There is a rumor Pope Francis is ministering to the homeless in secret

Can this man get more badass? Well, yes, he can approve the ordination of women and promote the use of contraception. But otherwise, this man rocks so hard.

Archbishop Konrad Krawjewski, the “Almoner of his Holiness” mentioned the Pope may join him on his nightly trips to minister to the poor, and it is probably true.

The Huffington Post has some source that confirmed, “Swiss guards confirmed that the pope has ventured out at night, dressed as a regular priest, to meet with the homeless men and women.”

Krawjewski is quotes saying, “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.” This was a response to reporters asking if the Pope ministered with him in the city. Of course, there are rumors about other popes leaving the Vatican during the night, but aside from the Pope Pius XII rumors about dressing as Franciscan and smuggling Rome’s Jews to safety during WWII these nocturnal wanderings aren’t in the same vein. This is pretty amazing because treating poor people like they are people is revolutionary, which is really sad. Pope Francis was known for leaving at night and sharing bread with the homeless in Argentina to show them that they are loved.

This Pope amiright?

I have a great love for the Jesuits. I love them. They get shit done, and I like them a lot more since they put down the sword for god and all that.

John Nichols wrote about Pope Francis, inequity, and capitalism, which is awesome. Pope Francis gets real specific as to the causes of inequity saying the “new tyranny” of capitalism and the “idolatry of money” and “as long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequity, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems.” Drops mic.

Is it wrong to hope this is some kind of declaration of war on capitalism from the Catholic Church? I know it isn’t going to happen, but damn. Pope Francis warns about a throwaway culture that discards those who are no longer useful to the market at the expense of a culture of inclusion. He warns about a culture of exclusion being fatal.

Pope Francis’s statement demonstrates the growing international dialogue around the economy and inequity. His rejection of economic models and theories that have failed over and over, but are still being pushed such as austerity. Pope Francis also invokes facts in his argument against capitalism, which is bananas given the massive scale resistance to all things factual.

Pope Francis’ opinion might not change much, but he has a hell of a range and when he speaks people listen. And they are listening to a change in the arguments being made against capitalism. It should be noted that Catholicism has been wildly popular among the impoverished forever. Something about it resonates with the powerless, particularly the economically powerless. Personally, I think it has something to do with the New Testament teachings centering on love and embracing the weakest among us, but also liberation theology. I don’t know any Catholic who hasn’t learned about liberation theology.

Alright, alright, Pope Francis reaffirms the Vatican’s crackdown on the American sisters

*Relief* That was close you guys with Pope Francis treating women like people, and we were all concerned. But don’t you worry; Francis is backing the short-sighted reactionary policies around social movements the Catholic Church has traditionally backed. Naturally, those liberal Catholics who were throwing praise Francis’ way will be replacing it with shade.

Tom Kington for the Los Angeles Times wrote about Francis’ reaffirming the doctrinal evaluation and criticism of US nuns made by Pope Benedict and the Holy See last year. The assessment accused the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization that represents most female orders (80%) in the US, of promoting radical feminist agendas and themes (yes, please) and ignoring the Vatican’s stance on same-sex marriage and abortion.

Originally, the Vatican sent an archbishop to rewrite the Leadership Conference of Women Religious statutes and set up reeducation programs to get the nuns back in line, claiming the US orders are challenging the church’s teachings on women’s ordination and ministry to gays. This was denounced by Pat Farrell, the head of the organization, as an attempt to create “pain and scandal.” Protests and vigils were held outside churches, and a petition attacking the Vatican’s decision with 50,000 signatures.

On Monday, when Francis was reaffirming, officials from the conference met with Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller (head of the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) and Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle, the Vatican’s envoy to the nuns.

Francis “reaffirmed the findings of the assessment ant the program of reform” suggested for the nuns. A short statement after the meeting, the conference said “the conversation was open and frank. We pray that these conversations may bear fruit for the good of the church.” Sartain, assisted by two US bishops, is still in talks with the conference and hasn’t imposed any changes.

Kenneth Briggs, an author of a book on the Vatican’s clash with the US nun, stated that Francis backing the Holy See is a “major blow” to any dialogue: “It seems like the Vatican has put a more appealing salesman in charge of the same old product.”

Francis has been wooing the faithful because of his informal style, off-the-cuff homilies and his attempts to reach out to the poor. But this isn’t going to last if he is circling the wagons on conservative views on social issues. Father James Martin, a US Jesuit priest who led a Twitter drive last year to defend the nuns says this isn’t a good sign: “Given the long history of the LCWR investigation, it’s not surprising that Pope Francis is asking the Congregation [for the Doctrine of the Faith] to continue its work. It would have been odd for him to halt things at this point, so early in his job. But given that he himself is a member of a religious order, I would imagine that the sisters will get a sympathetic hearing from him.”

Fr. Martin is being kind here. I don’t think for a second that the sisters are going to get sympathetic ear. I think we’re going to see how deep the misogyny runs in the Catholic Church. We’re all members of religious orders here, but yours don’t count because you’re women. We’ll see how this plays, but I’m not hopeful. Full disclosure, I’m personally invested because of my Aunt who at one point was cited by name in the Vatican’s investigation.

Women are fundamental according to Pope Francis, and conservatives get scared.

Pope Francis just sent some conservative Catholics to God by saying women have ‘fundamental’ value

Brace yourselves. I know that is hard to hear. Women and value in the same sentence that doesn’t involve a sexual reference or a sandwich.

Katie J.M. Baker had a piece on Pope Francis’ actual statements and the reactions to them. His Popeliness called women “fundamental” to the Catholic Church, which angered a lot of people who think women should stay away from all things holy because ‘women, gross’. Baker jests that the pope might just be a feminist. No, no he isn’t.

According to Reuters the pope said:

“Francis, elected last month as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, said women had always had a special mission in the Church as ‘first witnesses’ of Christ’s resurrection, and because they passed belief onto their children and grandchildren.

“’In the Church, and in the journey of faith, women have had and still have a special role in opening doors to the Lord,’ Francis told thousands of pilgrims at his weekly audience in S. Peter’s Square.

“He said that in the Bible, women were not recorded as witnesses to Christ’s resurrection because of the Jewish Law of the time that did not deem women or children to be reliable witnesses.

“In the Gospels, however, women have a primary, fundamental role…The evangelists simply narrate what happened: the women were the first witnesses. This tells us that God does not choose according to human criteria,’ Francis said.”

So naturally, conservatives are freaking the fuck out. Officially the Vatican says women can’t be priests because Jesus only had male apostles. Conservatives employ this argument or what we will call “bros before hoes.” Last week, his Popeliness washed the feet of women in a reenactment of Jesus’ washing the apostles’ feet, which sent conservatives into a tizzy as well. But they are pretty sure Jesus didn’t hand with the women.

Catholics in favor of women priests argue that Jesus was conforming to the conventions of the time. They aren’t as surprised by Pope Francis’s actions and opinions as everyone else either.

According to Jezebel:

“The head of the Women’s Ordination Conference, which calls for women to be treated equally in the Church and to be allowed to become priests and bishops, said Francis’ words were the most encouraging she had heard in her lifetime, but didn’t go far enough.

“’While the pope was trying to be positive about women’s role, where he’s actually wrong is that women were actually disciples, like Mary Magdalene,’ WOC Executive Director Erin Saiz Hanna told Reuters. ‘He said women are able to communicate Christ’s words, but actually women can’t preach so that’s a false statement.’”

Come at her bro. Jezebel is curious and a little optimistic about the future of the Catholic Church because of Pope Francis. They close with a quote from Reuters from a source inside the Vatican, “Sources inside the Vatican have said Francis could reform the Vatican’s bureaucracy and restructure or even close down the Vatican’s bank after a series of scandals at the heart of the Holy See that damages the Church’s reputation.

Huzzah? I mean I’ll take it. As I’ve said before, anytime the Catholic Church looks like it is coming into the current century I get excited. Women are fundamental, what’s next? Women are human beings?

Pope Francis is at it again, exceeding my expectations by not being straight up evil

I’m seriously digging how much trouble the new Pope is causing. I’m still not in, he’s anti-gay (thought I read he might be changing his tune on equality in the law, but not in faith), and women aren’t high on his list of making things awesome, but then he goes and washes the feet of the poor, drops mic.

This doesn’t sound like radical stuff, but it is. I mean the Vatican has been targeting religious women in the States for their involvement with the poor (and property rights…long story), and now, Pope Francis is pulling some Dorothy Day/Catholic Worker hospitality shit right there in Rome for anyone to see.It is almost like he doesn't know the rules.

On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 people (as is tradition, though usually priests are chosen to represent the apostles, and Francis has a history of people the poor instead) including, women, men, Christians, Muslims, and those with tattoos. I know! Can you feel the scandal?

Pope Francis said, “This is a symbol, it is a sign. Washing your feet means I am at your service. Help one another. This is what Jesus teaches us. This is what I do. And I do it with my heart. I do this with my heart because it is my duty. As a priest and bishop, I must be at your service.”

That is straight Jesuit teaching; be a man and woman for others. Francis’ commitment to the poor was cool when he was still in Buenos Aires, but now he’s setting a bad example by reaching out to the marginalized groups like women and poor people. Of course, this sent the reactionary Catholics into a tizzy, Canon lawyer Edward Peters, an advisor to the Holy See’s top court, said, “By disregarding his own law in this matter, Francis violates, of course, no divine directive. What he does do, I fear, is set a questionable example.”

Obviously, Pope Francis by touch a woman’s feet is signaling the ordination of women as priests, and he’ll perform the first Catholic gay wedding on Eastern Sunday. This will usher in a new era of Catholic Progress and mandate social justice reforms internationally. Oh wait. None of that is going to happen. After all, in 2011, then-Cardinal Bergoglio wrote in his book On Heaven and Earth, that the priesthood is reserved for men “because Jesus was a man.” This is my favorite kind of logic…you know the kind that makes no since. For me, I just scream SCIENCE at the top of my lungs to shut people up when I don’t want to engage with them. It is usually accompanied by me running away. There is also a hand motion, but I don’t want to get into too much detail and ruin it for those of you who know me. 

My sophomore year of undergrad at a Jesuit University I had this very conversation with a seminarian (priest in training). We’ll call him A (because I can’t remember his name) and a little set up. There were three women in our history course on Catholicism in modern US history and none of us were Catholic. Most of the class was made up of seminarians. I sat behind one of them, when our very progressive priest instructor asked if women should be ordained.

Me: “Yes, they should. My aunt is a Roman Catholic nun and would be an excellent priest.”

A: [turns around in seat to address me] "Absolutely not. Why does she want to be a priest? To be in front? There are roles for women behind the scenes, and if she wants to be out front then she isn’t doing it for the right reasons.”

Me: “So why do you want to be a priest? Because there are roles for men behind the scenes too like monks.”

Sweet, sweet silence.

Honestly, I think A’s point was more revealing about his intentions as a priest than my aunt’s motivation, which is slightly rooted in feminism and the quest for equality and representation within her faith. At the end of the day what this is really about is women being seen as people by the Catholic Church, and this is the most movement we’ve seen on that front since they said nuns didn’t have to wear the habit. So I’ll take what we can get. The bar is pretty low after all. Maybe, just maybe women will be seen as more than their reproductive capacities soon. Probably not though. 

And now Pope Francis is giving all the progressives in the Catholic faith something to hope for, which they haven't had since before Pope John Paul II passed, actually before he got real sick.