Pope baptizes 32 babes in Sistine chapel

Frances D' Emilo/m.qctimes.com

VATICAN CITY — With wails resounding amid the splendor of the Sistine Chapel, Pope Francis on Sunday baptized 32 infants, and at one point in the ceremony told mothers to feel free to feed their crying babies.

Formally welcoming the children as members of the Catholic church, Francis poured water from a shell-shaped dish over the heads of the babies held in their mothers' arms. Francis pronounced the babies' names one by one, as beaming parents held their children, dressed in white satin or silk gowns and other finery, in the chapel whose ceiling was frescoed by Michelangelo.

In the same chapel in March, Francis was elected as the first Latin American pope. He is the first pope to choose the name Francis. Among the children were two Francescas. It wasn't clear if Francis, whose cheerfulness and warmth draw huge crowds to the Vatican, might have inspired the choice of those names.In keeping with his down-to-earth style and his drive to make the church more relevant in the everyday lives of the faithful, the pope has done away with much of the pomp and stiffness often characterizing papal appearances. He noted that some babies were crying. "If they are hungry, mothers, feel free to feed them," Francis said during his homily.

The Sistine Chapel choir sang during the ceremony, but Francis said that "today the most beautiful chorus is that of the babies."Trying to shore up flagging faith among many Catholics, Francis told parents that the most beautiful inheritance they could give their children was faith.Francis has been trying to make the church more welcoming and readily interacts with tourists and Romans in St. Peter's Square and elsewhere when he is contact with the public.

Among those baptized Sunday was a baby girl whose parents, who live in Tuscany, had some time ago approached the pope during an appearance at the Vatican and asked if he would baptize her, a Tuscan daily, Il Tirreno, reported.The parents had been married in a civil ceremony but not in the church. Some local clergy balk at baptizing infants whose parents didn't wed in church, but Francis readily granted their request, the newspaper said.

Comments

A Califonia pastor has been arrested for having sex with one of the teenage girls he took into custody, injuring his dog too

BCCN1 A California pastor was arrested for allegedly injuring his dog and having sex with one of the two teenage girls he had taken under his wing.33-year-old Hyo Bin Im, known in San Ramon as Pastor John, was charged with child concealment, unlawful sexual intercourse and animal cruelty on Tuesday. The bizarre list of charges were a shock for members of Im’s Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church. The youth pastor announced his resignation on Sunday, but didn’t explain why he was leaving. He told the police that he was the founder of The Living Well Ministries, a Christian non-profit that allegedly helped widows, homeless, and orphans.But he apparently never brought these high-minded goals home. The Police also found two 17-year-old runaways living in the youth pastor’s house, BBCN1 reports.

Frankenstein and the Bible

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was published in London in the early 1800's well after the Jewish legend of the Golem-creature who protected 16th century Jews in Prague Although there are some differences between the story lines, the similarities between Frankenstein and the Golem are striking: For starters, they were both big and scary with superhuman strength. Plus, they both had to be Jewish. I mean, most of my Jewish relatives have names that end in "-stein"... Goldstein, Silverstein, Frankenstein... you name it. And my own Grandma swore that my Grandpa looked like a Golem. And just to drive home my logical deductions even more, the Talmud talks about a Golem being created who couldn't communicate verbally (Sanhedrin 65B) and it seems pretty clear that Frankenstein doesn't utter any intelligible language known to man. Either that or Frankie works as a NYC subway operator. Although the Talmud may have spoke about Golems, Isaiah spoke about "wearying...

Member of Isreali legislative government being attacked for saying ''Reform is not Jewish''

A member of the Israeli legislative government was slammed for his alleged comments about Reform Judaism on Wednesday, after media outlets reported David Rotem stating , "The Reform movement is not Jewish … they are another religion." The statement shocked members of the Jewish community worldwide, especially as characterizing the Reform movement as another religion has political implications relating to Israel's Law of Return, which prevents non-Jews from making aliyah, or immigrating to Israel. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that a statement released by Israel's Reform movement explained that by using the term "another religion," Rotem effectively stated that "Reform Jews have no place in Israel." Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Reform movement in Israel, called on the Knesset speaker to reprimand Rotem, who is the Knesset Law, Constitution, and Justice Committee chairman . He said, "An assertion such as this makes it ...

Religious Broadcast

Search This Blog