The Vatican just doesn’t seem able to get past its misogyny. Once again it is debating whether or not to allow women some role in the Church hierarchy. The Pope has created a commission of experts to examine whether women can be deacons, the bottom rung of the ecclesiastical ladder.
Continue readingTag: pope francis
Alberta Politics: Left by the pope with a choice between glory to God and death to the carbon tax, what will Jason do?
Turns out you really can’t serve God and Mammon! Who knew? Tout le monde Conservative Alberta was reeling over the weekend at Friday’s news from Rome that Pope Francis, leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, has declared global warming to be a real thing and putting a price on carbon to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Conrad Black is right: The media is full of baloney about the president!
PHOTOS: Presidents Donald J. Trump of the United States and Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the 2017 G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany (Photo: Kremlin.ru, Wikimedia Commons). Below, the great former Canadian, Lord Black of Crossharbour. It is hard not to concur with the words of the prominent formerly Canadian
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Steve Bannon and the Undermining of Pope Francis
Much has been written recently about Steve Bannon, Donald Trump's closest adviser, and the man many believe is the real president of the United States.The alt-right fanatic who believes that an apocalyptic "cleansing war" is coming, and is obsessed with global destruction.But did you know that Bannon's fascist tentacles also reach
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Fred Henry, departing Catholic bishop, held strong pro-labour stance in addition to controversial social conservative views
PHOTOS: Frederick Henry during his 19 years as Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary. (Screen shot from a diocese video.) Below: Two scenes from the picket line at the Calgary Herald during the 1999-2000 strike. In the first, striker Murdoch Macleod and others bravely face down a truck
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Pope Francis Calls Out the Media
The head of the Roman Catholic Church warns that the mass media has become scatalogical. Media that focus on scandals and spread fake news to smear politicians risk becoming like people who have a morbid fascination with excrement, Pope Francis says. Francis told the Belgian Catholic weekly Tertio that spreading
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Our Paradoxical Species
Anyone who reads this blog regularly probably knows that I am something of a cynic when it comes to our species. Sure, there are many exceptions, but as a whole, we seem oblivious to our obligations to the world around us. Cossetted by our conveniences…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Our Paradoxical Species
Anyone who reads this blog regularly probably knows that I am something of a cynic when it comes to our species. Sure, there are many exceptions, but as a whole, we seem oblivious to our obligations to the world around us. Cossetted by our conveniences, our technologies and our bloated lifestyles, we far too often prefer to ignore all the evidence of the toll such indulgences take on the world.
I doubt that yesterday’s message from the Pope will have much effect on us, given our endless capacity for kicking the ball down the road. The CBC reports the following:
In the message, Francis said the faithful should use the holy year to ask forgiveness for the “sins” against the environment that have been committed by the “irresponsible, selfish” and profit-motivated economic and political system.
He called for all of humanity to take concrete steps to change course, starting with repaying what he called the “ecological debt” that wealthy countries owe the poor.
“Repaying [the debt] would require treating the environments of poorer nations with care and providing the financial resources and technical assistance needed to help them deal with climate change and promote sustainable development,” he wrote.
But on a personal, more local level, we all have a role to play, he said:
For example: “avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices”.
Each of the above is easy to accomplish, but my hunch is that most can’t be bothered, consumed as they are by the busyness of their lives.
Is our collective indifference because we can’t personalize the existential threats we face (until, of course, we are flooded or burned out, of course)? I pose the question as I acknowledge the deeply paradoxical and conflicting facts of our nature. When, for example, we are called upon to act to help individuals, our courage can reach heroic, almost mythical proportions, as witnessed in the following:
How can we simultaneously be so selfish and so selfless? And more importantly, how can we harness what we are truly capable of for the common good? I wish I had some answers.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Trudeau Dedicated To Justice For First Nations Peoples – Acknowledges Abuse
Canada Acknowledges Abuse to First Nations Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has officially recognized Canada’s historical abuses toward aboriginals, and he is now calling on the pope to apologize too. Read more…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Some Surprising Findings
Whether it is due to what has been called The Francis Effect or the increasingly severe weather that so many parts of the world are experiencing, a recent study finds that more and more Americans are beginning to appreciate the threat posed by climate change. Additionally and rather surprisingly, even
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Maroc on Pope Francis and Kim Davis-Time To Take A Deep Breath
Can we perhaps sit down and take a deep breath before we set our hair on fire over Pope Francis having a 15-minute chat with Kim Davis, the fifty-year-old county clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, Read more…
Continue readingThe Pope, the Prime Minister and Naomi Klein
Pope Francis has made it very clear that he is profoundly concerned about what we are doing to life on our planet. He has particularly made it clear to Canadians. Earlier this month he gave an audience to our prime minister. It lasted all of 10 minutes and ended with
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Pope Francis offers hopeful perspective on global crises, says David Suzuki
Pope Francis’ recent encyclical on climate change contains a “scientifically and morally valid call for radical change”, says environmentalist David Suzuki. The post Pope Francis offers hopeful perspective on global crises, says David Suzuki appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingPolitical Eh-conomy: Podcast: Laudato Si and carbon trading
https://politicalehconomy.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/podcast150629-laudato-and-carbon.mp3 Last week, Pope Francis released his encyclical on climate change, Laudato Si. The document speaks out strongly against environmental degradation in all forms and even calls for climate justice between the global North and South. My first guest is Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig, staff writer at The New Republic who writes
Continue readingMichal Rozworski » Political Eh-conomy: Podcast: Laudato Si and carbon trading
http://rozworski.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/podcast150629-laudato-and-carbon.mp3 Last week, Pope Francis released his encyclical on climate change, Laudato Si. The document speaks out strongly against environmental degradation in all forms and even calls for climate justice between the global North and South. My first guest is Elizabeth Stoker Bruenig, staff writer at The New Republic who writes
Continue reading350 or bust: Pope Francis Raps About Planet
Some fun on a Friday afternoon, from the folks over at DeSmogBlog: * DeSmogBlog.com
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: What Does the Pope Know About Climate Change? Plenty.
We know the Holy Father has a background in science and a chemistry degree but just what does he know about climate change? Lots – lots and lots. The IPCC may have been around about two decades but the Vatican has had its own outfit, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences,
Continue reading350 or bust: Pope calls for action on climate change. Will the Canadian government respond?
Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada responds to the Encyclical released yesterday by Pope Francis, addressed not only to the world’s Catholics but to everyone on the planet. * Pope’s call to act on climate change must be heeded by Canadian Parliamentarians Inspired by Pope Francis’ challenge to care for creation and
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Pope Francis and the Moral Revolution to Save the Planet
His enemies tried to undermine Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change by leaking it before it was officially released today.But it's still an incredibly powerful document. Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, as his much-awaited
Continue readingPope Francis and the moral imperative of dealing with global warming
It’s no surprise that Pope Francis only gave PM Stephen Harper 10 minutes for his interview earlier this month. And no surprise he looked constipated in his photo op with the Prime Minister. Ten minutes with Harper would freeze the bowels of anyone concerned about global warming, and, unlike the
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