what you posted.
I gave up the RCC at the age of 60. Reading about the sex scandals, the way women and nuns were treated, money laundering for the Nazis in WW 2, stealing land from black Americans for use as a school, owning slaves, and going further back to the time when indulgences and cardinalships were sold to the highest bidders, Popes with mistresses, unholy wars, and the obscene wealth of the Vatican in a church that is not supposed to focus on wealth but routinely conducted collections to shore up physical facilities in Rome. No thanks. The good never seemed to outweigh the bad on a practical level. I don't need a religion to be a good person. Just follow Jesus. That's challenging enough in today's world.
I too gave up the RCC. I went to Catholic Grammar School and Catholic High School and as the decades passed I realized that I had been bamboozled.
So glad you wrote! And so appreciative of this community as well as counting us lucky that no AI Troll has shown up here today!
Purobi, the change in attitude withing the crowd in Piazza San Pedro when they learned about an American Pope, but a good soul and decent one should be followed by the election of a similar American President.
Absolutely. All our neighbors in Rome keep on telling us they are happy that the face of America has changed with this Pope's entry to the world stage. At least the most famous American is no longer a convicted fellon.
I am eagerly awaiting his effect on the MAGA world and those US bishops who are part of it.
I'm sure you are 💯 % right on what you are expecting as effect on maga. Thanks for your reply 👍
Back on 2/3/25, @drprevost already spoke to a MAGA heretic:
"J D Vance is wrong! Jesus don't ask us to rank our love for Others".
🙏
A headline in Italy's morning: "un papa colmo"
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi who was pretty much responsible for creating modern algebra, studied and popularized the Hindu system of representing numbers. I believe the notation he used (the form of the numerals, but not the numbering system itself) are of Arabic origin.
He studied algebra in India. The entire ten based numbering system was invented in India a century before Ibn Musa was born. This Persian mathematician was a great mind and we are all indebted to him for his contribution. Modern algebra was created from contributions by many, many people from Greece, Babylon, and India (although there was no country named India at that time) to name a few. No one person can take credit for it.
And, as you all probably know, the word "algebra" comes from the Arabic, by way of Medieval Latin: "al-jabr," the rejoining or the completion.
And in Sanskrit it is called Bijaganita. We grew up learning Bijaganita including Sridharacharya's quadratic equation solution. The Sansrit words for Atoms and Molecules existed way before these English terms.
As well as "algorithm". "Completion" seems to me to be the cornerstone of math. Too bad it seems not to be taught that way.
Damn, almost an instant U-turn. Well done, Vatican.
JD, I echo Linda Preston's puzzlement at your comment. Leo's election seems to be an intentional extension of Francis's theology and policy. In my estimation, the U-turn occurred when Francis was elected.
See response to Linda Preston…. Or Ricardo Grinbank “…the change in attitude within the crowd…” Sorry I didn’t make that clear, but Phil’s original response was way back there…
Thanks for the clarification, JD. Substack's comment utility is better than nothing ... but only slightly.
Considering how established Substack seems to be as a platform, its composition and conversation tracking tools are exceptionally primitive. I get the point of keeping it simple, and don't need gimmicks, but the ability to italicize (for example) seems a plus not more clutter, and labeling who is responding to who would seem to cost nothing. Also I hate how easily (for me) text not yet sent is lost.
I agree, Dale, and a tangled web for this 85 year old, though it’s not meant to deceive. Challenging when there are so many excellent comments and we are limited in time.
Sometimes my brain and fingers aren’t in sync
U-turn? How so?
My comment was my reaction to what Purobi Phillips said for the most part. When Prevest’s name was announced, only silence. Turned into a loud roar when the crowd realized that he was a close associate of Pope Francis. Says a lot to me.
Love your comment, JL. Merci for these little moments of joy!
I was sitting in a restaurant with a former diocesan colleague and we were talking with one eye on my phone’s live coverage. I heard “Roberto Francisco” in Latin but couldn’t catch the rest. Seconds later we understood! We almost shouted. This pope has a connection to our diocese as the (now former) head of the dicastery for bishops! I was high all day, best I’ve felt since before November’s election. (Also, Pope Leo is from south Chicago, minutes away from where I grew up.)
MLMinET, Time wise I guess a number of us here in U.S. were having lunch when the white smoke came. I too was with 3 former Diocesan colleagues at an Irish Pub. The owner turned on the large ( usually sports) monitor for us. We spent the rest of lunch waiting along with everyone else to see who it was.
Best lunch we've ever had together!
So you have former dio colleagues. You know how soul-crushing it can be to work for the largest, most persistent patriarchy on earth. It can also be wonderful. <sigh> Not-yet-cardinal Prevost had a hand in getting rid of our bishop not long after he arrived at the dicastery for bishops. For that we are eternally grateful.
My 100% religiously antireligious husband Bob is delighted that Papa Leone was known as Padre Bob. I feel your joy. It feels like the entire Rome is joyous today.
Thank you! It is consoling so many non-Catholics (and ex-) have hope in a good man as pope.
Lovely post, Phil. Thank you.
Yes, a very strategic and choice pick from the Sistine Chapel, in the newly anointed Pope Leo. Finally, an adult in the room. One who has hit the ground running and is already using the soft power of the papacy against MAGA Christofascists. He's taken one look at those red-capped muthaf*ckers, waving their crucifixes around like assault rifles, and thought, 'Nah, not on my watch.' May they drown in kindness and inconvenient theology.
Inconvenient theology. Boy, have the “christians in the MAGAt community kicked Jesus to the curb. His theology (as I learned it in my youth ), resonates not at all with the MAGAts. Prosperity gospel does, and the adherents are greedy bastards or stupid.
Honestly, JD, the MAGAts are not Christian. I think we should start referring to them as "christians."
I used to follow a Facebook parody page called "Christain Men Against Liberals." The misspelled rants were hilarious. The creator was constantly getting angry, indignant responses from people who missed the word, "satire," in the page description.
I thought the subtle misspelling of ChriSTAIN was perfect. Autocorrect, however, really fights hard to spell it the other way.
Oops, Les grands esprits se rencontrent. I just suggested a similar substitution before reading yours, Dale. Apologies!
I agree with this, Jocelyn. This (current disappearance of Christianity among the Christians) will be the topic of a book, a Ph.D. dissertation or a Master's thesis, soon. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence." Donald Trump?
How about Chris-stain, Jocelyn?
Yes, lower case!
Couldn’t agree more, I’d say severely lapsed, but some lapsed long ago…
I can't take credit for this, but one of the social media pundits (Tennessee Brando? Brian Tyler Cohen?) recently made a very astute comment. He said that "Jesus is the victim of Identity Theft"
HOW TRUE IS THAT.
Replacing the teachings of Jesus with the evil word salad of chump certainly qualifies. Seems to be a favorite ploy of evil (Putin, Netanyahu, Pol Pot, etc). Although it’s not Christianity in all cases. Just a religious justification for the most heinous acts
Miselle: that’s PERFECT!
Also, as a member of the Augustinian religious order, he celebrates the community and service. Here is a longer description—he’s in essence the opposite of Trump.
The charism of the Augustinians centers on life in community, where members strive to be “of one mind and one heart on the way to God.” This communal life is rooted in the teachings and example of St. Augustine, emphasizing unity, charity, and the sharing of all things-spiritual and material-among brothers.
Key elements of the Augustinian charism include:
• Genuine community life, marked by mutual affection, respect, and service to others.
• The pursuit of truth through learning, balanced with practical love of neighbor.
• A deep interior life-seeking God together-and openness to serve the Church.
• Living out the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience, inspired by the early Christian community described in Acts 4:32.
In summary, the Augustinian charism is unity in charity within community, a shared journey toward God, and service to the Church and the world.
We have the former Augustine University of Cuba here in Baghdad By the Sea. Now called St. Thomas University. Formerly Biscayne College. https://www.stu.edu/
They have a law school. Hopefully Pope Leo will cause an epiphany among their graduates.
Our current ethically challenged mayor's father graduated from. Villanova, undergraduate school before he went on to Harvard Law and became a lawyer/politician here. Sonny boy had aspirations to run for president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Suarez
Miami's Mayor Suarez Under Investigation By Ethics Committee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fP2JJIKPx4
Suarez is not the only Miami city leader in the midst of controversy.
During a city commission meeting earlier in January, two commissioners almost got into a physical altercation.
It came shortly after a federal judge directed U.S Marshal to seize Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo’s possessions after Carollo lost a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought on by a pair of local business owners who said Carollo used his office to harass them.
Another city controversy is the removal of City Commissioner Alex Diaz De La Portilla after he was arraigned on charges that included money laundering and bribery.
DeSantis suspended de la Portilla from the District 1 commission seat, which has since been filled.
So very disgusting when so-called Catholics, especially those w post-secondary educations, embrace criminality.
Hiya: The Professional Medievalist thanks you MLM for pointing out the Augustinian mission, which is quite different--in both its origins and its intentions--from other religious orders. And also, would like to point out that JustaDick Vance's understanding of the history of the Catholic Church and its primary theologians (Augustine of Hippo being up there at the top) is about as ill-conceived and ignorant as they come. Augustine was actually all about the OPPOSITE of what Vance claims the Ordo Amoris to be. Indeed, when the Augustinian Order was established in the late 12th/early 13th century, following the Rule of St. Augustine (from ca 400) and not the Rule of St Benedict, its approach was focused on community and service to the community as its primary directive, which is why they were organized as Canons, not as Monks (in other words not required to be cloistered). It was also the most popular order for establishing new nunneries because they could also serve their communities, if in a more localized way, and were not entirely confined to the convent. I have a lot off beefs with Augustine ("God give me chastity, but not quite yet"), mostly having to do with the theology of Original Sin, but he was probably the most sophisticated thinker Western Christianity had for several hundred years. And JustaDick is a puny nothingburger in comparison.
In honor of Pope Leo.....
......
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Alive as you or me
Tearing through these quarters
In the utmost misery
With a blanket underneath his arm
And a coat of solid gold
Searching for the very souls
Whom already have been sold
...
Arise, arise, he cried so loud
In a voice without restraint
Come out, ye gifted kings and queens
And hear my sad complaint
No martyr is among ye now
Whom you can call your own
So go on your way accordingly
But know you're not alone
...
I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
Alive with fiery breath
And I dreamed I was amongst the ones
That put him out to death
Oh, I awoke in anger
So alone and terrified
I put my fingers against the glass
And bowed my head and cried
Bob Dylan https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE9bjdXCU_Q
I am very proud to have attended Merrimack College from 1957 thru 1959. Fr. No Charity Flaherty was my very favorite professor, English Lit. When I literally ran down Seabrook beach many years later, after having made the bad decision to end my education to marry a year later, and my 3 sons were in their teens,. I stopped his walk and said, « Fr. Flaherty, I’m going back to finish my degree at Furman University. » He replied « Good, Miss Bellefeuille, I expect nothing less than Summa Cum L’Aude »!
We knew not the quality of education we received from all the Augustinian priests at Merrimack at that time. They were invested in the best outcome for each of their students.
P.S. Bless me Fr Flaherty, for these long run on sentences. My 85 year old brain does not function succinctly.
That is one of the hardest words for a non-native to say “feuille.”
You are so correct! You wouldn’t believe the attempts sincerely made:) We would encourage « bell fay »!
"In the U.S., President Donald Trump, who said he would like to be pope and then posted a picture of himself dressed as a pope on May 2, prompting an angry backlash by those who thought it was disrespectful, posted on social media that the election of the first pope from the United States was 'a Great Honor for our Country' and that he looks forward to meeting him. ‘It will be a very meaningful moment!' he added." So, it will be interesting to see what Trump will say to Pope Leo XIV when Trump's Halloween costume is discussed. When Trump feels the heat on its way, he seems to always want to prepare a softer landing for himself. A "meaningful moment" for who, exactly? How will he make this "moment" "meaningful?" It's always all about him. He'll add on the nuances, the shade he wants, so that *he* looks better after sticking his foot in his mouth. Kazz, Trump is already drowning in his own 💩, something well less than kindness and "inconvenient theology" (I love that term, by the way. I'd very much like to use it when applicable.)
JVL and Tim, on the Bulwark, were wondering how long it will be before Trump is trying to take credit for the election of an American Pope.
I said that exact thing to my husband after the announcement was made!
My query would be: where would he put the final decision smokestack? I have a suggestion as to where it may go, but I don't think HCR or the administrator for this site would approve.
If tRump goes to Rome, I hope any meeting will be on the plaza, NOT inside so as not to pollute the places considered blessed. Maybe T will not be allowed back in the US. Just dreaming!
"...inconvenient theology" - I love that!
They forget that Christianity is not meant to be convenient or easy to follow.
Love this! Thank you, Kazz.
Perhaps not in your language Kazz, but yes, ainsi-soit-Il! We have a hope for a Pope. « Written with respect and love and meilleurs vœux « .
Hear, here! Thoughtful.
Phil Balla, I somehow knew you would be a first responder to Heather’s letter this morning.
Perhaps we are about to learn from a new story we can all have a part in creating as the history of humanity continues to unfold.
As to your reference to signage you see in modern Osaka, If I were a world traveler, Japan would be a destination high on my list.
Let’s all give Pope Leo a love-affirming part in our story.
You, Phil, are always encouraging us to look to essays and books to learn the fundamental lessons of living. The story is about to get very interesting.
While the description of the scenery is absolutely true, Japan still has a lot of xenophobia going on...
Holy Cheeses Mercy - you say an American Pope? No it wasn’t, was it? Did they…? Was it a fair vote…? Is it, dag gone it, Pope Donald I?
Oh no please Lord, say it ain’t so. Please forgive I’m not up on the news right now. I’m in Florence, Italy. I escaped from the New Nazi Dis-United States of America. So is it he — The Donald? Well, he can’t have both roles so which would it be better for us and the world; Pope Donald or Julius Caesar Trump?
As religious pontiff, he will have access to the beggar’s plate and turn Jesus money into Crypto Religio Currency. Followed by a Tump Hotel in the Vatican.
I need to return to sleep. This is a bad dream. I’ll soon awaken and take a stroll through Vasari’s Corridor from the Medici Palace to the Uffici. Those guys didn’t need to walk among commoners. They had their own corridors.
Steady down, Bill Katz - it's OK. He was born in Chicago but has been so long in Peru that he's taken Peruvian citizenship - he prefers Latinos... Didn't use English once in his address to the People. And he's an Augustinian, so he's OK. Go into the Uffizi and look at some Botticellis.
But… but… but… it isn’t Pope Donald I? Am right now sitting in Piazza Signoria sipping a cappuccino looking out at the David across way in front of the Medici Palace. It’s not the real David mind you. There are quite a few replicas around town just like the phoney replicas in Washington.
David and all those other naked gay statutes and now there is a gigantic woman sculpture on the plan holding cell device.i ant tell from this vantage she too is naked. I hope she is. Why would modesty exist only for t female form. I say let it all hang out. She is a new maybe temporary display. Of course she could be trans. I’ll need to walk closer to see if she has the transfer works. You never know about these Florentines. I lived here once and this time it’s just a sentimental journey to a once home.
Bill, will you SHUT UP about Italy? - You are just making us all so jealous! I can almost smell that coffee - and feel the sunshine warm on my back. . .where's my passport. . .?
No, it's not Pope Donald. When he saw himself in the picture, he noticed that the hat covered up his beautiful hair. You need a nice gelato. And don't forget to stroke the Porcellino's nose for good luck.
Can’t. Fences are erected. But I can touch the golden girl I think.
It could be a much, much worse selection, Bill Katz. This new pope, Pope Leo XIV, was very close to Pope Francis. He refuted things VD Chance wrote about migrants on X. He spent many years in Peru and is a Peruvian citizen.
I've been to Peru - the Amazon, Lima, other areas. The poverty is overwhelming.
Yes Colleen..., not being a 'believer', I would utter these two words: The new Pope would appear to be a real 'God-send'. The Catholic Church surely needs one along with this nation that's succumbing to the whims of Rectumus and his religiou$ zealots.
As well as the entire world, MadRussian
It shall be here, too, I’m afraid. Here too after a few more months.
Isn't it logical? Trump wants it all - all the attention, I mean.
P.S. I'm pretty jealous of you being in Firenze; one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Say 'hi' to Michaelangelo for me ;)
True, too, Dutch.
I've an essay writing program for schools of one country so students may learn to see (and quote) peers in another country as individuals. Get past all those hoary stereotypes.
Schools in Korea and China also not interested in getting past their stereotypes.
Nor, much, either, Dutch, American schools.
Runs deep, and America could be a beacon for the dispossessed of the world, as our Statue of Liberty signified. But she will likely be replaced with a golden calf (chump) who is only a beacon for the likes of muskrat.
Aside, I expect an announcement from Warren Buffet. Am I dreaming?
Look for tfg to do everything, all the time, to draw attention back to himself from our fascination with Pope Leo.
Count on it, never fails. An ego bigger than a blimp, one that needs a needle in the butt.
Oh, come on, JD. What dream might you be entertaining?
The main thing we all have with each other is conversation. So, let's up our possible scenarios.
That he will join Bill in the effort to rid himself of all that green before he passes over…. Bill’s ex has joined the wealthy in her effort to support equality for women. A trend maybe. The war of the titans, who can write a script.
Its hard to find places where xenophobia is not going on. I know that the Japanese tend to have there own set of prejudices; but I experienced many encounters I will always treasure in the few weeks I was there, and by daughter and her husband, who were there for a year did also.
Oh, I absolutely agree! I really adore Japan, I wouldn't have been there four times if I hated it ;) I love the culture, I love the food, I love the fact that Japanese have group mentality instead of "me, me, me" and I had many warm and lovely moments with Japanese people. But, as said, the xenophobia _is_ a shadow in their culture which cannot be denied.
And what hypocrisy and pretense uttered by trump while appearing to be congratulating the new pope. In the meantime who is going to stop trump from creating more egregious calamities? To criticize trump as he poses as a man of goodness is what makes the honest criticism of him a moral and intellectual necessity.
Wait till he figures out Pope Leo didn’t become pope to honor “our country” and has a bigger span of control—the world—than tfg does!
Trump's toxic ego is so out of proportion to the reality of his minimal intelligence, he will be incapable of seeing the truth much less acknowledge that the Pope is a leader of - as you pointed out - the world....
Yes, Stephanie -- he poses as a lot of things. Many contradicting each other.
His most "egregious calamities"? How he emboldens the world's worst mass murderers? How he comforts and rewards the U.S.'s worst billionaire predators? How he shows crime does pay -- and handsomely for the most corrupt, from Thiel to Vance, from Leo and Harlan to their Clarence, from Musk to Putin, from AIPAC to several hundred of the highest-placed in Washington, D.C.
Thank you for amplifying his worst and mounting calamities. His latest....firing the Library of Congress's librarian - excuse me - where did she commit fraud??? (Oh, it's about Obama - he hired her.)
Interesting part of his family comes from New Orleans and has African American heritage. This is part of American history many times highlighted by Dr Henry Louis Gates in his PBS series. The musical Showboat has this part of history as well.
On another note Dr Carla Hayden from the Library of Congress was fired. The Librsry is wonderful and houses many historical items such as one copy of the Guttenberg Bible. It also has a research department solely fir Congress.
I have already written to my representatives in Congress and the Senatecascwell as toDrvLsura Patton head abd president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This with all the other unethical and ignorant actions is like icing on the cake of Trumps Captain Hook’s cake gift to Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.
I am thrilled at Phil Bala’s deep and marvelous engagement of the swirl of factors that constitute humanity. It is the fervent inclusion of all of us including the least of these in the application of the Golden Rule.
These reactionary right wing political efforts to abandon the sectors of human need that are the world refugees represent an anti-Christian and non-religious reaction to need.
We must all join in this effort to ensure honoring human dignity is our responsibility.
Thank you, Art. It's only going to worsen -- our refugee crises -- as does climate change.
And, meanwhile, the schools now internationally follow the imaginatively criminal U.S. testing models. To cripple as many as possible by as heavy as possible group-think and category-beholden blinders.
If only we could all agree with the philosophy of Pope Leo XIV and remember the words of Pope Leo XIII, the country and the world might reverse the hatred of right wing politics and leaders. I’m not Catholic (Southern Baptist), but “Evangelical Christians “ don’t seem to understand the words of Jesus. Not verbatim, but, “ In as much as you have done it for the least of these, you have done it for me.”
Thanks for this Phil -- lovely way to start the day.
Great Phil, but on a recent episode of 60 Minutes, the topic was the falling birth rate in Japan. It was suggested that immigration might be a partial solution. The man looked shocked, and said that the Japanese society was pretty homogeneous and that might not work. Of course, Tokyo is an international city, but made me wonder if the US is the only country where we are all mutts…
The homogeneity biz comes up predictably often, JD.
The shoguns, the patriarchy, and the four-class tribalism all enforced it.
But throughout, too, strong independence of thought co-existed. Shinto kept dynamism in nature alive. Great poets of individual vulnerability. Great designers of fabrics. Chefs well in touch with the 72 mini-seasons. So, always kaleidoscope.
Today Japan pulses with international visitors from the best of all the arts. And the worst threat to all this vitality? The onerous weight of U.S.-imported testing which has strangled all the high schools, all the test-prep juku (all night cram schools), and now sinks tentacles also into the junior highs.
How beautifully written your comment is, Phil!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I was happy to read it and am with you on all counts.
Phil, a good post and a great relief. Pope Leo has already contradicted Vance's hierarchy of who counts.
I never thought I’d ever see someone using Japan as a model of openness to others, but these are strange times, indeed…
Good shot into the darkness there Phil. I have to admit (I'm guilty) to viewing the "new Pope" from Chicago as just another finagled act by the billionaires who are now in charge. And, of course the bloviations emanating from The Rectumus (little-bigman trump), via the FOX-nose (same same as the chickens-ass) about how wonderful it is to have an Chicagoan as 'our' Pope. I'm sorry if my thought offends anyone, but if you don't think they those-with$$$ could pull something like that off, just look at who is $itting in the Whitehouse..., for the $econd time.., among$t his benefactor$. No? Ye$$! So, I'm still a sceptic. After-all, having the first church on Mars be Catholic.., now there ya go. Speak to Eon.. In Musk we Musk. Sick of it! And so.., so sick of all the photo-ops of Rectumus.
Amen to that. Enough of "othering" and "punching down". Here in Australia we saw off a would be government that was offering just that.
What a wonderfully unexpected source for hope.
As someone said today, maybe the new Pope can make America care again.
Before that can happen, America has to feel shame again.
Before redemption, the sinner must feel regret and some of the pain he has caused others, otherwise he will not repent. Francis and Leo delivered the beginnings of a needed bitch-slap in February, which of course enraged sadistic, hypocritical wormtongues like Laura Loomer no end.
“We are encrusted with riches and power,” Pope Innocent III tells the disheveled young Francis in Franco Zeffirelli’s wonderful retelling of the life of Francis of Assisi in “Brother Sun, Sister Moon.” The humbled pope, skillfully portrayed by Sir Alec Guinness, then adds: “you, in your poverty, put us to shame” before kissing his dirty bare feet.
I look forward to the day when the poor will have what they need to live with dignity and the Laura Loomers of this world can go suck eggs.
Not eggs, perhaps .....
I didn't read your comment-2 great minds thinking alike.
if they can afford them ...
Something other than eggs. They are too valuable right now. lol
... and maybe make America fair again.
I don't think you can separate fair and care, at least not at the engendering level.
Agree. That is why I replied to Kathy Clark ... something of a couplet.
May Leo XIV call out the far right Catholics who embrace hate and cruelty over love and caring for one another.
And may Leo XIV work to eliminate the long held Catholic promotion of the patriarchy by allowing women to become priests and allowing priests to marry.
Behind every "great" politician is a woman that keeps them on the right path.
Tim Busch and Leonard Leo were there trying to influence the conclave, but they failed.
Interesting. I hadn't heard that, but I'm not surprised. Leonard has unlimited access to funds, but apparently the papacy wasn't for sale this time. Time will tell.
I agree, Gary. I left the Catholic Church just over 50 years ago; butbas someone who believes that women should run the world whenever and wherever possible, I think Catholic orthodoxy won't allow female priests during the rest of my lifetime, at least (except possibly as in the situation of the Conclave movie, the ending of which I won't spoil if you've not seen it). I'd love to see priests be able to marry -- that would be a huge step by itself.
Hi Doug,
As a woman who has a PhD in Theology and has worked in the church most of my adult life ( except for 10 years as a TV News anchor/reporter) I tend to agree that it will be awhile before we have women priests. BUT, there is no theological reason against and a lot of historical precedence for ordaining women as Permanent Deacons. That could happen tomorrow!! I am hoping our new Pope will make public the as yet unpublished reports of the past two study groups on women deacons and take it from there!
As to married Catholic priests-- we have precedence in history for that ( squashed for celibacy in 11th c. Because of church properties going to family instead of church ( always follow the money)). Also, we already have married priests in the Episcopalians that were allowed to become Roman Catholic under Pope Benedict! So, in that sense we are already there. But I take your point. Diocesan priests ought to be allowed to marry. Let religious order guys and monastics living in community promise celibacy! The other guys need the support of partners and family.
Interesting comment about the property going to the church and not the family.
Makes perfect sense though! I know of a monastery in the Northeast (I'll leave the location vague) which I've been told will allow followers to enter the fold, but only after signing away all of their earthly possessions. This was related to me by a Congregationalist minister who had some inside
info. It's run by a couple people who are in charge of all decisions, financial and otherwise.
Carol, excellent background info -- many thanks! And I completely agree with your last point.
I seem to recall reading many years ago of men living in some 3rd-world country that were quietly allowed to enter the priesthood after marriage, but that it was a carefully-managed secret. I admit that my recall may be off from the truth.
I saw the movie. What an ending. Maybe if priests married, there might be less hanky panky going on.
Indeed.
The Catholic Far Right have self ex-communicated themselves; forming the Church of Leonard Leo the First
Dave Fake News
Let’s hope Kathy Clark…
Pope Leo XIV says that when it comes to the ecological crisis, it’s time to move “from words to action.”
May his leadership echo the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. And may all people of goodwill find in this new beginning a renewed call to protect the gift of creation.
We pray for Pope Leo XIV as he begins his papacy and we accompany him in his service to God, to the Church, and to the world.
With humility and hope, we receive this moment as an invitation to deepen our commitment to ecological conversion and peace.
Laudato Si’ Movement |
A New Chapter for the Church and Our Common Home
May 9, 2025 |
https://laudatosimovement.org/news/a-new-chapter-for-the-church-and-our-common-home/
Laudato Si'. May the correction of religious direction and course to the LEFT come soon! The American Evangelical Nationalists, and hard rights, have soured the souls of too many in America. And, the tRump and JD Vance hearts are frozen.
perhaps these hard rights and Evangelist Nationalist could be found in the Puritans ( think The Scarlet Letter and its hypocrisy) and perhaps the forcing of their religion by the Inquisition and the Crusades. There were a lot of deaths involved there and not very Christian like
Good one, Kathy. I presume you may be referring to Ms Melania (as expressed by her jacket) as an aside? Fortunately, her thoughts have been of little consequence.., low noise-level. Then again, maybe she was actually broadcasting the position clearly demonstrated by the Rss-hole party.
Richard, the word "hope" just crossed my mind regarding Pope Leo XIV. Yesterday, I was denigrating the far right Catholics like Leonard Leo and the the 6 far-right SCOTUS justices.
Republican's including the 6 far-right SC justices ignore the teachings of Christ regarding the Pharisees.
Jesus Condemns the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law of Moses (Mark 12.38-40; Luke 11.37-52; 20.45-47)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023&version=CEV
As a Catholic, I have no use for these people either, and they have far too much influence in the U.S., where we still have many prelates appointed by Popes John Paul and Benedict XVI.
JPII’s 27-year papacy was a little long, even for cardinals. Since then they have looked to men expected to last about a decade as candidates.
I am for a retirement age for Popes. 80 sounds good. It is a huge job that demands energy if done well.
Benedict XVI did us a favor by setting an example of retiring.
Agreed
Perhaps some Catholics who regard the Pope as an influential model for Christian behavior will follow his ways and not trump's.
I can’t help but think that both Francis, an Argentine by birth, and Leo, a naturalized Peruvian, chose to follow a theology of justice and humility because of the corruption, repression, and authoritarianism they witnessed in their respective countries. Being a Christian faith leader of any denomination comes with the responsibility of being an example of Christ-like love, acceptance, and welcome. A new era began under Francis, one that I hope Pope Leo XIV will continue with inspiration and energy.
If that's the case, a lot of Americans will be turned into holy men in the coming years...
I don't know about the new pope but Pope Francis was not a fan of Latin American Liberation Theology.
Not all of it surely, not the radical aspects with Marxist undertones. But he did emphasize social justice and caring for the poor. He lived humbly in the Casa Santa Marta rather than the expansive papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace. He lived according to the principles that defined his Christian ministry of love.
"When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist."
Archbishop Helder Camara
Pope Francis may have lived an exemplary life, but he didn't alter core Catholic doctrine. In his last New Year's Day address he reaffirmed the church's opposition to abortion. Now women in America are suffering the same oppression and harm that women in Catholic countries are used to.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/06/united-states-abortion-bans-put-millions-women-and-girls-risk-un-experts-say
He also regularly went into the slums to minister, even as a bishop.
In Chicago, the buying question "Is the Pope a Cubs fan?" This from the Chicago Tribune.
It didn’t take long for Chicago Cubs fans to welcome the first American pope into their arms, or for White Sox fans to claim him as their own.
When Pope Leo XIV’s election was announced Thursday, ABC News reported Robert Prevost, of Dolton, was a Cubs fan.
The jokes were flying on social media, many of them suggesting Pope Leo XIV was a perfect choice to heal the world’s suffering, thanks to his allegiance to the Cubs.
That begged the question: Would the Cubs ask the new pope to throw a ceremonial first pitch at Wrigley Field?
......
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/08/pope-leo-xiv-chicago-cubs-fan/?lctg=7407C56274C524A594DE14FCD1&utm_email=7407C56274C524A594DE14FCD1&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.chicagotribune.com%2f2025%2f05%2f08%2fpope-leo-xiv-chicago-cubs-fan%2f&utm_campaign=trib-chicago_tribune-breaking_news_sports-nl&utm_content=alert
I hear that when Pope Leo’s brother was interviewed he said that the Pope has been a life long Sox fan. Too bad, but I still like the new guy; I won’t hold it against him.
Some people will warm to his social media -
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/robert-prevost-american-pope-trump-vance-b2747721.html
Yeah, well if Pope Leo turned out to be a Cub fan, it would be imperative the he hate the Cardinals. (Whoa - his red-robed buddies or STL?) In actuality, he was born in a south suburb (Dolton) and that makes him a White Sox fan. BTW - current records: Cubs - 1st place (22-16) WSox - Last place (10-28) Go Cubs, Go.
We can always hope AND pray. Let us pray the newbie has not lost his humanity.
Amen Margaret.
I confess that I'm not a great fan of the Catholic church (I'm a lapsed Catholic, whatever that means). However, Prevost's election seems to have disturbed the MAGA faithful.
https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1920537118041854297?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1920542936535576842?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://x.com/catturd2/status/1920538889464295647?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1920544432601936310?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
So that can't be bad!
Russell, That was my thought exactly on reading HCR’s encapsulation of the Vance v Vatican debate. If Kirk and Loomer (and we can assume Vance?) are appalled we who care about the targets of the Regime’s cruelty can applaud.
Vance vs the Vatican - the little pipsqueak is going to get his ass excommunicated.
He is certainly going to be schooled on Catholic theology by experts
Please. Separate church and state. We're dealing with human-nature here. Keep yer guard up.
pax vobiscum
Et tu tuo. (If I remember correctly.)
Et spiritu tuo. Thé intention is what counts MLM.
JD Vance converted to catholicism only about 6 years ago which is another piece of the puzzle to add to his shapeshifting ways. He said he was drawn to the Catholic Church because "it was just so old". Maybe he really has found some spirituality in it but it's obvious that he was trying to use his position to influence and push the MAGA ideology when he met with Pope Francis, and now is with Pope Leo.
Also I remember that Erik Prince(of Blackwater, now Constellis) had converted to catholicism many years ago. Something strange about it for sure with those two.
Erik Prince married a woman who was Catholic and converted from the Christian Reformed Church. His wife later died of cancer. Personally, I think Vance did it for show, and apparently Dominicans led his RCIA study. He doesn’t seem to understand Catholicism, and his real philosophy is Yarvin’s dangerously dystopian ideas.
Hi Kathy, yes, and finishing RCIA is just the beginning of ongoing formation and catechesis. Sounds as if he was initiated into the narrower politicized far right version of the moment.
Thank you, Kathy. Very good and I think, whatever that may be worth, correct analysis.
Thank you for clarifying Kathy. I read Jeremy Scahill’s book ‘Blackwater’ when it came out and he mentioned that Erik Prince converted, but I don’t remember if he said he became Catholic for his wife or that she had died. It’s so incredibly sad to lose someone you love to cancer(or any terminal illness), even for someone like Prince who started such a nefarious mercenary apparatus.
And JD Vance is all about show, it’s not even his real name. Vance as in advancements, not pious but clambering his way to the top with a truly evil regime that is heading in the wrong direction.
There's a lot of hypocrisy in the Trump camp when it comes to Christianity.
https://www.axios.com/2025/05/01/christian-leaders-denounce-white-house-task-force
Horhai, maybe those two, Vance and Prince were expecting trump to be the Pope. Lets see if they go shopping for another religion now.
Probably not, at least not for his incomplete Catholic formation. But I expect him to receive some papal rebuke when he pops up with utterly wrong interpretations of Catholic social teaching like he did regarding amoris ordo. Jeez. Keep your ignorance under a blanket JDV.
People who are deeply damaged and who reinvent themselves tend to do so very superficially. So it's not at all surprising that Vance, in choosing a Catholic 'identity' would also invert the logic of some doctrine to suit his new image of himself, complete with rationalizations for abhorrent behaviors. 'Hillbilly Elegy' is no 'elegy.' He couldn't even get that word right.
Ordo odium in Vance's case.
😁
He'll wear it as a badge! Pipsqueak, indeed
JD Vance only proves that humans can claim they are "religious" and that they the follow the "correct" religion" . But they have NO CLUE and a heart AND head of stone..
Yes, the kind of person who uses/twists religon as a sword and shield and not as a call to live towards higher principles than self.
Predictably John-Henry Westen of LifeSite News had a hissy fit, which only delighted me.
I suspect some people will warm to the new pope's social media -
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/robert-prevost-american-pope-trump-vance-b2747721.html
What’s the saying, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” or something like that?!
That highly dubious aphorism has informed US foreign policy far too often, especially in Latin America and south-east Asia. Popes can safely castigate world leaders from their lofty position of invulnerability (after all, who's going to argue with 1.4bn Catholics) but world leaders will no longer take the road to Canossa.
The "far right" is showing themselves morally bankrupt and, actually, irrelevant. But like a wounded wild animal, when they feel threatened is when they are most dangerous.
I really wish the Democratic Party would take up the cause of migrants and immigrants and stop letting anti-immigrant bigots like Homan control the debate. We don't need more "border security." The border is more than sufficiently secure and has been for a long time. (Yes, there can be improvements, but we don't need a militarized border.) We need a humane, workable, and just immigration policy.
As Rachel Maddow said in this podcast, it would behoove us all to remove the word ‘immigrant’ in regards to any border, deportation or ‘holding area’ activities, as history tells us that they are all dress rehearsal activities for all Americans/dissidents. It’s a good listen…I just finished it. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/assembly-required-with-stacey-abrams/id1760004996?i=1000706772148
KiKi, she was also terrific on Colbert the other night, crisp, positive and to the point. Love her focus on " in all 50 states every single day there are protests."
You are completely correct! The Evangelical Nationalists are showing their true colour as well. And they get to do that tax free!
Need more proof that Vance is even worse than trump?
but he does not have a cult following and is very unlikely to develop one. So maybe the cool light of reason may penetrate the MAGAts if he is their 'leader' - or the Loomers and Greenes and Voughts and Yarvins will all devour each other (if we're lucky)
Jhon, he might not have a cult followers due his lack of charisma, but he'll have the power and control that this regime is fast and hard building and creating the conditions to preserve. Not a great future for we the people. Thanks for your reply 👍
Respectfully, John, you and many others seem to be clinging to JD's lack of charisma as the hoped-for end of MAGA influence. All I know is that many religions and cults have persisted long after the original founder died, because someone came along and claimed to be a messenger sent by the founder.
Cults and religions develop because the followers have consciously or unconsciously decided to suspend their disbelief in order to belong to something.
I hope Vance fails to secure a position of Trump's "minister of the gospel," but I'm not betting on it. The MAGA faithful have already demonstrated that they'll believe anything, no matter how preposterous, if it's presented by an "ordained minister."
No. Also, he's younger. He may even get worse.
He will almost certainly get worse.
And fat.
Getting fat it's his constitutional right. 😳
Ricardo, good point! In Maine-speak (as I've learned the language,,) both those clowns qualify as ree-tarrrds. you know.., people with 'special needs', recalling a time during the 50 & 60's when we didn't realize certain words or expressions might be hurtful. So, RFK is another one whom we've lost somewhere out there on the spectrum. And, should we decide to consider "the spectrum" to be that proverbial "barrel-of-apples", then these bozos need to be recognized for the damage they are doing. Problem is holding them to account, to heck with which is worse. They be bad apples.., process them accordingly.
I am hopeful that Pope Leo will be able to lead those Catholics who have supported trump to realize that they have been lied to for years and that they have been manipulated by a cult of hate and division.
Another breath of fresh air after Pope Francis. God is in control. Praying for Leo and for you Heather. And so very thankful for you. Peace to you all.
Or at least to mute themselves a little. Especially the American bishops.
Francis was able to control them....
I'm suprised some Trump administration aholes haven't been excommunicated. "A very sad day has dawned," said Arcbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a guest commentary in The Washington Post. The bishops' conference "had to make the gut-wrenching decision this week to end our work with the federal government to resettle refugees and coordinate support services on the government’s behalf for unaccompanied children entering the United States."
https://www.ncronline.org/news/sad-day-has-dawned-trumps-deadbeat-policy-forces-us-bishops-abandon-children-refugees
Maybe Leo will continue... In July 2024, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Vatican's former apostolic ambassador to the United States, was excommunicated for schism by the Vatican. The Vatican found him guilty of refusing to recognize the authority of Pope Francis and the legitimacy of the Second Vatican Council. This action was taken after a penal process in which Viganò was found to have withdrawn from the Church's communion and rejected its teachings
Seems there are many more that seem more Homan like Inquisitors that deserve excommunication.
I was baptized but not confirmed as a Catholic after watching too many that raised their children, as we did through Catholic schools, though the least inspirational ones had despicable moral lapses that they claimed they confessed to and were forgiven for. They were not like the best, truest, followers of the faith that I met later, and most admired for their dedication to protection and support of all in need.
If they had anything to confess and be forgiven for, it seemed it could only be for thoughts, certainly not actions, as I couldn't imagine them being able to do more for others than they did.
People “believe” whatever suits them. That is, whatever they prefer. Some like fries with catsup, others with mayonnaise, still others with salt. People also “believe” according to fashion. Gucci? Or Laurent? With some, belief is like the wind.
So interesting to have the first American born Pope while we are in the middle of all the Trump/MAGA business. I’m sure it won’t be long before Trump starts badmouthing the Pope. It would be nice if this helped balance out the craziness but it will probably just become another divisive scene for Trump.
Yep. Particularly as Pope Leo is using his Peruvian citizenship, and chose to speak in Spanish but not in English.
Habla Espanol? Hhahahaa.., I wonder if Rectum had Spanish class in the special school he attended during his prodigal youth? Probably not. His vocabulary seems pretty limited as it is. He speaks FOX fluently enough.
The Orange Dictator will probably say that the new pope "wasn't very nice to him", get angry, and simply claim himself "Pope of America", or better yet, "the Real Pope Ordained by God Himself". It's true. Everybody says it. Everybody's gonna love it. Not that Peruvian Pope, no. He cannot do it. Only Trump can. So only Trump can be the real pope, everybody knows that.
If Pope Leo XIV is smart, he'll stay FAR AWAY from the US! trump may try to use an executive order to declare Pope Leo XIV an illegal American. Then trump will put a 20% tariff on all rosarys sold at the Vatican and vance will approve it at once.
Because you KNOW trump's going to try to get SOMETHING...some concession somewhere....out of the new Pope Leo XIV.
But Pope Leo is no one's fool. He knows what DECADES of history have shown us all...EVERYTHING trump TOUCHES DIES .
And, believe me, you don't have to be a Pope to know that.
But I do believe that with the trump regime... it's only a matter of time. The bigmouth idiots ALWAYS take THEMSELVES DOWN. They don't need ANY help from anyone else. The GOP WILL have buyer's remorse when it comes to trump. Just ask Mitch McConnell.
Tick tock Tick tock Tick tock 🤯 💣
I really hope so; it can't happen soon enough, as far as I am concerned...
How are we all going to survive this?
ONE DAY AT A TIME and by STICKING TOGETHER!
Before yesterday, I felt the same. Much less so now.
Echos of Henry VIII-if I can't get a divorce I'll just form my own church.
I am not well versed in the Catholic religion but I find the choice of an American cardinal simply outstanding. Pope Leo XIV speaks 5 different languages and closely aligned with the now deceased Pope Francis. My last thought about Pope Francis was where I saw a picture of him washing the feet of female prisoners and then kissing those feet. Hours later, he would succumb. That small gesture, to me, is what we are missing in this country…the love of your fellow man, your neighbor. Leo XIV spoke of the migrants and how their existence is important. I am certain he upset the likes of Leonard Leo and Russell Vought, the nasty little men behind Project 2025 and The Heritage Foundation. That makes me extremely happy.
Oh Donnie, you have no idea just how meaningful your first meeting with Pope Leo XIV will be!
Just try to pull an Oval Office “Zelensky” on Pope Leo!
You will find out what the Wrath of God is like!
Ah Donny needs to skip the Pope, and instead meet with (the wrath of) God directly, ASAP!
Perhaps that meeting should happen soon!
Conclave elects Pope Leo XIV ! Loser claims election was rigged, peddles new Bible, appoints twelve disciples and issues his own Ten Commandments. Read all about it!
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/05/08/conclave-elects-pope-leo-xiv-loser-claims-election-was-rigged-peddles-new-bible-and-his-own-ten-commandments/
Thank you, Deepak.
Some of the Orange Jesus's revised 10 Commandments indeed seem fit to him. (Clicking on the initial image onscreen will open a larger, readable image.)
There is a universal nature to who this new pope is - lived decades in Peru, speaks 5 languages, was head of the international Order of St. Augustine... what really, really bothered me yesterday was the small groups of Americans in St. Peter's square changing "USA, USA, USA" as if they were at a sporting event. The raw nationalism seemed out of place for the election of a spiritual leader to lead the universal church (and it seemed crass, tone deaf, boorish ugly-American behavior)...
Yeah, but maybe they just wanted to be proud of the US for the first time since November 5.
Cruise ships in their modern form, involving the invasion of thousands of American tourists, did a lot to ruin the goodwill associated with welcoming visitors to your communities. Familiarity breeds contempt?
Agree Anne! Crass. At the very end you could've signed off with 'shallow' behavior.
Prettyhard not to feel embarrassed.
Peace be with us all.
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit
I am a life-long atheist - but I had great respect for Pope Francis and much (not all) of what he stood for and I am delighted that the new Pope is Leo. His face is kind and his words are inclusive and compassionate. And, petty though it may be, I take delight in the fact that MAGA is losing its shit over this.
When Pope Francis left us, it was like a bright light for democracy and the kindness possible in the best of religions had left us. Fear wracked me. My mother was Catholic and did not love religion, but rather its often latent capacity for kindness and love for all People. In its best moments, Catholicism has been this way, though like most religions, not often. Francis lived this kindness and showed that this bent of heart and mind can be made real for those of us, like myself, who are not religious but rather spiritual, because religion is so often used to advance political and monetary power on Earth at the terrible cost of the human ability for love and kindness. In the cudgel view, religion is a harsh crack to the heart and mindl instead of a support. Vance, Trump, and MAGA so exemplify the cudgel that religion is. They love to beat people about the head and body. According to them and many like them, this is how God is--a giant cudgel in the sky. Beating people and the Earth are two of their favorite things. Then, the Catholic church chose another great People Pope, a man who has lived the reality of kindness his whole life as a Priest. The Catholic church will be led again by such a person as Francis, and his great work can continue. This gives me immense hope for the religion this man will lead.
My parting words (at 12 years old), to the last Baptist Preacher I spoke to leaving his fire and brimstone church was that I would never lead a life where my actions were dependent upon the fear of God, I would though, try to be the best person I could be to earn the love of God.