Blog Post #12: Church in the Present

Blog Post #12: Church in the Present

I chose this picture because it shows how to inspire people to be kind to everyone.

What are some main points in Thomas Groome's book, "What Makes Us Catholic?" Do you agree/disagree and why?
One main point in Thomas Groome's book was God loves all people applying not only to Catholics but also people of other faiths. I believe that the main point is summed up in this quote "In my Father's house there are many mansions" which can be interpreted that Jesus believes that all people under the Catholic faith should be united as one and live in harmony with each other.  I agree with this theme because I believe that everyone should be treated as equals no matter what your religion is. Another main point is the steps to practicing a humanizing spirituality. Those steps being love and respect yourself, render unconditional respect to other persons, and pray for graces you need. I agree with these steps because it is good to treat each other how you would like to be treated.

What are some things that you learned about Pope Francis from the video clips?
The most interesting thing that I found out while watching the documentary about Pope Francis was that after he became archbishop, he lived in a very large house. Included in this house was many canned foods and blankets. He gave the blankets and food to all the poor and homeless outside the house. Another thing that I found interesting was that he opposed the plan to same-sex marriage in Buenos Aries. He believed that a child should have both a mother and a father.  One of the last things that I found interesting was how much he loved soccer. As a child, he always had a love for the tango and Soccer. When he was elected Pope, the next game that the Buenos Aries soccer team played, they played with an image of Pope Francis on their jersey.

I chose this picture in order to show the jerseys with the image of Pope Francis. 

What are different changes that Pope Francis is making to the way Popes usually do things?
One major thing change that Pope Francis changed was that he wanted everyone to notice the poor in order to take them into account. He also refused to take taxis or cars and only took public transportation. By taking public transportation, he could connect with people in a face-to-face way. He also said, "The Church has to be on the borders". Which means that the Church has to be involved in everything. This quote especially came into play with the political vendetta in Argentina with the left and right sides. As Archbishop, he answered his own phone, which people found very weird that he didn't have a secretary to answer it for him.

What hopes do you have for the present day Catholic Church? 
One major hope that I have for the present day Catholic Church is that they can accept the LGBTQ community. With all of the discrimination towards the community, I believe that they should be able to ask for support from their Church. Just like Ms. Menzel said, there is nowhere in the bible where it says that you are not able to love someone of the same gender. One quote that I believe captures the need for the Church to support everyone is "You can't pray away the gay." This quote was said by a character from Grey's Anatomy named Callie Torres in Season 6 Episode 5. As a religious girl growing up, she always had a connection with God. When her father comes and she tells him that she has a girlfriend, he brings their priest to the hospital to try to "fix her". This shows

This is a picture of the quote in order to show how stong she is and how she is brave enought to stand up to her father. 

Works Cited:
1. Agren, David. “Argentina's San Lorenzo De Almagro Soccer Club Has a Fan: The Pope.” Macleans.ca, Macleans.ca, 19 Aug. 2014, www.macleans.ca/news/world/go-forth-and-win-this-soccer-game/.
2. “Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic Revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7720. Https://Doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720.” doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f
3. Lgbtqfsp. “LGBTQ Representation in the Media: TV Shows.” Grey's Anatomy, Blogger, 3 Dec. 2017, lgbtqreptv.blogspot.com/p/greys-anatomy.html.