The following comes from a February 12 Washington Post article by Rosie Scammell:
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ nearly weeklong tour of Mexico will see the pontiff raise key themes of his papacy as well as issues related to tense national politics in Mexico and even the U.S. presidential race.
The papal plane departed Rome shortly after sunrise [today], earlier than expected because of the surprise stopover in Cuba announced last week.
The touchdown in Havana is for a meeting with Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a potentially groundbreaking step toward healing ties between Eastern and Western Christianity that were broken nearly 1,000 years ago.
After little more than three hours in Cuba for the historic talks, Francis will continue his journey to Mexico City for a whistle-stop tour that will include celebrating Mass at the U.S. border.
The pope’s carefully crafted itinerary follows his wish to speak first to those on the margins. That’s why he will fly to the southern state of Chiapas to meet with the indigenous community and will also meet with young people in Morelia, in central Mexico, as well as patients at a children’s hospital in the capital.
The pontiff’s impact on the political scene will more likely come with his visit to Ciudad Juarez on the border with Texas, a regular crossing point for immigrants.
“His Mass at the border is for me the highlight of the trip, because his concern for migrants, refugees and undocumented persons has marked his papacy from the beginning,” said the Rev. Kevin O’Brien, vice president for mission and ministry at Georgetown University.
“There are Catholics (in the U.S.) who are voting and I hope they listen to what the pope says in Juarez,” he said.
Yet many candidates in the U.S. presidential campaign, especially on the Republican side, take a much different view of immigrants than does the pope, with some candidates proposing sharp restrictions or the building of a more extensive border wall.
Leading GOP candidate Donald Trump has been one of the most outspoken opponents of immigration, and late Thursday in an interview on Fox News he blasted Francis as a “very political person” for visiting the border area.
As Trump said, this pope is very political. His visit to these border towns does nothing to increase the Catholic faith, but does much to increase the Democrat party.
Having a national border is not racist or evil. This pope’s tendency to cloak personal political belief in religiosity causes confusion to those unable or unwilling to see the difference. Shame on him.
More Jesus, less Francis!
Remember that my hero, St. John Paul II, cooperated with president Reagan to bring down the Soviet Union. To my mind that was pretty political.
And perhaps bringing down America is the goal here. The sin of third world envy should not be promulgated by the pontiff. Bringing us down does not lift them up.
The Pope isn’t political, but Catholic. He is shinning a light on the terrible condition under which our fellow human beings have to live. As Catholics, we cannot allow these conditions to exist, but must do something about them – at least pray for them to improve. One must come to the realization that the Catholic faith is what we do for the least of our brothers, for in them we see the face of Christ.
The Pope is political, and makes many political statements that have little or nothing to do with Faith and Morals.
His statements are mostly made upon his knowledge of life in Argentina.
Being political isn’t anathema, Bob One. This Pope is political. He understands how the game is played and plays it. Hence a Vatican PR firm. As for ‘allowing’ conditions to exist, we need as human beings to understand that these conditions will always exist so long as there is sin in the world and men/women choose to engage in it. (Our Lord said we would always have the poor with us.)
The Catholic Faith is not what we do for the least of our brothers. The Catholic Faith is expressed by what we do for the least of our brothers. This is also why we cannot forget the actual Faith when trying to ‘do’ for the least of our brothers and ourselves. For that is when we begin believing that the ends justify the means.
Bob ONe you are right the condition of this nations borders and the abuse of our immigration laws by immigrants is terrible. We should seal the border and put a halt to all immigration for at least 5 years we have done this in the past in order to let the current influx of immigrants assimilate .
The first in line to help the Mexican people should be their ultra-rich Mexican brothers, of whom there are plenty. Mexico remains a country in which there’s two predominant classes (the very rich and the very poor) and governmental corruption is endemic. The Mexican bishops should take the rowing oar and instruct their own people about social justice. The old game of blaming the USA for everything is running out of steam.
Caritas makes important points in dealing with the Migration Issue, particularly the manner in which Corruption (which is endemic in Mexico and many places) is creating situations where the US is used as a ‘safety valve’ to release pressure on a severely dysfunctional system.
It is not just the money flowing south from many Migrant Workers that keeps the economies going, but also what happens to it when it arrives – which is usually accompanied by much graft at many levels.
Supporting an uber-weealthy spendthrift corrupt upper class in a country where the desperately poor are streaming for the borders to find enough work to survive – is not along term solution. Still – People don’t live ‘in the long term’ – they live (and if…
… Stil, People don’t live ‘in the long term’ – they live (and if lucky) eat every day.
Filipe Calderon, immediate past President of Mexico, recently said that Mexico would not pay for the wall Mr. Trump advocates. I would be interested in hearing specifically how Mr. Trump intends to compel Mexico to pay. Or do we have a balloon here?
Easy. Just reduce it from the amount of money that we send them.
” If he (POPE) speaks about the environment, the climate, the economy, immigrants, etc.,
he is working from information that may be correct, or mistaken,
but [in these cases] he is speaking as Obama speaks, or another president.
It doesn’t mean that what he says on the economy is dogma, something we need to follow. It’s an opinion. ” – Cardinal Robert Sarah – head of the Congregation for Divine Worship is clarifying binding doctrine.
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/cdl.-sarah-if-theres-no-repentance-theres-no-mercy#disqus_thread
I would like to know when the POPE is going to tell the debtor Nation – the USA to pay its debts –
$19 TRILLION National Debt;
$426 BILLION California State Debt;
& Local Government debts.
Per the CCC # 2411 – if we do not pay our just debts – “no other form of justice is possible”.
Mexico is the 9th largest oil producer in the world.
Get rid of the corruption at all levels of government, and the Mexican people would have a good life.
One responder suggested reducing the money we send Mexico to pay for the proposed Border wall. May I ask specifically what funds that may be?
All the oil producers are in a tight way with the price of oil where it is.
Once again this Pope is getting involved in something he has no business in and like Kristin said, having borders does not make one racist, so tired of hearing that garbage. Just how many people can we keep allowing into this country? Look at Europe with the Islamic invasion not migration, in 25 years or less Europe will be Muslim.
Human Souls have no borders, and their fraternity is shared worldwide, be they wealthy or poor or somewhere in between. Preventing ‘Desperation Migration’ at its source is the best way to help people, as once they hit the road the chance to provide services lifting them from poverty diminishes greatly.
Societies have Laws & Rules & Borders in order to preserve a social order that would otherwise descend in to Anarchy and Collapse – as has happened many times before when order gave way to chaos.
Reconciling the two facts is not easy – but when it reaches the point of some having to eat their ‘seed corn’ to survive to planting season, we are all ready too late in so many ways.
The Pope gave beautiful pro-life and pro-family message when he addressed the flock. It was beautiful. God bless his charity.
POLAND: Upwards Of 150,000 People Came Out To Fight Leftism and Defend Christianity Against The Muslim Invasion
https://shoebat.com/2015/11/21/poland-upwards-of-150000-people-came-out-to-defend-christianity-against-the-muslim-invasion/
By BI: Father Jacek Miedlar’s rousing sermon to participants of the March for Independence in November, 2015, calling to defend Christianity in Poland in the wake of the Islamic invasion of Europe. According to police, at least 70,000 people took part in the rally, while several unofficial figures reach 150,000.