Pope Francis Reportedly Leaving Vatican at Night to Minister to Homeless of Rome Anonymously

[FourScore]

Tue Dec 03, 2013 at 01:47 AM PST
Pope Francis Reportedly Leaving Vatican at Night to Minister to Homeless of Rome Anonymously
by markthshark




Frankly, I lost faith (so-to-speak) in all types of organized religion long ago. I have given up on expecting good deeds and magnanimous gestures toward the poor coming from the Vatican. But after hearing the unorthodox outreaches to those less fortunate in the world by Pope Francis, lately, I've been reconsidering the time-worn, idealistic notion that one man can indeed change the world.

I think Pope Francis truly has the potential to be a transformative pontiff.

We've all heard about his washing the feet of the poor, his warm, unsolicited embrace of a gravely disfigured man, and about a dozen other diverse attempts to reach out and help common people around the world. His declarative statements about income inequality and corporate greed are legion.

Well, the Pope Da MAN has struck again!

Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, the "Almoner of His Holiness," (a distributor of alms to the poor) recently gave an interview that "raised speculation that the Pope joins him on his nightly trips into Rome to give alms to the poor." And apparently, there's a good chance that the rumors are true.

From the HuffPo.

A knowledgeable 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.

It's not surprising for the Pope to do things like this. As it turns out, in his prior life as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, he often broke bread and sat for hours at night ministering to the downtrodden on the streets of his native Argentina.

Nocturnal wanderings for a pope are not completely unheard of. Pope John XIII is said to have occasionally popped out of the Vatican to appreciate the benighted beauty of Rome. And, reportedly, Pope Pius XII was said to shed his robes and dress as a Franciscan to help smuggle Rome's Jewish citizens to safety during WWII. More recently, Pope Francis' predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI left the Vatican unannounced to visit an art exhibit.

Like I said before, I have no use for organized religion. I don't need a church to feel spiritual. But if a holy man in a hierarchical position such as a pope can truly care, console, comfort, and ultimately inspire the least among us... I say that man is doing good work.

Works Jesus himself would be proud of.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/03/1259763/-Pope-Francis-Reportedly-Leaving-Vatican-at-Night-to-Minister-to-Homeless-of-Rome-Anonymously

[global1]

1. I Really Like This Man....

Godspeed Pope Francis!!!!!!!

[randome]

2. What's next? Pope Francis is secretly Santa Claus?

You have to admire his willingness to 'walk the talk'.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[freshwest]

3. I give the man credit for being relatively sane in an insane, inhumane world. There's Latin phrase..

Forgot the exact language but grasped the meaning, Somthing like, Earth (dirt or clay defining our oirigins) despising Earth.

Underneath our aspirations to escape our lot a humans, seeking to stand on top of each other, we all will come to the same fate and return to Earth or dirt int he end. Why hurt that which one is a part of?

Francis appears to have taken some of the Bible literally, about not seeking the praise or men and doing good in secret, to be seen by a heavenly father figure. We can frame the gold rule in many ways, but that's what it is.

Thomas Paine said: 'My country is the world, to do good is my religion.'

And here we are on a political board, arguing as we must, what 'good' is. Nice OP, thanks for posting it.

[pa28]

4. He's spoiling the story that the poor earned their poverty and deserve contempt.

In the US we tell ourselves we can ignore the poor because that's god's plan for moral failings.

This is the reason people like Rush Limbaugh hate Pope Francis so much.

[pnwmom]

5. That Calvinist story has never been told by the Catholic Church. n/t

[theHandpuppet]

6. Just to set the record straight...

Oopsie!

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/03/05/pope-francis-strikes-back-church-critics-sex-abuse/1AV6WpnxgqVTLN1Cpj09MJ/story.html

On other matters, Pope Francis expressed frustration with “ideological” interpretations of his words and deeds, with depictions of him as “superman” or a “star,” and with some of the urban myths that have grown up around him.

For instance, Francis cited widely circulated reports that he leaves the Vatican at night incognito to distribute food to homeless people in the area around St. Peter’s Square.

“It never entered my mind to do that,” the pope said.