House Speaker John Boehner has extended an open invitation to Pope Francis to address a joint meeting of Congress.
According to ABC News, the formal invitation was extended by the speaker, who is Catholic, in a letter to the Vatican on Thursday, which was the Pontiff’s first anniversary.
Read more of the story by clickiing on the following: Pope Francis invited to address Congress | TheCelebrityCafe.com
Pope Francis has been announced as one of the 278 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize. Here are a few reasons why he deserves to win over the other nominees, which include Vladimir Putin and Edward Snowden.
Pope Francis for Nobel Peace Prize
1. He’s practically a rockstar
Read the other eight by clicking on the following: 9 Reasons why Pope Francis deserves the Nobel Peace Prize | Voxxi
No change in stewardship.
Three less families pledged. Total Parish Pledge decreased by $3,645.
When the priest died, Francis went to pray by his open casket and was stunned that no one had brought any flowers.
"This man forgave the sins of all the priests of Buenos Aires, but not a single flower ...?" Francis recalled. So he went out and bought a bouquet of roses, and when he returned to arrange them around the casket, he saw the rosary the priest still held in his hand.
"And immediately there came to mind the thief we all have inside ourselves and while I arranged the flowers I took the cross and with just a bit of force I removed it," he said, showing with his hands how he pulled the cross off the rosary. "And in that moment I looked at him and I said 'Give me half your mercy.'"
Francis said he kept the cross in his shirt pocket for years, but that the cassock he wears now as pope doesn't have a pocket. He now keeps it in a little pouch underneath.
"And whenever a bad thought comes to mind about someone, my hand goes here, always," he said, gesturing to his heart. "And I feel the grace, and that makes me feel better."
The interview with Corriere della Sera, translated by the Catholic News Service, suggested that Francis viewed the unions as a practical way to protect property rights and access to health care.
"Matrimony is between a man and a woman," he said. But he added that efforts to "regulate diverse situations of cohabitation (are) driven by the need to regulate economic aspects."
The news service notes that a year ago the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family said some legal arrangements are justifiable to protect the inheritance rights of non-married couples.
But the news service says that Francis is the first pope to "indicate even tentative acceptance of civil unions."
Click on the following for more details: Pope Francis leaves door open for same-sex unions
Stewardship pledges increased $470.00
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One less family pledged; $165 less Total Parish Pledge. Total Overpayments increase by $769.
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BERLIN — One of the most prominent conservatives in the German church is retiring as archbishop of Cologne — opening up a prestigious vacancy for Pope Francis to fill.
The Vatican said Friday that Francis had accepted the resignation of Cardinal Joachim Meisner for age reasons.
Meisner turned 80 on Christmas Day and has been Cologne archbishop for 25 years. Bishops hand in their resignation when they turn 75, their customary retirement age, but Pope Benedict XVI asked Meisner to stay on.
Meisner has been an outspoken and sometimes controversial conservative figure in liberally minded Germany. He opposed plans to build a large mosque in Cologne and once urged Chancellor Angela Merkel to apologize for criticizing the Vatican's handling of the case of a Holocaust-denying bishop.
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Click on the following for more details: Conservative German archbishop retires, leaving Pope Francis with prestigious vacancy to fill
