After just now this evening listening to Patrick Madrid on AM 950 Relevant Radio (I have no television in my home) I accept and welcome the new pope with open arms. Viva la papa.
He is an appointee of Pope Francis. Why was he chosen? He doesn't seem to be a doctrinal or liturgical radical, and that's a huge relief, if the case. He could be considered as one from the 'periphery', given his mixed racial/cultural origins, which could have attracted much support for him, particularly from Latin America. Yet, he is also an American, so he straddles the divide. Pope Francis might also have chosen him, because his social views seem to be the ones that are most radical. In a world dominated by the struggle between corporate (unfree market) capitalism and socialism/communism, the social/economic views of Leo XIII as expounded in Rerum novarum might be just what the world needs to hear. We all know how catastrophic socialism is, but predatory, corporate capitalism is engaging, for the last twenty or thirty years, in the greatest theft of wealth from the poorest to the richest known in history. Even Henry VIII might be embarrased at the scale. It's not that long ago that we spoke of 'millionaires', now 'billionaire' is already losing ground to 'trillionaire'. Yet young people can't afford to get married or buy houses. These are more than prudential, worldly issues. Christ's words about the rich and the poor seem like they were spoken more for our time than His on Earth. The divide between rich and poor two millenia ago was nothing like that which exists now, and we know that Christ's words were for all times and this is one example of it. A Gospel-based social message, for Christ's message was partly social, teaching us how to live truly well, one that is unlike the Marxist 'Liberation Theology', could have enormous effects in reviving the Faith. Of course, Man does not live on bread alone, but this implies he needs bread too, along with the satisfying of his spiritual needs, through, with and in, Christ. A concrete papal policy of this kind, instead of the diet of Western self-indulgence in sodomy, sexual identity, feminism and 'forgiveness in the name of all the baptised for the sins against synodality', a diet which the great majority of people reject, would be inspiring, I think.
Corporate capitalism is actually communism in reverse. Communism came militarily paid for by the same gang of bankers. They took away everything from human rights to property, killed your enemies, banned the church and morality. Through consumerism, control over the media, culture and education, and the monopoly over money and bribing politicians, corporate capitalism step by step takes away human dignity, changes man from his definition of what is male and female, what is family, what is a person, the defense of life is prohibited, political enemies are degraded and demonized, and more recently, they are even imprisoned. Through lobbying by politicians, laws are passed that weaken the purchasing power of the individual and money is grouped and power is in the hands of a small majority. The end result of communism/socialism and corporate capitalism is the same. Only the latter is far more insidious and the process of grouping power takes longer. No, more dangerous because it destroys everything on which civilization is based, and ultimately resistance. One real difference is that people who desire hedonism choose for themselves and reject freedom in exchange for a little pleasure. In the end, they will lose both. The Church must return to its foundations, Jesus healed, helped, cared for the hungry and thirsty... But other people, rulers, politicians, and industries can do all of that today. What only the Church can do and what Christ's main task was to give people eternal life. That is the mission of the Church and no one from the Catholic Church can proclaim it and be the basis of that message. Everything else is secondary, and the main focus of the Church must be how to return man to God. A man who is of God and who lives for eternity will care about the environment, his neighbor, and all those things that Pope Francis spoke about. If Pope Leo XIV reawakens that longing for God that exists in every man, then he will, following in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII, do great things for the Church, man, and God.
As I wait to see how Pope Leo XIV begins his pontificate, I am encouraged by this Augustinian prayer that I am sure he is familiar with and prays. I will be adding this to my daily prayers not only for him, but for our world and myself who so needs the Holy Spirit. Holiness is the way. Peace! Holy Spirit Prayer of St. Augustine Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy. Amen
I have read recently that in the UK, housing is increasingly owned by international corporations, the food is increasingly supplied by international corporations, care (nursing) homes are increasingly owned by international corporations. A perfect formula for the encouragement, through brainwashing of a near-Godless populace, of euthanasia. Many of these investors are holders of pension funds. By encouraging euthanasia, they will reduce nursing home costs and simultaneously reduce pension payouts. She might not have foreseen things coming to this, but this is a consequence of Margaret Thatcher's policy of privatisation. It was probably genuinely intended to empower and profit the common man, but it has all been misappropriated by very wicked international players, with the money and power to buy the cooperation of most of our politicians. This is a spiritual and moral evil, of which only The Church seems in a position to be able to oppose. Let's pray that Pope Leo XIV might be the man.
I have been praying hard for our new Pope that he might be given the strength to do God's will no matter the cost.
I listened to our Pope proclaim that we go forward together, united in the peace of Christ. I want that too but I can't help wondering about things. If a large proportion of our Church, maybe even approaching half of it believe that abortion should be legal at least in restricted circumstances such as the first trimester, then how can we go forward united? I am wondering if our Pope does not need to clean shop first. Maybe even gut the place and read the riot act before allowing the sheep to re-enter the pen. I feel a rant coming on. No more of this 'hit-man' stuff while at the same time giving communion to the Nancy Pelosi's of this Church. But I need to contain myself and ask what have I actively done to push back against this situation .... And it is not that I myself have been whiter than white when I knew no better. Lord help us to do what we must do and guide our Pope in Wisdom. Lead us into all Truth. Amen
Rerum Novarum, dated May 15, 1891: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-...nts/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
The Pope met privately with the Cardinals today. Here are his remarks that were made public: Thank you very much, Your Eminence. Before taking our seats, let us begin with a prayer, asking the Lord to continue to accompany this College, and above all the entire Church with this spirit, with enthusiasm, but also with deep faith. Let us pray together in Latin. Pater noster… Ave Maria… In the first part of this meeting, there will be a short talk with some reflections that I would like to share with you. But then there will be a second part, a bit like the opportunity that many of you had asked for: a sort of dialogue with the College of Cardinals to hear what advice, suggestions, proposals, concrete things, which have already been discussed in the days leading up to the Conclave. Dear Brother Cardinals, I greet all of you with gratitude for this meeting and for the days that preceded it. Days that were sad because of the loss of the Holy Father Pope Francis and demanding due to the responsibilities we confronted together, yet at the same time, in accordance with the promise Jesus himself made to us, days rich in grace and consolation in the Spirit (cf. Jn 14:25-27). You, dear Cardinals, are the closest collaborators of the Pope. This has proved a great comfort to me in accepting a yoke clearly far beyond my own limited powers, as it would be for any of us. Your presence reminds me that the Lord, who has entrusted me with this mission, will not leave me alone in bearing its responsibility. I know, before all else, that I can always count on his help, the help of the Lord, and through his grace and providence, on your closeness and that of so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who believe in God, love the Church and support the Vicar of Christ by their prayers and good works. I thank the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re – who deserves applause, at least once, if not more – whose wisdom, the fruit of a long life and many years of faithful service to the Apostolic See, has helped us greatly during this time. I thank the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell – I believe he is present today – for the important and demanding work that he has done throughout the period of the Vacant See and for the convocation of the Conclave. My thoughts also go to our brother Cardinals who, for reasons of health, were unable to be present, and I join you in embracing them in communion of affection and prayer. At this moment, both sad and joyful, providentially bathed in the light of Easter, I would like all of us to see the passing of our beloved Holy Father Pope Francis and the Conclave as a paschal event, a stage in that long exodus through which the Lord continues to guide us towards the fullness of life. In this perspective, we entrust to the “merciful Father and God of all consolation” (2 Cor 1:3) the soul of the late Pontiff and also the future of the Church. Beginning with Saint Peter and up to myself, his unworthy Successor, the Pope has been a humble servant of God and of his brothers and sisters, and nothing more than this. It has been clearly seen in the example of so many of my Predecessors, and most recently by Pope Francis himself, with his example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life, his abandonment to God throughout his ministry and his serene trust at the moment of his return to the Father’s house. Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey, inspired by the same hope that is born of faith. It is the Risen Lord, present among us, who protects and guides the Church, and continues to fill her with hope through the love “poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). It is up to us to be docile listeners to his voice and faithful ministers of his plan of salvation, mindful that God loves to communicate himself, not in the roar of thunder and earthquakes, but in the “whisper of a gentle breeze” (1 Kings 19:12) or, as some translate it, in a “sound of sheer silence.” It is this essential and important encounter to which we must guide and accompany all the holy People of God entrusted to our care. In these days, we have been able to see the beauty and feel the strength of this immense community, which with such affection and devotion has greeted and mourned its Shepherd, accompanying him with faith and prayer at the time of his final encounter with the Lord. We have seen the true grandeur of the Church, which is alive in the rich variety of her members in union with her one Head, Christ, “the shepherd and guardian” (1 Peter2:25) of our souls. She is the womb from which we were born and at the same time the flock (cf. Jn 21:15-17), the field (cf. Mk 4:1-20) entrusted to us to protect and cultivate, to nourish with the sacraments of salvation and to make fruitful by our sowing the seed of the Word, so that, steadfast in one accord and enthusiastic in mission, she may press forward, like the Israelites in the desert, in the shadow of the cloud and in the light of God’s fire (cf. Ex 13:21). In this regard, I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal Church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Pope Francis masterfully and concretely set it forth in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, from which I would like to highlight several fundamental points: the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation (cf. No. 11); the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. No. 9); growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. No. 33); attention to the sensus fidei (cf. Nos. 119-120), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. No. 123); loving care for the least and the rejected (cf. No. 53); courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities (cf. No. 84; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1-2). These are evangelical principles that have always inspired and guided the life and activity of God’s Family. In these values, the merciful face of the Father has been revealed and continues to be revealed in his incarnate Son, the ultimate hope of all who sincerely seek truth, justice, peace and fraternity (cf. Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 2; Francis, Spes Non Confundit, 3). Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour. Dear brothers, I would like to conclude the first part of our meeting by making my own – and proposing to you as well – the hope that Saint Paul VI expressed at the inauguration of his Petrine Ministry in 1963: “May it pass over the whole world like a great flame of faith and love kindled in all men and women of good will. May it shed light on paths of mutual cooperation and bless humanity abundantly, now and always, with the very strength of God, without whose help nothing is valid, nothing is holy” (Message Qui Fausto Die addressed to the entire human family, 22 June 1963). May these also be our sentiments, to be translated into prayer and commitment, with the Lord’s help. Thank you! https://aleteia.org/2025/05/10/pope...ily-&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_term=20250510
I believe he will write an updated version of the document, adding current challenges to labor relations, such as the advancement of artificial intelligence and technology in general, which are eliminating jobs.
Yes. Our beautiful Hispanic Priests asked us to pray everyday for our new Pope. Of course I do that anyway …Carmelites do much praying. .
Q. 1. What does the Catholic Church say about people who make a rash judgment? A. 1. A rash judgment is defined as believing, without sufficient reason, something harmful to another’s character. The Catechism of the Catholic Church forbids such actions as follows: # 2477 "Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury. He becomes guilty:" "- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;" # 2478 "To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:"
Rashness is interesting because it's closer to the virtue of courage than cowardice is. I'd like to generally think of the opposed vices to virtue as being equidistant, but they aren't.
Bless you for posting this, HH. Spiritual pride is a knife hidden deep in some souls. It is not always visible to others but it works its damage nevertheless. Rash judgements is but one of its many consequences. Thank you again for this.
We're heading quickly towards a new era of slavery, where the vast majority will barely subsist and be controlled in their words, actions and even thought by an obscenely wealthy overclass. All this needs to be addressed. It is far more spiritually important than obsession with issues such as climate change, over-population and disease epidemics, not to mention sexual perversion (I recently saw a chart illustrating that, while the actual world population continues to rise, the underlying rate of reproduction has already fallen off a cliff, and the former measurement simply has an inevitable delay. The big problem is going to be depopulation, but that's for the next century). It seems that Pope Leo conceivably has a grasp on the long-term implications of these issues. The uber-capitalists only see people as a barely surviving market for the products of their technology, much of which will make great money for them, while simultaneously brainwashing and mindcontrolling their owners-just think mobile phones and 'ai'. The latter is an extremely dangerous deception. There is no intelligence whatsoever involved, but the gullible will accept it as such. It will have pre-programmed algorithims continuously telling people that Catholicism is hatespeech and that there is no God, so they might as well live for now with the convenient pleasures provided for them on their technological gadgets. God help us, but it's a vision of Hell...but it's already here. The very notion of what it is to be human is on the table.
