Pope Francis plans to rein in trade in Vatican scrolls

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Sounds good to me…and while they’re at it, do you think they could rein in the claims made by the souvenir shops that all rosaries and medals on sale have been blessed by the pope? :rolleyes:
 
I’m surprised it took them this long. Dunno what exactly the scrolls are about but on the face of it it sounds like it comes uncomfortably close to simony, at least from what the BBC was saying (fully realizing that the Beeb is not really a reliable source where Holy Mother Church is concerned… 😛 )
 
NB: the following is general in scope and is, with exception of the last paragraph, not specifically about evil parchment sellers (sarcasm)

I really dislike this “rein in” talk surrounding the Pope.

It is as if Pope Francis is the Messiah Himself and he has personally saved us all from the depths of Hades.

This deification of the Pope makes me uncomfortable. I daresay it makes him uncomfortable as well.

I understand people like the Pope and that’s great, and I understand that “the Vatican” has issues, real issues, however, “the Vatican” is not and was not (afaik) some cesspool of vile, wretched, hateful, dumb, power-hungry Christ-hating cronies that has only been recently delivered from eternal damnation by our Argentine Pontiff.

If people want to say that “the Vatican” is not efficient enough, that it is too slow in responding to inquiries from clergy around the world, that it has a bit of the Italian touch (go figure) in how things operate, that it has shoddy financial controls, things along these lines, ok fine, these are reasonable criticisms and they are totally believable. Being a cardinal doesn’t make you a banker, nor an efficient work machine. If people want to say that the Pope was elected at least in part to fix these things, okay, I can buy it.

But please let’s not slander–directly or indirectly–the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and yes, laypeople, who toil at their jobs at “the Vatican” for decades to make sure the Pope’s ministry is exercised in the way he directs (which is what “the Vatican” is for). Maybe “the Vatican” is a bit too insular, maybe it’s a bit too “sippin’ wine on our two-hour lunch break,” ok, but Pope Francis is not a messianic figure come to save the day like Spiderman.

Every time one of these over-reactive stories is published it’s the same tired lines. We’ve gone from “OOOOOOOO EVIL CARDINALS POPE FRANCIS COME SAVE US” to “OOOOOOOOO EVIL STAFFER PRIESTS POPE FRANCIS COME SAVE US” now to “OOOOOOOO EVIL PARCHMENT SELLERS ONLY POPE FRANCIS CAN SAVE US.”

note: this is not a criticism to other posters whose writings I think are eminently reasonable, nor is this post aimed at directly or indirectly insulting the Pope; this note is for my own benefit because whenever I write a post which even has a 0.1% chance of someone not liking it, I have to protect myself.
 
YoungTradCath said:
NB: the following is general in scope and is, with exception of the last paragraph, not specifically about evil parchment sellers (sarcasm)

I really dislike this “rein in” talk surrounding the Pope.

It is as if Pope Francis is the Messiah Himself and he has personally saved us all from the depths of Hades.

This deification of the Pope makes me uncomfortable. I daresay it makes him uncomfortable as well.

I understand people like the Pope and that’s great, and I understand that “the Vatican” has issues, real issues, however, “the Vatican” is not and was not (afaik) some cesspool of vile, wretched, hateful, dumb, power-hungry Christ-hating cronies that has only been recently delivered from eternal damnation by our Argentine Pontiff.

If people want to say that “the Vatican” is not efficient enough, that it is too slow in responding to inquiries from clergy around the world, that it has a bit of the Italian touch (go figure) in how things operate, that it has shoddy financial controls, things along these lines, ok fine, these are reasonable criticisms and they are totally believable. Being a cardinal doesn’t make you a banker, nor an efficient work machine. If people want to say that the Pope was elected at least in part to fix these things, okay, I can buy it.

But please let’s not slander–directly or indirectly–the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and yes, laypeople, who toil at their jobs at “the Vatican” for decades to make sure the Pope’s ministry is exercised in the way he directs (which is what “the Vatican” is for). Maybe “the Vatican” is a bit too insular, maybe it’s a bit too “sippin’ wine on our two-hour lunch break,” ok, but Pope Francis is not a messianic figure come to save the day like Spiderman.

Every time one of these over-reactive stories is published it’s the same tired lines. We’ve gone from “OOOOOOOO EVIL CARDINALS POPE FRANCIS COME SAVE US” to “OOOOOOOOO EVIL STAFFER PRIESTS POPE FRANCIS COME SAVE US” now to “OOOOOOOO EVIL PARCHMENT SELLERS ONLY POPE FRANCIS CAN SAVE US.”

note: this is not a criticism to other posters whose writings I think are eminently reasonable, nor is this post aimed at directly or indirectly insulting the Pope; this note is for my own benefit because whenever I write a post which even has a 0.1% chance of someone not liking it, I have to protect myself.
Click to expand...
The first paragraph explicitly says he is “completing a process said to have been started by his predecessor.”
 
Joie_de_Vivre said:
The first paragraph explicitly says he is “completing a process said to have been started by his predecessor.”
Click to expand...
I know that. Which only adds to my complaint that media are making him look like Superman as opposed to all the silly unenlightened popes before him.
 
Despite the article’s use of the word ‘‘souvenir’’ to describe these shops, they aren’t the same as the billion little rip-offs that all sell Pope Francis bobble heads and aprons with genitalia printed on them. These stores are true ‘‘negozi’’ - not ‘‘touristi’’; most are owned by families who have served the Church for years (one of them is run by a charming Italian lady named Monica who hand-makes her parchments), or by official bookshops under the Secretariate of State, such as Ancora Books on the Via Della Conciliazione. It’s not like it is some unregulated mess with men in trench coats running around offering ‘‘scrolls.’’ The blessing is free; the printing-service isn’t.

That being said, I’ve never had any complaint with the Office of Papal Charities, except that they are only open in the morning, making it difficult for workers to obtain papal blessings through them. I suppose with on-line ordering that is answered. I just wish that the good name of others wasn’t always being pulled down, in order to elevate Francis.
 
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