Tag Archives: Vatican

POPE FRANCIS DELEGATES PAPAL DUTIES IN ASIA TO PHILIPPINE CARDINAL LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE

March 17, 2014 Pol Pinoy 11 Comments

The Vatican, Italy – Pope Francis continues to send shockwaves to Catholics and others worldwide with his radical actions and pronouncements, many of which break away from centuries-old Vatican dogma and practices.

In his latest move, Pope Francis announced that he is delegating the papal duties to selected cardinals in various continents. His first appointment is Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the young and charismatic bishop from the Philippines who was on the short list of candidates during Pope Francis’ election last year. Tagle will be the new pope for the Asian continent. Pope Francis is expected to announce the other popes for Africa, South America, North America, Antartica and Australia in the next few weeks. He is not appointing a pope for Europe since The Vatican is already in the European continent.

The Vatican said that this new arrangement will bring the papacy closer to the people around the world.

Soon after the announcement, The Boston Globe published this in-depth interview with Cardinal Tagle, calling him the Philippine Pope Francis.

See related article: “Pope Francis Scolds President Obama.”

International, Politics, Religion

OBAMA’S AUDIENCE WITH POPE FRANCIS WILL BE VOID OF THE USUAL PROTOCOL

January 22, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

The Vatican – When in Rome, do as the Romans do; when in The Vatican, do as the Pope does.

Both The Vatican and The White House have confirmed that U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Pope Francis on March 27. It is no secret that Obama had always wanted to have an audience with the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Obama’s official visit to The Vatican will not be like any other by a sitting U.S. president. Pope Francis has insisted that any bureaucratic and elitist protocols by The White House or the U.S. State Department must be thrown out the door the moment Obama steps into Vatican territory.

No secret service agents will be allowed past the gates of The Vatican. There will not be any presidential limousine that will take Obama into and around The Vatican (Instead, the Obamas will share rides with the Pope in his old, borrowed Fiat). Both Barack and Michelle will stay in the same apartment that Pope Francis is staying in along with other Roman priests. And instead of the usual state dinner, the Obamas will join Pope Francis that evening in sneaking out of The Vatican to minister to the homeless.

The Obamas seem not to have any problems with The Vatican’s conditions, except for one thing: the Obamas cannot bring First Dog Bo into the papal apartment because Pope Francis is allergic to dogs. That means Bo will have to stay behind in Washington, D.C. in the care of the Obamas’ pet sitter.

Religion

VATICAN CONFESSIONALS OVERWHELMED WITH WOMEN AND GAY FAITHFUL

December 14, 2013 Pol Pinoy 3 Comments

The Vatican, Italy – The Roman Catholic Church in Rome is experiencing an unprecedented surge in Catholics going to confession that it had to pull out some of the antique confessional boxes it had previously donated to museums throughout Italy and elsewhere in Europe. The surge consists mostly of women and gay Catholics.

The Roman Curia, considered the council of elders of The Vatican, said that in the last week alone, an estmated 300,000 faithful flocked to confessionals in various churches in Rome. It attributed the uptick to the recently-released Vatican 2014 calendar which features some of the best-looking priests in The Vatican.

The Curia refused to confirm whether the upsurge was an unintended consequence of the calendar or whether the calendar was part of The Vatican’s marketing ploy to attract more Catholics to the confessional boxes. “Either way, it is a win-win situation for the Vatican,” said one recovering Catholic gay man as he left the confessional box to do his penance of three “Hail Mary’s.”

The Roman Priests calendars are being sold in Vatican streets for 10 Euros each.