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The Roman Catholic Church

ramonmercado

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Couldnt find any thread for religious thefts. Wonder what they'll do with the chair & processional cross? Sell them to another Bishop? (edit: typo)

04/03/2006
CATHOLIC CHURCH REPORTS THEFT OF BISHOP'S CHAIR AND CRICIFIX
By KENNETH DEAN, Staff Writer

Detectives with the Tyler Police Department are investigating the weekend burglary of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on South Broadway.


Don Martin, the department's public information officer, said police were called to the church Saturday when officials learned two key items from the sanctuary had been stolen.

Martin said the theft of the Bishop's chair and a crucifix was an estimated loss of about $3,000. Martin also added there had been no reported church burglaries in Tyler in the past several months.

"We haven't had really any burglaries at local churches, but we have had some thefts of purses while people were at lunch or left the room for something," he said.

Monsignor Joe Strickland said the burglary occurred Saturday morning between 9 and 11 a.m.

"I went in to prepare for a wedding and I noticed the Bishop's chair (called a Cathedra) and the Processional Cross were both missing," he said.

The Monsignor said it would take at least two people to carry the chair, which is made of oak and rather large.

"It is a large oak wooden chair with upholstery and the Bishop's Crest on the seat back," he said.

The Monsignor said the wooden cross is between four and five feet tall with the body of Christ on it.

"My first thought was who could have borrowed them and why - then I realized the items had been stolen," he said. "I have heard that having your home robbed leaves you feeling violated and this is our spiritual home."

The Monsignor said the church has been vandalized in the past, but he could not recall a burglary.

Anyone with information about the burglary is encouraged to contact the Tyler Police Department at (903) 531-1000 or Crimestoppers at (903) 597-2833.

Cross & Chair
 
Pretty weird.

I mean, how many fake bishops can there be out there needing the acoutrements...
 
Pretty weird.

I mean, how many fake bishops can there be out there needing the acoutrements...

I can think of one but I better not mention him...
 
Bishop.gif
 
yes. that looks like him. the missing piece of the cranium would explain a lot.
 
"OK, Devious, don't move!"

"The Bishop!"
 
ramonmercado said:
"I can think of one but I better not mention him..."

If you're thinking of the same fellow whom I'm not going to mention either he has a quite legitimate Old Catholic ordination. Or as the Roman Church would phrase it, "valid but illicit."
 
I don't know how things stand today but in my Roman Catholic youth almost every individual parish church had a high-backed, heavy, carved wooden Bishop's Chair which was dragged out for confirmations, priestly ordinations and the like. It saved the Bishop from having to drive from church to church with a throne tied to the roof of his automobile.

So they're not uncommon. In fact a near-relative, an active Catholic, bought one surplus and used it as a piece of ornately-detailed living room furniture.

I sat in it enough times that I'm probably entitled to hear confessions. Females only, please.
 
They haven't gone away you know.

Knights of Malta Catholic order celebrates 900 years
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21388516

Today's order is upholding the values of the ancient Knights Hospitallers

The Knights of Malta military order of the Catholic church - which dates back to the time of the Crusades - has celebrated its 900th birthday in Rome.

The order is one of the few created in the Middle Ages that is still active.

It has now become a major international humanitarian organisation.

The order says that its battles today are no longer fought with swords, but with "peaceful tools against disease, poverty, social isolation as well as protecting the faith".

It was officially recognised by Pope Paschal II in February 1113.

Poverty, chastity and obedience
More than 1,000 knights and dames from more than 100 countries - all dressed in flowing black robes bearing their order's distinctive eight-pointed cross on their shoulders - walked in procession into St Peter's Basilica.

Continue reading the main story
The Knights of Malta
Believed to have been formed around 1048
Also known as Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem
Founder was called Blessed Gerard
All members are expected to conduct their lives in an "exemplary manner"
They must live in conformity with the teachings of the Catholic Church
They must also devote themselves to humanitarian assistance
Ancient Knights in modern world
They attended a Mass led by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone.

At the end of the ceremony, the knights were addressed by Pope Benedict XVI who congratulated them for their charitable work among the sick and the poor.

"Your esteemed and beneficent activity, carried out in a variety of fields and in different parts of the world... is not mere philanthropy, but an effective expression and a living testimony of evangelical love," the pontiff said.

The current Grand Master of the Order, Briton Matthew Festing, told the BBC: "It's interesting that a small band of Crusaders has expanded into this huge worldwide organisation.

"The reason we've survived is because we have changed from knights in armour to what we are now in the 21st Century. We are still doing what we did then, looking after the sick."

The order was originally founded by a group of aristocratic European Crusaders who looked after sick pilgrims in Jerusalem in the 12th Century, when they received official papal recognition.

Centuries later, they were chased from their headquarters in Malta by Napoleon and now have their headquarters in an ancient palace in the smartest and most fashionable shopping area of central Rome.

Today they run hospitals and humanitarian operations in more than 120 countries.

Our correspondent says that the order is eager to shed its image as a club for wealthy European aristocrats and is now searching for new talent to continue its worldwide mission.
 
Catholic Church linked to Uganda child labour

During his November visit to Africa, the continent which now counts nearly 200m Roman Catholics, Pope Francis said that children were some of the greatest victims of Africa's historical exploitation by other powers. He also urged young Africans to resist corruption. But should the Vatican be doing more to put its own house in order? A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence that church land in Uganda is being used for child labour.

... Earlier this year, Mr Turyaritunga made allegations to the BBC about child labour taking place on Church-owned land in Kabale. He alleged that children as young as 10 were working on a tea plantation on the land, and that the Catholic Church was profiting. ...

Child labour is without doubt a big issue in Uganda, where the UN estimates that there are three million child workers. The latest figures estimate that 30% of children aged between five and 14 are engaged in child labour, despite 14 being the earliest age where it is legal for a child to work.

When we arrived in Kabale, we were introduced to a supervisor at the enterprise who spoke to us on the condition that we kept his identity secret. The supervisor told us that children did work on the farm. Their pay ranged from 1,000 Ugandan shillings (20p; $0.30) to 2,000 Ugandan shillings per day. ...

In an effort to determine exactly who owned the plantation, we went to the local land registry and sought proof that the land belonged to the Church.

A local Catholic Church official confirmed to us that there had been "a business deal between the diocese and Kigezi Highland Tea" since 2013.

The official said that the decision to harvest tea came "through the financial sustainability plan committee" of the diocese. ...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35220869
 
Italian elected new leader of Order of Malta
AFPApril 29, 2017

Rome (AFP) - A 72-year-old Italian medieval art expert was on Saturday elected to head the Order of Malta, the world's oldest chivalric order.

Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto takes the reins for one year after Pope Francis ordered the resignation in January of the Order's Grand Master, Britain's Matthew Festing, following a power struggle.

A centuries-old lay religious mission, the order provides humanitarian aid in crisis zones around the world.

It comprises 13,500 members ranked by their noble titles and who are expected to lead an exemplary Christian life while participating in the Order's charity activities.

The influential Order of Malta, founded in Jerusalem and recognised by the pope in 1113, operates in around 120 countries and is one of the biggest landowners in Italy.

Only 12 of the Order's 56 "professed knights" -- the missions's top tier of membership -- were able to show evidence of sufficiently noble lineage to become Grand Master.

Di Sanguinetto was chosen after Pope Francis on Wednesday received 15 of the knights and handed them a letter encouraging reform but also restating his authority as head of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/italian-...a-173713030.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw
 
Odd for this old thread to pop up now - I was planning to do some research on the Knights of Malta, having seen some of their influence in Prague! :huh:
 
Another interesting book review.

Catholicism as Contradiction
March 30, 2018
Katherine Dugan reviews The Anthropology of Catholicism: A Reader
Screen-Shot-2018-03-28-at-10.43.08-AM-199x300.png

The Anthropology of Catholicism: A Reader, ed. Kristin Norget, Valentina Napolitano, Maya Mayblin.
Pope Francis’ recent trip to South America was one of the most embroiled of his five years as pope thus far. Protesters burned churches in advance of his visit, claiming that the Catholic Church in Chile had participated in the oppression of the native Mapuche people. Others protested the pope during Mass, citing the appointment of a bishop with close ties to priests found guilty of sexually abusing minors. At the same time, the devout came out in droves: an estimated one million people attended the papal Mass in Peru. During a ride on his popemobile, a police officer was thrown from her horse and Francis hurried to attend to her. A video of the incident went viral among the pope’s adoring fans. Media coverage in the U.S. highlighted his meetings with the poor and the two Chilean flight attendants he married aboard an airplane.

Pope Francis’ visit illustrates several contradictions embedded in contemporary Catholicism: the wealth of the Vatican and the world’s poorest people. The confidence of Catholic teachings paired with the questions of individual Catholics. The hierarchy’s assertion of moral virtue next to the atrocities of the sexual abuse crisis. The international presence alongside a multitude of local prayer practices. These contradictions are stitched into the fabric of Catholicism.

Catholicism is also an institution, a set of practices, a transnational population, and a cross-cultural phenomenon thatcuts across historical contexts and social locations, withstands controversy and outlasts governments. In an effort to categorize this expanse, Catholic priest and sociologist Andrew Greeley once proposed that there is a “Catholic imagination”—a Catholic view of the world that assumes God is immanent in human life and that words, objects, and people of Catholicism can reveal God “lurking in daily life.” The editors of The Anthropology of Catholicism: A Reader ask readers“if there were such a thing as a ‘broader Catholic view of reality,’ what would it look like?”

Taking that question as a starting point, this collection proposes that the “anthropology of Catholicism” is an emergent subfield in the anthropology of religion. The twenty-four chapters outline the contours of the field from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. ...

https://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/catholicism-as-contradiction/
 
An organisation such as the Catholic Church are bound to have some skeletons in their closet.

One of them has now been found: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46040003

They believe it may be the daughter of a vatican employee, who vanished 35 years ago. How it then ended up in a vatican property, well that I can't say.
 
Fighting over pennies from Heaven.

Rome and the Catholic Church fighting over change tossed into the Trevi Fountain

Every year, visitors to Rome's famed Trevi Fountain toss in more than $1.7 million in coins. Historically, the Catholic charity Caritas has taken that money to help poor people. Now though, Rome mayor Virginia Raggi wants the cash for repairs to the city's infrastructure. From the BBC News:

 
Fighting over pennies from Heaven.

Rome and the Catholic Church fighting over change tossed into the Trevi Fountain

Every year, visitors to Rome's famed Trevi Fountain toss in more than $1.7 million in coins. Historically, the Catholic charity Caritas has taken that money to help poor people. Now though, Rome mayor Virginia Raggi wants the cash for repairs to the city's infrastructure. From the BBC News:

Give it to the needy, they should have enough money in Rome for repairs.
 
Pope Francis has admitted that clerics have sexually abused nuns, and in one case they were kept as sex slaves.
He said in that case his predecessor, Pope Benedict, was forced to shut down an entire congregation of nuns who were being abused by priests.
It is thought to be the first time that Pope Francis has acknowledged the sexual abuse of nuns by the clergy.

Last November, the Catholic Church's global organisation for nuns denounced the "culture of silence and secrecy" that prevented them from speaking out.
Just days ago the Vatican's women's magazine, Women Church World, condemned the abuse, saying in some cases nuns were forced to abort priests' children - something Catholicism forbids.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47134033
 
Emphasis mine
But on Friday (Saturday NZT), an Italian journalist said he was tipped off by a Vatican source that some statistics were hiding in plain sight - buried in a section of the Holy See website. The collection of pages shows hundreds of abuse cases annually being handed by bishops to the Vatican's disciplinary body, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, or CDF.
Abuse statistics found buried on Vatican's website
Article originally in L'Espresso cited by Stuff NZ
 
I always thought that Cardinal Angelo Scola would have made a wonderful Pope...
I believe that was a Coca-Cola conspiracy to ensure the Catholic Church was never run by Pope Scola.

l fancied the chances of Cardinal Francesco “Coke” Coccopalmerio, but opinion polls showed that he suffered from low public identification.

95% of Catholics couldn’t tell the difference between “Coke” and Pope Scola.

maximus otter
 
More than just semantics involved in this. a bit like the understanding of The Real Presence. Don't know if there's an Irish connection to the change.

Symbolic
What next? Now the Vatican is promoting an alteration in the wording of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’s reported recommendation of what Christians should ask for from the deity. This can be found in two of the gospels - Matthew vi,13 and Luke xi,2 - which the Anglican ‘authorised version’ gives as “Lead us not into temptation”.

Pope Francis prefers “Do not let us fall into temptation” - a change approved last month by the Episcopal Conference of Italy. Apparently the problem with the standard version is that it suggests that it is the Almighty who tempts, rather than that being the work of the devil. The move has annoyed some traditionalist Catholics (eg, Philip Lawler, editor of a conservative website, Catholic World News) on the grounds that the changed wording misleads people and is not a correct translation of the original Greek (What Jesus said in his original Aramaic has not survived in written form).

On this last point the traditionalists are right, as the Greek in both gospels runs: “Me eisenengkes hemas eis peirasmon” - literally “Do not bring us into temptation”. It may be observed, however, that all the verbs here are active ones. “Let us fall” is admittedly not such a strong expression as “lead” or “bring”, but the Heavenly Father is by no means entirely removed from the picture. Yet, curiously, the standard Irish translation of the phrase is exactly that proposed by the Pope - “Na lig sinn i gcathu”: ie, ‘Do not allow us to fall’. This must have come from somewhere - perhaps Irish correspondents can explain.

In any case, the change proposed is highly symbolic, like the dreaded ‘backstop’ in the current Brexit drama.

Chris Gray

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1255/letters/
 
The Vatican gets with the times.

The Vatican is hoping to pull in tech-savvy youngsters with the launch of an "eRosary" bracelet.

The gadget, which costs $109 (£85), can be worn as a bracelet and is activated by making the sign of a cross. It is connected to the "Click to Pray eRosary" app, which is designed to help Catholic users pray for world peace and contemplate the gospel. The app tracks a user's progress, and contains visual and audio explanations of the rosary. The traditional rosary is used to aid prayer and meditation. Its beads are counted as prayers are recited. Users can choose from three ways of praying. There is the standard rosary, a contemplative rosary or a thematic rosary.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50081466
 
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