Is Katy Perry hinting at rekindled romance with Orlando Bloom?

Katy Perry may have dropped a hint at her relationship status during an interview where she said she’s “spoken for.”

The singer had been asked whether she would date a contestant during an interview on Entertainment Tonight, April 23. She rejected the idea and said, “No, I’m sorry I have been spoken for and speak for myself. And I’m very happy!”

Host Lauren Zima clarified Perry’s statement by asking about an Instagram Story the singer posted earlier in the day. It showed Perry holding up a caricature of Orlando Bloom holding a broom with the caption “Orlando Broom.” Zima asked, “Are you a Mrs. Broom?”


Perry denied this and said, “No, I’m not a Mrs. Broom,” then winked at the camera to the hosts’ surprise.

The “American Idol” judge previously dated the “Lord of the Rings” actor for a year before breaking up on February 2017.

Previous reports mentioned the two celebrities may be trying to give their relationship a second chance. Last March, Perry left a flirty comment on Bloom’s shirtless Instagram photo. She said, “Oh hey! I was actually looking for a washboard to do my laundry on.”

On April 28, Perry and Bloom attended the Unite To Cure conference in the Vatican City where they met Pope Francis.

Perry shared a snapshot of the encounter on Instagram with Bloom standing to her right. She was invited to the conference to give a talk on meditation. Alfred Bayle/JB

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Pizza for the poor as Mother Teresa set for sainthood

Tens of thousands of pilgrims flocked into St. Peter’s square on Sunday to hear Pope Francis proclaim Mother Teresa a saint.

The nun, revered for her work with the poor of Kolkata, will be elevated to Catholicism’s celestial pantheon at a canonization mass presided over by Francis and due to get underway at 0830 GMT.

Around 100,000 faithful have been issued tickets for the mass, although the Vatican could easily have issued double that number but for space and security restrictions.

Helicopters buzzing over the 16th-century basilica testified to the huge security operation underway. Some 3,000 officers were on duty to ensure the day passed off peacefully.

Among the assembled crowd were some 1,500 poor or needy people who are looked after by the Italian branches of Teresa’s order, the Missionaries of Charity. After the mass they were to be Francis’s guests at the Vatican for a giant pizza lunch served by 250 sisters and 50 male members of the order.

Teresa died 19 years ago on Monday in the Indian city where she spent her adult life, first teaching, then tending to the dying poor.

It was in the latter role, at the head of her now worldwide order that Teresa became one of the most famous women on the planet.

Born to Kosovar Albanian parents in Skopje — then part of the Ottoman empire, now the capital of Macedonia — she won the 1979 Nobel peace prize and was revered around the world as a beacon for the Christian values of self-sacrifice and charity.

She was simultaneously regarded with scorn by secular critics who accused her of being more concerned with evangelism than with improving the lot of the poor.

The debate over the nun’s legacy has continued after her death with researchers uncovering financial irregularities in the running of her Order and evidence mounting of patient neglect, insalubrious conditions and questionable conversions of the vulnerable in her missions.

Miracles or medicine

Sceptics were absent from the Vatican Sunday however as Francis prepared to pay homage to a woman he sees as the embodiment of his vision of a “poor church for the poor.”

“Tomorrow we will have the joy of seeing Mother Teresa proclaimed a saint,” the Argentinian pontiff said on Saturday. “And how she deserves to be!”

By historical standards, Teresa has been fast-tracked to sainthood, thanks largely to one of the few people to have achieved canonisation faster, John Paul II.

The Polish cleric was a personal friend of Teresa and as the pope at the time of her death, he was responsible for her being beatified in 2003.

Achieving sainthood requires the Vatican to approve accounts of two miracles occurring as a result of prayers for Teresa’s intercession.

The first one, ratified in 2002, was of an Indian woman, Monica Besra, who says she recovered from ovarian cancer a year after Teresa’s death — something local health officials have put down to medical advances rather than the power of prayer.

In the second, approved last year, Brazilian Marcilio Haddad Andrino says his wife’s prayers to Teresa led to brain tumours disappearing. Eight years later, Andrino and his wife Fernanda will be in the congregation on Sunday.

Unique example

Also due to be in the crowd at St. Peter’s was Teresa Burley, an Italy-based American teacher of children with learning difficulties who says the soon-to-be Saint Teresa inspired her vocation.

“I’m also named Teresa,” she told AFP on the eve of the ceremony. “I remember growing up admiring the things she did for children and the poor.

“We need to remember we are here to help each other. We need to be here for those who can’t help themselves. It’s the same for refugees arriving here: we have to be there to help them transition into their new lives.”

Many Indians have made the trip to Rome, among them Kiran Kakumanu, 40, who was blessed by Teresa when he was a baby and grew up to become a priest.

Abraham, an Indian expatriate in London, said Teresa’s life had set a unique example to the world.

“She practised Christianity. The majority of Christians only spend their time talking about it.”

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Offline: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg chats with Pope Francis

The Pope didn’t need to log in to his Facebook account.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, together with his wife, Priscilla Chan, met with Pope Francis in his home in Vatican City.

“It was a meeting we’ll never forget. You can feel his warmth and kindness, and how deeply he cares about helping people,” Zuckerberg told his followers on Facebook.

“We told him how much we admire his message of mercy and tenderness, and how he’s found new ways to communicate with people of every faith around the world,” he said.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke says one topic of discussion at Monday’s meeting was “how to use communication technologies to alleviate poverty, encourage a culture of encounter, and make a message of hope arrive, especially to those most in need.”

Francis received a drone model from the “honored” couple, and was told of the couple’s works at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative which was launched in December 2015.

Aquila, a solar-powered aircraft that will beam internet connectivity to places with no internet connection, is part of Facebook’s efforts to bridge the digital divide.

“We also discussed the importance of connecting people, especially in parts of the world without internet access,” he said.

The social networking giant runs Free Basics, a platform for delivering basic information and services to developing economies like the Philippines.

The meeting with the pontiff was part of Zuckerberg and Chan’s tour of the quake-struck Italy.

The atmosphere appeared informal, with the chat taking place in the Santa Marta residence, the guest house in Vatican City where the Pope lives.

Zuckerberg ditched his regular gray shirt and suited up for the occasion.

The couple also met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and appeared in a Q&A session in Rome, which was streamed on Facebook Live. With a report from the Associated Press

source: technology.inquirer.net

Awareness of our goodness and sinfulness leads us to God’s redemptive love

In one of the interviews Pope Francis gave onboard a plane headed back to Rome, he responded with, “Who am I to judge?” when presented with the case of a homosexual cleric. The context in which the statement was made is equally important.

Before this, the Pope was talking about the need for a theology of sin in the light of the cleric’s case. Here the Pope makes a distinction between a crime and sin.

He talks about the necessary process of the investigation he had conducted as prescribed by canon law to address the crime. Then he goes on to condemn child abuse as a crime and makes a distinction with regard to sin if a person undergoes conversion.

In this specific context of a possible conversion, he makes the statement, “Who am I to judge?” He then quotes the catechism of the Catholic Church that says, “These persons must never be marginalized and they must be integrated into society.”

‘Who am I to judge?’

Pardon this long introduction to our reflection on this Sunday’s Gospel, the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery.

I suppose we can say that the basic principle and foundation of Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge?” statement is Christ’s “Neither do I condemn you.”

The beauty and power of this statement of Christ, again, is best appreciated in its broader context. What precedes the statement is Christ saying, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” as a response to the lobby group of the scribes and Pharisees. He then tells the woman, “Go and sin no more.”

Perhaps this is a good starting point for our reflection on a “theology” of sin. Let us begin with the end in mind. An authentic Christian “theology” of sin must lead us to God’s love, mercy and forgiveness—in short, redemption.

What I offer for our reflection is self-awareness and self-acceptance: to be aware of our blessings and goodness that lead us to the awareness of God’s love that is gracious and creative; and to accept that we are also flawed and sinful that leads us to the awareness of God’s love that is merciful, forgiving and redemptive. (This is an Ignatian teaching.)

Key to this framework of awareness and acceptance is the word “self.” This leads us to a personal awareness and acceptance of “our” blessings and sins. In both cases we can accept and be embraced by the personal love of God for us.

In the latter, a personal confession of our sinfulness leads us to a personal openness to and acceptance of God’s merciful, forgiving and redemptive love—a “love that comes to us in Christ.”

Truth

Note that all this is rooted and grounded in the truth—the truth of who we are or, in Ignatian parlance, a realistic knowledge of the self, blessed and sinful yet “loved and loved greatly” by God.

Coming face to face with the truth is a process of humility and a moment of the greatest humility. As Teresa of Avila put it, humility is truth.

The process of humility strips us of both the good and the bad. The stripping of the bad is obvious, but the stripping of the good is also important, and, perhaps because of its subtlety, becomes trickier.

We saw this in the older brother last Sunday in the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” where he complained about his being good for years yet not being rewarded. His being good led him to envy not so much his “bad” brother but the “unreasonable,” and “unfair” love of the father.

Doing more

As the cliché goes, the greatest enemy of the best is the good. As Ignatius dramatically processes this in one meditation before Christ Crucified, we must ask: What have I done for you? What am I doing for you? What more should I do for you?

The “more,” which always aims for “more,” makes the good not enough. For the woman in today’s Gospel, it was good that she was not condemned and stoned, but this was not enough. Christ adds, “Go and sin no more.”

This brings us to the next point for reflection in our “theology” of sin. Sin, we often say, is missing the mark, from the Greek “hamartia.” The Filipino word is “kasalanan” or  “sala” which means to go against, to transgress, to be lost.

Sin is the image of digressing, or not being true to our authentic self. Sin is forgetting who we are in our relationship with God, forgetting how much God loves us.

This love of God is mysteriously yet powerfully and clearly expressed in Christ’s “judgment” of the woman: “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

In the coming weeks leading to Holy Week, let us remember the story of the woman caught in sin. It is our story.

We are all the characters in the story: the scribes and Pharisees who “lobby” and accuse; the woman who sinned yet stands silently before her accusers and her God; and if we choose, we can be the person Christ loved and continues to love us.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Italian gay rights debate prompts rethink of sacred family

ROME— In Italy, family is considered so sacred that marriage is lauded in the Constitution. But what kind of family?

That has become a bitterly divisive question in a nation where the Vatican packs considerable political weight and where gays have grown impatient as other traditionally Catholic European countries have either allowed same-sex couples to marry or legally recognized their civil unions.

On Thursday, Italy’s Senate will plunge into a debate on proposed legislation to grant legal recognition to “civil unions,” including those of homosexual couples, without equating the partnerships to marriage.

The coalition government of Premier Matteo Renzi is pushing for the legislation, which includes the right of inheritance, to receive the pension of his or her deceased partner, or to make medical decisions about a partner in hospital. But one provision of the bill, to permit gays to adopt the biological children of their partner, has generated animosity even within Renzi’s coalition.

Opponents fear the so-called “stepchild adoption” will encourage male couples to turn to surrogate mothers abroad. Surrogacy is banned in Italy, as well as in many other European countries. Headlines warning of a surge in “rented uteruses” have abounded lately in Italian Catholic publications, as well as in more conservative lay newspapers.

Intentionally or not, Pope Francis has waded into the debate. Last week, in an annual address to the Vatican tribunal that grants marriage annulments, the pontiff declared: “There can’t be any confusion between the family intended by God and every other kind of union.”

And the head of the politically influential Italian Bishops Conference defended Catholics’ having their say in the debate. Laity must “inscribe divine law into earthly life,” Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said.

According to Vatican teaching, homosexual relations are sinful and marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

Pro-Vatican elements among Renzi’s Democrats are among those insisting the adoption provision be jettisoned, and the premier has told lawmakers “to vote according to your conscience.”

While politicians squabble over what rights gay couples should have, Italian courts increasingly have been approving the adoption by gays of their partner’s biological children on a case-by-case basis.

“This law is needed. Period,” Renzi told an Italian radio station recently, as political debate grew more acrimonious.

Besides the faith factor, the proposed bill has prompted a rethink of what constitutes family in a country where people rely on relatives or spouses when the state falls short. Grandparents care for children because public daycare spots are scarce; hospital staff often assume Italians will bring hot meals to their relatives’ bedside.

“Culturally, family is the ballast to Italian identity,” said Lisa Colletta, a professor of gender studies at The American University of Rome.

In her apartment in Rome, Martina Castagnole wakes in the middle of the night to care for 7-month-old Gabriele, and during the day plays with him, exactly like the boy’s biological mother, her partner, Giulia Filibeck, does.

“But in everyday life, I have no rights. I can’t take my son from school, I can’t travel with him abroad. If the baby is in the hospital, I cannot be involved” in his care, Castagnole told The Associated Press.

She said neighbors, or people whom the couple run into in the supermarket, accept the baby, which was conceived with sperm from a donor in England.

“It’s ever more frequent that people we meet, doctors, others, treat us and talk to us like we are both parents,” Castagnole said.

“Society is more advanced than the law,” she added, while lawmakers “have pressures on them, political, cultural, from the church.”

Opponents of the proposed legislation fear gay civil unions will pave the way for gay marriage. They have promised to draw 1 million people to Rome’s ancient Circus Maximus field on Saturday to loudly lodge their objections to “stepchild adoption.”

“We uphold the position of the Catholic church on marriage, a millennia-old institution,” said a rally organizer, Paolo Maria Floris. He stressed that organizers support “individual” rights for gay couples such as inheritance. “But the rights of children come first; they need to have a mother and a father.”

Next weekend’s rally comes in contrast to rallies in nearly 100 cities nationwide last Saturday, when homosexuals and other backers of the legislation sounded alarm clocks at the same hour to signal that the time has come to give rights to same-sex couples.

In a curious twist, some backers of the bill hail from the conservative fold of former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, whose fiancee is an outspoken advocate for gay rights.

The bill’s path will likely be a long one. Opponents have tacked on several thousand amendments in a bid it to slow down the process, and it is not known when lawmakers will vote on the proposal. TVJ

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Pope Francis opens Catholic Holy Year dedicated to mercy

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Tuesday launched an extraordinary Catholic Jubilee year by opening a "Holy Door" in the walls of St Peter's, embracing a 700-year-old tradition while urging the Church to reach out and embrace the modern world with mercy.

"This is the door of the Lord. Open to me the gates of justice," the Argentinian pontiff said before being helped up three marble steps to push the giant bronze doors open.

In a break with tradition that reflected Francis's modernising instincts, the order to open the doors was delivered in Italian rather than Latin.

The 78-year-old then paused on the threshold of the renaissance basilica for two minutes of silent prayer before walking inside in an act to be carried out by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in the coming months.

Francis was followed through the door by his predecessor, the now-retired Benedict XVI, 88, and by hundreds of cardinals, bishops and male and female members of religious orders.

Clutching a walking stick in his right-hand and looking extremely pale, Benedict was helped into the basilica on the arm of a young cleric.

Amid heightened security following recent terror attacks around the world, an estimated 50,000 pilgrims packed into St Peter's square and surrounding streets to watch Francis open the usually bricked-up wall in the facade of the renaissance basilica.

Many had tears rolling down their cheeks or eyes clenched shut in prayer as Francis ordered the door open for the first time since the last Jubilee, in 2000.

The first pilgrims had been in the square since before dawn in search of a prime spot to watch the latest enactment of a ceremony laden with religious symbolism.

"To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them," Francis said in a homily during the preceding mass.

Francis also underlined the significance of his decision to start the Jubilee on the 50th anniversary of the end of the second Vatican Council, a gathering of bishops credited with a modernisation of the Church that Francis is attempting to emulate.

Francis said the 1960s council had allowed the Church to emerge from self-enclosure.

"It was the resumption of a journey of encountering people where they live: in their cities and homes, in their workplaces," he said.

"Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the gospel."

For Francis's predecessor, the German-born Joseph Ratzinger, Tuesday's ceremony represented a rare public outing.

The Emeritus Pope, as he is officially known, has lived in seclusion within the Vatican since retiring in 2013 as failing health left him incapable of running an institution beset by the clerical sex abuse scandal and internecine bickering in its upper echelons.

Tuesday's celebrations will conclude in the evening when images by some of the world's greatest environmental photographers will be projected onto the facade of Saint Peter's in an initiative linked to the ongoing global climate conference in Paris.

Mercy not judgement
The Jubilee, which runs until November 20, 2016, was called by Francis with the express goal of changing the way the Church is perceived by the faithful, lapsed believers and the rest of the world.

"How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy," he said on Tuesday.

"We have to put mercy before judgment ... Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved."

In a surprise move reflecting that aim, Francis announced in September that for the duration of the Jubilee, priests would be given special dispensation to absolve women who have had abortions.

In addition, some 800 priests around the world are to be designated "missionaries of mercy" tasked with encouraging higher levels of confession amongst believers.

Those involved have been selected for their ability to preach well, understand human frailty and ensure the confessional is not experienced "like a torture chamber" as the pope has put it.

Francis's push for a less judgemental, more understanding Church has encountered fierce resistance from traditionalists opposed to any relaxation of teaching on hot-button subjects such as homosexuality, divorce and unmarried cohabitation.

Traditionally, Catholics were expected to make a pilgrimage to Rome to benefit from the indulgences on offer to the faithful who pass through the Holy Doors during Jubilee years.

Francis has effectively done away with this custom by ordering cathedrals around the world to open their own Holy Doors. That will happen on Sunday, when Francis himself opens the door at one of Rome's major churches, St John Lateran. —Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Pope says Church doors must stay open despite terror fears

Pope Francis said Wednesday that the doors of Catholic churches around the world must remain open, despite increased security fears in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

"Please, no armored doors in the Church, everything open," the 78-year-old pontiff told pilgrims in St Peter's square, Italy's AGI news agency reported.

"There are places in the world where doors should not be locked with a key. There are still some but there are also many where armored doors have become the norm.

"We must not surrender to the idea that we must apply this way of thinking to every aspect of our lives," Francis said.

"To do so to the Church would be terrible."

The pope did not explicitly refer to last week's attacks on Paris, which he has condemned as "inhuman."

His comments came in the context of intense discussion in Italy about the security of the Vatican and Rome, which are seen as potential targets for Islamist militants.

Francis's comments also had a spiritual significance -- he has urged the Church to keep its doors open to lapsed believers who are considering returning and to the hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving in Europe from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Italy announced this week that it would close airspace over Rome to drones for the duration of the upcoming Catholic jubilee year, which is expected to bring more than a million extra visitors to the Italian capital.

The move reflects fears a remote-controlled aircraft could be used by Islamic State or other militant groups to stage a potentially spectacular attack on the home of the Catholic church.

Security has also been stepped up at airports and train stations and some 700 extra troops deployed in public spaces in Rome.

Individuals purporting to be Islamic State militants have made a number of threats against Rome on social media and in the group's propaganda outlets.

Italian officials say they take such statements seriously but that they have never received evidence of a credible, specific plot to bomb Rome, the Vatican or the Pope. —Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Vatican sacks priest after he comes out as gay

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican dismissed a priest from his post in a Holy See office on Saturday after he told a newspaper he was gay and urged the Catholic Church to change its stance on homosexuality.

Monsignor Krzystof Charamsa was removed from his position at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal arm where he had worked since 2003, a statement said.

Charamsa, 43, and a Polish theologian, announced he was gay and had a partner in a long interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper on Saturday.

He later held a news conference with his partner, a Spanish man, and gay activists at a Rome restaurant. They had planned a demonstration in front of the Vatican but changed the venue several hours before it was due to have started.

The Vatican said Charamsa's dismissal had nothing to do with his comments on his personal situation, which it said "merit respect".

But it said giving the interview and the planned demonstration was "grave and irresponsible" given their timing on the eve of a synod of bishops who will discuss family issues, including how to reach out to gays.

It said his actions would subject the synod, which Pope Francis is due to open on Sunday, to "undue media pressure".

The issue of homosexuality and the Church has dominated the aftermath of the pope's visit to the United States last week.

In Saturday's interview, Charamsa said his partner had helped him come to terms with his sexuality and knew he would have to give up the priesthood, although the Vatican statement made no reference to this outcome.

"It's time for the Church to open its eyes about gay Catholics and to understand that the solution it proposes to them — total abstinence from a life of love — is inhuman," he was quoted as saying.

The Catholic Church teaches that homosexuality is not a sin but that homosexual acts are.

The Vatican has been embarrassed by controversy over the pope's meeting with Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who went to jail in September for refusing to honor a US Supreme Court ruling and issue same-sex marriage licences.

The Vatican said on Friday that "the only real audience" the pope had during his visit to Washington was with a small group that included a gay couple. — Reuters

Pope Francis secretly met Kentucky clerk over gay marriage licenses

LOS ANGELES/VATICAN CITY -  Pope Francis secretly met a Kentucky county clerk last week who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and gave her words of encouragement, her attorney said.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis and her husband met with the pope during the Washington leg of his visit to the United States, after the Vatican reached out to her several weeks ago, ABC reported on Wednesday.

"It was really very humbling to even think that he would want to, you know, meet me or know me," Davis told ABC. "I put my hand out, and he grabbed it, and I hugged him, and he hugged me and he said, 'Thank you for your courage.'"

"He told me before he left, he said, 'Stay strong.' That was a great encouragement," Davis said.

Davis said knowing that the pope agreed with what she was doing "kind of validates everything."

ABC said the pope gave Davis a rosary, which she plans to give to her Catholic parents.

Mat Staver, attorney and founder of the Liberty Counsel, told CBS News that the pope met Davis and her husband at the Vatican embassy in Washington last Thursday.

Vatican chief spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he would neither confirm nor deny the report and that there would be no further statement. This was unusual for the Vatican, which normally issues either denials or confirmations.

The report of the meeting came after Francis largely avoided the contentious issue of same-sex marriage during his historic visit to the United States, where he addressed Congress, met with the homeless and urged the country to welcome immigrants.

The pope, speaking to reporters as he returned home from his 10-day trip to the U.S. and Cuba on Monday, said government officials had a "human right" to refuse to discharge a duty if they felt it violated their conscience.

Staver, whose client was jailed for five days in September for refusing to comply with a judge's order to issue the licenses in line with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, told CBS his team did not want to disclose the meeting until now to avoid interfering with the pope's broader message during his visit.

"Because we didn't want the pope's visit to be overshadowed with Kim Davis," Staver said in an interview on the network.

During the meeting, the pope told Davis to "stay strong", Staver said.

Davis has said her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her church belongs to a Protestant movement known as Apostolic Pentecostalism.

To keep a low profile, Davis went to the Vatican embassy in a sports utility vehicle with her hair in a different style than her normal look, Staver told CBS, adding he was not present.

Conservative Christians, including some Republican presidential candidates, have said Davis is standing up for religious freedom.

But the American Civil Liberties Union, which went to court to ensure same-sex couples can obtain marriage licenses in Rowan County, has argued she has a responsibility as an official to issue the licenses, regardless of her views.

The ACLU, in papers filed on Sept. 21 with the judge hearing the case, asked the court to require Davis to stop making alterations to the licenses, such as removing any reference to the Rowan County clerk's office.  — Reuters

Feted in China, Xi’s US profile dims in shadow of Pope Francis

BEIJING/WASHINGTON - On Friday morning, Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoyed the symbolic high point of his first state visit to the United States—a 21-gun salute as he stood with President Barack Obama outside the White House.

For most Americans, it was a sideshow: the main news networks were deep into their fourth straight day of blanket coverage of Pope Francis' historic US visit.

Xi's US trip has—at least in terms of US media coverage—been firmly overshadowed by the wildly popular pontiff, raising questions over its timing and contrasting sharply with the wall-to-wall coverage of Xi by Chinese media.

China's tightly controlled state media has focused heavily on the pomp, ceremony and shows of respect Xi has been treated to in Seattle and then Washington.

The adoring domestic coverage is important for Xi, who is grappling with Chinese market instability and a flagging economy at a time when he is seeking to consolidate his grip on the leadership ahead of a crucial Communist Party congress in 2017.

On a visit to a high school in Tacoma, near Seattle, where Xi and his singer wife Peng Liyuan were serenaded by the school choir, state television showed children screaming their appreciation. A day earlier, Xi had quoted Martin Luther King and sprinkled references to US pop culture into his speech to tech executives.

China has also stressed Xi's personal connection to the United States, with the Xinhua news agency carrying a video on its Facebook page—not mentioning that Facebook is blocked in China—showing him putting on a friendly face for Americans.

"From Iowa visitor to White House guest," the English-language video explains, referring to a brief 1985 visit when Xi was an animal-feed official in Hebei, Iowa's sister province.

The pope's visit to the United States, by contrast, has barely featured in the Chinese media. The Vatican has had no formal diplomatic ties to Beijing since shortly after the Communist Party took power in 1949.

Francis, the most socially progressive pope in generations, has drawn large crowds and the kind of welcome normally reserved for rock stars during his first US visit, which ends in Philadelphia on Sunday. US live news networks have hung on his every word and step.

One-sided media battle

Talk of the pope dwarfed any attention given Xi's visit, according to data provided by MediaMiser, which tracks news and media content online, on television and radio.

From Aug. 26 to Sept. 25, tweets in the United States about Francis topped 765,000, compared to 107,000 for Xi, according to MediaMiser. Online articles from Sept. 20-24 mentioned the pope nearly four times more than Xi. On television, the pope was mentioned over 25 times more.

Francis flew out of Washington, heading to a rapturous reception in New York and a star turn at the United Nations General Assembly, just as Xi was arriving.

Under Xi, US-Chinese relations are at a low, hurt by tensions over cyber theft and China's assertive moves in Asian maritime disputes.

"To be contrasted with someone who has no military, no economic might and be completely eclipsed, I think it's astounding. I don't think the Chinese are noticing the contrast in messages," said Jorge Guajardo, the former Mexican ambassador to China from 2007 to 2013 who lives in Washington.

Chinese officials played down any suggestion that the pope's visit had eclipsed Xi.

"The pope's visit, we noticed that and that ... he is welcomed by the public. His visit has his own bearing here. President Xi's visit has its own bearing," said Chinese delegation spokesman Lu Kang.

Xi slid further down the US news agenda on Friday morning, when Republican House of Representative Speaker John Boehner announced his resignation. The big networks quickly cut off Xi speaking at a news conference with Obama to follow a briefing by Boehner.

Chinese officials have kept security around Xi's visit particularly tight, limiting his ability to go off script and interact with the public. He left his wife Peng to fill that role in Washington, where she accompanied First Lady Michelle Obama to name a new-born panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Officials in Tacoma said the security preparations had been gruelling.

"We met with advance teams six or eight times over the summer," Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland said of Xi's visit to the high school.

Ming Xia, a political science professor at New York's City University who travelled to take part in an anti-Xi protest outside the White House, said the pope's humility during his visit had highlighted what he called Xi's arrogance.

"The pope was praying with the homeless and said we are all equal in the eyes of God, the real father. Xi thinks he's the father of the Chinese people—he has assumed the power of God." — Reuters

Pope Francis meets with the homeless at DC’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral

After addressing the Joint Session of the US Congress, Pope Francis' schedule relaxes a little as he now has time to meet ordinary Americans before he flies to New York later in the day. He is heading to St. Patrick's Cathedral in Washington D.C., where he will meet the homeless beneficiaries of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington's St. Maria’s Meals program.

According to reports, the group will set up 55 tables for the homeless and needy to have lunch. Pope Francis is expected to bless the meal and interact with the diners.

The Vatican will livestream the event, which is expected to start at 11:10 p.m. Manila time. You can watch it here.


After this event, Pope Francis will fly to New York City, where he will conduct evening prayer at St. Patrick's Cathedral at 6:45 a.m. Friday (Manila time). — BM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Pope‘s words for Filipinos

 

Most of Pope Francis' message during his visit to the Philippines were delivered in Spanish. Here are some excerpts from the remarks he delivered.

During the Mass with clergymen and religious: "The great danger is a certain materialism which can creep into our lives and compromise the witness we offer. Only by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify with the least of our brothers and sisters."

 

In meeting with families*: "To dream how will your daughter or son be. It is not possible to have a family without such dreams... When you lose this capacity to dream, then you lose the capacity to love and this energy to love is lost."

 

During the Mass for Yolanda survivors in Tacloban*: "So many of you have lost everything. I don’t know what to say to you. But the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you have lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silent...But please know, Jesus never lets you down. Please know that the love and tenderness of Mother Mary never lets you down."

 

In encounter with the youth*: "Today, with so many means of communications, we are overloaded with information. Is that bad? Not necessarily. It is good and it can help. But there is a real danger of living in a way of accumulating information... We run the risk of becoming museums of young people that have everything but without knowing what to do with them. We don’t need youth museums but we do need holy young people."

 

At the Concluding Mass in Luneta: "We forget to remain, at heart, children of God. That is sin: to forget at heart that we are children of God. For children, as the Lord tells us, have their own wisdom, which is not the wisdom of the world. That is why the message of the Santo Niño is so important. He speaks powerfully to all of us. He reminds us of our deepest identity, of what we are called to be as God’s family."

* — message delivered in Spanish


— Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/RSJ, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Pope Francis urges youth to use information technology wisely

 

Pope Francis on Sunday urged the youth to judiciously use information technology (IT) lest "the psychology of the computer let us think that we know it all."

 

Speaking at an encounter with the youth at the University of Santo Tomas, the pope said having many modern means of communication can help but there is a danger of accumulating information.

 

"Today with so many means of communication, we are overloaded with information. Is that bad? Not necessarily ... It is good and it can help, but there is a real danger of living in a way of accumulating information. We have so much information but maybe we dont know what to do with that information," he said through an interpreter.

 

 

 

He warned of the risk of becoming museums of young people who he said have everything but may not know what they want to do with them.

 

The Pope said the challenge is to learn how to love and "through that love, that information bear fruit."

 

"We dont need youth museum but we do need holy young people," he said.

 

Also, he said the youths should learn to use their hearts, minds and hands - "to think, to feel, to do, and all that harmoniously."

 

The Pope also warned against having the psychology of a computer to "think we know it all."

 

"Let us not have the psychology of a computer to think we know it all," he said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

Pope Francis 'very impressed' by Filipinos' passionate welcome

 

An estimated 800,000 to a million Filipinos gathered between Villamor Air Base in Pasay City to the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila on Thursday to offer Pope Francis a welcome that only the lone predominantly Catholic country in Asia could give.

Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, the director of the Vatican Press Office, said the Filipino faithful did not at all disappoint.

Wire agency Agence France-Presse described the Filipino reception as "rapturous."
 

"The Pope was very impressed," Lombardi said in a news conference at the Vatican Media Center, a short distance away from the Pope's official residence in Manila.

 

"The first encounter of the Pope [with the Filipino people] was very impressive, important, and touching," he added.

 

Aside from the welcoming party at the air base and the crowd that gathered in front of the nunciature, Filipinos lined the route of the papal motorcade to give the 78-year-old pontiff an ardent receptiion.

Lawyer Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority and a member of the organizing committee of the papal visit, said the agency estimate of the people that gathered was between 800,000 to a million.

 

President Benigno Aquino III and members of the Cabinet received Pope Francis at Villamor Air Base late Thursday afternoon. 

 

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines president Archbishop Socrates Villegas, and other prelates were also at the airbase to welcome the pontiff.

 

Students from various Catholic schools in Parañaque performed three dances to welcome the Pope at the airbase.

Church bells tolled

It was the beginning of a five-day trip in the Catholic Church's Asian heartland that is tipped to attract a world-record papal crowd.

 

Church bells tolled across the former Spanish colony as the charismatic pontiff flew into the capital of Manila after a successful visit to Sri Lanka.

 

Francis smiled as he looked out the window of his plane upon touchdown, greeted by the sight of hundreds of children on the tarmac chanting "Welcome Pope Francis!" and "We love you, Pope Francis!"

 

Francis has said his two-nation tour is aimed at adding momentum to the Church's already impressive growth in Asia, with its support in the Philippines the benchmark for the rest of the region. 

 

Eighty percent of the former Spanish colony's 100 million people practise a famously fervent brand of Catholicism, and the pope is set to enjoy thunderously enthusiastic crowds throughout his stay.

 

"Every step he makes, every car ride he takes, every moment he stays with us is precious for us," Villegas said as he called on all Filipinos to make an effort to see him.

 

Hundreds of thousands of people crowded the route the pope passed as he made a 35-minute trip in a "popemobile" from the airport to the Vatican's embassy to rest overnight.

 

The pope stood on the back of the vehicle, which had no walls, waving and smiling constantly to the crowd.

 

"It's a blessing to see the pope. That's why we're here," school teacher Jeannie Blesado, 35, told AFP.
 

Personally comfort Yolanda survivors
 

Pope Francis has several engagements in Manila but Church leaders said the Holy Father's main intention was to personally comfort the survivors of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in Leyte.

Yolanda, which hit Central Philippines in November 2013, was the strongest typhoon on record to ever make landfall.

 

More than 40,000 policemen and soldiers are deployed different areas to secure the Holy Father during his five-day stay in the country.

 

This is the first time that Pope Francis visited the Philippines, and Southeast Asia since taking the helm of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013. 

 

The 78-year-old charismatic pontiff went to Sri Lanka for a three-day visit, to kick off his Asian tour, before coming to the Philippines.

 

The first Jesuit Pope who hailed from Argentina gave Sri Lanka its first saint, Catholic priest Joseph Vaz, who led he rebuilding of the Church in the country during he 17th and 18th centuries after the Dutch declared Calvinism as the official religion.

 

The 266th Pope of the Catholic Church is expected to draw some six million people in an open air Mass on Sunday at Rizal Park in Manila. —with a report from Agence France Presse/NB/JST, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

 

What the Pope can do

 

In the Philippines, Pope Francis will have the mother of all pulpits.

 

He will surely use it to convey words of comfort for the afflicted. But will he also have a message that will shake up the comfortable, even a gentle prick of the conscience that will recognize the deep social injustices afflicting the only Catholic nation in Asia?

 

Most of the world already knows better than to expect only soothing sentiments from this pontiff. Of course, few here expect the Christmas scolding he gave Vatican officials for "arrogance" and "hypocrisy," among other choice weaknesses. 

 

But he must know that he faces a rare opportunity to make a lasting impact on a country with structural inequities comparable to the worst in his native Latin America.

 

If he saw images from the latest Nazareno procession, he will be acutely aware that a lack of religious fervor is not one of our problems. What is glaringly obvious is that our society does not practice what has been preached by many generations of priests on our shores.

 

It's interesting that he chose to combine Sri Lanka and the Philippines in a single trip: the former has a Catholic minority and will treat him not much differently from any popular head of state. Then he flies to the Philippines, where he will have a sense of what the Second Coming could be like.

 

The first Jesuit Pope will not be content with bringing inspiration. He wants to get stuff done. There are indications that climate change and poverty will be his major themes, especially when he visits Leyte and survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.

 

What many papal observers await is how he will frame his message. He has denounced the worst effects of capitalism, evident in what is happening to the planet and the world's poor. But will the Philippines be merely a showcase of the fate of others if they do not heed his call to address these twin ills?

 

Or will he inspire Filipinos to do more than seek his blessings and to solve worldy problems in our backyard?

 

Nearly everyone I've spoken with about the papal visit has a wish list for what can be done during this historic event. Some of my favorites;

 

1. Denounce torture by the state, which the Pope's own country Argentina has had to struggle to overcome. The Philippine police, the same force that the Pope will see protecting him in large numbers, is notorious for its abuse of ordinary citizens, with torture a common occurrence and occasionally a form of entertainment, as an Amnesty International report asserted late last year. No police officer has yet been convicted of torture.

 

2. Admonish erring priests, apologize on their behalf and call for their punishment. It could very well be that our culture of impunity is rooted in the socially influential, such as men of the cloth, being above the law. 

 

3. "Be more scientific." In addition to trusting in God, the Pope can urge Filipinos to trust in education and our own drive to deal with our problems. It's pointless to blame God for disasters; He gave us the will and mind to adapt and mitigate. As the Pope himself has said, "God is not a magician with a magic wand." A believer in evolution and the Big Bang theory, Pope Francis is a model for how to be a man of science and a man of faith at the same time. 

 

4. "Clean as you go." As he prepares a major encyclical this year on the environment, the "green pontiff" can demonstrate his moral power before the multitudes in Luneta. The papal crowd need not be like the Nazareno crowd or any other large public gathering in the Philippines. It can refrain from leaving garbage, now and forever. 

source: gmanetwork.com

Francis, the revolutionary pope

 

It’s less than a week before Pope Francis steps foot in the Philippines to visit Yolanda survivors and other members of the Filipino faithful. Before his historic visit, GMA News Online looks back at why the Pontiff—the first Jesuit and the first non-European and Latin American pope in 1,300 years—is shaping up to be a revolutionary leader of the Catholic Church. 

 

Before he became Pope Francis, the pontiff was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, the son of a rail worker father and a housewife mother. He led a simple life as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires before he was elected to the papacy in March 2013. 

 

Moments after his election, Pope Francis made history by taking on the name Francis, after Saint Francis of Assisi, who was known to have shunned wealth to live in poverty.

 

Throughout his almost two-year leadership, Pope Francis has proven to be a pope to watch, one that has breathed life back into a tired church with his views on controversial issues, including the treatment of gays and lesbians, evolution, divorce and others.

 

LGBTs should be respected

 

In a remarkable change from his predecessor Benedict, who said homosexuality was an intrinsic disorder, Francis said that when homosexuals told him they were always condemned by the Church and felt "socially wounded," he told them "the Church does not want to do this."

 

Pope Francis defended gays from discrimination by saying he was in no position to judge members of the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender community.
 

"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?" the pope said.

 

"The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well. It says they should not be marginalized because of this (orientation) but that they must be integrated into society," he said in 2013.

 

However, the Pope also referred to the Catholic Church's universal Catechism, which says that while homosexual orientation is not sinful, homosexual acts are.

 

"The problem is not having this orientation. We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem," he said.

 

Evolution not in contradiction with God

 

Another issue where Pope Francis diverted from the longtime stance of the Catholic Church is on the topic of evolution.

In October of last year, Pope Francis embraced evolution and said the Big Bang Theory is not at odds with God’s teachings.

 

Addressing a meeting of the Pontificial Academy of Sciences, an independent body housed in the Vatican and financed largely by the Holy See, Francis said scientific explanations for the world did not exclude the role of God in creation.

 

"The beginning of the world is not the work of chaos that owes its origin to something else, but it derives directly from a supreme principle that creates out of love," he said.

 

"The 'Big Bang', that today is considered to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the creative intervention of God, on the contrary it requires it," he said.

 

"Evolution in nature is not in contrast with the notion of [divine] creation because evolution requires the creation of the beings that evolve," the pope added.

 

Abortion still horrific

 

Yet while he has embraced views that some may call revolutionary for the 2,000-year-old Catholic Church, there are some issues on which Pope Francis stays with the script. A notable issue which the Church has long condemned is the practice of abortion. 

 

Last year, Pope Francis, pushed by critics, called the act “horrific.”

 

"It is horrific even to think that there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day," he said in a section of the speech about the rights of children around the world.

 

Abortion, he said, was part of a "throwaway culture" that had enveloped many parts of the world.

 

"Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as unnecessary," he said.

 

Moral renewal

 

Pope Francis has also proved that he was not immune to criticizing those in his backyard. In his New Year’s message, Pope Francis cited the need for moral upheaval in Rome and in the Vatican itself.

 

“The Curia needs to change, to improve ... a Curia that does not criticize itself, that does not bring itself up to date, that does not try to improve, is a sick body," the Pope said.
 

Francis even went as far as to say that some in the Curia acted as if they were "immortal, immune or even indispensable," an apparent reference to retired cardinals who remain in the Vatican and continue to exert influence.

 

With all of his pronouncements that have brought the Catholic Church into the light of the 21st Century, it’s no wonder the world’s Catholics have embraced Francis as the “people’s pope.” —KG, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

Where to get papal visit souvenir items

It's not everyday that the Philippines gets a pastoral visit from the head of the Roman Catholic Church. To celebrate this "once-in-a-lifetime" event, a lot of the faithful look for items that remind them of the occasion. 

 

Here's a list of places where you can get memorabilia to remind you of Pope Francis' visit to the Philippines: 

 

Caritas Manila

The social arm of the Archdiocese of Manila Caritas Manila offers T-shirts for P180-P300 for the papal visit. They also sell umbrellas for P150 and rosary beads for P100. All of their proceeds will be used to sustain programs for the poor.

 

Contact 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 or 0929-8343857 to order. 

 

 

Radyo Veritas 

 

Catholic radio station Radyo Veritas has a papal visit commemorative gift pack to all those who will donate P500 to the Radio Veritas Foundation Inc. 

 

The gift pack includes the following:
 

• Papal visit commemorative card 
• 30-day unlimited entertainment load powered by a video-on-demand for P250 
• Other commemorative items like the official papal visit T-shirt, foldable fan, and a hand-made wooden rosary bracelet
• Discount coupons from several participating consumer brands 

 

However, because of the huge demand, the gift packs are no longer in stock. But Radyo Veritas is already working on making the items available in major department stores. 

 

Jesuit Communications 

 

Jesuit Communications is known for its liturgical music. And for the pontiff's visit, they made an entire album for the first Jesuit pope. Titled "Mercy and  Compassion: Songs for Pope Francis," the 14-track  album features inspirational songs by Filipino artists like Aia de Leon, Noel Cabangon, Jett Pangan, Ebe Dancel, and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle.  

 

To get a copy of "Mercy and Compassion," visit Jesuit Communications at Sonolux Bldg., Seminary Dr., Ateneo de Manila University. You can also call the Tanging Yaman store at 4265971 to 72 local 112-113, email tanging.yaman@jescom.ph, or visit the Tanging Yaman kiosk at SM Megamall. It will also be available in religious outlets and all Universal Records stores.

 

Philippine Precious Moments Collectors' Community 

 

Aside from the usual souvenir items, a gift shop in Makati has also created miniature Pope Francis dolls. 

 

Philippine Precious Moments Collectors' Community made a 12-inch Pope Francis doll that costs for P1,000. It comes with a doll box and a certificate of authenticity.

 

The doll has been available since January 1. To get your own piece, visit Precious Moments Manila Showroom in Makati, Precious Moments Lobby Shop in Century Park Hotel, and Jojo's Christmas Cottage in Aklan. For orders, reservations, and inquiries, contact (02) 887-5252 / 225-8332.

 

 

 

 

Philippine Postal Corporation 

 

The Philippine Postal Corporation has also released commemorative stamps to mark the visit of Pope Francis.

 

The collection features four designs selling at P10 each. 

 

 

Online stores 

 

For those who prefer to have their pope souvenirs delivered right at their front doorstep, many Philippine-based online stores such as OLX and AyosDito.ph also have a wide range of items that feature papal visit designs.   

 

Quiapo 

 

The papal visit also sparked the creativity of many small-to-medium entrepreneurs who made their own designs to celebrate the Pope's coming. 

 

Many street vendors in Quiapo have already started selling various Pope Francis-related items such calendars, T-shirts, and prayer booklets during the last quarter of 2014. — VC, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

 

Pope condemns Paris shooting, says stop spread of hate

 

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis condemned as "abominable" the attack on Wednesday that killed 12 people at the Paris offices of a weekly satirical magazine known for lampooning Islam, calling on everyone to stop the spread of hate.

"The Holy Father expresses his firmest condemnation of the horrible attack," chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said in statement.

Francis "calls on everyone to oppose every method of spreading hate" because it "radically undermines the fundamental good of peaceful coexistence of people despite national, religious and cultural differences".

"Whatever its motivation might be, homicidal violence is abominable (and) is never justified," the spokesman said, reflecting the sentiments of the pope.

The leader of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church was "participating in the prayers and sufferings of the injured and the families of the dead", the spokesman said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Vatican's deputy spokesman, Father Ciro Benedettini, called the Paris attack "abominable because it is both an attack against people as well as against freedom of the press."  — Reuters

Pope, on Christmas Eve, urges world to be open to God

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis ushered the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics into Christmas on Wednesday, urging them to allow God to enter their lives to help combat darkness and corruption.

The 78-year-old Argentine pope led a solemn Christmas Eve Mass for thousands of people in St. Peter's Basilica. It is the second Christmas season for the pope, who was elected last year as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years.

He has brought an air of simplicity to the Vatican, refusing many of the trappings of office, and has made plain his determination to reform the Vatican and bring the Church's hierarchy closer to rank-and-file Catholics.

In his homily, Francis, wearing white vestments, said Christmas is a time to remember that God's message of peace "is stronger than darkness and corruption"

"The question put to us simply by the infant's presence is, 'Do I allow God to love me?'" he said. "Do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the difficulties and problems of those who are near to us ...?"

"How much the world needs tenderness today!" he said.

On Thursday morning, the pope will deliver his traditional Christmas Day "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing and message from the central balcony of St. Peter's Square to tens of thousands of people.

The pope has a busy year ahead of him. He has a number of international trips planned, including to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January. He is also due to visit Africa, the United States and Latin America.

Next month Pope Francis is due to announce the names of a new batch of cardinals, the elite princes of the Church who are eligible to enter a secret conclave to elect a new pope after his death or resignation.

Another key project due to take shape in 2015 is the reform of the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.

In Christmas greetings on Monday to the Vatican's top administrators, Pope Francis delivered a stinging critique of Vatican bureaucracy and outlined 15 illnesses plaguing the Curia, including "spiritual Alzheimer's". — Reuters

Pope Francis, Netanyahu spar over Jesus’ native language

JERUSALEM - Pope Francis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded words on Monday over the language spoken by Jesus two millennia ago.

"Jesus was here, in this land. He spoke Hebrew," Netanyahu told Francis, at a public meeting in Jerusalem in which the Israeli leader cited a strong connection between Judaism and Christianity.

"Aramaic," the pope interjected.

"He spoke Aramaic, but he knew Hebrew," Netanyahu shot back.

Like many things in the Middle East, where the pope is on the last leg of a three-day visit, modern-day discourse about Jesus is complicated and often political.

A Jew, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the Roman-ruled region of Judea, now the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He grew up in Nazareth and ministered in Galilee, both in northern Israel, and died in Jerusalem, a city revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims, and to which Israelis and Palestinians lay claim.

Palestinians sometimes describe Jesus as a Palestinian. Israelis object to that.

Israeli linguistics professor Ghil'ad Zuckermann told Reuters that both Netanyahu, son of a distinguished Jewish historian, and the pope, the spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, had a point.

"Jesus was a native Aramaic speaker," he said about the largely defunct Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. "But he would have also known Hebrew because there were extant religious writings in Hebrew."

Zuckermann said that during Jesus' time, Hebrew was spoken by the lower classes—"the kind of people he ministered to." — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com