Thursday, August 27, 2015

Papal Notes - 2016 ...How Times have Changed

Imagine the following being written about a Pope and an American Presidential election in the
1800's... say in the 1808 election between Madison & Pinckney or the 1836 election between Van Buren & Harrison. Or even the 1888 election between Harrison (another Harrison, his grandson) & Cleveland. This would have NEVER been written or trumpeted (no-not a pun about Donald Trump)across the fruited plains in those days.... how times have changed....


By Time Magazine:
"With a record number of Catholics seeking the presidency and the wildly popular Pope Francis visiting the nation this fall, many candidates—Catholic or not—are seeking ways to tie themselves to the mission and vision of this Argentinian pontiff.
The times have changed. With a Catholic vice president, six Catholic Supreme Court justices, a Catholic Speaker of the House, and a large number of Catholics in Congress, the golden age of Catholicism in American politics has arrived. This would have been unimaginable just a few decades ago.
Francis’s trip isn’t about politics, but it would be naïve to ignore the political implications of a visit during which he is expected to lift up his recent encyclical letter on the care for God’s creation, the religious obligation to defend the dignity of immigrants, the poor, and the unborn, and the moral scandal of social inequality.......
If polling data released Thursday showing support for Pope Francis’s messages is any indication, following the way of Francis isn’t just a ticket to heaven but maybe to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, too." TimeMagazine