Vatican Update: Pope Francis to visit Israel in May and calls for fresh Church approach to children of gay parents

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday announced a trip to the Holy Land to boost relations with Orthodox Christians.

The three-day visit in May also underscores Francis’ close ties to the Jewish community, his outreach to Muslims, and the Vatican’s longstanding call for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Francis told thousands gathered in the rain for his weekly Sunday blessing that he would visit Amman, Bethlehem and Jerusalem from May 24 to 26. It is the second foreign trip of Francis’ pontificate, following his 2013 visit to Brazil.

Francis, an Argentine Jesuit, will be the fourth pope to visit the Holy Land since 1964, when Paul VI visited.

Plus:

"On an educational level, gay unions raise challenges for us today which for us are sometimes difficult to understand," Francis said in a speech to the Catholic Union of Superiors General in November, extracts of which were published on Italian media websites on Saturday.

"The number of children in schools whose parents have separated is very high," he said, adding that family make-ups were also changing.

"I remember a case in which a sad little girl confessed to her teacher: 'my mother's girlfriend doesn't love me'," he was quoted as saying.

The pontiff said educational leaders should ask themselves "how can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is changing?"

"We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them," the 77-year-old added.

Sanctimonious Hypocrisy: ex-President Jimmy Carter - the world's premier moral equivocator

Former US President Jimmy Carter equates female genital mutilation and sex slavery with Catholic Church's refusal to ordain women:

ATLANTA — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says religious leaders, including those in Christianity and Islam, share the blame for mistreatment of women across the world.

The human rights activist said Friday religious authorities perpetuate misguided doctrines of male superiority, from the Catholic Church forbidding women from becoming priests to some African cultures mutilating the genitals of young girls.

Carter said the doctrines, which he described as theologically indefensible, contribute to a political, social and economic structure where political leaders passively accept violence against women, a worldwide sex slave trade and inequality in the workplace and classroom.

President Jimmy Carter bravely fending off the approach of an aquatic bunny rabbit  in 1979

Exorcist author William Peter Blatty submits petition calling for revocation of Georgetown U's Catholic status

Washington, D.C. – Academy Award winner William Peter Blatty, whose best-selling book and blockbuster film The Exorcist were situated at his alma mater, Georgetown University, announced today that he has delivered a “Petition” on behalf of more than 1200 alumni, students, parents, teachers, and other laity from around the world.  The “Petition” prays that the Catholic Church will grant several remedies, including, if made necessary, the removal or suspension of top-ranked Georgetown’s right to call itself Catholic and Jesuit in its fundraising and representations to applicants.

h/t Sam Schulman

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Pro-Life t-shirts banned at Montreal Catholic Church

Canada does not need laws restricting a woman's right to control what happens in her own body. Abortion laws are a fundamental violation of personal liberty.

That said, people have the right to their own opinions on the subject and we know that the Catholic Church represents the world's most vigorous opposition to legalized abortion.

So this story seemed very odd:

MONTREAL, August 8, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Montreal priest has turned away young pro-life pilgrims from entering the city’s basilica because their message in defense of the unborn was too political.

Wearing stylish jeans and a white button-down shirt, Fr. Robert Gagne, PSS, insisted that the young people walking across Canada to promote the pro-life message could not enter the famous Basilica to pray because of the ‘pro-life’ message emblazoned on their T-shirts.

Revisionist Vatican says Jesus nullified Old Testament divine promises. Says Jews are not "God's Chosen People"

A high-ranking Israeli official on Sunday slammed a statement from Catholic bishops, who called for international organizations to lead the cause of Palestinian statehood.

Propeller Greek-Melchite Archbishop Cyrille Bustros sparked an interreligious firestorm when he suggested that Israel was “using Scripture” to continue its occupation of Palestinian territory.

"The Holy Scriptures cannot be used to justify the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of the Palestinians,” Bustros said at the close of a two-week conference in Rome, Italy, “to justify the occupation by Israel of Palestinian lands.”

The Archbishop then questioned the biblical idea of a “promised land” set aside by a specific group of people.

"We Christians cannot speak of the promised land as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people,” Bustros continued. "This promise was nullified by Christ. There is no longer a chosen people – all men and women of all countries have become the chosen people."


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