Wellcome Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergolio of the land of Maradona as the new Pope for the lands of Catholics comprising over a billion members. It was a joyful moment to hear the eagerly awaited announcement beamed thru TV Channels all around the globe the selection of the new Pope who named himself as Francis I – after St. Francis de Assisi and St. Francis Xavier the Spanish Missionary who also belonged to the society of Jesuits and who came to Goa centuries back to spread Christianity; He is reveredly called the Patron Saint of Goa.
As a catholic I feel proud that my leader the Pope stationed at Vatican is commanding such a vast influence in the world which cannot be compared to anybody else either political or religious figures on this planet. I can rightly say judging from the interest shown to his election by the world that the Pope is the most powerful and the most influential individual in the world. For 2 days the entire world was glued to the TV some like me not even sleeping for two nights to witness the announcement of His selection on 13th of this month.
At 66 Pope Francis looks young and youthful with charismatic appearance that will help him to deal with others positively. In his smile there is lot of attraction that also will help him to build his image as a great Pontiff.
It is a big blessing for us Catholics to have such a simple man as a Pope. His urge to identify himself with the common people and with common acts should be a lesson to imitate for those priests and Bishops who are leading the life of feudal lords thereby degrading the greatness of Christ’s humility. His traveling in the public Buses and living in simple apartment should put into shame all those priests and Bishops who use limousines for their transport and Bungalow type of residential places to live the life of Monarchs against the principles of Christ who lived a simple life. His economic way of living is totally against that of those priests and Bishops who live the life of Maharajas by spending money from the contributions of the faithful who foolishly think that the contribution they give to the Churches go to God. In fact the enormous amount of the contribution faithful give to the Churches including Sunday and other holiday collections many times goes for the luxuries of the priests and Bishops and also to support their concubines. In Pope Francis dwells simplicity and poverty while in many of our priests and Bishops dwell satanic arrogance, satanic pride, satanic wealth and satanic pompous show.
His abhorrence for sex for priests and bishops should correct the sexual inclinations of our priests and bishops that brought the Church reputation into disgrace. In fact the Church reputation was disgraced by the disgraceful priests and disgraceful Bishops some of them still believe in Racism, Facism and Nazism for this reason this time God guided the Cardinals to elect the Pope from the poor country Argentina which had no traces of Racism, Fascism and Nazism.
His selection as Pope will be marked as the beginning of rebuilding of the Church just as that of the advent of St. Francis de Assisi. Currently our Catholic Church is tottering into the hands of weak priests and weak Bishops because of whom very many Catholics are leaving Catholicism and embracing other non-Catholic denominations. In Non-Catholic denominations they get better solace spiritually and physically because the Pastors in these denominations are good guides, full of wisdom, full of knowledge and full of God’s blessings. These Pastors display thru the intercession of Holy Spirit better power to heal the sick spiritually and physically. The main attraction of these Pastors is their simplicity in words and in deeds in dealing with the faithful following the example of Christ.
What I did not like in this Pope Francis is His silence on the brutalities of militarily dictatorial government functioning in Argentina from mid-seventies to mid-eighties. That government during that cruel period committed all sorts of cruelties on humanity in Argentina against the Christian doctrine and for the leader of the Catholics in Argentina to remain silent on these happenings is like accepting satanic rule. I am surprised how this mighty and majestic man whom we call as Pope became a coward in front of the military ruler of Argentina whose ruthless regime spilled blood of innocent citizens all over Argentina against the teachings of Jesus Christ.
It was not the present Pope alone who became a coward in front of his country’s ruler but there were some other Christian leaders too who also became cowards in front of their countries rulers in the sense that when their political leaders asked them to bow their heads they went one step further and prostrated like slaves thereby failing to support the truth and uprightness in a true Christian manner following the example of Christ of refusing to bow down before the brute might of the political ruler.
During the Second World War which was imposed by the Nazis to demolish the human civilization thru cruel deeds, the Bishop of England rightly condemned Hitler’s Nazism thus upholding the Christian principle while German Bishop instead eulogized Hitler’s action thereby trampling under his satanic feet Christian doctrine of peace and love.
During the invasion period of Kuwait by Iraq, in the middle of September 1990 to please his political boss Saddam Hussein, the Chaldean Bishop of Iraq came on to the national TV of Iraq and eulogized Saddam Hussein. Instead of condemning and disapproving of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait which was wrong, the Chaldean Bishop against the principle of Christianity to stand by the right sanctified the wrong.
On the day of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq on 2nd August 1990 early in the morning when I noticed the lustful urge of raping in Kuwait city by the filthy Iraqi soldiers and remembering the raping incidents of Goan females by the dirty and ugly Indian soldiers in December 1961 at the time of invasion of Goa by the Bharat, I went around in my neighbourhood with one mission. And what was that mission? It was to tell the Goan females staying around my residence to flee from Kuwait city because Iraqi soldiers true to their nature will start raping. While I entered in one Goan Flat to inform this news suddenly an armed Iraqi solider followed me and pulled out all the males from that Flat. Sensing the worst I refused but surrendered like a goat when threatened to kill me by that Iraqi soldier. It was very close to the Church. Immediately I came home and called one priest in the Church requesting him to do something either to call our Pro-Nuncio at Baghdad to use His influence with Saddam Hussein to stop Iraqi soldiers from raping in Kuwait or to come out of the Church and as a daring priest go to that Flat where Iraqi solder may be trying his best preying on the Goan females residing there and to save them. But to my utter disgust that priest from the Catholic Church in Kuwait city became coward and instead instructed me to pray for the safety of the females under the claws of Iraqi soldier.
Priesthood, Bishophood and Cardinalship is a daring job meant for daring persons only who should be ready even to risk their lives to fight for justice in the name of Christ. Will the newly elected Pope Francis inculcate this sense into his subordinates before inculcating it into himself first?
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
