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Mexico's newest cardinal champions the poor, preaches humility
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
[In case you missed it, Pope Rat named a whole bunch of new Cardinals
this week, including the head honcho of Baghdad's Catholics. Here, the
Houston Chronicle says the former head of the Inquisition Dept. of the
Roman Catholic Church is trying to clean up the Church's fascist image
and has appointed a Mexican who's got a "humble" rep. If Pope Rat has
any brains, he's also been vetted for pedophile skeletons in his
closet as well. -NYTr]
sent by Milt Shapiro (mexnews)
Houston Chronicle - Oct 19, 2007
Mexico's newest cardinal champions the poor, preaches humility
By DUDLEY ALTHAUS
MEXICO CITY - In naming Archbishop Francisco Robles of Monterrey as
one of 23 new Roman Catholic cardinals, the Vatican
chose a clergyman who advocates for the poor and beseeches the
faithful to embrace humility.
With Robles, the Vatican may aim to moderate the more conservative
tendencies of the Mexican church, a leading analyst
said.
"He is tied more to progressive sectors," said anthropologist Elio
Masferrer, an authority on the Mexican Catholic church.
Robles, 58, becomes one of six Mexican cardinals, only half of whom
will be eligible to vote for the next pontiff should
the 80-year-old Pope Benedict XVI either die or retire in the near
future.
Mexico's two other active cardinals ? Norberto Rivera of Mexico City
and Juan Sandoval of Guadalajara ? are considered
social conservatives.
Masferrer said Rivera is a cardinal with a "preference for the rich"
and Sandoval is allied with the more traditional and
conservative Catholicism.
As senior prelate in Monterrey, Mexico's business capital, Robles
presides over some of Mexico's wealthiest and more
conservative Roman Catholic clans.
Many of the city's elite lobbied the Vatican for a more conservative
bishop before Robles was appointed there nearly five
years ago, Masferrer said.
A glance at his recent sermons suggests that Robles might give the
rich a reason for indigestion.
"Ill-gotten and ill-used riches close our heart," Robles said in a
homily two Sundays ago. "We can pass our lives without
even realizing the existence of the poor, the needy, the people who
require our help."
Robles' ascension to cardinal comes at a crucial time for the
Catholic church in Mexico. Millions of Mexicans have
converted to Protestant faiths, and many of the remaining 85 million
Catholics rarely attend Mass or receive sacraments.
While the Mexican senior clergy remains dominated by conservatives,
many of its parish priests and nuns, especially those
in impoverished communities, favor the so-called theology of
liberation, which preaches a "preferential option for the
poor."
Robles is not considered a liberation theology adherent, Masferrer said.
With only about 14,000 priests, the Mexican church has just one
cleric per 7,000 faithful. In contrast, Masferrer said,
there is one Protestant pastor for every 300 believers.
In addition, Rivera is battling allegations that he protected a
priest accused of sexually abusing young boys in Mexico and
the United States. Rivera has denied the accusations.
Because active cardinals elect the pope, their naming is as much a
political as a religious act.
With the 23 new cardinals named this week, the pope seems to have
bolstered the clergy in Europe over those in the Western
Hemisphere and the developing world. Ten of the 18 new cardinals hail
from Europe, and Europeans now make up half of the
body that will vote for any future pope.
Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected upon the
death in 2005 of John Paul II. Speculation circulated
before Benedict's elevation that a clergyman from Latin America ?
home to nearly half of the world's 1 billion Catholics ?
would be given the post.
Two other Latin American bishops were named cardinal with Robles.
Argentine Leandro Sandri, 63, is a longtime Vatican
bureaucrat who served as a close aide to John Paul. Odilo Pedro
Scherer, 58, is the archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Robles, the third of 16 children born to a working-class family in
Jalisco state, was educated in seminaries and ordained
in 1976. After three years of study in Rome, he worked his way up the
church ranks in Mexico, serving as a parish priest,
seminary director and bishop. He was appointed archbishop of the
Monterrey diocese in January 2003, following the
retirement of Cardinal Adolfo Suarez.
"Humility is a virtue that God rewards," Robles said in another
sermon. "How dangerous is haughtiness for whoever has
power, whatever kind of power, political or economic.
"We must be humble."
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Mexico City Bureau
=================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
Our main website: http://www.blythe.org
List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
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Hash: SHA1
Mexico's newest cardinal champions the poor, preaches humility
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
[In case you missed it, Pope Rat named a whole bunch of new Cardinals
this week, including the head honcho of Baghdad's Catholics. Here, the
Houston Chronicle says the former head of the Inquisition Dept. of the
Roman Catholic Church is trying to clean up the Church's fascist image
and has appointed a Mexican who's got a "humble" rep. If Pope Rat has
any brains, he's also been vetted for pedophile skeletons in his
closet as well. -NYTr]
sent by Milt Shapiro (mexnews)
Houston Chronicle - Oct 19, 2007
Mexico's newest cardinal champions the poor, preaches humility
By DUDLEY ALTHAUS
MEXICO CITY - In naming Archbishop Francisco Robles of Monterrey as
one of 23 new Roman Catholic cardinals, the Vatican
chose a clergyman who advocates for the poor and beseeches the
faithful to embrace humility.
With Robles, the Vatican may aim to moderate the more conservative
tendencies of the Mexican church, a leading analyst
said.
"He is tied more to progressive sectors," said anthropologist Elio
Masferrer, an authority on the Mexican Catholic church.
Robles, 58, becomes one of six Mexican cardinals, only half of whom
will be eligible to vote for the next pontiff should
the 80-year-old Pope Benedict XVI either die or retire in the near
future.
Mexico's two other active cardinals ? Norberto Rivera of Mexico City
and Juan Sandoval of Guadalajara ? are considered
social conservatives.
Masferrer said Rivera is a cardinal with a "preference for the rich"
and Sandoval is allied with the more traditional and
conservative Catholicism.
As senior prelate in Monterrey, Mexico's business capital, Robles
presides over some of Mexico's wealthiest and more
conservative Roman Catholic clans.
Many of the city's elite lobbied the Vatican for a more conservative
bishop before Robles was appointed there nearly five
years ago, Masferrer said.
A glance at his recent sermons suggests that Robles might give the
rich a reason for indigestion.
"Ill-gotten and ill-used riches close our heart," Robles said in a
homily two Sundays ago. "We can pass our lives without
even realizing the existence of the poor, the needy, the people who
require our help."
Robles' ascension to cardinal comes at a crucial time for the
Catholic church in Mexico. Millions of Mexicans have
converted to Protestant faiths, and many of the remaining 85 million
Catholics rarely attend Mass or receive sacraments.
While the Mexican senior clergy remains dominated by conservatives,
many of its parish priests and nuns, especially those
in impoverished communities, favor the so-called theology of
liberation, which preaches a "preferential option for the
poor."
Robles is not considered a liberation theology adherent, Masferrer said.
With only about 14,000 priests, the Mexican church has just one
cleric per 7,000 faithful. In contrast, Masferrer said,
there is one Protestant pastor for every 300 believers.
In addition, Rivera is battling allegations that he protected a
priest accused of sexually abusing young boys in Mexico and
the United States. Rivera has denied the accusations.
Because active cardinals elect the pope, their naming is as much a
political as a religious act.
With the 23 new cardinals named this week, the pope seems to have
bolstered the clergy in Europe over those in the Western
Hemisphere and the developing world. Ten of the 18 new cardinals hail
from Europe, and Europeans now make up half of the
body that will vote for any future pope.
Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected upon the
death in 2005 of John Paul II. Speculation circulated
before Benedict's elevation that a clergyman from Latin America ?
home to nearly half of the world's 1 billion Catholics ?
would be given the post.
Two other Latin American bishops were named cardinal with Robles.
Argentine Leandro Sandri, 63, is a longtime Vatican
bureaucrat who served as a close aide to John Paul. Odilo Pedro
Scherer, 58, is the archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Robles, the third of 16 children born to a working-class family in
Jalisco state, was educated in seminaries and ordained
in 1976. After three years of study in Rome, he worked his way up the
church ranks in Mexico, serving as a parish priest,
seminary director and bishop. He was appointed archbishop of the
Monterrey diocese in January 2003, following the
retirement of Cardinal Adolfo Suarez.
"Humility is a virtue that God rewards," Robles said in another
sermon. "How dangerous is haughtiness for whoever has
power, whatever kind of power, political or economic.
"We must be humble."
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Mexico City Bureau
=================================================================
NY Transfer News Collective A Service of Blythe Systems
Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us
Our main website: http://www.blythe.org
List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
=================================================================
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