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Pope Francis Leaves Vatican At Night To Visit The Homeless

Gathomas88

Gathomas88

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Is Pope Francis Leaving Vatican At Night To Minister To Homeless?

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A recent interview with Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the "Almoner of His Holiness," raised speculation that the Pope joins him on his nightly trips into Rome to give alms to the poor, and it turns out that the rumors are probably true.

A knowledgable source in Rome told The Huffington Post that "Swiss guards confirmed that the pope has ventured out at night, dressed as a regular priest, to meet with homeless men and women."

Krajewski earlier said, “When I say to him ‘I’m going out into the city this evening’, there’s the constant risk that he will come with me," and he merely smiled and ducked the question when reporters asked him point-blank whether the Pope accompanied him into the city.

He's not the only Pope known for nocturnal wanderings. There are stories of Pope John XIII sneaking out to enjoy the beauty of Rome in the evenings, and reports tell of Pope Pius XII dressing as a Franciscan during WWII to help smuggle Rome's Jewish population to safety. More recently, Pope Benedict XVI popped out unannounced to visit an art exhibit.

When Pope Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, he was known to sneak out at night to break bread with the homeless, sitting with them on the street and eating with them to show that they were loved.

And we love him for doing it now.
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The new Pope continues to impress! :)
 
Forget the socialist talk...take a look at that Pipe! Heck yes, Holy Father!
 
Maybe he could take those billions he has in the bank and do some real good, so that it's about helping people in need, rather than his own personal virtue.

Oh, and it's just as "voluntary" if you vote in favor of it, too. Whether or not you personally sign the check doesn't make a difference.
 
Paschendale said:
Maybe he could take those billions he has in the bank and do some real good, so that it's about helping people in need, rather than his own personal virtue.

Oh, and it's just as "voluntary" if you vote in favor of it, too. Whether or not you personally sign the check doesn't make a difference.
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pave the way
tell us how you do it with your own money
only then can you suggest how another spends theirs
 
Paschendale said:
Maybe he could take those billions he has in the bank and do some real good, so that it's about helping people in need, rather than his own personal virtue.
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He doesn't have "billions in the bank" in the first place. He's personally poor, as a matter of fact.

Frankly, the Church is already one of the largest (if not the largest) charitable institutions on the planet. By any standard you want to go by here, Pope Francis is doing just fine by the poor.
 
justabubba said:
pave the way
tell us how you do it with your own money
only then can you suggest how another spends theirs
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I'm a low-payed public interest lawyer. I use skills that others use to hoard money and screw people over to help people instead. I'm dedicating my life, rather than just my spare time, to the betterment of others. This pope is handing out the equivalent of spare change while he is literally draped in gold. Yes, it's an improvement over his Nazi predecessor, but it's still only baby steps. For the talk from Christians about charity, it always seems to be more about the good feelings on the part of the giver, on their spiritual enlightenment and the benefit to their soul. It is seldom about the benefit to those in need. It's not about making a real difference. It's just about getting into heaven.

For all the good this man could be doing, that he is not doing it and instead focusing on his personal experiences with people who are suffering, is almost insulting.

And don't think I reserve this criticism for just Christianity. Judaism turns charity into even more of a selfish act. Between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur, Jews are commanded to pray, repent, and give to charity in order to make amends for the sins they have committed during the previous year. The express purpose of those actions is to convince god to write your name in the book of life. That is, literally, doing charity for the sole purpose of convincing god not to kill you.

Helping others should not be done because of some kind of spiritual reward. It should be done because it is the right thing to do. And it is the right thing to do, and not doing it when one has the means to do so is willfully choosing to allow suffering and pain in the world. That is an act of evil. Someone who goes around expecting people to call him "your holiness" should be doing better than that.
 
Paschendale said:
I'm a low-payed public interest lawyer. I use skills that others use to hoard money and screw people over to help people instead. I'm dedicating my life, rather than just my spare time, to the betterment of others. This pope is handing out the equivalent of spare change while he is literally draped in gold. Yes, it's an improvement over his Nazi predecessor, but it's still only baby steps. For the talk from Christians about charity, it always seems to be more about the good feelings on the part of the giver, on their spiritual enlightenment and the benefit to their soul. It is seldom about the benefit to those in need. It's not about making a real difference. It's just about getting into heaven.

For all the good this man could be doing, that he is not doing it and instead focusing on his personal experiences with people who are suffering, is almost insulting.

And don't think I reserve this criticism for just Christianity. Judaism turns charity into even more of a selfish act. Between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur, Jews are commanded to pray, repent, and give to charity in order to make amends for the sins they have committed during the previous year. The express purpose of those actions is to convince god to write your name in the book of life. That is, literally, doing charity for the sole purpose of convincing god not to kill you.

Helping others should not be done because of some kind of spiritual reward. It should be done because it is the right thing to do. And it is the right thing to do, and not doing it when one has the means to do so is willfully choosing to allow suffering and pain in the world. That is an act of evil. Someone who goes around expecting people to call him "your holiness" should be doing better than that.
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the pope seems to be a decent sort
already shaking up the vatican and the catholic church
trying to turn around that mammoth organization must be like turning around an aircraft carrier ... one can only go so fast to accomplish it

pauperizing the church is not going to improve the long term circumstance of the poor
poverty is something one must learn to rise above
and the recent speech from the pontiff, where he chides us for being more attuned to a slip in the stock market than to news of a homeless person dying of exposure, tells us his heart is with the have nots

now that i am retired, i spend much of my time assisting the homeless and those on the margins. but the reality is i do it for me. so, for your willingness to use your legal talents to assist those in need of such advice, i extend kudos. for your knee-jerk opposition to this good man, only because he is now Pope Francis, not so much. i have seen nothing from him which deserves your condemnation
 
justabubba said:
i have seen nothing from him which deserves your condemnation
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That's because you see inaction as nothing, rather than a choice. The choice not to act is just as much one as the choice to act. It's not knee-jerk opposition, much as you might like it to be. It's criticizing anyone who wields inordinate power and uses it for themselves rather than for others. That he's using this 1% of his energy to help others doesn't absolve him for using the other 99% to concentrate more power for himself and his church at the expense of millions.

As I said, he's an improvement, but I don't think we should be giving him more credit than he deserves in light of how much more he could be doing. Especially not given the moral high ground that he and his organize claim to hold. If he wants to talk the talk, he should walk the walk.

trying to turn around that mammoth organization must be like turning around an aircraft carrier ... one can only go so fast to accomplish it
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That is a legitimate point and perhaps I am being too harsh, but it is because these baby steps actually gave me some hope. When I say "this isn't enough", it's not really to deride what he's doing. It's because I want more.
 
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