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The press, making some attempts at respect, are clearly disappointed. They wanted a more progressive Pope, with updated beliefs-- more in sync with American progressivism.
And American politicians like V.P. Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and others who claim Catholicism, but stand against some of the most fundamental doctrines of the church---abortion and same-sex "marriage," have got to have regrets. How are they going to square what they say they believe with their deeds?
The Pope
Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now known as Pope Francis I, is said to be very compassionate.
It is said, a few years ago he asked for a bottle of water while visiting a hospice. When given the water, he washed the feet of 12 men suffering with AIDS and prayed for them.
He is also said to be a man of simplicity, austerity and gentleness. They say he is smart, articulate and winsome, with a charismatic personality.
Yesterday, he slipped out of the Vatican for a private prayer in a nearby church.
He is also committed to evangelization. He feels Christians must not only talk the walk, but also walk the talk.
In his homily, the new Pope said, "We can walk all we want, we can build many things, but if we don't proclaim Jesus Christ, something is wrong. We would become a compassionate NGO and not a church which is the bride of Christ."
He continued, "When we walk without the cross, when we proclaim Christ without the cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly."
He is also very biblically conservative on social issues. And that will become problematic for the press and the politicians.
In speaking against a bill to re-define marriage in Argentina he said, "The Argentine people will face a situation whose outcome can seriously harm the family. At stake is the identity and survival of the family: father, mother and children. At stake are the lives of many children who will be discriminated against in advance, and deprived of their human development given by a father and a mother and willed by God. At stake is the total rejection of God's law engraved in our hearts."
He described the effort to re-define marriage as the work of the devil---the "Father of Lies."
He says homosexual "marriage" is a destructive attack on God's plan and an attempt to deceive God's children.
He has said that homosexual adoption is a form of "discrimination against children."
"We aren't in agreement with the death penalty," he told his countrymen, "but in Argentina we have a death penalty. A child conceived in the rape of a mentally ill or retarded woman can be condemned to death."
The new Pope believes, "We should be conscious that people cannot receive holy communion and at the same time act or speak against the commandments, in particular when abortion, euthanasia, and other serious crimes against life and family are facilitated. This responsibility particularly applies to legislators, governors and health professionals."
He seems to be very clear on social issues. That will become "controversial" with the press and the politicians who claim the Catholic faith.
The Press
While the press is not so bothered with his call for evangelization or his call to walk the talk and take up the cross of Christ, they are troubled with his biblical beliefs on abortion and homosexual behavior.
CBS wasted little time emphasizing the new Pope's "conservative" views on abortion, homosexual "marriage," homosexual adoption and birth control.
They pointed out how the Pope's doctrinal stand has "not made him popular with relatively progressive Jesuit brothers.
CBS and NBC have been hyping the idea that "the church is out of touch with more than half the Catholics in the U.S."
They have been making statements such as, "How most Americans will react to the conservative philosophy of the Pope remains to be seen." I've already heard that line several times.
Yesterday, the CBS Morning Show debated whether we would see changes in the Pope's beliefs regarding abortion, same-sex marriage and homosexual adoption, now that he is Pope.
Hoping, of course, that the Pope will "evolve" on these fundamental issues as many politicians are doing.
The Politicians
There was a time that both Governor Bill Clinton and Senator Al Gore both claimed, in writing, to be pro-life. I have a copy of the letter they sent to National Right to Life affirming it.
Vice President Joe Biden has explained he was pro-life when he was first elected to Congress, but later came to realize that was not expedient and has become a friend of the abortion industry.
Only months ago President Obama said he believed marriage was between one man and one woman. Now he is a great warrior and ally in the battle to redefine marriage.
He says he "evolved."
It was announced yesterday that VP Joe Biden will lead a delegation from the United States to the installation of the Pope in Rome next week.
Life News published this yesterday afternoon:
Never mind that Vice President Joe Biden has been rebuked by his own bishop over his pro-abortion views, he will lead the U.S. delegation to the installation of Pope Francis, the White House said today.
Biden is the first Catholic to serve as vice president and he will represent the United States at the installation Mass for Pope Francis on March 19, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Tom Rosica confirmed today.
Biden’s own bishop has had to correct the pro-abortion politician on his misstating the pro-life teachings of the Catholic Church.
In the interview with the Delaware News Journal, Biden continued to misrepresent the position of the Catholic Church on abortion in a way that has gotten him in trouble.
“But throughout the church’s history, we’ve argued between whether or not it is wrong in every circumstance and the degree of wrong. Catholics have this notion, it’s almost a gradation,” Biden claimed.
Not so, says Rev. W. Francis Malooly, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington.
He wrote in a letter to the editor that Biden “presents a seriously erroneous picture of Catholic teaching on abortion.”
“This is simply incorrect,” he says of Biden’s interpretation. “The teaching of the Church is clear and not open to debate. Abortion is a grave sin because it is the wrongful taking of an innocent human life.
“The Church received the tradition opposing abortion from Judaism. In the Greco-Roman world, early Christians were identifiable by their rejection of the common practices of abortion and infanticide,” Malooly goes on to say.
“The Didache, probably the earliest Christian writing apart from the New Testament, explicitly condemns abortion without exceptions,” he continues. “This has been the consistent teaching of the Church ever since.”
We live in a morally conflicted time. This is an example. VP Biden says he is a devout Catholic, but doesn't believe, perhaps doesn't even understand what his church teaches.
Worse, President Obama claims to be a Christian, however denies that Jesus is the only way to God. How can one claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but claim not to believe the teaching of Jesus Christ who says He is the only way to the Father ( John 14:6)?
Which brings me to this.
Who should be speaking truth to the culture? Talk show hosts? Politicians? The Press?
If pastors are silent on the moral issues facing our culture, who then will speak the truth?
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