Tag Archives: Jorge Bergoglio

Pope Francis' successor in Argentina assumes post

Argentine Mario Poli was inaugurated as the new archbishop of Buenos Aires on Saturday, taking over the post held by Jorge Bergoglio before he became Pope Francis.

Poli, 66, was named to the position by Francis in late March and Vatican envoy Emil Paul Tscherrig welcomed him in the name of the pope in the ceremony at the capital’s metropolitan cathedral, saying the pontiff “accompanies us from Rome.”

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, who was traveling in Peru and Venezuela, did not attend the ceremony but several of her Cabinet ministers did.

“The arrival of the replacement for Bergoglio generates enthusiasm, expectations and hope, and we wish him the best in his pastoral activities in Buenos Aires,” said Julian Dominguez, the head of the Chamber of Deputies.

Poli is a priest very much in Francis’ vein, focused on pastoral work. He has been the bishop in Santa Rosa in the rural La Pampa province, and from 2002-2008 he served as one of then-Cardinal Bergoglio‘s auxiliary bishops in Buenos Aires, but he was not among the church officials rumored to be top candidates for the post.

He has a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University of Argentina, but before he was ordained as a priest in 1978, he earned a degree in social work from the public University of Buenos Aires, known as UBA. That apparently impressed Bergoglio, who talked about the benefits of such training in a 2012 book, “On Heaven and Earth.”

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/sq6v14x2kws/

CORRECTION: Pope's Lung

In some stories from 2005 and March 2013 about Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis last month, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Bergoglio had a lung removed as a teenager.

Bergoglio’s sister, Maria Elena Bergoglio, former spokesman Guillermo Marco, and authorized biographer Sergio Rubin confirm that only part of one lung was removed. Rubin provides more details in his book “Pope Francis: Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio,” published last month. It says Bergoglio suffered an infection at 21, and that doctors removed the upper part of his right lung after finding three cysts.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Pope Francis calls Argentine newsstand owner to cancel paper delivery

Newly-elected Pope Francis stunned Argentine the owner of a newsstand in Buenos Aires when he called to cancel his home newspaper delivery.

The Catholic News Agency reported that the newsstand owner’s son, Daniel Del Regno,answered the phone on March 18 and thought someone was pulling a prank on him.

“Seriously, it’s Jorge Bergoglio, I’m calling you from Rome,” the Pope reportedly insisted.

In an interview with the Argentinean daily La Nación, Del Regno said he was in “shock” and “broke down in tears and didn’t know what to say.”

Before leaving for the papal conclave earlier this month, the former cardinal reportedlyasked Del Regno to keep delivering the paper to his residence each day.

Before ending his conversation with Del Regno, the pope asked him for his prayers, according to the report.

“He thanked me for delivering the paper all this time and sent best wishes to my family,” Del Regno told the paper.

In his first foreign policy address as pope on Friday, Francis called for more dialogue with Islam and offered an olive branch to China and other countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

Francis delivered his remarks in Italian rather than the traditional French — another indication that the Argentine-born pope is less than comfortable speaking languages other than Italian and his mother-tongue Spanish.

The occasion was an audience with ambassadors from the 180 countries that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See, in which Francis explained he would work for peace, the poor and to “build bridges” between peoples. He noted that even his title “pontiff” means bridge-builder.

Francis said it was important to intensify dialogue among different religions “particularly dialogue with Islam” and to deepen the church’s outreach to atheists.

He also said he wanted to begin a “journey” with countries that don’t yet have diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Click here for more from the Catholic News Agency.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Abuse victims want pope to open Argentina files

A U.S. group that tracks clergy abuse is calling on Pope Francis to apologize for the Argentine church’s protection of two priests convicted of abusing children.

The Bishop Accountability group cites the case of Father Julio Cesar Grassi, who ran the “Happy Children” foundation and was convicted of pedophilia in 2008, and Father Napoleon Sasso, convicted in 2007 of abusing girls at a soup kitchen where the church moved him after he got into trouble for alleged pedophilia in a remote province.

Victims’ attorney Ernesto Moreau says that as Argentina‘s cardinal Jorge Bergoglio refused to meet with his clients, instead spending church money on a report supporting Grassi, who’s now free on appeal.

Bishop Accountability co-director Anne Doyle wants Francis to apologize, and publicly identify priests who are “credibly accused.”

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Bergoglio OK'd sainthood cases for slain churchmen

The Vatican says that before he became Pope Francis, Argentina‘s Catholic leader took the first steps toward granting sainthood status to six churchmen who were murdered in July 1976 as Argentina‘s dictatorship began killing thousands of so-called “subversives.”

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi says Jorge Bergoglio approved the beatification cause of Carlos de Dios Murias, a Franciscan priest whose eyes were gouged out and hands cut off in Argentina‘s La Rioja province.

Bergoglio also OK‘d a sainthood investigation for a priest and four seminarians killed at St. Patrick’s Church in Buenos Aires.

Father Alfredo Kelly and seminarians Alfredo Leaden, Pedro Dufau, Salvador Berbeito and Emilio Barletti, were shot to death by a right-wing hit squad that sprayed graffiti calling it revenge for a leftist guerrilla bombing.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Pope's Young Sweetheart Recalls His Love Letter

By Mark Russell Apparently you can credit Amalia Damonte for Jorge Bergoglio becoming Pope Francis—or perhaps her father, reports the Week . When Bergoglio was just 12, he had a young “romance” with Damonte, writing a letter saying they would be married and drawing a picture of the house they would live in…. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Great Finds

Inside the conclave: extra omnes to habemus papam

Three rounds of ballots had been cast with no winner, but it was becoming clear which way this conclave was headed.

When the cardinals broke for lunch, Sean O’Malley of Boston sat down next to his Argentine friend, Jorge Bergoglio.

“He seemed very weighed down by what was happening,” O’Malley said.

Hours later, the Buenos Aires archbishop would step before the frenzied masses packed into St. Peter’s Square as Francis, the first pope from the Americas.

Cardinals take an oath of secrecy when they enter a conclave, promising never to reveal what goes on inside. But as is customary, the cardinals involved share memories of their experience.

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It began Tuesday afternoon with a procession.

Reciting a hypnotic Gregorian chant, the 115 princes of the church, dressed in red robes over white lace tunics, filed two by two into the frescoed masterpiece that is the Sistine Chapel and took their seats at four rows of tables. One used a wheelchair and was helped to his place by his colleagues.

Then each man moved to the front and took an oath not to reveal what was about to occur: “we promise and swear not to break this secret in any way, either during or after the election of the new pontiff.”

With a cry of “extra omnes” — “all out” — the massive double doors swung shut, the key was turned and the conclave was under way.

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No matter how beautiful the chapel, Chicago Cardinal Francis George said, the acoustics aren’t great.

The presiding cardinal, Giovanni Battista Re, had to explain each step in the ritual twice, once to each side of the room.

Other than that, there was only silence.

“The conclave is a very prayerful experience,” O’Malley said. “It’s like a retreat.”

Each man wrote a few words in Latin …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

What Will Missing Lung Mean For New Pope?

By Peter Lipson, Contributor

It is being widely reported that Pope Francis, born in Argentina in 1936, had a lung removed when he was a teenager. What this means for the health of the new pontiff isn’t clear. At the time Jorge Bergoglio was a teenager, most lung surgery was done for infections, especially tuberculosis (TB) and empyema, a condition related to pneumonia where pus accumulates between the lung and the chest wall. At the time, surgical removal was the only option for curing TB. These surgeries were unpleasant and depending on the circumstances had very high complication and mortality rates. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

New pope is 1st Francis, saint of peace, poverty

Francis, the name the new pope has chosen, is a much-beloved Italian saint who is identified with peace, poverty and a simple lifestyle.

Jorge Bergoglio is the first pontiff from Latin America and the first pontiff to adopt the name of Francis, the rich young man from Assisi who renounced wealth and founded the Franciscan order of friars in 1290. The choice could foretell the pope’s priorities in striving to bring a sense of serenity to the troubled church. St. Francis is said to have been called by God to repair a church in ruins.

Choosing the name of one of Italy‘s patron saints also ties the new pope to Italy, the homeland of all popes of the last few centuries until 1978.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News

Pope Francis Known for Humble Style

By John Johnson The world is getting to know Jorge Bergoglio, to be known as Pope Francis from this day forward. The 76-year-old Jesuit is the son of Italian immigrants who has spent nearly his entire life in Argentina. He is known as conservative on most church issues—staunchly opposing gay marriage, for… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home