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 Pope Francis delivers a prayer from the window of his apartment at the Vatican on November 17.
December 5th, 2013
01:33 PM ET
Vatican unveils commission to combat sexual abuseBy Hada Messia, CNN Rome (CNN)–Pope Francis is creating a commission to prevent the abuse of minors and to support victims of abuse, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley announced Thursday in Rome. The new commission is expected to tell church officials to collaborate with civil authorities and report cases of abuse, O'Malley said. But he also said that the church has focused on the judicial aspect of sexual abuse in the past, and that Pope Francis now wants to focus on the pastoral side, and caring for victims. FULL STORY
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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The Scripture readings proclaimed to us have as their common theme the centrality of Christ. Christ is at the centre, Christ is the centre. Christ is the centre of creation, Christ is the centre of his people and Christ is the centre of history.
1. The apostle Paul, in the second reading, taken from the letter to the Colossians, offers us a profound vision of the centrality of Jesus. He presents Christ to us as the first-born of all creation: in him, through him and for him all things were created. He is the centre of all things, he is the beginning: Jesus Christ, the Lord. God has given him the fullness, the totality, so that in him all things might be reconciled (cf. Col 1:12-20). He is the Lord of creation, he is the Lord of reconciliation.
This image enables to see that Jesus is the centre of creation; and so the atti/tude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works. And so our thoughts will be Christian thoughts, thoughts of Christ. Our works will be Christian works, works of Christ; and our words will be Christian words, words of Christ. But when this centre is lost, when it is replaced by something else, only harm can result for everything around us and for ourselves.
–Pope Francis.
2. Besides being the centre of creation and the centre of reconciliation, Christ is the centre of the people of God. Today, he is here in our midst. He is here right now in his word, and he will be here on the altar, alive and present amid us, his people. We see this in the first reading which describes the time when the tribes of Israel came to look for David and anointed him king of Israel before the Lord (cf. 2 Sam 5:1-3). In searching for an ideal king, the people were seeking God himself: a God who would be close to them, who would accompany them on their journey, who would be a brother to them.
Christ, the descendant of King David, is really the “brother” around whom God’s people come together. It is he who cares for his people, for all of us, even at the price of his life. In him we are all one, one people, united with him and sharing a single journey, a single destiny. Only in him, in him as the centre, do we receive our ident/ity as a people.
–Pope Francis
More religious drivel.
But keep up the faith, the religious scammers need to eat too.
3. Finally, Christ is the centre of the history of humanity and also the centre of the history of every individual. To him we can bring the joys and the hopes, the sorrows and troubles which are part of our lives. When Jesus is the centre, light shines even amid the darkest times of our lives; he gives us hope, as he does to the good thief in today’s Gospel.
Whereas all the others treat Jesus with disdain – “If you are the Christ, the Messiah King, save yourself by coming down from the cross!” – the thief who went astray in his life but now repents, clings to the crucified Jesus and begs him: “Remember me, when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). Jesus promises him: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43), in his kingdom. Jesus speaks only a word of forgiveness, not of condemnation; whenever anyone finds the courage to ask for this forgiveness, the Lord does not let such a peti/tion go unheard. Today we can all think of our own history, our own journey. Each of us has his or her own history: we think of our mistakes, our sins, our good times and our bleak times. We would do well, each one of us, on this day, to think about our own personal history, to look at Jesus and to keep telling him, sincerely and quietly: “Remember me, Lord, now that you are in your kingdom! Jesus, remember me, because I want to be good, but I just don’t have the strength: I am a sinner, I am a sinner. But remember me, Jesus! You can remember me because you are at the centre, you are truly in your kingdom!” How beautiful this is! Let us all do this today, each one of us in his or her own heart, again and again. “Remember me, Lord, you who are at the centre, you who are in your kingdom”.
Jesus’ promise to the good thief gives us great hope: it tells us that God’s grace is always greater than the prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more, he is so generous, he always gives more than what he has been asked: you ask him to remember you, and he brings you into his kingdom!
Let us ask the Lord to remember us, in the certainty that by his mercy we will be able to share his glory in paradise. Let us go forward together on this road!
Amen!
–Pope Francis
Vines- Gods people were not idolaters, nor they invalidated Gods word with traditions of men!
And yet you accept the teachings/writings of "saint" Paul? Seems to me that is the definition of the "traditions of men".
Why form a commission when you can just change the ridiculous rule that priests can't get married? God never said we can't reproduce. We're supposed to do just that.
Sorry to bring a bit of clarity to you post, but pedophiles don't prey on children because they are not married.
They do it because they are sick. They find se xual gratification in children.
Just like people who find se xual grat in animals, etc.
Just because they could get married would not change them.
Jerry Sandusky was married yet was a huge child predator for all of his life.
Thank you for a concise post.
Don't be fooled folks, this is only happening because the church has lost too much money and this is affecting their core business model.
Religions are nothing more than corporations like Ni ke or MickeyD'.s.
Complete with their own corporate logos.
Nike is the winged goddess of victory.... they have taken another god before their god, who will smite them with his smitiest smite.
That would be some really bad smiting.
All trinitarian a celebrate Christmas... It doesn't surprise me, since their triune god is also pagan.
What does the bible say about mixing Christianity with paganism?
2 Cor 6:15-17: "15 Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Be′li·al? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a living God; just as God said: “I will reside among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 “‘Therefore, get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’”; “
What does a rational mind think of mixing stone age myths with a modern western life?
Well, you know by now the answer to that JWMarriott.
AS I posted below – they are not celebrating the pagan hiloday.
The started celebrating the birth of their savior on the same day as a Roman holiday to avoid getting fed to lions in the arena.
I might have understood it wrong, but I thought they moved Jeebus day to the winter solstice to coopted the celebration of the Wickens etc who had that day already.
Either way, Jeebus never existed so I guess they can celebrate it whenever they think will draw more fools to the collection plate.
Alias- if I pass by your house and I don't know you, and I see all the Christmas decor, I think your celebrating a pagan celebration.
The first century Christians never celebrated that pagan tradition, they preferred dying loyal to their God then practicing paganism in Rome. The ones that celebrate that we're already deviating from the original church, and not loyal to God rather then men.
As I said – they were not celebrating the pagan holiday. What thet menas is, they were celebrating their own savior on that day. The pagan tree and all is a modern tradition, and had nothing to do with 1st century celebrations.
Celebrate birthdays was considered pagan as well, And Jesus never told his followers to celebrate his birth, only his death. If I pass by your house, you would still look like an unbeliever to me and to others that pass by you.
JWs do celebrate wedding anniversaries, though. What's up with that?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeedE8vH1FQ
If your goal is to prove that Coldplay is terrible then well done. If that is not your intention then why are you posting this on every article.
1. There is no God.
2. I hate him!!!!!!!
"Hate the belief, not the believer" – that's my motto...
There is only one -N- in tenet.
2 should read "Try to save the deluded from those who only want them for their money and political support.'
But nice try.
Wrong on both counts.
Most atheists don't say there are no gods, they say they don't believe there are any gods. Me, I put the probability that there are any gods anywhere at nearly zero and the probability of the god of The Babble existing at less than that, but I also admit that there might be one or gods somewhere in the universe.
Atheists don't hate things they don't believe exist, therefore they don't hate god(s).
It is the believers hatred toward atheism being projected on the atheists, as if any atheist hates something that they do not believe....simple projection...like when they say it takes faith to not believe...they just don't get it.
They sure don't.
But since they are the descendants of the same people who kept clinging to the idea that the world was flat, I am not surprised.
Number of god's creations who died horrible deaths from the following diseases: (or did they all die as martyrs?)
1. 300,000,000 approx.
Smallpox
2. 200,000,000 ?
Measles
3. 100,000,000 approx.
Black Death
4. 80,000,000–250,000,000
Malaria
5. 50,000,000–100,000,000
Spanish Flu
6. 40,000,000–100,000,000
Plague of Justinian
7. 40,000,000–100,000,000
Tuberculosis
8. 30,000,000[13]
AIDS pandemic
9. 12,000,000 ?
Third Pandemic of Bubonic Plague
10. 5,000,000
Antonine Plague
11. 4,000,000
Asian Flu
12. 250,000 or more annually Seasonal influenza
and before Albert starts whining, note that I am posing a question here, not insulting christians.
Questions can be insulting.
Arguements can also be childish and stupid.
OK, I think I understand it now. Your definition of the word "insulting" is "being asked to justify what I believe"
Nope.
look up what an iconoclast is... some of us don't care that you get mad when your faith is challenged. An iconoclast believes you HAVE to challenge beliefs in order to find the reality of things.
They killed Socrates ( or made him kill himself) because he was an iconoclast.
Ctrl-C Ctrl-V
I thought your comment was oh so witty the first dozen times, but maybe you'd like to add to the conversation one day ... ?
Ctrl-C Ctrl-V
(get it, cause you just copy and paste the same things over and over and over. It is like spam. Thanks for spamming the board)
Also, I'm agnostic, but with a belief that there is a higher power. I just don't feel it is a personal God. You can add me to your list of people to hate. Spiritual, not religious.
Dear Runs
I don't hate anyone. I just hate the evil of religion.
thanks for finally saying something. I appreciate it.
I miss the old days when people lived to be 1,000 years old.
Noah built a triple decked, 450ft by 75ft by 45ft boat with nothing but his bare hands when he was 600 years old!
I'm not even 40 and get tired building Ikea furniture.
and then Noah and his family went ahead and procreated so much that they completely repopulated the world. red people, black people, brown people, white people, yellow people. what a man!
Still childish in your sarcasm, but at least you finally made a valid point.
The Bible says that Noah didn't have any more kids after the flood, so it was just his 3 sons and their wives that populated the Earth.
While some try to date Noah’s flood using the bible, I sure don’t know when it was. Here is something interesting to consider when discussing whether one family could populate the earth.
Due to the expansive and prolonged rule of Khan, his sons, and his grandsons in Asia and Europe in the Mongol Empire, modern day DNA studies have indicated that a specific Y-chromosomal lineage with patterns suggesting that it originated from Mongolia about 1000 years ago, and this marker can now be found in 8% of the men in a large region of Asia and parts of Europe. It is proposed that this lineage is carried by Genghis Khan and is carried by male line descendants of Genghis Khan.
http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/ydna_intro_famous.php?id=genghiskhan
the logical flaw there is that Kahn had a large population of women. One man can get many women pregnant, but each woman can only have 1 pregnancy at a time.
Noah only had 3 women to start with.
You forgot old age...and every other reason...so that would mean God is responsible for all death. But wait...then he must be responsible for all life!! If you going to accuse God at least be fair.
Babies, being born with only instincts, are born stupid and with no knowledge.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8510711/Belief-in-God-is-part-of-human-nature-Oxford-study.html
politics
Atheists: Nobody Needs Christ at Christmas
by American Atheists posted on December 04, 2013 10:24PM GMT
American Atheists launched a major billboard display on Tuesday that declares Christmas is better without the Christ. The huge 40′x40′ digital billboard is located in Times Square in Midtown Manhattan. Using motion graphics, the billboard proclaims, “Who needs Christ during Christmas?” A hand crosses out the word “Christ” and the word “NOBODY” appears. The display then says “Celebrate the true meaning of Xmas” and offers a series of cheery words: family, friends, charity, food, snow, and more. The commercial ends with a jovial “Happy Holidays!” from American Atheists and displays the organization’s website,
FYI – Being 'Born-Again' Linked to More Brain Atrophy: Study http://www.philly.com/philly/health/132456883.html
A new study by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, has found that Christians are happier and more socially connected than atheists are on Twitter.
"These findings provide the first evidence that the relationship between religion and happiness is partially mediated by thinking style. This research also provides support for previous laboratory studies and self-report data, suggesting that social connection partially mediates the relationship between religiosity and happiness," the team behind the study wrote in an introduction.
this isn't a new study
it wasn't done scientificaly
It is not the first study to try to show that christians are happier
You mean to tell me,
that a Jewish zombie can make me live forever,
if I telepathically accept him as my master…
all because a talking snake convinced a woman created by one rib
to eat from a magical tree?
Really???
- Rainer Braendlein
Hey baby! Can we teach you to play nicely with others today?
Babies are atheists. They also poop their pants and are completely self absorbed.
feeble.
hypocrite.
the commission and investigation are to be headed by Inspector Jacques Clouseau
Knowing that Christmas was originally a pagan celebrate in honour of the Sun-god, why "christians" still celebrate a pagan festivity?
shhhhh
Plus, what's up with Christmas trees?
The Bible is pretty clear that they're verboten.
"Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move."
– Jeremiah 10:1
Duh. Most people admit that. I learned that in church in the 4th grade. We borrowed some customs from another culture. What human culture has not done that?
... for the Children ($arcasm intended)
Christ is an exact copy of Horus and Mythra. They all had 12 disciples and celebrated on December 25th. They were all born of v!rg!ns and walked on water. They all died and rose...
Not an exact copy, but there are striking similarities between the myths of Horus, Dionysys, Arris, Mithra, Krishna and Jeus Christ.
Born on or around December 25 to a virgin, travelled with disciples performing miracles, resurrected.... etc.
Correction: Attis, not Arris.
My regular typing fingers are in the shop and these spare ones aren't half as good.
Jesus being born on December 25th is not Biblical. And not all Christians observe his birth on the 25th.
Horus, Dionysys, Arris, Mithra, Krishna were not all born on the 25th of December either.
Read the wikipedia page (which includes sources) and there are not that many similarities. Far few than the fringe atheist websites claim.
@Nope
Amended:
The popular representations of said myths indicate the respective deities' birthdays to be at or around the winter solstice.
Dec 25th was chosen as Christmas so that the early Christian church had a celebration around the same time as the pagan solstice and saturnalia fetes.
Well before Easter was associated with the zombification of the Christian Messiah, it was a widely celebrated pagan holiday marking the rebirth and renewal of spring. The very word "Easter" comes from the Saxon goddess Eastre and the Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility, Eastra.
Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a consort, Attis, who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. Attis was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during a three day period at the end of March.
Sound familiar?
They are not celebrating the pagan holiday, they chose to celebrate the birth of their savior on a day that wouldn't get them thrown to the lions.
You can do better than that, can't you?
This article isn't about Christmas. There will be plenty of those over the next few weeks, so try to stay on topic.
HotAirAce is right. Keeping law enforcement out of the investigations perpetuates the cover up. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.
What a switch from the Pope Francis who said that it wasn't his place to judge regarding gay men serving in the Priesthood.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Too little, too late !! The idea that priests are somehow better than the rest of us is no longer valid. This has exposed the crumbling theological and historical foundations of Catholicism/Christianity and said religion is fast losing any credibility in the area of morals and ethics. The simple rule of "Do No Harm" easily replaces all the theological mumbo jumbo of
Christianity !!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Too little, too late !! The idea that priests are somehow better than the rest of us is no longer valid. This has exposed the crumbling theological and historical foundations of Catholicism/Christianity and said religion is fast losing any credibility in the area of morals and ethics. The simple rule of "Do No Harm" easily replaces all the theological mumbo jumbo of Christianity !!!
The RCC is still sheltering pedophile priests and their criminal protectors. If the current pope was not actively part of a criminal conspiracy before, it appears he is part of the cover up now. One has to wonder what he has to lose by turning over everything the RCC has to civilian authorities.
No, it appears that he is addressing it directly.
With all due respect, exactly what would satisfy you?
Pope-A-Dope's recent announcement is about the future. All very nice but it doesn't address the past. I will be satisfied when the RCC turns over every bit of information they have about past child abuse and it's cover up to civilian authorities. It shouldn't take more than one minute for Pope-A-Dope to issue such a directive. What is he hiding?
Maddy
Try and keep up , the Vatican refused to hand over docu ments to the UN commission on RCC s&x abuse scandals just this week, the cover up continues.
I agree with SNAP – we need action, not more words.
Speaking of SNAP:
Bad Religion just put out a Christmas album and are donating 20% of proceeds to SNAP.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLCxbXfyXCo
Well, this is good news, but considering that O'Malley covered up abuse scandals in Boston, I hope he's not heading this up; it'd be like putting a fox in charge of the henhouse.
will they stop the mental abuse of minors? the filling their heads with all the bronze age fairy tales?
Ah, The 'Looney Atheist Bronze Age Goat Herder Conceit' pops up. Let me guess, Dyslexic doG not an intellectual???
leprechauns, Harry Potter, Santa Claus, Mythra, Easter Bunny, Horus, making fun of mentally challenged people and a few other lame terms that I learned from looney atheist websites.
Dyslexic Dog has a point, and I never believed it until I saw it first hand. Dawkins has also made the same point. Christianity, when presented to children as "behave or go to hell" is terrifying to their young minds. I was in my car in rural Georgia and heard this radio broadcast directed at very young kids. It basically told them, if you sin, you will burn forever. The preacher was full of venom and utterly convincing to little kids. That must be absolutely horrifying for young children to hear. Their young mnds are not developed enough to dismiss it as silly myth.
It is a form of abuse to have your young child live in a state of constant terror, albeit an unintentional one, often done with the best of intentions.
The theory of hell fire is a myth and Colin's right.
'behave or go to hell' is not what I teach my children. I'm sure it is what you think. But that is just what you think. And you and dyslexic dog and all the other cute passive-aggressive named new atheists can pat each other on the back all day long and declare your superiority all you want.
But in the real world it means nothing.
Nope, there are millions of Christians who don't believe in hell fire who would be offended by what you just said. Chill, Dude.
Colin/Dyslexic doG do not demonstrate logical thinking very well. Despite what they will tell you.
notice none of the Christian replies did anything other than insult me.
we are all born atheist. it's only the brainwashing as a child that sees us believing in a religion.
notice none of your posts did anything other than insult Christians?
Congratulations. You are like a baby. A baby who doesn't know what language, science, customs, compassion, understanding or tolerance is either.
I rest my case
Babies have no knowledge of God. Or knowledge of language. Or science, customs, compassion, understanding, tolerance. We learn that.
I'm also not a Christian. So direct your hatred toward Jews now.
Don't try to act like a victom.
You spew hate and insyult people on a very regular basis.
I told you I'm not a Christian. Geez.