Vatican Warns “World Conflict” Could Break Out Over Syria

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On Monday, Monsignor Mario Toso, head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, told Vatican Radio that the war in Syria could escalate into a global conflict, a day after Pope Francisco Bergoglio made an impassioned call for peace, saying, “The Syrian conflict has all the ingredients to explode into a war of global dimensions. The solution to Syria’s problems isn’t an armed intervention. The violence won’t subside and there’s a risk of a conflagration that could extend to other countries”. The comments came after the USA and France sought to build support for strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s régime over allegations it used chemical weapons against its own people on 21 August. According to activists, more than 110,000 people died since the Syrian Civil War began in March 2011. On Saturday, Pope Francisco called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, calling on Christians, believers of other religions, and non-believers to take part.

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Pope Francisco called for a day of fasting and prayer around the world next Saturday for peace in Syria, which would include a vigil on St Peter’s Square. On Sunday, he told a crowd of thousands of pilgrims at the Vatican, “May the cry for peace enter the hearts of everyone so that they may all lay down their weapons”. The pope announced that the prayers would begin with a five-hour vigil in St Peter’s Square, telling the international community it should make “every effort” for peace. His call came as the USA and France were making plans for possible air strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s régime over its alleged use of chemical weapons. Pope Francisco said, “My heart is profoundly wounded in these days by what’s happening in Syria and I’m anxious about the prospect of dramatic developments. I condemn with particular force the use of chemical weapons. I still have in my mind and heart the terrible images of the past days. There’s judgement from God and from history on our actions that no one can escape. Weapons and violence don’t lead to peace, war leads to more war. I hope that a chain of commitment for peace will unite all women and men of good will”.

The pope said that he extended his invitation to push for peace in Syria to all Christians and faithful from other religions, as well as non-believers. He announced that Saturday’s prayers in St Peter’s Square will begin at 17.00 UTC (09.00 PDT. 12.00 EDT. 20.00 MSK. 03.00 8 September AEDT) and end at 22.00 UTC (14.00 PDT. 17.00 EDT. 01.00 8 September MSK. 08.00 8 September AEDT), saying, “With all my strength, I call on the warring parties to listen to the voice of their own consciences, not to close themselves in their own interests, but to look on the other as a brother”. The pope’s comments were his first explicit reference to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. In comments immediately following the claims, the Permanent Observer of Holy See to the UN in Geneva cast doubt on the accusations. Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi CS told Vatican Radio, “What immediate interest would the government in Damascus have in causing such a tragedy? Who does this inhuman crime really benefit?”

1/2 September 2013

Voice of Russia World Service

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_01/Pope-calls-for-world-prayer-day-for-peace-in-Syria-6228/

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_09_02/Vatican-warns-over-Syria-world-conflict-8617/

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28 August 2013. A Slip of the Lip from Our Favourite Jesuit

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The real attitude of the Jesuits to the Orthodox Church, in particular, came out back in 2005, in a statement by Archimandrite (sic) Robert Taft, the prestigious and highly-placed Vice-Rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute:

The motivation for the actions of the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church (sic) comes from a rootless idiosyncrasy; the Orthodox are unable to perceive reality, for they don’t understand the lessons of history. Don’t think that the Patriarch and Synod have as firm a control over the bishops of their Church to the same extent as the Pope of Rome does. The Patriarch of Moscow isn’t equivalent to the Pope of Rome.

There one has it… an unambiguous and unashamed ultramontane statement of papal supremacy. We don’t accept that now… and we never shall. It makes one wonder about Vassa Larina and her obsequious bumsucking of this foul sort, doesn’t it? Why does Hilarion Kapral allow such? After all, it wouldn’t have happened before 2000, would it? I think that in this instance we should go “back to the future”. It’s as always when dealing with official representatives of the papacy… “The Franks speak out of both sides of their mouths”. A Greek said that to me some thirty years ago… it hasn’t changed one iota.

I have NO animus against any Catholic (or against the Catholic Church, for that matter). My belief is simple, “Send us no more letters on doctrine; send us letters of friendship only”. I think that most Orthodox and Catholics would agree with that. The neighbours ARE so nice…

BMD 

 

Pope Francisco Criticises “Savage Capitalism” On Visit to Food Kitchen

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On Tuesday, Pope Francisco Bergoglio criticised what he called “savage capitalism” on a visit to a food kitchen, in an address in which he called for the revival of the values of generosity and charity, saying, “A savage capitalism has taught the logic of profit at any cost, of giving in order to get, of exploitation without thinking of people… and we see the results in the crisis we are experiencing”. Francisco greeted the men and women coming to the “Gift of Maria” food kitchen, located at the walls of the Vatican. The first non-European pontiff in centuries, the Argentine-born pope last week called for financial reform, condemning a “dictatorship of the economy” and a “cult of money”. Francisco has set a simpler style for the papacy since taking office in March, shunning traditional ornate garments, and living in a guesthouse instead of the Apostolic Palace. He said that he wants the 1.2-billion-member Catholic Church to defend the poor and to be more austere itself.

21 May 2013

Naomi O’Leary

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/21/us-pope-capitalism-idUSBRE94K12K20130521

Editor’s Note:

There’s no joy in Mudville… actually, no joy in the District and its suburbs. You see, HH AGREES with Pope Francisco on the topic of capitalism. That is, the leaders of the two largest Christian bodies on the planet see eye-to-eye on the subject of DAS KAPITAL (and its soulless grasping votaries and devotees). They’re both LEFTISTS! They both DISAGREE with Paffhausen, Potapov, Mattingly, and Dreher… indeed, they make it clear that these American gents aren’t only wrong, they’re purveyors of an evil and putrid ideology of greed and godless pride.

As for us Russian Orthodox people, let’s remember Baba and Dede (and how they struggled for what’s right and true and just)… nothing more need be said…

BMD 

Some Vox Pop from the Cabinet:

“I remember my baba going after Metropolitan Leonty because she was worried her grandchildren would leave the Church if the services were only in Slavonic. The convert scum these days don’t know anything about anything”.

‘Nuff said…

BMD

Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev says that Unsettled Problems Must Be Resolved Before there is a Meeting of the Patriarch and the Pope

Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev (1966- ) of Volokolamsk, the head of the MP Department for External Church Relations

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Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, the head of the MP Department for External Church Relations, said that that a crucial step before there could be a meeting between the Pope of Rome and the Patriarch of Moscow and all the Russias would be willingness on the part of the Vatican to solve unsettled problems. “For many years, our position has remained unchanged, we’ve never ruled out the possibility of such a meeting. Both the late Patriarch Aleksei and the current Patriarch Kirill have said this. But, this meeting must be prepared with care so that we can remove existing frictions”, Archbishop Hilarion said in an interview on the TV programme Вести в субботу (Vesti v Subbotu: The News on Saturday) on the Rossiya channel. In his words, the MP expects the Vatican to “take specific actions that would indicate that they’ve a desire to work together with us and to heal the wounds that they dealt to us during the difficult period of the early nineties, when Uniates seized more than 500 Orthodox churches in the Ukraine, and they threw the Orthodox congregations out into the street. Furthermore, we’re tendering specific answers to resolve the problems that exist”, Vladyki Hilarion said. Commenting on the decision to establish diplomatic relations with the Vatican, Archbishop Hilarion said, “This is a welcome step by the Russian state”. At the same time, he pointed up that in inter-church relations, “There are problems that we need to resolve in a completely different way using other means. We’ll not resolve them simply by establishing diplomatic relations. First and foremost, is the problem of the Western Ukraine, where there is enmity in the relations between Orthodox and Greek Catholics (sic)”, he added.

7 December 2009

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=33255

Editor’s Note:

Looks like HA is pouring the expected bucket of ice-cold water on the usual papist propaganda concerning a meeting between the Pope of Rome and Patriarch Kirill. Let’s not mince about the truth… you cannot trust papist sources such as Asia News, Zenit, Walter Kasper, and even such minor internet sources as Byzantine Texas in this regard. Such sources are the equivalent of Herr Göbbels and his Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment. The papists are trying desperately to affix us to their dying confession. Let’s not succumb to their blandishments. I’m going to translate an interview with the late Fr Mikhail Shuvar, who suffered permanent injury because Uniate and schismatical thugs beat him with iron bars. If you excuse Uniates… you stand with those who beat Fr Mikhail, there’s no other way of putting it. This means that Andrei Psaryov and Vassa Larin, by praising the Uniate Robert Taft, struck at the Church with iron bars (and approved of Fr Mikhail’s beating by their approval of a Jesuit impostor). Don’t say that I speak for the “Church of Fear”… what childish and rubbishy nonsense. I stand for the “Church of Bravery”… along with the Martyrs of the Butovo Poligon, Minin, Pozharsky, the “prisoners of conscience” of the 80s, Aleksandr Isaievich Solzhenitsyn, and all the brave Orthodox people injured and killed by Uniate thugs in the last 20 years. I do daresay that the “Church of Fear” crowd is huddled in a corner, in checkmate. Why don’t they just go off to the Russicum… it’s where they belong, after all… and it would be honest!

The papists aren’t sorry for what they did in the 90s, they aren’t sorry for the Unia, and they aren’t sorry that they brought Islam into the heart of Europe by attacking the bulwark of Christendom, the Empire of the Romans. They haven’t changed in the slightest, and anybody who thinks that they have is daft and requires a long rest. The Pope of Rome still expects all of us to kiss his bum and declare him “infallible”… that hasn’t changed either. Don’t talk to me about that supposed 30 November 2009 letter from Benny to Black Bart. It was an empty-headed non-starter; it assumes that Bart is the “Orthodox Pope”, which, of course, he’s not. By not sending a copy to KMG, Benny offended the MP… and he shall NEVER get his meeting and photo op. You see, his meeting with Bart didn’t produce the desired result. None of the other Orthodox listened; the situation remained unchanged. However, he torpedoed any chance of a meeting with KMG by slighting him. Silly wabbit… expect the usual Sturm und Drang from the usual sources. For the umpteenth time… there’s going to be NO meeting between KMG and Benny… not now, not soon, not any time later either. The papists aren’t going to rein in their Uniate attack dogs, so, that’s that. Let’s roll up this pointless dialogue so that we can concentrate on being good neighbours. Now, that’s something we can all agree upon!

BMD