Pope Benedict on Twitter

As you know, Pope Benedict has decided to enter the world of Twitter. His account will not be active until December 12, 2012 and he has not yet posted a single tweet but already has more than 300,000 followers. He will, of course, end up with millions of followers. His Twitter name, in case you are interested, is @Pontifex. He will, however, not be replying to any messages you send. 

The Popes again

It seems that Pope Benedict has again annoyed some Jews - this time over his decision to have the late Pope Pius considered for election to sainthood. On a prior occasion it was due to his lifting of the excommunication of a bishop who was forever denying the Holocaust. Then, there was the deal with the Latin Mass. And his visit to some Jewish site (where he did not mention the murders at the concentration camps or something to that effect) also annoyed them. In the meantime, Benedict has perfected a way of just brushing the complaints to one side and pushing forward. One of these days, Benedict will propose a merger of Church and State as a realistic solution to tensions around the world. That might annoy everybody, except perhaps this topless woman.

Bishops and Rabbis

The Chief Rabbis of both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic branches of Jews signed some letter expressing consternation and severing ties to the Vatican because the Pope reinstated some wayward Bishops, one of which is a Holocaust denier. The group representing the rabbis also canceled some meeting between the Vatican and the rabbinate which was set for March. The Pope must have known that the Rabbis would squirm once they found out. I think he sort of asked them to reconsider their protest but he did not apologize. Since the Pope is infallible, can he change his mind on reinstating that particular Bishop? The situation is kind of interesting. Most people do not know that one of the biggest anti-Jewish persons in history was none other than Martin Luther – the founder of Protestantism. It appears there are more than enough skeletons in all the closets to make for interesting conversations among people who like to talk about religion.

Church on Sunday

From Yahoo! News: “VATICAN CITY – The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI is getting his own channel on Google. It says the Vatican TV Center and Vatican Radio are collaborating with Google on the project. The Vatican's press office said Saturday that texts and video of the pope's speeches as well as news about the pontiff would be posted directly onto the channel. It says more information will be given next week. The Vatican began using its Web site widely to publish teachings and pronouncements under the late Pope John Paul II.” This might make it easier for the Church and the State to re-unite. What do I know? Nothing, that’s what. If commerce can be globalized, why not religion?

Now what?

From a story in Yahoo! this morning: (Although there is not even a slight hint of frustration in the Pope’s message, we can only imagine what he feels as he realizes that the scope of his political authority (he is powerless) is not nearly equivalent to his moral authority (he is powerful). After more than 400 years of church and state separation, perhaps the time has come to unite church and state once again. Dare anyone say it? “VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI warned in his Christmas message Thursday that the world was headed toward ruin if selfishness prevails over solidarity during tough economic times for rich and poor nations. The traditional papal Christmas Day message "Urbi et Orbi" — Latin for "to the City and to the World" — usually covers the globe's hot spots, but this year Benedict also addressed the economic conditions worrying many across the planet amid near-daily news of layoffs, failing companies and people losing homes. Benedict told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square that God's saving grace could "alone transform evil into good" and "change human hearts, making them oases of peace." Benedict dedicated part of his message to Africa, singling out Zimbabwe, where hunger is spreading and deepening. He said that people there were "trapped for too long in a political and social crisis which, sadly, keeps worsening." Millions of Zimbabwe's people need food aid, and a cholera epidemic has sharpened problems in a country once considered Africa's breadbasket. Suffering also continues in the war-ravaged region of Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and in Darfur, the pope added. In Somalia, people are weighed down with "interminable sufferings" as "the tragic consequences of the lack of stability and peace," he said. The girl at left is happy about something but we don't know what.