POPE FRANCIS, SPIRITUAL LEADER OF 2 BILLION CATHOLICS WORLDWIDE,
LAST WEEK VISITED JAPAN ON HIS JET… THE “NO ‘CLIMATE CHANGE’ MALARKEY” SPECIAL (?) Our evaluations in red.
VISITS JAPAN, HITS FAMILIAR THEMES; DEPLORES U.S. FOR USE OF ATOMIC BOMBS TO END WWII
Fails to Mention Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Singapore, and the million lives saved with war’s end by invasion of Japan made unnecessary
Reminds Nations to be ‘welcoming’ to refugees and immigrants; Angers Many Japanese in Saying it Doesn’t take in Enough Immigrants!
Apparently Il Papa noticed that one can go throughout the nation of 127 million and not run into one Japanese citizen named Ahmed or Jose’…or Jorge
Francis indicates Japanese Need To “Change Their Attitude” Toward ‘Victims of Conflict’ Who’ve Experienced Hardships and Seek Refuge in Their Country .
Calls on All Nations To Get Rid of their Nuclear Weapons
We Think he would suggest that If Iran, Russia, No. Korea, China Refuse to, at least America should)
Reminded His Hosts that ‘Climate Change Bad!”; (Recall ‘Pachamama’ (Earth Mother) Was recently Honored at Vatican!)
Notable in our opinion is that Francis didn’t declare “Black Friday” a “Materialist’s Holy Day”…and ‘nothing but a crime..”
Pope Francis was at the ‘top of his game’ last week. He seemed to tear through Japan in his usual style, still believing he is a globally adored rock star, criticizing the US for its shortcomings in the Pontiff’s view, enraging many Japanese while flattering others who share his message.
Seems that Francis, as the first Pope to visit Japan in 38 years, was pretty free in his criticism of the country, having been invited to visit in 2014 by Prime Minister Abe.
At a youth Mass in Tokyo, Francis “appealed to” the Japanese people to “change their attitude toward”victims of conflict” and “be a more tolerant society showing respect for…(refugees)…who are coming looking for understanding and love.”
One media account noted that His Holiness has often clashed over immigration policy with US President Donald Trump and “populist anti-immigrant politicians in Europe”.
He also “scolded other countries” that “produce weapons for wars fought elsewhere and then refuse to take in refugees fleeing the very same conflicts”.
While Francis’s unsolicited ‘advice’ on immigration inspired some, some people criticized the Pope’s “pro-refugee” remarks on social media. One comment apparently gained a lot of traction, labelling his message “contradictory to Italy’s attitudes toward refugees”. Other reaction called a policy change on refugees “impossible”, saying Japan harbored a “negative image of refugees” and had no “adequate support system” for them. (A news account noted that Japan lacks “a strict refugee screening” needed to sort out the majority of “fake refugee” applicants.)
On the topic of nuclear weapons, the Pope “branded the use of nuclear weapons as ‘unethical’, saying nuclear power is ‘nothing but a crime’!
The Pope said he would like Japan to lead the way in denuclearization, as “the only country to suffer from nuclear bomb attacks”.
Comment: As a spiritual leader, the Pope’s theme of ‘peace” and elimination of horrific weapons of war is appropriate. However, as in many of his comments since becoming Pope, his remarks: “..use of nuclear weapons (is) unethical..” and “..nuclear power used for war is ‘nothing but a crime..’, we believe is not only aimed against America, but unfairly ignores the terrible context in which the United States used this weaponry against Japan!
These weapons were employed solely to end a war which engulfed the entire world in a terrible conflict at a cost of millions of lives, which was started by the country which ultimately suffered much. Had these weapons not been used, that awful war would have continued with the loss of many more lives…or, other non-nuclear measures to end it would have cost at least a million more lives lost! “Nothing but a crime”…?? We respectfully disagree, Your Holiness.
Wrapping up his 4 day visit, Reuters reported that Pope Francis turned from his “anti-nuclear message…backbone of his visit…to the “other key campaigns” of his Papacy. Most notably, he urged students “to defend the earth and show greater compassion…”
as in all of Francis’s comments, the implication it seems is always, ‘show more”, ‘be more’… conveying the message that “you’re not doing much, or, not nearly enough to suit me…”; maybe it’s just in the translation.
The Holy Father told students at Sophia University, one of only a handful of Catholic universities in Japan, that “technology is worthless” unless it is used to bring about a more humane and “simpler” society:
“For all the efficiency and order that mark Japanese society, I have sensed a yearning, too, for something greater: a profound desire to create an ever more humane, compassionate and merciful society,” he said in his last event before departing for Rome.
Noting that Asian cultures are known for their love of nature, he urged them to ” fight for the future of the earth, echoing the major encyclical he issued in 2015 making environmental protection a moral imperative.”
No Malarkey! dlh
*has about as much necessary context as the criticism the Pope levels at others
