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Pope Francis

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 10:56 am
by Volkonski


Pope having surgery.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Sun Jul 04, 2021 2:35 pm
by LM K
I hope he'll be ok!

Pope Francis has done wonderful things for our world. He's a great mentor. He's not perfect, but who is? I think Pope Francis is wonderful.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:35 am
by Lani
Francis has something to say.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesc ... olari.html

This part of Section 2.
I ask all the great pharmaceutical laboratories to release the patents. Make a gesture of humanity and allow every country, every people, every human being, to have access to the vaccines. There are countries where only three or four per cent of the inhabitants have been vaccinated.

In the name of God, I ask financial groups and international credit institutions to allow poor countries to assure “the basic needs of their people” and to cancel those debts that so often are contracted against the interests of those same peoples.

In the name of God, I ask the great extractive industries -- mining, oil, forestry, real estate, agribusiness -- to stop destroying forests, wetlands and mountains, to stop polluting rivers and seas, to stop poisoning food and people.

In the name of God, I ask the great food corporations to stop imposing monopolistic systems of production and distribution that inflate prices and end up withholding bread from the hungry.

In the name of God, I ask arms manufacturers and dealers to completely stop their activity, because it foments violence and war, it contributes to those awful geopolitical games which cost millions of lives displaced and millions dead.
He also had something to say about social media.

In Section 4: "A basic income (the UBI) or salary so that everyone in the world may have access to the most basic necessities of life."

:thumbsup: :bighug:

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:21 am
by RTH10260
Lani wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:35 am Francis has something to say.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesc ... olari.html

This part of Section 2.
I ask all the great pharmaceutical laboratories to release the patents. Make a gesture of humanity and allow every country, every people, every human being, to have access to the vaccines. There are countries where only three or four per cent of the inhabitants have been vaccinated.
:snippity:
He could have been more realistic rather then ask the industry to throw away their intellectual property rights. Ask them to grant licenses at a reasonable low price. Suggest that products are sold at cost with a low markup. Cost of course includes a reasonable amount to recover R&D (past and current efforts).

But apart, to get those countries with low vaccination rates to higher levels is not just thing of producing vaccines. It's the local health care infrastructure of nurses, doctors and facilities (transport and storage) that the nations need to provide themselves. It's free health care for the poor that is required.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:33 am
by sugar magnolia
RTH10260 wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 9:21 am
Lani wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:35 am Francis has something to say.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesc ... olari.html

This part of Section 2.
I ask all the great pharmaceutical laboratories to release the patents. Make a gesture of humanity and allow every country, every people, every human being, to have access to the vaccines. There are countries where only three or four per cent of the inhabitants have been vaccinated.
:snippity:
He could have been more realistic rather then ask the industry to throw away their intellectual property rights. Ask them to grant licenses at a reasonable low price. Suggest that products are sold at cost with a low markup. Cost of course includes a reasonable amount to recover R&D (past and current efforts).

But apart, to get those countries with low vaccination rates to higher levels is not just thing of producing vaccines. It's the local health care infrastructure of nurses, doctors and facilities (transport and storage) that the nations need to provide themselves. It's free health care for the poor that is required.
Some portion of their R&D has already been covered by the feds dumping money at them through the warp speed program.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:41 am
by Uninformed
Somewhat the same can be said for the “Oxford developed” AstraZeneca vaccine.

(NB. As an atheist/agnostic/infidel- never been quite sure - I quite like Pope Francis)

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:08 pm
by Sam the Centipede
Uninformed wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 10:41 am Somewhat the same can be said for the “Oxford developed” AstraZeneca vaccine.

(NB. As an atheist/agnostic/infidel- never been quite sure - I quite like Pope Francis)
AstraZeneca's contracts have them selling their vaccine to the EU and the UK "at cost", about $2.20 or €1.80 per dose, which is much cheaper than Pfizer-BioNTech, which is about $20/€20 in Europe. AZ's "at cost" program isn't global, is, but they're being more ethical than some other companies and charging about $5/€5 globally. Being a skeptical soul, I have no doubt that "at cost" has some benefits to the company. Johnson & Johnson also supply their vaccine on a not-for-profit (or not-for-much-profit) basis.

But Pfizer and Moderna both lifted their price to the EU when there were worries about side-effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. That tells you plenty about their attitude. They are greedy. Moderna now charges about $25 per dose.

As I mentioned in another thread, Prof. Sarah Gilbert, who led the vaccine development team at Oxford University, expressed concern about the absence of vaccine manufacturing capability on the continent of Africa. Africa needs that, and it needs it soon, and it has to be something that has strong local roots so is sustainable in the medium and long-term, not just something parachuted in, and not a money-grubbing venture from greedy investors. It needs a genuine partnership with Africans leading.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:42 pm
by Uninformed
Sorry if I gave the impression that AstraZeneca were profiteering like some other pharmaceutical companies. I was referring to the development being “subsidised”.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:47 pm
by raison de arizona
“There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” - Jonas Salk

(Yes, there is more to the story, but still.)

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:16 pm
by Sam the Centipede
Uninformed wrote: Mon Oct 18, 2021 2:42 pm Sorry if I gave the impression that AstraZeneca were profiteering like some other pharmaceutical companies. I was referring to the development being “subsidised”.
I wasn't disagreeing! Your point was very valid and the work at Oxford University was (I assume) mainly funded via government and international programs. Absolutely it's subsidized research!

I believe Boris Johnson claimed that the success of vaccine development was a product of the private sector, which is a complete lie. Much of it is the fruit of basic research in university research laboratories. Pharmaceutical companies obviously have the expertise in converting a small run into production, packaging, storage and distribution of tens of millions of doses.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2021 1:35 pm
by RTH10260
Archbishop of Paris resigns after admitting to an ‘ambiguous’ relationship

ASSOCIATED PRESS
DEC. 2, 2021 4:44 AM PT

PARIS — Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Paris, who admitted to an “ambiguous” relationship with a woman in 2012.
Archbishop Michel Aupetit said in a statement Thursday that he offered to step down “to preserve the diocese from the division that suspicion and loss of trust are continuing to provoke.”

The Vatican said in a statement that the pontiff accepted Aupetit’s offer and named Monsignor George Pontier to serve in Aupetit’s place.

Aupetit, who had led the Roman Catholic Church in Paris since 2018, sent a letter to Francis offering to resign following a report in Le Point magazine saying that he had a consensual, intimate relationship with a woman. Aupetit told Le Point he didn’t have sexual relations with the woman.

The article in Le Point relied on several anonymous sources who said they had seen a 2012 email that Aupetit had sent by mistake to his secretary. Aupetit denied being the author of the email.

Catholic prelates take vows of celibacy. At the time of the alleged relationship, Aupetit was a priest in the Paris diocese.



https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/st ... lationship

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 12:05 am
by roadscholar
A “consensual intimate relationship” that didn’t entail “sexual relations?”

That’s ambiguous all right. :shock:

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2022 1:30 pm
by raison de arizona
Pope says fake news, disinformation on COVID, is human rights violation

VATICAN CITY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Friday that spreading fake news and disinformation on COVID-19 and vaccines, including by Catholic media, is a violation of human rights.

It was the second time in less than month that the 85-year-old pope has spoken out on the subject. Three weeks ago, he condemned "baseless" ideological misinformation about vaccines, backing national immunisation campaigns and calling health care a moral obligation.

Francis made his comments in an address to members of catholicfactchecking.com, a consortium of Catholic media whose website says its aim is to "clarify fake news and misleading information" about vaccines against COVID.

"To be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right," the pope told the group. "Correct information must be ensured above all to those who are less equipped, to the weakest and to those who are most vulnerable."
https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-says ... 022-01-28/

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 10:58 am
by raison de arizona
Richard Engel @RichardEngel wrote: Vatican Press Office confirms to @NBCNews that Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:32 am
by Foggy
I like this one.

Not a fan of popes in general (they aren't mentioned in the Holy Bible, AFAIK), but he seems to be a decent fellow.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:40 am
by Suranis
Pope John Paul II went to Argentina to try and stop the Falklands war. That's the last time I can remember Popes doing something like this.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:45 am
by neeneko
Vatican Press Office confirms to @NBCNews that Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent.
Eh, going to the embassy might be extraordinary, but not very meaningful.

Now, if he is talking to the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, maybe even coordinating with some of the other Patriarchs, that is a set of conversations I would love to be a fly on the wall for. The church is likely one of the main bodies pushing for (or at least supporting) this invasion, getting them to reconsider would be a huge deal.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:54 am
by LM K
Suranis wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:40 am Pope John Paul II went to Argentina to try and stop the Falklands war. That's the last time I can remember Popes doing something like this.
Thank you for that nugget of info, Suranis.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:59 am
by LM K
neeneko wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:45 am
Vatican Press Office confirms to @NBCNews that Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent.
Eh, going to the embassy might be extraordinary, but not very meaningful.

Now, if he is talking to the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, maybe even coordinating with some of the other Patriarchs, that is a set of conversations I would love to be a fly on the wall for. The church is likely one of the main bodies pushing for (or at least supporting) this invasion, getting them to reconsider would be a huge deal.
Omg & ffs. That's absurd and 100% unsupported.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 12:06 pm
by raison de arizona
Not sure I buy it.
Russia's Assault on Ukraine Has a Crusader Element
A religious historian breaks down the Orthodox Christian aspect to Putin's calculations.

In her Substack shebeen, religious historian Diana Butler Bass takes a deep dive into how Christian ethno-nationalism has joined hands across the globe with reactionary Catholicism and, most importantly, with hyper-conservative Russian Orthodoxy to add a little old-time religious filigree to Vladimir Putin’s current depredations.
:snippity:
Now, Putin’s approximately as religious as a meat cleaver, but he can sense a center of power from centuries in the past. He has assiduously recruited the Russian Orthodox hierarchy into his dreams of a new Russian empire. (Remember it was performing in a Russian Orthodox cathedral that first got Pussy Riot in trouble with the folks in the Kremlin.) Butler Bass sees an old-school crusade hidden underneath all the tanks and cruise missiles.
The conflict in Ukraine is all about religion and what kind of Orthodoxy will shape Eastern Europe and other Orthodox communities around the world (especially in Africa). Religion. This is a crusade, recapturing the Holy Land of Russian Orthodoxy, and defeating the westernized (and decadent) heretics who do not bend the knee to Moscow’s spiritual authority.
:snippity:
Just what this nightmare needs: the influence of a 13th-century religious conflict.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/p ... y-crusade/

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 12:45 pm
by neeneko
LM K wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:59 am Omg & ffs. That's absurd and 100% unsupported.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been trying to bring the Ukrainian Orthodox Church back under its control for almost as many years as they granted it 'independence', including taking advantage of the separatist held regions in order to 'settle' the schism. The Patriarch has experienced a significant revival of power under Putin and exhibits many of the same 'Novorossiya' views of the relationship between the two churches.... or more specifically, is concerned about the Ukrainian Church getting to western and thus needs to be reintegrated in order to maintain Russian values.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 12:46 pm
by W. Kevin Vicklund
Keep in mind that one of the events that led to tensions between Russia and Ukraine was the formation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_ ... of_Ukraine
The church was united at the unification council in Kyiv on 15 December 2018 as a condition for recognition of it by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and was granted the tomos of autocephaly (decree of ecclesial independence) by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul on 5 January 2019. The unification council voted to unite all the existing Ukrainian Orthodox major jurisdictions: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) as well as a part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (a branch of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church, which claims jurisdiction over Ukraine). The Unification Council elected Epiphanius Dumenko – previously the Metropolitan of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Bila Tserkva (UOC-KP) – as its primate, the Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine.

According to the statute that the OCU adopted at the unification council, "Orthodox Christians of Ukrainian provenance in the Orthodox diaspora" should henceforth be subject to the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishops of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (Article 4 of the Statute).[15][16] This provision is also enshrined in the OCU's tomos of autocephaly.[17][18][19] In March 2019 Metropolitan Epiphanius said that the transfer of parishes of the dissolved Kyiv Patriarchate to the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate had already begun.[20] The creation and subsequent recognition of the OCU by other autocephalous Orthodox Churches have met staunch opposition and attempts at subversion on the part of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) as well as the government of Russia.[21]

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 1:06 pm
by MN-Skeptic
Off Topic
I hadn't thought about it in a while but this thread made me think about it... on the metro highway up to where my sweetie used to work, we would drive by a Ukrainian church. I just looked it up on Google Maps. It's the First Ukrainian Evangelical Baptist Church of Minneapolis. I guess we must have some Ukrainians in this area.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 2:04 pm
by LM K
neeneko wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 12:45 pm
LM K wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 11:59 am Omg & ffs. That's absurd and 100% unsupported.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been trying to bring the Ukrainian Orthodox Church back under its control for almost as many years as they granted it 'independence', including taking advantage of the separatist held regions in order to 'settle' the schism. The Patriarch has experienced a significant revival of power under Putin and exhibits many of the same 'Novorossiya' views of the relationship between the two churches.... or more specifically, is concerned about the Ukrainian Church getting to western and thus needs to be reintegrated in order to maintain Russian values.
Uh, yeah. That completely supports your ridiculous claim that the Church wants, and facilitates, the war on Ukraine.

That's just offensive.

Re: Pope Francis

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 2:11 pm
by raison de arizona
Official statement.
Patriarch Kirill's address to the hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church
Patriarch Kirill's address to the hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and faithful of the Russian Orthodox ChurchVersion for print
24 February 2022 year 18:00
On February 24, 2022, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia issued an address to the hierarchs, clergy, monastics, and all faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church. The statement reads as follows:

Your Beatitude! Your Eminences and Graces! Dear fathers, brothers, and sisters!

I take the suffering of people caused by the events taking place with deep and heartfelt pain.

As the Patriarch of All Russia and the primate of a Church whose flock is located in Russia, Ukraine, and other countries, I deeply empathize with everyone affected by this tragedy.

I call on all parties to the conflict to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties.

I appeal to the bishops, pastors, monastics, and laity to provide all possible assistance to all victims, including refugees and people left homeless and without means of livelihood.

The Russian and Ukrainian peoples have a common centuries-old history dating back to the Baptism of Rus’ by Prince St. Vladimir the Equal-to-the-Apostles. I believe that this God-given affinity will help overcome the divisions and disagreements that have arisen that have led to the current conflict.

I call on the entire fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church to offer a special, fervent prayer for the speedy restoration of peace.

May the All-merciful Lord, through the intercession of our Most Pure Lady the Theotokos and all the saints, preserve the Russian, Ukrainian, and other peoples who are spiritually united by our Church!

+KIRILL

PATRIARCH OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA
http://www.patriarchia.ru/en/db/text/5903803.html