What Would You Most Like Pope Francis To Do?

[CMSUVulcan]

1. Bring back the communion rails and more Latin, and Ad Orientum. When I say more Latin, I am not advocating the entire Mass being in Latin as I would keep the readings, the Gospel, the homily, and the creed in the vernacular but I have almost everything else in Latin. So what I guess I am trying to say is return the mass to something closer to its more traditional form.
2. I know he can’t really do this himself, but I’d like to see an increase in vocations to the priesthood, marriage, and consecrated religious life
3. Continue to keep the Church out of touch with what the secularists want and to keep the 2000 year old tradition of being out of touch with the modern era.
4. Continued dialogue with with the Orthodox, Coptics, Lutherans, and a reach out to the more fundamentalist and evangelical protestants. I’d also like to see more talks with the Muslims and Jews.
5. Keep having World Youth Day.

 

[Faithdancer]

I sincerely hope that Pope Francis will continue the great work that Pope Benedict began regarding the RE-evangelization of the world, returning true Reverence and a proper respect for the Presence of Our Blessed Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and continue to set the modernists and progressives to flight by returning the Mass of Alltime to Its rightful place as the Ordinary Rite of Mass and engaging in “realistic dialog”, leading toward a final reconciliation with the SSPX.

 

[Steve_Jay]

Why because of pedophilia ?

Why isn’t there a focus on unmarried single men ?

I don’t think paedophilia has anything to do with it. There has been a decline in the number of single people answering a call to the priesthood for quite a few years. It strikes me that a married person can also have the right attitude of heart.
Regarding the paedophilia issue, I’ve tried to understand that. It isn’t a priest problem. What I mean is a person doesn’t become a priest first and then a paedophile. Maybe the small few have become priests because they have seen it as a cure for their problem. Maybe.

 

[quiet52]

St. Francis of Assisi both prayed and preached incessantly (he was a friar and an ordained deacon).
He loved singing and nature.
He gave joyful respect for his fellow friars and for the women who joined the order he founded, and had high expectations for them. He required lives of simplicity and obedient discipline, poverty, service to the poor and sick, and joy. He revered the clergy.
He did not try to eradicate poverty, but wanted to help the poor and all who served them to grow in holiness. He did not lose sight of the goal to help save souls.

I am hoping that Pope Francis will convey to his clergy that he has high expectations for them to effectively preach the full Gospel, and not just the parts they feel comfortable preaching about. I would like him to hold bishops accountable for requiring their priests to be orthodox in their preaching, and providing the necessary training and supervision to help them do so. I would like priests and deacons to be expected to preach on the “difficult” areas of faith and morals (e.g., Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist, Mass attendance as an obligation, contraception, abortion and other pro-life issues, marriage and family). I want Pope Francis to hold Catholic institutions (schools, hospitals, charitable organizations, etc.) accountable to their Catholic identity. I am hoping he will instill greater respect toward the priesthood among families, young men, and Catholics in general. I would like Pope Francis to admonish all Catholics to become more faithful Catholics, and to give us guidance on holding each other more accountable in how we live and how we pass on the faith. I would like him to challenge both clergy and laity to be more Christlike (humble, etc.) toward each other as they serve the Church, so that all of us can share the Church’s mission with greater joy. I would like Pope Francis to unabashedly voice to the leaders of government and industry that they must better tend to the needs of the poor and the sick.

That’s my “wish list” for now. Piece of cake, right?

Let’s remember to pray daily for His Holiness and to joyfully give thanks and praise to God for him.

On St. Francis of Assisi:

“His search for conversion led him to the ancient church at San Damiano. While he was praying there, he heard Christ on the crucifix speak to him, ‘Francis, repair my church.’”
“Francis was not a reformer; he preached about returning to God and obedience to the Church.”
catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=50

pamphlets.org.au/australia/acts1711.html

 

[Lisa1967]

1. Clean up the sexual abuse scandal and reach out to victims
2. Reach out to young people and inactive Catholics
3. Allow married priests

 

[Tony2255]

Whilst the priorities of certain tasks will undoubtedly vary throughout the time Pope Francis resides in the Vatican, as Catholics what would you most like to see Pope Francis do? This could be anything from I’d like to see him engage with this issue to, I’d like to see him try out some dance moves in St. Peter’s square.

As an Anglican I’d like to see Pope Francis engage more with different branches of Christianity and consider the varied views on a number of subjects the Catholic church, in my opinion, has been sometimes quite stubborn about.

Always curious why non-Catholics are so concerned with what the Catholic Church does? Yet they want no part of it. Stubborn in comparison to Angelica, Methodist, Muslim, Atheist?

 

[petronus]

Convoke an Ecumenical Council to carry on the work that was only just begun by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council , especially regarding collegiality , ecumenism , radical reform of the liturgy , and getting catholics to take the Gospel of Jesus seriously as a priority in all things .

 

[erlembald]

Ok, here we go…:

1. Publish the second part of the Third Secret of Fatima (which Card. Bertone apparently deemed inauthentic).
2. Make the investigative commission of the CDF get a move on with their final report on Medjugorje, which will surely say “constat de non supernaturalitate”.
3. Cleanse the Curia from careerists and members of the Lavender Mafia.
4. Promote and extend the celebration of the Traditional Mass.
5. Preach the Gospel uncompromisingly.

Is that too much to ask for?!

 

[aprilfloyd]

Well then wny not make Quantum Field Theory accessible to anyone!? Some things require thought and cogitation.

I think people should start using their brain instead of being lazy. There are plenty proofs for God and most atheists usually refute them on the basis of a misunderstanding (straw man fallacy… just look at the pitiful attempt of Dawkins to comment Aquinas).

I keep reading that there are plenty of proofs for God, but have been unable to find any. Most answers to the questions, tend to be condescending, obfuscating and avoid showing proof. I find it hard to believe that if the Christian God actually exists that that would not be front page news - all over the world!

The church is not ‘homophobic’. Just because someone disagrees with the LGBT lobby it does not make them homophobic.

The Church does not condemn homosexuals, but only some behaviours which are considered immoral.

Condemning the behaviour is an attempt at subtle homophobia, but it does not wash. It’s like saying I am not racist, I just don’t like Blacks.

??! Are you serious!!!

Since there is ONLY ONE GOD, I think ‘God’ is more than sufficient.

But unfortunately there are thousands of Gods. So ‘God’ is insufficient. That is like naming children ‘boys’ instead of giving them a name.

 

[erlembald]

I keep reading that there are plenty of proofs for God, but have been unable to find any. Most answers to the questions, tend to be condescending, obfuscating and avoid showing proof. I find it hard to believe that if the Christian God actually exists that that would not be front page news - all over the world!

Condemning the behaviour is an attempt at subtle homophobia, but it does not wash. It’s like saying I am not racist, I just don’t like Blacks.

But unfortunately there are thousands of Gods. So ‘God’ is insufficient. That is like naming children ‘boys’ instead of giving them a name.

ad 1) Well, what kind of positivistic proof do you have in mind?

ad 2) 'Mkay, and everyone who criticizes certain Islamic behaviors is an Islamophobe? That would make you a Catholicophobe, since you grant us the right to believe whatever we want, but you object to some of our dogmas (barring women from ordination, celibacy)?!

ad 3) There is only one God. All monotheistic religions I know of call their god something like “the one”, “the one being resp. one who is”, “the god/deity”, “the all”, etc. Only polytheistic religions need to name their gods. Ever noticed that parents that have only one boy often simply call him “son”?

 

[ephesians4]

Set a good and positive example, gift us all by exhibiting the Holy Spirit in his thought, word and deed

Lead the way to many more conversions to Christianity. So many other things we need can follow from this.

Lead the whole church on Earth, including the parts of it which are separated at the moment, to better Christianity

There are also temporal and administrative issues to do with the priesthood which I think lots of people want to see dealt with properly.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Always curious why non-Catholics are so concerned with what the Catholic Church does? Yet they want no part of it. Stubborn in comparison to Angelica, Methodist, Muslim, Atheist?

When my son was in (state) college, he wrote a paper about how, notwithstanding that most Protestant churches have little in the way of doctrine or theological writings or unity, and notwithstanding that they maintain their “protest” against some (but not all) of the teachings of the Catholic Church, they nevertheless adopt a great deal of the Church’s teachings without realizing they’re getting it from the Catholic overlay that is much more pervasive in the West than people realize.

I loved one analogy he used. It went something like this:

“The Catholic Church is like a pole star at sea. Sailors might not direct their ships toward it, but they always direct their ships with reference to it.”

His professor was a Baptist minister as well as a professor. Gave my son an “A+” and commented that it gave him a lot to think about.

And that’s why Protestants and others pay attention to what the Church does.

 

[LovedMyAlydar]

I would like to see him consecrate Russia as Our Lady of Fatima requested and never has been done. Consecrating the world in a 1/2 hearted attempt is not what she asked for.

As for women priests; it should never happen. As a woman I never understand why women are not happy being women. God gave us a very important job. To raise the next generation. It is women who shape and mold their children. If we raise them with the goal of one day being in heaven then we are in charge of the future leaders, priests, sisters, inventors, etc. If we do a good job the world will be a better place. If we do a miserable job and impart only selfish values we will have a bleak future. Why worry about being a priest when we have enough on our plates? Mary is the example God gave to women. She was a mother and took care of her family. If it is good enough for the Blessed Mother, it is good enough for me. I take pride in trying to follow the example set by Mary.

I would also like to see him clean house. Stop the liturgical abuses. Superman chasubles and water guns with holy water. Rollerskating angels, circus music with 1/2 dressed men swinging from seats with a woman holding the book of the gospels entering the church, and on and on. He also needs to crack down on those Catholics who openly profess to support abortion, gay marriage, etc. Several politicians in the US come to mind right away.

I would love to see Vac. II craziness tossed out. That did more to drive away church attendance, vocations, etc.

Funny when I got to EF mass, the line for confession it to the back of the church and you have about a 1/2 hour wait. Go to confession at NO mass and in a 1/2 time only my family made use of the sacrament. Like my son said though, why would anybody go to confession when they are never told there is hell, when they are never told what they are doing is wrong. That everyone gets to heaven, that Jesus forgives anything and keep on doing what you do, because no matter what, you are going to heaven. So why confess? What have you done wrong? Apparently not a thing. Sad but true it would seem.

 

[Gavroche]

I hope Pope Francis…

Gets the Roman Curia in line and puts an end to any scandals or potential scandals surrounding the Curia.

Eradicates the horrible dissent going on, particularly in the western world when it comes to issues regarding homosexuality and abortion.

Pushes back against protestant evangelization in Latin America by reinvigorating Catholicism in that region.

Pursue efforts to bring those in schism back into full unity, as well as bring those who currently identify as Anglicans back into the fold.

Deals with the child sex abuse scandals in a more comprehensive manner, and does whatever he can to prevent the abuse of children in the future.

Examine the Catholic teaching institutions (especially CCD) and exhort them to be unafraid to teach what is true.

Articulate Catholic teaching in a more clear manner in this digital age where so much misinformation is circulating, and confusion exists regarding what the Church teaches and why.

sets an example of humility in the church

and takes a stand against political and moral ills coming out of the western world among others.

 

[aprilfloyd]

Going back to the original question.

It would be something, if he came out and said ‘we got some things wrong’

 

[mlamg]

and those who don’t want to? Absolutely, set a good example. And be humble to the right point. But I think there is also a time for lecturing, telling, requiring, and - yes - shaming. Like I said…sin is a selfish thing, reminding these selfish people of their duty to God and the consequences of rejecting it might just bring a few around.

So you want to force people to follow a religion if they don’t really want to??

 

[JackieMom]

It would be great if he could institute a trickle-down process by which priests would be encouraged to use their platforms to better catechize the laity. We have serious problems with the laity making up their own moral codes and flippantly rejecting Church teaching in favor of “Oh, God couldn’t possibly really care about that!”

Other than that, I hope he allows himself to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Our wants and opinions mean nothing if they are not God’s will.

 

[JackieMom]

Going back to the original question.

It would be something, if he came out and said ‘we got some things wrong’

What did we “get wrong” that has not already been addressed?

 

[mburn16]

So you want to force people to follow a religion if they don’t really want to??

To the extent that the decision to follow it is still a voluntary one, yes. I’m not saying you point guns at people and frog march them to church…but if you can’t convince them to come to mass because they enjoy being at mass, convince them to come to mass because it is what they are supposed to do, or for the sake of their own soul.

The Church (and God) provides any number of rules about things people are (attend mass on sunday) and are not (have relations outside of marriage) to do. Does that require that they be happy about those provisions?

 

[ProVobis]

Implement Paul VI’s Jubilate Deo in every parish with some enthusiasm.