lifesitenews--2019-10-09--Pope Francis: ‘Do I love God or dogmatic formulations?’

VATICAN CITY, October 9, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis today insinuated that Catholics who hold strongly to the orthodox teachings of the Church are ideologues and, like Saul of Tarsus, are in need of conversion.  “Ideologues” who “desire the so-called ‘purity’ of the Church are attacking Christ,” said the pontiff.  Pope Francis recounted the story of St. Paul’s conversion in the Acts of the Apostles saying that up until that time, he was an ideologue who persecuted members of the early Church and that “fratricidal fury” compelled him.  “The young Saul is portrayed as intransigent, that is, one who shows intolerance towards those who think differently from him,” he said. Saul “absolutizes his political or religious identity and reduces the other to a potential enemy to fight.”  “For Saul, religion had turned into ideology: religious ideology, social ideology, political ideology,” he said.  “The angry condition – because Saul was angry – and Saul's conflictual situation invites everyone to ask themselves: How do I live my life of faith? Am I going to meet others or am I against others?” asked Pope Francis.  “Do I belong to the universal Church – with the good and the bad, all of us – or do I hold a selective ideology?” he continued. “Do I love God or dogmatic formulations?”  Pope Francis added, “What is my religious life like? Does professing faith in God make me friendly or hostile towards those who are different from me?”  “An attack against a member of the Church is an attack against Christ himself! And those who are ideologues because they desire the so-called ‘purity’ of the Church are attacking Christ himself.”  Pope Francis concluded: “Let us ask the Father to let us too, like Saul, experience the impact of his love that can only make a heart of stone a heart of flesh, capable of embracing ‘the same sentiments of Christ Jesus.’”  “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” Jesus says in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John. “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.”


lifesitenews--2019-11-08--Pope Francis denounces Amazon Synod critics as racist

ROME, November 7, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Offering his thoughts on the Amazon Synod, Pope Francis excoriated certain “circles and sectors” who allegedly consider much of humanity a “lower-class entity” with scant “spiritual and intellectual life.” These unnamed individuals, the pope opined, hope out of racism or bigotry to withhold the Gospel.  Pope Francis spoke with Italian journalist Gianni Valente during interviews conducted during the recent Amazon Synod. In talks gathered into a book in Italian titled Without Him We Can Do Nothing, the pontiff described his vision for the Church to embrace a missionary spirit, even while he blasted unnamed groups for mischaracterizing others as “lower-class.”  In the interview, the pope said, “There are circles and sectors that present themselves as ilustrados [enlightened] — they sequester the proclamation of the gospel through a distorted reasoning that divides the world between ‘civilization’ and ‘barbarism.'”  Pope Francis said, “The idea that the Lord has among his favorites many dark-complexioned people irritates them, it puts them in a bad mood. They consider a large part of the human family as a lower-class entity, incapable, according to their standards, of achieving decent levels in spiritual and intellectual life. On this basis, contempt can develop for people considered to be second-rate,” he said, adding that “all this also emerged during the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.”  Perhaps signaling to his native country, the pope referred to “cabecitas negras” (literally, “little black heads”) — an Argentine slang term deriding people of dark complexion. When reports emerged from the synod that there were alleged aspersions cast at the feather headdresses used by some of the indigenous participants in the conference, Pope Francis deplored the “sarcastic words” directed at indigenous people wearing feathers. He said, “Tell me: what’s the difference between having feathers on your head and the three-peaked hat [birettas] worn by certain officials in our dicasteries?”  The book was released on November 5 and coincided with the close of Extraordinary Missionary Month in October. During October, the Vatican hosted the Amazon Synod, which had the ostensible goal of discussing how the Gospel can be proclaimed in the remote regions of South America, issues of inculturation, and ordination of mature married men to the priesthood in the Latin Rite. Even before the synod’s outset, controversy was stirred by the instrumentum laboris — the working document that offered points of discussion and goals to be met at the synod. Critics of the document included Cardinals Raymond Burke, Walter Brandmüller, and Gerhard Müller. Cardinal Brandmüller called the document “heretical” and an “apostasy” from Divine Revelation.  A tree-planting ceremony attended by Pope Francis at the outset of the synod immediately became controversial because of pagan rituals it incorporated and pagan effigies that were gifted to the pontiff. The very same idols, variously described as “Our Lady of the Amazon” and the “Pachamama” fertility goddess — the latter by the pope himself — showed up at a church not far from the Vatican, causing further controversy and comment. Then, on Oct. 21, a young Austrian entered the church, removed the effigies, and threw them into the Tiber River. His acts were recorded on video, which was then widely circulated on social media. Identifying himself as “Alexander,” the English-speaking Austrian man said in a later video that he was “very upset” when he saw people bowing before the idols at the church in Rome. He explained: “There are some laymen, and we stand up because we don’t want things like that happening in the Catholic Church.” After the incident, Pope Francis apologized to the synod organizers and even suggested that the idols would be returned to the church.  Author Valente told Religion News Service that the pope’s interview is a riposte to “to all the closed- and narrow-minded points of view that we witnessed” during the synod. He said “certain powerful ecclesiastical circles” in the United States show hostility toward the pope.  Pope Francis advocated for a revival of a missionary spirit in the Church. He said that nowadays, Catholics must “bear in mind that the revealed message is not identified with a particular culture,” the pope said. “And when meeting new cultures, or cultures that have not accepted the Christian proclamation, we must try not to impose a determined cultural form together with the evangelical proposition.” Proselytism “is always violent by nature,” he said, and “cuts out Christ” and grace from the Holy Spirit. Without aid from the Holy Spirit, mission work is but “a religious, or perhaps an ideological conquest, perhaps carried out even with good intentions.”  Being moved by the Holy Spirit, said the pope, produces an “attraction” for those who want to follow the path of missionaries. Missionaries should work in “facilitating, making easy, without placing obstacles to Jesus’s desire to embrace everyone, to heal everyone, to save everyone.” They should not be selective, impose “pastoral tariffs,” or be guards who control “who has the right to enter.”


lifesitenews--2019-11-08--Pope Francis says St. Paul ‘built a bridge’ to the Athens pagans, ignores his condemnation of idols

VATICAN CITY, November 7, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― Ignoring Saint Paul’s condemnation of graven images, Pope Francis stated that the saint provided an example of the “inculturation” of the Gospel when he preached in Athens.  In a homily during his usual Wednesday audience, the pontiff stated that St. Paul used his encounter with the pagan idols of the ancient city “to build a bridge to dialogue with that culture.”  “Paul chose to enter into familiarity with the city and began therefore to frequent the most significant places and people,” Francis said.  “He went to the synagogue, symbol of the life of faith; he went to the town square, symbol of urban life, and he went to the Aereopagus, symbol of political and cultural life.”  The pontiff noted that St. Paul spoke with judges, philosophers, and “many others,” meeting “all the people” and not “locking himself away.”  “In this way Paul observed the culture, observed the environment of Athens,” Pope Francis added, and then quoted from his own Evangelium Gaudium to say that Paul “started from a contemplative gaze” to discover “that God who lives in His houses, in His streets, and in His squares” (EG, 71).  In what sounded like an allusion on the expulsion of wooden carvings depicting the pagan fertility goddess Pachamama from a Catholic Church during the recent Synod on the Amazon, Pope Francis stated that St. Paul did not look upon the pagan world with “hostility” but with faith.  “Paul did not look at the city of Athens and the pagan world with hostility but with the eyes of faith,” he said. “And this questions our manner of looking at our cities: do we look at them with indifference? With contempt? Or with the faith that recognizes the children of God in the middle of anonymous crowds?”  The pontiff stated that Paul had chosen to view the city in a way that led him “to make an opening between the Gospel and the pagan world.”  “In the heart of one of the most famous institutions in the ancient world, the Areopagus, he realized an extraordinary example of inculturating the message of faith: he announced Jesus Christ to the adorers of idols, and not by attacking them, but by making himself ‘pontiff, builder of bridges,’” Francis said, quoting a homily he gave in May 2013.  Paul did this, Francis said, by noticing an altar the Athenians had set up to “the unknown god” and telling his hearers that he had come to tell them about the unknown god they already adored.  “Starting from this ‘devotion’ to the unknown god, to enter into empathy with his [hearers], he proclaimed that God ‘lives among the citydwellers” and “He does not hide Himself from those who seek him with sincere hearts, although they do it gropingly,” Pope Francis said, again quoting from Evangelium Gaudium.  “It’s just this presence that Paul seeks to reveal, ‘He who, without knowing him, you adore, I announce Him to you (Acts 17:23),” he continued.  However, in describing St. Paul’s homily to the Athenians, the Argentinian pontiff neglected to mention that the great missionary of Tarsus told his hearers that the God who created everything does not live in temples (Acts 17:24) or need offerings (Acts 17:25) and is not like graven images made by human beings (Acts 17:29).  “Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals,” Paul said.  Instead, Pope Francis noted that the majority of Paul’s hearers rejected his message when he announced Christ’s resurrection from the dead — “the stumbling block”― and so his attempt seemed to be a failure. However some do accept the Gospel, “among these a man, Dionigius, a member of the Areopagus, and a woman, Damaris.”  Pope Francis found it significant that Damaris is a woman.  “Even in Athens, the Gospel can take root and spread by two voices: that of a man and that of a woman!”  He concluded, “We ask today of the Holy Spirit to teach us to build bridges with the culture, with those who don’t believe or with those who have a different belief from ours. To always build bridges, always the extended hand, no aggression. We ask Him for the capacity to inculturate with care the message of faith, placing a contemplative gaze on those who are ignorant of Christ, moved by a love that warms even the hardest hearts.”  Philosopher Professor Claudio Pierantoni, one of the original signatories of the letter to the world’s bishops accusing Pope Francis of heresy, indicated that the pontiff was both right and wrong in his homily about St. Paul and the Athenians.  “It is true that in this episode, Paul takes advantage of some positive elements in the pagan philosophy, such as the approximation to the doctrine of Creation, and to Man’s special relation to God as ‘God’s offspring,’” Pierantoni told LifeSiteNews via email.  “That could be correctly described as ‘making bridges.’ But we must be careful not to interpret this as mere ‘dialogue’ between religions that can peacefully coexist on the same level,” he continued.  The professor cited verses Acts 29-30 to point out that paganism no longer has reason to exist.  “The pagan religion, with its idolatrous cults, had a reason for existing, because of ignorance, until the moment of the positive, historical revelation of God.”  Pierantoni noted that Francis’ homily repeatedly speaks of “aggression,” as if it were opposed to the spirit of Paul’s supposed “inculturation” and “dialogue,” and saw in it a reference to “the present controversy about the idolatrous rites recently held in the Vatican Gardens, and to the taking away of the wooden images of the Pachamama from a Church near the Vatican.”  “But St. Paul’s evangelization, although it certainly uses the means of dialogue, of course does not have in mind a pacific coexistence of all religions as an ideal,” he continued.  “[Paul’s] message is not just about some neutral exchange of opinions among different religious beliefs, but the announcement of something new that terminates the ‘times of ignorance’ and makes idolatry into an abominable sin.”  The professor cited verses Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians that also condemn idols: “What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons” (1 Cor. 10:19-21).


lifesitenews--2019-12-07--Pope Francis nags United Nations to save the poor from climate change

December 6, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has sent a message to the participants of the latest United Nations climate conference, which opened in Madrid last Monday, asking whether “there is the political will to allocate with honesty, responsibility and courage, more human, financial and technological resources to mitigate the negative effects of climate change, as well as to help the poorest and most vulnerable populations who suffer from them the most.”  In a purely “horizontal” context, in which he spoke neither of God and His rights over Creation nor of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Pope Francis recalled a “growing awareness on the part of the various actors of the international community of the importance and need to ‘work together in building our common home,’” as affirmed in the Paris Agreement adopted by the COP21 in December 2015.  The Conference of Parties (COP) is an international body responsible for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, whose activities rest on the Special Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC claims not only that “global warming” — or, when the weather does not cooperate, “climate change” — is an indisputable scientific fact, but that human activity is responsible for it because of the burning of “fossil energy” (such as petrol, coal, and gas), consumption of meat, deforestation, and other industries produce ever more carbon dioxide (CO ), a “greenhouse gas” that traps the sun’s heat in Earth’s atmosphere.  COP has by now reached its 25th edition and takes place this year in Madrid after having been initially scheduled in Santiago de Chile, where social unrest led the organizers to move the event to Spain, albeit under Carolina Schmidt, Chilean environment minister and president of the COP25, to whom Pope Francis addressed his message.  Pope Francis, moving clearly out of the spiritual sphere that is the Catholic Church’s domain of action, once again used the prestige of the papal function to put the Vatican’s full moral force behind the aims and objectives of the COP 25 or, to be more precise, behind the paradigm change encouraged by the United Nations through the fight against “global warming”: a change to Western styles of life, redistribution of world riches to the “poor countries” that according to the climate change theory pay the price of the “rich countries’” over-consumption, and stringent measures deemed necessary for the good of “the planet.”  Pope Francis deplored in his message that “sadly, after four years, we must admit that this awareness is still rather weak, unable to respond adequately to that strong sense of urgency for rapid action called for by the scientific data at our disposal,” once more speaking as if the conclusions of the IPCC reports are absolutely indisputable regarding both global warming and mankind’s direct responsibility for the innumerable catastrophes that climate alarmists have announced for the near future.  This attitude disregards numerous studies on the part of climate and other scientists who have not only challenged the scientific validity of climate models used by the United Nations to justify the change in human habits and way of life, but who also question the exactitude of climate measurements presented in this context and who deplore that other, well known, and far more consequential elements that play a role in Earth’s temperature are neglected — the sun, for instance, whose cyclical activity is known to have a direct impact on the climate of our planet, while the impact of human-produced CO remains marginal in the Earth’s atmosphere.  Pope Francis’s message to Carolina Schmidt once more gave witness to the Church’s unquestioning adoption of the U.N. agenda — despite its profoundly anti-human stance and promotion of population control to reduce the so-called effect of human activity on “global warming.” Proponents of population control such as Paul Ehrlich, Joachim Schellnhuber, and Jeffrey Sachs have been repeatedly invited to scientific events at the Vatican, while Sachs was invited to intervene at the recent Amazon Synod, where care for the “common home” took center stage.  In his message to the COP25, the pope deplored that “current commitments made by States to mitigate and adapt to climate change are far from those actually needed to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement. They demonstrate how far words are from concrete actions!” he wrote.  Adopting the alarmist language of the “climate-warmers,” Pope Francis spoke of the “concern about the ability of such processes to respect the timeline required by science, as well as the distribution of the costs they require,” while at the same time insisting that “numerous studies tell us that it is still possible to limit global warming.”  “To do this we need a clear, far-sighted and strong political will, set on pursuing a new course that aims at refocusing financial and economic investments toward those areas that truly safeguard the conditions of a life worthy of humanity on a ‘healthy’ planet for today and tomorrow. All this calls us to reflect conscientiously on the significance of our consumption and production models and on the processes of education and awareness to make them consistent with human dignity,” he said.  He insisted that young people understand this and added, in substance, that they will hold our generation responsible for the problems we will have refused to solve.  All of this is a far cry from the Church’s very reason for existing: to communicate the graces won by the merits of Our Lord’s Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection for the salvation of many, to whom the gates of heaven have been reopened through His work of redemption.  In fact, such an alignment on worldly objectives is clearly political in nature, and a corruption of man’s true relationship with nature: according to Catholic doctrine, the Creation must surely be respected and used by man with love and admiration for what God has made, but man is at the summit of the material creation which exists to allow him to achieve his true end as a being both spiritual and material: eternal happiness in the “next” world, living of the very life of God.  What would the world look like if the Paris Agreement objectives and further stringent measures touted both by the COP25 and Pope Francis were truly to be implemented?  On October 31, the globalist World Economic Forum gave a glimpse into the future it is hoping for in an op-ed signed by Ida Auken, member of the Danish Parliament.  Under the title “This is what 2030 could look like if we win the war on climate change,” she wrote:  She explained how transport-sharing would become the rule, with private cars banned from cities and more and more people deciding not to own personal cars.  “For lunch you can choose from dozens of exciting meals — most of them are plant-based, so you eat more healthily and are more environmentally friendly than when lunch meant choosing between five types of burger,” she continued.  Meat is one of the main targets of “warmists,” who say cattle-breeding is one of climate change’s worst culprits. Interestingly, Pope Francis never mentions this, not even in his “green” encyclical Laudato Si’, perhaps because he comes from Argentina, where beef is the staple diet.  Ida Auken sees the world as completely connected and managed beyond human error and liberty: in the 2030 U.N. dream, “if your dishwasher is about to break down, it is no longer your problem. The service provider already knows about the problem and has sent someone to fix it. When the machine no longer works, the provider picks up the old machine and installs a new one.”  Sober living is no longer associated with the sacrifice of earthly possessions for a higher good or even for the practice of virtue: it is for the planet. The idea goes very far since even private property and family homes are at least partially rejected: Ida Auken explained that in her “CO-topia,” “people are trying out new types of living arrangements with more shared functions and spaces. This means that more people can afford to live in cities.”  She concluded her futurist reverie with these words:  Or to say things more clearly: human beings will no longer have the freedom to travel as they now are able to, and the anti-CO arrangements will have had the effect of a profound revolution in the economy and in society as a whole — the whole point being that this revolution would not be the effect of a free choice, but imposed in the name of unverifiable future catastrophes and fear.  The same Ida Auken, in a particularly revealing piece published by weforum.org in November 2016, was already conjuring up the image of a property-less, communal world in 2030 under the title: “Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better.”  The paper made clear from the start that the true aim of the big climate scare is a new form of communism:  She went on to say:  But she also realized: “Once in awhile I get annoyed about the fact that I have no real privacy. Nowhere I can go and not be registered. I know that, somewhere, everything I do, think and dream of is recorded. I just hope that nobody will use it against me.”  Mrs. Auken is a former environment minister of Denmark, of the socialist and feminist persuasion. What does she have to do with Pope Francis’s commitment to fighting “climate change”? A lot more than you may think: She is giving a concrete image to the U.N.’s political agenda for climate-fueled socialism and making visible, under the aegis of the powerful World Economic Forum, the face of things to come.


lifesitenews--2019-12-07--Pope Francis urges United Nations to save the poor from climate change


lifesitenews--2019-12-07--Pope Francis: Amoris Laetitia is ‘the Magisterium of the Church’ on divorced and remarried

BANGKOK, Thailand, December 6, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― Pope Francis told Jesuits in Thailand that how the Church should behave pastorally to Catholics who are “divorced and remarried” is found in chapter 8 of his controversial 2016 exhortation Amoris Laetitia, a teaching that has been used by bishops around the world to allow Catholics living objectively in adultery to receive Holy Communion.  The pope indicated that such teaching is the “Magisterium of the Church.”  While meeting with a group of Southeastern Jesuits in Bangkok last month, Pope Francis invited their questions. One stated that they had “divorced and remarried” Catholics in their communities and asked how they are to “behave pastorally with them.”  “I could answer you in two ways: in a casuistic way, which however is not Christian, even if it can be ecclesiastical; or according to the Magisterium of the Church as in the eighth chapter of Amoris Laetitia, that is, journey, accompany and discern to find solutions,” the pontiff replied. “And this has nothing to do with situation ethics, but with the great moral tradition of the Church.”  Francis did not explain how something that is ecclesiastical could not be Christian, instead moving to a question about his experience of the Church in Thailand.  The word “magisterium” has several potential meanings, including the teaching office of a pope or a bishop in union with the pope, or the doctrine being taught. John Zmirak, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism, told LifeSiteNews that the word is typically used two ways:  “One, the infallible parts that reflect the Deposit of Faith, either sacred tradition or authoritatively taught Natural Law judgments, and two, whatever some pope said that another pope hasn't contradicted yet.”  Zmirak took exception to Pope Francis’s use the words “casuistry” and “Magisterium.”  “As usual, Pope Francis is equivocating, using language sloppily, and relying on the anti-Catholic connotations that perfectly innocent words were given by anti-Christian pamphleteers,” he said.  “‘Casuistry’ means nothing more or less than the application of general rules to particular cases. It’s a Latinism best translated as ‘case law.’ Imagine a judge denouncing ‘case law.’ That’s how much sense it makes for a moral teacher to denounce casuistry,” he continued.  Zmirak also criticized the pope of elevating “his own baseless and un-Catholic opinions, issued in fallible documents, to the level of Magisterium.”  “For Francis the Marxist sympathizer, [Magisterium] appears to mean essentially ‘Party Line,’ the author said. “It can shift as the Party leadership does.”  “To understand this papacy you don't need to read Francis, but Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon.”  Dr. John Rist, professor emeritus of the University of Toronto, told LifeSiteNews that Pope Francis’s answer to the question is a typical example of “Peronism.”  “Step one is to deny ‘casuistry,’ apparently understood by [Pope] Bergoglio as some form of consequentialism/situation ethics (which he rightly dubs non-Christian),” Rist stated.  “The second step is to try to muddle us by using traditional words like ‘discernment’ but to imply that trying to discern what to do will get you an answer which is non-consequentialist while simultaneously disregarding the norms the Church has traditionally taught, and appealing to the Magisterium, i.e. to himself, to justify this procedure,” the philosopher continued.  “What it all amounts to is readmitting consequentialism/situation ethics by the back door and giving it another name (i.e. discernment).”  Chapter eight of Amoris Laetitia attracted a torrent of criticism after the apostolic exhortation was published on April 8, 2016 because it allows for interpretations that undermine or even contradict perennial Catholic doctrine. The Catholic Church teaches that sacramental marriages end only by death, and that anyone in such a marriage who divorces and attempts to marry again commits adultery (cf. Matt. 5:31–32; 19:3–12; Mk. 10:2–12; Lk. 16:18; 1 Cor. 7:1–16). As adultery is a mortal sin that cuts off sanctifying grace to one’s soul, Catholics in so-called irregular marriages are not considered in a fit state to receive Holy Communion. Amoris Laetitia was criticized for overturning these teachings in a footnote.  Recognizing the post-conciliar explosion in the number of Catholics who have divorced and illicitly remarried despite the doctrine, St. John Paul II taught in Familiaris Consortio that such Catholics may go to confession and receive Holy Communion as long as they live in perfect continence, or, in other words, as “brother and sister”:  Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance, which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage. This means, in practice, that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children's upbringing, a man and a woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate, they “take on themselves the duty to live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples.” [Familiaris Consortio, 180]  Amoris Laetitia, however, has been used to permit people who have divorced and “remarried” to receive the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion without a promise to live in continence (footnote 351) and even to suggest that it would be wrong for people in adulterous unions to stop committing adultery.  This suggestion, perhaps one of the most explosive innovations of Pope Francis’s pontificate, was all but buried in a footnote, Footnote 329, which misrepresented Gaudium et Spes:  Gaudium et Spes was referring not to irregular unions here, but to legitimate marriages in which spouses are abstaining from marital union for a protracted period so as not to engender children.  While the confusion and debate over Amoris Laetitia raged, four cardinals followed the normal procedures in sending Pope Francis questions or “dubia” regarding the theological implications of Amoris Laetitia. The pontiff has still not answered the dubia. However, on September 9, 2016, Francis wrote a private letter to the bishops of Argentina, which was leaked to the press, that their interpretation of Amoris Laetitia — i.e. to permit some irregularly married Catholics, even some with no intention of living in continence, to receive the sacraments after a period of penitential preparation — was the correct one.


lifesitenews--2019-12-24--Rigid Catholics who won’t change are imbalanced, says Pope Francis in Christmas address

VATICAN CITY, December 23, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — In his annual Christmas address, Pope Francis advised the Vatican civil service not to allow “rigidity” to get in the way of “epochal change.”  In his Dec. 21 address to the Curia, the Argentinian pontiff discussed the inevitability and necessity of change in the Church, and warned against “rigidity.”  In the context of “the temptation to fall back on the past,” Pope Francis said:  All of this has particular importance for our time, because what we are experiencing is not simply an epoch of changes, but an epochal change. We find ourselves living at a time when change is no longer linear, but epochal. It entails decisions that rapidly transform our ways of living, of relating to one another, of communicating and thinking, of how different generations relate to one another and how we understand and experience faith and science. Often we approach change as if were a matter of simply putting on new clothes, but remaining exactly as we were before. (...) Brothers and sisters, Christendom no longer exists! Today we are no longer the only ones who create culture, nor are we in the forefront or those most listened to. We need a change in our pastoral mindset, which does not mean moving towards a relativistic pastoral care. (...) Here, there is a need to be wary of the temptation to rigidity. A rigidity born of the fear of change, which ends up erecting fences and obstacles on the terrain of the common good, turning it into a minefield of incomprehension and hatred. Let us always remember that behind every form of rigidity lies some kind of imbalance. Rigidity and imbalance feed one another in a vicious circle. And today this temptation to rigidity has become very real.  The pontiff has often preached against “rigidity,” which in his Apostolic Exhortation “Gaudete et exsultate” seems to mean resistance to change. Francis’ critics within the Church fear that this condemnation of rigidity is also reproof of those who adhere too faithfully to certain doctrines of the Church, like the insolubility of marriage.  A curial employee who spoke to LifeSiteNews under condition of anonymity said the pope seems not to understand that psychological imbalance is not the only reason why people resist specific changes.  “That is, some of his critics might oppose his ideas or plans for religious, academic, or practical reasons,” he said.  “They may be right or wrong, but to suggest that anyone and everyone who resists your plans have mental or emotional problems is unfair and unjust,” he continued.  “Pope Francis has often spoken of the need for dialogue, and he's right to do so. Presuming your interlocutors are psychologically impaired — or worse, in bad faith — makes dialogue all but impossible.”  The Argentinian pontiff offered a quote by the recently canonized St. John Henry Newman to strengthen his argument that the Church must change to meet epochal changes. In his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, the great Cardinal wrote “Here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”  But Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, the editor of Newman on Worship, Reverence, and Ritual: A Selection of Texts, says Newman was not calling for continual change.  “It’s a favorite line with modern Jesuits because for them it means progressivism: continual change, evolution, doctrinal creativity,” Kwasniewski told LifeSiteNews via social media.  “Ultimately, it means (to them that) we get to think and say things that are contrary to what we used to believe, or act in ways contrary to how we used to act,” he continued.  “But that is not Newman's point at this moment in his Essay on the Development of Doctrine. He is talking about how the ‘idea’ (as he calls it) of Christianity expands, develops, diversifies, and enriches itself as it engages and is engaged with the world around it. It becomes more perfect in its self-understanding and self-expression through this interchange. One need only think about how the challenge of heresies brought forth the great Church Fathers to defend the deposit of faith.”  Kwasniewski added that Newman had made “heavy use” of St. Vincent of Lerins in this work, and that St. Vincent had argued that this development was only a deepening and an articulation of what was already held before but ineptly expressed.  “(St. Vincent) said it was not "mutatio" (substantial change) but "profectus" (growth, as of an acorn into an oak tree),” the author explained.  “For example, a living organism grows more into itself, its own species and individual maturity, by consuming food from the outside world; it does not become something else,” he continued.  “In that sense, Newman is saying that Catholicism becomes more fully itself by engaging the outer world ― not that it evolves from one kind of thing to another.”  Kwaniewski added, “"Whatever inspiration Newman may or may not have contributed to this address, one thing is clear: for Pope Francis, to be perfect is to talk about change often."  The pontiff mentioned “change” in his address over 30 times.  Francis’ reasons for the need for change in the Vatican’s civil service stemmed from the dramatic demotion of Christianity as a force in Europe and the rest of the world. He noted that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (founded 1542) and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (founded 1622) were first established when there was a “Christian world” and “a world yet to be evangelized.”  “Brothers and sisters, Christendom no longer exists,” Francis said.  “Today we are no longer the only ones who create culture, nor are we in the forefront or those most listened to,” he continued.  “ ... We are no longer living in a Christian world, because faith – especially in Europe, but also in a large part of the West – is no longer an evident presupposition of social life; indeed, faith is often rejected, derided, marginalized and ridiculed.”  Pope Francis also quoted novelist Prince Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s famous line in Il Gattopardo (“The Leopard”), a novel that reflected on the decay and inevitable end of aristocratic life in Sicily.  “If we want everything to stay the same, then everything has to change,” Francis said, echoing Lampedusa’s fictional character Tancredi Falconeri.  The pontiff also quoted a “great man” as saying “tradition is the guarantee of the future and not a container of ashes.” The Vatican glossed this in its record of Pope Francis’ speech as “Gustav Mahler, taking up a metaphor used by Jean Jaurès.”  Mahler (1860-1911), an Austrian Jew, was an influential composer of the Romantic era. The sentiment “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire” is often attributed to him. Jaurès (1859-1914) was a leader of the French Socialist Party. He said, “To be faithful to tradition is to be faithful to the flame and not to the ash.” (“Être fidèle à la tradition, c'est être fidèle à la flamme et non à la cendre.")  The pontiff has used this reference before, most notably in an interview in Romania this summer, when he confirmed that Benedict XVI, who is nine years his senior, was like a grandfather to him. Francis said then that “... tradition does not preserve ashes; the nostalgia of fundamentalists (is) to return to the ashes.”  The context of the pontiff’s latest reference to tradition and ashes was the ongoing reforms he wishes to make to the Curia. More conventionally, Pope Francis cited the words of Coptic Orthodox monk Matta El Meskeen, Clement of Alexandria, Benedict XVI, Paul VI, and the late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini. Francis’ own works are also cited.  Citing Paul VI in the footnotes to his speech, the pontiff wrote, “Saint Paul VI, some 50 years ago, when presenting the new Roman Missal to the faithful, recalled the correspondence between the law of prayer (lex orandi) and the law of faith (lex credendi), and described the Missal as “a demonstration of fidelity and vitality.”  Francis continued, “(Paul VI) concluded by saying: ‘So let us not speak of a ‘new Mass,’ but rather of ‘a new age in the life of the Church’ (General Audience, 19 November 1969).”  “Analogously, we might also say in this case: not a new Roman Curia, but rather a new age.”  Near the end of his speech, the pontiff quoted Cardinal Martini’s lament, spoken a few days before his death, that the Church is “200 years behind the times.”


drudgereport--2019-07-02--Dalai Lama sorry for saying female successor would be attractive

Dalai Lama sorry for saying female successor would be 'attractive'...

The Dalai Lama apologized Tuesday for repeating remarks that if the next dalai lama were a woman, she should be "attractive."  In an interview with the BBC, published June 27, the Dalai Lama was pressed on a comment he made in 2015 that if he were followed by a female dalai lama, she would need to be physically appealing.  "He reaffirmed his belief that beauty matters as much as brains. 'If a female Dalai Lama comes, she should be more attractive,' he told me while laughing," the BBC article said.  The Dalai Lama, who will turn 84 this week, told the BBC that inner and outer beauty are important in Buddhist literature, and stressed that he supported women's rights.  A statement posted to the Dalai Lama's website Tuesday acknowledged that the comments had "caused disquiet."  "His Holiness genuinely meant no offense. He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies," the statement said.  "His Holiness consistently emphasizes the need for people to connect with each other on a deeper human level, rather than getting caught up in preconceptions based on superficial appearances," the statement said. "This is something everyone who has the chance to meet with him recognizes and appreciates."  The Dalai Lama first made the remark about a woman dalai lama "as a joke" to the editor of Paris Vogue in 1992 because he was "working with a team whose prime focus was the world of high fashion," according to the statement. "It sometimes happens that off-the-cuff remarks, which might be amusing in one cultural context, lose their humor in translation when brought into another."  "For all his long life, His Holiness has opposed the objectification of women, has supported women and their rights and celebrated the growing international consensus in support of gender equality and respect for women," the statement said. "His Holiness has frequently suggested that if we had more women leaders, the world would be a more peaceful place."  The spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, who in 1959 fled to India, where he lives as a refugee, also drew criticism for his comments to the BBC about migrants and refugees, but the statement on his website said he was "misinterpreted."  "European countries should take these refugees and give them education and training, and the aim is return to their own land with certain skills," the Dalai Lama said during the interview. "A limited number is OK, but the whole of Europe [will] eventually become Muslim country, African country — impossible."  The statement released Tuesday said the Dalai Lama "appreciates that many of those who leave their countries may not wish or be able to return," and "also understands the uncertainties and difficulties of those in countries where refugees and migrants make their new homes."  As a refugee himself, the Dalai Lama believes the ultimate goal for most refugees is to return to their home countries.  During the BBC interview, the Dalai Lama also shared his strong opinion of President Donald Trump, saying the president's time in office has been marred by a "lack of moral principle."  Still, the Dalai Lama, who has met with every president since George H.W. Bush, said he would be open to meeting with Trump, but he has never been asked.


eveningstandard--2019-04-10--Dalai Lama rushed to hospital in India for chest infection

The Dalai Lama has been rushed to hospital in India with a chest infection, his private aide has said.  The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader flew from Dharmsala on Tuesday for a consultation with his doctors and was hospitalised.  He is likely to spend a day or two in hospital, Tenzin Taklha said.  Mr Taklha added that the Dalai Lama is feeling better and has cut down on travel in the past year to take care of his health.  The Nobel peace laureate usually spends several months a year travelling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetans' struggle for greater freedom in China.  "Long-distance travelling is tiresome. Generally, he is in very good health. But he is taking precautions," he told The Associated Press.  The Dalai Lama addressed a conference of educators and students in New Delhi last week.  Answering a question related to Tibet's future with China, he reiterated that he is not seeking independence for Tibet, but would prefer a "reunion" with China under mutually acceptable terms.  China took control of Tibet in 1950 and sees the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist.  It is unclear and remains a contentious who will succeed the Dalai Lama when he dies.  Who will succeed the Dalai Lama when he dies remains both unclear and contentious.  He has reiterated that any leader named by China would not be accepted by Tibetans.


eveningstandard--2019-06-27--Dalai Lama shares his views on Brexit saying UK should have voted Remain

Dalai Lama shares his views on Brexit, saying UK should have voted Remain

The Dalai Lama has delivered his opinion on Brexit, saying he believes the UK should have voted to remain in Europe.  In an interview with the BBC's South Asia Correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan at the Dalai Lama's residence in northern India, the spiritual leader was asked his views on the EU referendum.  Sharing his opinion on Brexit, he said that despite being an outsider, he believed that it is better to remain in the European Union as he was an admirer of the bloc's "spirit."  He said: “I am one admirer of the spirit of the European Union.  "I’m an outsider, but I feel it is better to remain in the union.  He had previously distanced himself from the Leave campaign after they used one of his quotes on a poster.  It said: “The goal should be that migrants return and help rebuild their countries.  “You have to be practical. It’s impossible for everyone to come.”  When quizzed about the poster, which he did not give permission for and previously distanced himself from, he responded: “The European countries should take these refugees and give them an education and training, and then aiming to return to their own land.  He said a “limited number” should be able to stay in Europe but added “the whole of Europe become a Muslim country? Impossible. Or African country, also impossible.  “They themselves I think better to their own land. Keep Europe for Europeans.”  Last September, the Dalai Lama said Europe was "morally responsible" to help refugees facing danger.  But he sparked anger when he said they should return home to "develop their own country."  He was speaking at a conference in Malmo, Sweden, when he made the controversial comments.  In 2016, he told a German newspaper that there were "too many refugees" in Europe, adding "Germany cannot become an Arab country."  In the BBC interview, he also said Donald Trump showed a "lack of moral principle."  The 14th Dalai Lama spoke about President Trump, saying America should take “global responsibility.”  He added: “His emotions are a little bit too complicated.  “One day he says something, another day he says something, but I think there’s a lack of moral principle.  “When he became president, he expressed ‘America first’ – that is wrong.”  Traditionally the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama has lived in India since China occupied the Himalayan state in 1950.


eveningstandard--2019-06-28--Dalai Lama faces criticism as he reaffirms belief that female successor must be aposattractiveapo

Dalai Lama faces criticism as he reaffirms belief that female successor must be 'attractive'

The Dalai Lama has been criticised as holding up a "double standard" after he reiterated his belief that a female successor would have to be “attractive”.  The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism has said that people would not want to look at a female Dalai Lama’s face if she was not attractive.  Speaking during a recent BBC interview at his residence in Himachal Pradesh in northern India, he said: “"If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive."  The 83-year-old made the comments in a response to being questioned on comments he made in 2015, when he said that a female successor would need to be “very, very attractive” or she would be “not much use”.  BBC News South Asia correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan had asked him if he understood that his comments could be perceived as objectification or offensive to women.  She continued to ask whether the mantle of the Dalai Lama should be about who a person is on the inside.  Many people around the world took to social media to express their disappointment at the spiritual leader’s statement.  "Sounds like the same old double standard that's been in place for centuries. Males can rise to power as ugly toads, but a woman must possess beauty and charm," one person wrote.  But some Twitter users also argued that his response may have been misinterpreted.  One commenter tweeted: “I think by attractive he means happy, smiling, kind, not looks.  "If you are those things you would be beautiful on the inside and it would radiate outwardly."  In his interview, the Dalai lama also criticised US President Donald Trump for his “lack of moral principle”.  He said that he felt “sad” when he saw photographs of young children at the US-Mexico border, being treated badly by the administration.


eveningstandard--2019-07-03--Dalai Lama aposdeeply sorryapos over comments about aposattractiveapos female successor

Dalai Lama 'deeply sorry' over comments about 'attractive' female successor

The Dalai Lama has apologised for saying any woman succeeding him would have to be “attractive”.  The Tibetan spiritual leader faced sharp criticism after he suggested people would not want to look at a female Dalai Lama’s face if she was not good-looking.  A statement from his office apologised for the remarks and insisted the Buddhist teacher had simply made a poorly judged joke.  It read: "He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies.”  “It sometimes happens that off the cuff remarks, which might be amusing in one cultural context, lose their humour in translation when brought into another.  “He regrets any offence that may have been given."  It added that the Dalai Lama had always opposed the objectification of women and supported gender equality.  The spiritual leader, who turns 84 this week, made the controversial statement during an interview at his residence in Himachal Pradesh, northern India.  BBC News South Asia correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan questioned him about comments he made in 2015, when he said that a female successor would need to be “very, very attractive” or she would be “not much use”.  Responding in English, he reiterated his previous suggestions, laughing: “If a female Dalai Lama comes, she should be more attractive.”  In the rest of the interview, the 83-year-old touched on topics including his dreams of returning to Tibet, US President Donald Trump, and refugees seeking asylum in countries across the world.  He said that he felt “sad” when he saw photographs of young children at the US-Mexico border being treated badly by the administration and criticised the president for his “lack of moral principle”.  His office issued no apology for these comments on Mr Trump.


newspunch--2019-06-27--Keep Europe For Europeans Says Dalai Lama

“Keep Europe For Europeans” Says Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama does not want to see Europe become “Muslim” or “African” saying it must be kept for Europeans.  During an interview with the BBC the Dalai Lama also said he believed the UK would be better to remain part of the EU and that the US President Donald Trump is lacking in moral principle  MSN reports: Asked about the US president, whom the Tibetan spiritual leader has previously unflatteringly impersonated, he said: “His emotions [are] also a little bit,” and made a gesture waggling his finger near his temple. “One day he says something, another day he says something. But I think [there is a] lack of moral principle. When he became president, he expressed America first. That is wrong. America, they should take the global responsibility.”  The Dalai Lama was asked about the EU, of which he said he was an admirer: “I am [an] outsider, but I feel better [to] remain in the European Union.”  The interviewer, the BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan, pointed out the campaign for Britain to leave the EU used one of the Dalai Lama’s quotes about migration to Europe as part of its campaign. “The goal should be that migrants return and help rebuild their countries. You have to be practical. It’s impossible for everyone to come,” he had said.  The Dalai Lama reiterated this position, saying that while European countries should take in refugees and educate and train them, the aim should be to return them to their home countries.  Asked if refugees should be allowed to stay in Europe if they wished to, he said only a limited number ought to be able to remain. “But [for the] whole [of] Europe [to] eventually become [a] Muslim country? Impossible. Or [an] African country, also impossible,” he said while laughing, adding: “Keep Europe for Europeans.”  The Dalai Lama was also asked about comments he made in 2015 that if a female Dalai Lama were to replace him then she must be “very attractive, otherwise not much use”.  He laughed when asked if he understood why the response had offended women, saying: “If [a] female Dalai Lama comes then she should be more attractive. If [a] female Dalai Lama,” before pulling a face, “I think, [people would] prefer not [to] see her, that face.”  The Dalai Lama also said he had not given up hope of returning to Tibet, from which he has been exiled since 1959, and that he has been in contact with senior retired Chinese officials. He said he thought the Chinese people were changing their attitudes.


newyorkpost--2019-06-28--Dalai Lama still thinks a female successor must be attractive

Dalai Lama still thinks a female successor must be ‘attractive’

The Dalai Lama has reiterated his desire that if a woman succeeds him, she better be good looking.  “If [a] female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive,” the 83-year-old spiritual guru told BBC News in a wide-ranging interview that aired Wednesday.  BBC reporter Rajini Vaidyanathan pressed him on his original comments from 2015, in which he said that his female successor “must be attractive, otherwise it is not much use.”  “If [a] female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive. If [a] female Dalai Lama — ” he told Vaidyanathan, while scrunching his face up, “then people I think prefer not [to] see that face.”  Vaidyanathan asked whether he understood why his remarks sparked outrage.  “There’s an opportunity to ask whether they spent some money for makeup,” he replied. “I think they must do something.”


russiainsider--2019-07-05--Dalai Lama Doubles Down Insists That Europe Should Send Migrants Home

Dalai Lama Doubles Down, Insists That Europe Should Send Migrants Home

In September 2018 Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, sent many leftist-liberal deviants into meltdown mode by stating that Europe belongs to Europeans and that refugees should return to their home countries in order to rebuild them.  It was a fantastic quote because usually when people say things like this, they are called a racist or a Nazi or a white supremacist.  But the Dalai Lama is a wise, much-respected man, who has dedicated his life towards helping humanity. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for being A Buddhist Advocate for Peace and Freedom, and here he was, saying that Europe belongs to Europeans.  There were quite a few left-wing types who tied themselves in knots while trying to string together a response. Fail: The majority of level-headed people, however, responded by saying something along the lines of “The Dalai Lama seems like a reasonable guy. Maybe that’s a reasonable suggestion too.”  The British Bias Corporation (BBC) were clearly displeased with what the Dalai Lama had said due to the fact that they chose not to report on it. The only article the BBC did publish during his September 2018 European tour was an article about him meeting some alleged victims of religious abuse.  More recently, the Dalai Lama was interviewed by BBC Correspondent, Rajini Vaidyanathan, who couldn’t wait to quiz him on his “controversial” comments. The Dalai Lama was impudently quizzed by the BBC’s sanctimonious presenter about his comments on refugees and migration where he’d said Europe is for Europeans. His answer was surprising. The Dalai Lama only went and doubled down; the absolute legend that he is.  According to the BBC, the Dalai Lama gave the wrong answer. Vaidyanathan tweeted after her interview that she found the idea of Europe being for Europeans controversial and she found the Dalai Lama’s answer “surprising”. How detached must you be from reality and majority thinking to find the idea of Europe remaining European controversial? Or morally corrupt.  Ethnic-Europeans and indeed all ethnic groups who value their culture were taken aback at the nerve of her question: “There’s nothing wrong with (Europe) becoming African or Muslim, is there? You yourself are a refugee.”  Yes, Rajini Vaidyanathan. There is something wrong with that. And you shouldn’t have to ask why. But since you did: How about, because Europe will no longer be European, it will just be Africa or somewhere else? How about, because we’ll no longer have a place to call home, where our people and culture can thrive? How about, because we don’t want to live under Sharia law? How about, because the rose-tinted picture that you multicultural-fetishists paint isn’t grounded in reality, and instead we’ll just end up being hated minorities in our own countries?  It turns out that Rajini Vaidyanathan isn’t a multicultural-fetishist after all. Or perhaps she is, but only for other people’s homes. Vaidyanathan wrote an article for the BBC in 2011 called “Why I came ‘home’ to India”, in which she revealed that, even though she was born in England, she always “felt a strong connection to India and its culture and customs.”  After a trip to India when she was 10-years-old, a place that she describes as her “motherland”, she recalls landing back in Heathrow, London, with her father: “I recall landing back at Heathrow, holding my dad’s hand as we walked through immigration. “Dad, I have just realised that everyone looks different again.”, a place where everyone had the same skin tone and cultural mannerisms, continued to bug me. He laughed, but the naïve realisation that I also ‘belonged’ somewhere else  This realisation bugged Vaidyanathan so much that she chose to move to India. What was it about a piece of land 4-and-a-half thousand miles away that she considered home? Of course, it was the people, the culture, the history, the language, the customs, and the traditions. How would Vaidyanathan feel if an ethnic-European had said to her “What’s wrong with India becoming African or Muslim?”  Rajini Vaidyanathan wrote that her parents moved to England because they “saw far more opportunity in the UK” than what was available in India. Yet despite Brtish hospitality, she insults and undermines the very culture that offered her family these chances. Europeans too feel at home among our own people, our own culture, our own language, and our own traditions, and she has no right to attempt to diminish what’s so important to us, while at the same cherishing the same thing for her own.  Those of us who aren’t massive hypocrites, those of us who don’t support the demographic replacement of one group while denying the same for our own, realise, that the Dalai Lama of all people, will understand the massive damage that demographic replacement entails.  Michael Walsh was awarded ‘Writer of the Year 2011’. With 60 books bearing his name, thousands of new stories and columns, Michael is arguably Britain and Europe’s most prolific author of multi-topic books none of which have been ghost-written.  MICHAEL WALSH is a journalist, broadcaster and the author of RISE OF THE SUN WEEL, EUROPE ARISE, TROTSKY’S WHITE NEGROES, MEGACAUST, THE ALLIED INVASION.  DEATH OF A CITY, WITNESS TO HISTORY, THE BUSINESS BOOSTER and THE FIFTH COLUMN VOLUME I and II, and other book titles.


sputnik--2019-04-10--Dalai Lama Hospitalized with Chest Infection - Reports

"Today [Tuesday] morning his holiness felt some discomfort, and he was flown to Delhi for [a] checkup … Doctors have diagnosed him with chest infection, and he is being treated for that. His condition is stable now. He will be treated for two [to] three days here", Tenzin Taklha told Reuters.  The Tibetan spiritual leader has been living in exile in India since China formally took over Tibet in 1959. Beijing has demanded that India stop using the Dalai Lama, who visited the Arunachal Pradesh, India's northeastern-most state, which borders Tibet, six times between 1983 and 2009, to undermine China’s interests and focus on deescalating tensions between the two powers.  Tibet is an autonomous region that seeks independence from China. Relations between the region and Beijing are tense, as many Tibetans accuse Chinese authorities of suppressing Tibetan culture, as well as freedom of expression and worship. Tibet's government-in-exile is based in India.


sputnik--2019-04-12--Dalai Lama Discharged from Indian Hospital After 3-Day Treatment - Report

New Delhi (Sputnik): The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lama, was discharged from a private hospital in New Delhi on Friday morning where he was admitted three days earlier due to a chest infection, reported AFP news agency.  The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader was admitted to Max Hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday. He had been diagnosed with an infection in his respiratory system. He had returned to his abode at Dharamshala in the state of Himachal Pradesh a day earlier on Monday, and had to be rushed back to Delhi on the next day due to a "light cough", his personal secretary and spokesperson Tenzin Taklha was quoted as saying by media reports.  Apprising AFP of the Dalai Lama's recovery, Taklha said that the spiritual leader was back to his normal routine and was doing some exercises.  The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is expected to remain in New Delhi for some time. He will eventually return to Dharamshala where he has been living in exile for the last six decades after fleeing the Chinese takeover of the Tibetan capital Lhasa in 1959.


sputnik--2019-04-12--Dalai Lamas Reincarnation Must Comply With Chinese Laws Beijing Says

Dalai Lama's Reincarnation Must Comply With Chinese Laws, Beijing Says

The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama “must comply with Chinese laws”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said when asked about the 83-year-old Buddhist monk’s physical condition following reports of his hospitalisation.  “In China’s history, clear rules have been established concerning the reincarnation of the living Buddha. The 14th Dalai Lama himself was found and recognised following religious rituals and historical conventions and his succession was approved by the then central government. Therefore reincarnation of living Buddhas, including the Dalai Lama, must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and follow religious rituals and historical conventions”, Lu told reporters.  According to these regulations, Buddhist institutions should apply to the Chinese government if they intend to reincarnate a monk.  On Friday morning, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was released from a New Delhi hospital after spending three days there, according to AFP. The Tibetan spiritual leader was reportedly diagnosed with a chest infection.  “His Holiness was feeling some discomfort this morning in Dharamsala. As a precaution, we came down to Delhi”, his private secretary Tenzin Taklha was quoted as saying by local media.  Back in 2011, the current Dalai Lama, who was identified as the reincarnation of his predecessor when he was two years old, said in a statement that it was inappropriate for the Chinese government to supervise his rebirth.  “They say they are waiting for my death and will recognise a 15th Dalai Lama of their choice. It is clear from their recent rules and regulations and subsequent declarations that they have a detailed strategy to deceive Tibetans”, he said.  The monk also reflected on what might happen after his death in an interview with Reuters last month:  “In future, in case you see two Dalai Lamas come, one from here, in a free country, one is chosen by Chinese, and then nobody will trust, nobody will respect [the one chosen by China]. So that’s an additional problem for the Chinese. It’s possible, it can happen”.  The 14th Dalai Lama, who was enthroned at the age of four after being discovered by a delegation of monks, has lived in India since his self-imposed exile from Tibet in 1959 following the formal Chinese takeover of the Tibetan capital Lhasa.


sputnik--2019-05-27--Dalai Lama Minimizes Activity While Recovering From Chest Infection PHOTO

Dalai Lama Minimizes Activity While Recovering From Chest Infection (PHOTO)

The Dalai Lama was taken to a hospital in the Indian capital New Delhi with a chest infection last month. After spending a few days there, the Dalai Lama returned to Dharamshala and was said to be in a stable condition.  READ MORE: Dalai Lama's Reincarnation Must Comply With Chinese Laws, Beijing Says  "His Holiness Dalai Lama is doing his daily routine, although his activities are minimized after he came from the hospital after the illness," Dolma told Sputnik.  According to the director of the Dalai Lama's office, Tsering Dhondup, the Tibetan spiritual leader is now "fit" but is still "not taking any strenuous work like preaching for long hours."  He will not be leaving Dharamshala for some time, the director added.  One of the senior Buddhist monks told Sputnik on the condition of anonymity that, "although the Dalai Lama is now free from his lung infection, he has become frail and he needs support for his daily chores."  During their visit to Dharamshala, the Sputnik correspondent attended the Kalchakra Puja ritual, a special Buddhist prayer, at the Dalai Lama temple. During Kalchakra Puja, Buddhist monks prayed and recited verses.  The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is a spiritual leader of Tibet. After an uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, he was forced into exile in MacLeodganj, which is situated in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.


sputnik--2019-05-30--EXCLUSIVE Dalai Lama Says Russia is a Bridge Between East and West

EXCLUSIVE: Dalai Lama Says Russia is a Bridge Between East and West

Tenzin Gyatso, known as the 14th Dalai Lama, an important figure who represents Buddhist values and traditions, believes that Russia is "a bridge between the East and the West."  "Russia is a big nation and a bridge between Europe and Asia. I think you [Russia] can make some significant contribution to the promotion of peace of mind", he noted.  "I think that Russia is a great nation, very powerful. Recent events showed that Putin as a leader of the Russian nation pays more attention to the issues in different parts of the world. I think that is good", he admitted.  The whole world is facing a very difficult period, the Dalai Lama said in an apparent reference to numerous conflicts and arguments.  "Today the world is passing through a critical period. In such a time President Putin should think very carefully, take into consideration a wider perspective and a long-term interest. That's important", he stressed.  The policies of US President Donald Trump did not escape the attention of the foremost spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.  "President Trump is the leader of the great nation and carries great responsibility. I think the leader should think of a wider perspective and long-term interest – that's important. He should not think just of immediate benefits", he said.  READ MORE: Dalai Lama's Reincarnation Must Comply With Chinese Laws, Beijing Says  "President Trump, of course, it is his work. I have no right to criticize, but he has sold billions of weapons to Saudi Arabia. I think this is wrong. He also withdrew from the Paris climate accord. This is unfortunate", he said.  "A few days ago the Japanese emperor [Naruhito] acceded to the throne, and yesterday a new British prince was born [Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal baby]. I really feel that [monarchy] is outdated. Russian Bolshevik revolution eliminated the czarist rule, and the French Revolution also eliminated the king’s rule. I feel this is right. All these kings, queens are part of old thinking. In that system, there was too much emphasis on military power", he said.  "Today time has come for democracy. The world belongs to seven billion human beings, each country belongs to people of that country. When people think properly, are educated, then I don't think they would be determined to kill each other. I don't think so", he said.  The European Union can be an example of such a system, the Dalai Lama stated.  "Take for example the European Union. In the previous century, the member states fought each other, killed each other. Then after World War II the very nations who were really involved in violence – France and Germany – they realized that now it’s much better to think about common interest rather than Germany’s interest, or France’s interest. This is a realistic approach. So the European Union was created, and in the last few decades there was no killing among its member states", he noted.  He even suggested that Russia should once join the European Union.  The Dalai Lama admitted that Buddhism has a special connection with Russia.  "We can go side by side with modern science. In Russia, there are regions where people traditionally are Buddhists. These are republics of Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuwa. When I was in Tibet [before 1959], we had many top scholars and abbots of big monasteries who came from Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tyva", he added.  He recalled that through centuries Russia already has had this knowledge and contacts with Buddhism.  "So, therefore, I really feel Russian Buddhists should pay more attention to the study of Buddhism. You can take from the Buddhist literature knowledge about psychology, quantum physics, logic and study it in the academic context. It’ll be of benefit for all people – religious people and non-believers", he noted.  He stated that many people from Mongolia and Buddhist regions of Russia are currently studying in Tibetan monasteries in India.  The Dalai Lama admitted that all religions are like medicines that help the believers "achieve peace of mind."  "I am a Buddhist. But I never say that Buddhism is the best religion. All major religious traditions are like medicine, they all help to achieve peace of mind. So we cannot pick up one medicine and then say this is the best for everybody. You cannot say this. The doctor first examines the patient's condition. Then he can recommend: for your case this medicine is the best. Similarly, among the believers there are so many different mental dispositions", he said.  Tibet's spiritual leader stated that for different people different religions and religious practices can be effective.


sputnik--2019-06-29--Dalai Lama Says Female Successor Should be Attractive Sparks Online Outrage

Dalai Lama Says Female Successor Should be Attractive, Sparks Online Outrage

Ahead of his 84th birthday, the Dalai Lama has once again insisted that if his successor is a woman, she must be physically attractive, as he spoke with his typical quirky, down-to-earth humour in a BBC News interview on 27 June.  "If a female Dalai Lama comes, she should be more attractive," the 14th Dalai Lama told the host. If not, "people, I think prefer, not see her, that face."  When the host probed: "It's about who you are inside, isn't it?" the spiritual leader responded:  "Yes, I think both. Real beauty is inner beauty, that's true. But we're human beings. I think the appearance is also important."  This isn't the first time the Tibetan religious leader has brought up the physical beauty of a potential successor. In a 2015 BBC interview, he made similar comments, noting that a female Dalai Lama should be attractive, otherwise she would be of "not much use."  His comments immediately sparked a response online, with some social media users outraged, while others claimed that the Dalai Lama implied that one needs to be more attractive to be accepted by society.  The Dalai Lama "formally" stepped down from political responsibilities in 2011, yet continues to be the figurehead of the Tibetan people as their spiritual leader.


thedailycaller--2019-06-27--The Dalai Lama Slams Trumps America First Policy That Is Wrong

The Dalai Lama Slams Trump’s ‘America First’ Policy — ‘That Is Wrong’

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama criticized President Donald Trump on Thursday for a “lack for moral principle” and putting the interests of America before other countries.  “One day he says something, another day he says something [else],” the Dalai Lama told BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan during an interview. “I think [there is a] lack of moral principle — or when he becomes president, he expressed America first, that is wrong.”  “Frankly speaking, his emotion is a little bit too complicated,” he continued. (RELATED: Dalai Lama To Migrants: ‘Europe Belongs To The Europeans’)  The Dalai Lama also revealed that despite previously expressing interest in meeting with the president, he has not had the opportunity and Trump has not reached out with him to do so.  However, former President Barack Obama did not publicly meet with the Tibetan leader until 2015, well into his second term as the commander-in-chief.  The Dalai Lama represents China’s suppressed Tibetan Buddhist community to the world and the Chinese government has repeatedly opposed recognizing the Dalai Lama or the Tibetan people. Moreover, the Chinese government has referred to him as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who wishes to violently destabilize the country.  Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.


theguardianuk--2019-04-10--Dalai Lama 83 taken to hospital with chest infection

Dalai Lama, 83, taken to hospital with chest infection

The Dalai Lama has been admitted to hospital in Delhi with a chest infection, an aide said, adding that the 83-year-old Buddhist monk was stable.  The Tibetan spiritual leader, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala.  Tenzin Taklha, his personal secretary, said the Dalai Lama “felt some discomfort and he was flown to Delhi for a check-up” on Tuesday.  “Doctors have diagnosed him with a chest infection and he is being treated for that. His condition is stable now. He will be treated for two, three days here.”  Many of the up to 100,000 Tibetans living in India fear their fight for a genuinely autonomous homeland would end with the Dalai Lama.  The Dalai Lama said last month it was possible that once he dies his incarnation could be found in India, and warned that any other successor named by China would not be respected.  China, which took control of Tibet in 1950, regards the Nobel peace laureate as a dangerous separatist and says its leaders have the right to approve the Dalai Lama’s successor, as a legacy inherited from China’s emperors.  But many Tibetans – whose tradition holds that the soul of a senior Buddhist monk is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death – suspect any Chinese role as a ploy to exert influence on the community.


theindependent--2019-06-27--The Dalai Lama slams Trump for aposlack of moral principleapos

The Dalai Lama slams Trump for 'lack of moral principle'

The Dalai Lama has criticised Donald Trump for his "lack of moral principle" over the US administration's treatment of young children at the US-Mexico border.  In an interview with the BBC, the Tibetan spiritual and political leader in exile expressed concerns over the president's "America First" policy, showing a stark contrast with his previous statement on Trump.  "When I saw pictures of some of those young children, I was sad," the Dalai Lama said of the situation at the US-Mexico border. "America... should take a global responsibility."  When Donald Trump got elected in 2016, the Dalai Lama showed little concern about what the Republican candidate said on the campaign trail. "Sometimes I feel during the election, the candidate has more freedom to express," he told reporters at the time, adding that once in power all presidents were forced to work with "reality."  He even expressed a desire to meet with President Trump after his inauguration. However, the invitation never came, likely because of the US concerns over how it could affect the country's relationship with China, which is in a constant struggle against the Tibetan leader and tends to reprehend countries that meet with the spiritual superstar.  The Dalai Lama also allegedly kept his distance from Trump in 2017 when the President became closer and closer to Xi Jinping. Even though Trump's relationship with China has worsened since then, the Tibetan leaders does not seem inclined to get any closer to the US in its current political turmoil.  He was also disappointed when Mr Trump did not visit the Buddhist nation during his "religious tour" of Muslim, Christian and Jewish lands in 2017, according to Washington Examiner.  The Dalai Lama has a history of getting along well with American presidents. He has met with the four latest presidents, and George W Bush presented him with the Congressional gold medal in 2007.


theindependent--2019-07-02--Dalai Lama apologises for comments about women

The Dalai Lama has apologised for saying his successor would have to be attractive if they were a woman or they would be “not much use”.  The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism had said: “If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive.”  He had been questioned in a recent BBC interview about previous comments he had made in 2015, when he said that a female successor would need to be “very, very attractive”, as otherwise she would be “not much use”.  A statement issued by his office on Tuesday said: “His Holiness genuinely meant no offence. He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies.”  It added: “His Holiness consistently emphasises the need for people to connect with each other on a deeper human level, rather than getting caught up in preconceptions based on superficial appearances.”  His office said the spiritual leader opposed the objectification of women, supported equal rights, and had “frequently suggested that if we had more women leaders, the world would be a more peaceful place”.  The statement added: “His Holiness, a monk now in his mid-eighties, has a keen sense of the contradictions between the materialistic, globalized world he encounters on his travels and the complex, more esoteric ideas about reincarnation that are at the heart of Tibetan Buddhist tradition.  “However, it sometimes happens that off the cuff remarks, which might be amusing in one cultural context, lose their humour in translation when brought into another. He regrets any offence that may have been given.”  The Dalai Lama office’s also claimed his original remarks, made in conversation with the then Paris editor of Vogue magazine, were intended as a joke.  “He was at least partially responding to the unfamiliar ambience of working with a team whose prime focus was the world of high fashion.”  The statement also attempted to clarify the Tibetan Buddhist leader’s remarks about the current refugee and migration crisis, which “may have been misinterpreted”.  It explained: “He certainly appreciates that many of those who leave their countries may not wish or be able to return, and that Tibetans, who cherish the idea of returning home, would find their country irrevocably altered.  “However, His Holiness also understands the uncertainties and difficulties of those in countries where refugees and migrants make their new homes.”  Earlier this year, the Dalai Lama was admitted to hospital with a chest infection.  The spiritual leader was flown from his residence to a hospital in the Indian capital of New Delhi for treatment.


theonion--2019-12-16--Dalai Lama Announces Before Reincarnating His Spirit Will Probably Fly To Moon And Hang Out For A Bi

Dalai Lama Announces Before Reincarnating His Spirit Will Probably Fly To Moon And Hang Out For A Bit

MCLEOD GANJ, INDIA—Making the momentous announcement before gathered laity and priests from the Tibetan Buddhist community, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, revealed Monday that before reincarnating his spirit would fly to the moon so he can hang out there for a bit. “After my passing, I plan for my essence to shoot through space up to the moon, where I’ll just relax and spend a while exploring the lunar surface,” said His Holiness, noting that he had been so busy contemplating suffering and addressing the needs of the Tibetan people that he had forgotten to carve out time for himself, and that it would be nice to take a little breather by meditating in the Sea of Tranquility before diving back into things on Earth, refreshed and renewed. “I’ll return to you after a week or two up there, of course, but I’ve been reading a lot of books about the moon and this seems like a great opportunity to see it up close. I’m most excited to just jump really high in the air, leaping from crater to crater. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll get that old lunar roving vehicle running again and cruise around.” At press time, the Dalai Lama added that, depending on how things went, his spirit may also spend a few days at the bottom of the ocean searching for “those weird-ass-looking fish.”


thepoke--2019-06-28--The Dalai Lama said any female successor would have to be attractive only 11 replies you need

The Dalai Lama said any female successor would ‘have to be attractive’ – only 11 replies you need

Just in case 2019 wasn’t, you know, 2019 enough already, the Dalai Lama has if he is succeeded by a woman she had better be an attractive woman.  Why? Because otherwise people won’t want to look at her face, he told the BBC’s South Asia correspondent Rajini Vaidyanathan.  And these 11 responses pretty much say it all.


thesun--2019-06-28--Dalai Lama sparks sexism outrage with joke about appointing good looking female successor day afte

Dalai Lama sparks ‘sexism’ outrage with joke about appointing good looking female successor day after saying Europe ‘will become Muslim if refugees don’t leave’

THE Dalai Lama has been criticised for joking that a female successor would have to be attractive a day after saying that Europe would become Muslim if refugees didn’t leave.  The 83-year-old was speaking at his home in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959.  In an interview with the BBC on Thursday, he reiterated comments made three years ago, when he said that he was open to a female successor but that she "must be attractive, otherwise it's not much use".  Asked whether he could see why a lot of women found the original comments upsetting, he laughed and said: "That is one time.  "If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive."  Contorting his face, he added: “If a female Dalai Lama, I think, [people would] prefer not to see her — that face.”  He then agreed with interviewer Rajini Vaidyanathan that character is also important.  The Dalai Lama already sparked controversy yesterday by saying in the same interview that Europe would become Muslim if refugees didn't eventually leave.  "European countries should take these refugees and give them education and training," he said.  "And then aiming is... return to their own land".  Asked whether refugees should be allowed to stay in Europe if that's what they would prefer, he added: "Limited number... OK. But whole Europe eventually become Muslim country? Impossible.  He had previously made similar comments that were used in posters by the Leave campaign in the run up to Britain's referendum on its membership of the Europe Union.  Reminded that he was himself a refugee, the Dalai Lama responded: "They themselves [the refugees], I think better in their own land.  "Better. Keep Europe for Europeans."  The Dalai Lama fled Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising by guerrillas opposed to control of Tibet by China, which had been in force since 1951.  He has lived in India ever since.  Beginning in 2015, a large number of asylum seekers and economic migrants began arriving in Europe from the Middle East and Africa, sparking fierce debate about how many should be allowed to stay.  The Dalai Lama also said in the interview that he was an "admirer of [the] spirit" of the EU, and that he thought it would be better for Britain to remain in the union.  He went on to say he thought Donald Trump, who has campaigned on a platform of reducing the number of migrants and refugees coming to the US, had a "lack of moral principle", and that the president's America First platform was "wrong".  "America, they should take the global responsibility," he said.  The Noble Peace Prize winner also said in the interview that he backed women’s rights and calls for equal pay in the workplace.  Recent years have seen women around the world come forward with thousands of allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace and elsewhere.  President Trump was among those to face accusations amid what came to be known as the Me Too campaign.  But responding to his comments, Vivienne Hayes of the Women’s Resource Centre campaign group said: “It’s disappointing any woman’s ability to take on a leadership role should be determined by her appearance.   “We are concerned society is in fact going backwards in terms of women’s equality, and will keep tirelessly campaigning against this.”  We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.


thesun--2019-06-29--Who is the Dalai Lama and what are his opinions on Donald Trump

Who is the Dalai Lama and what are his opinions on Donald Trump?

CHINESE authorities abhor the Dalai Lama but his many devotees – who consider him as a living Buddha of compassion – venerate their spiritual leader.  Here, we look at the monk's background and how his opinions on Donald Trump have recently changed.  The Dalai Lama, Tibet's current spiritual leader, is branded by Beijing as a dangerous separatist.  Tenzin Gyatso – his spiritual name – was born as Lhamo Thondup in 1935 to parents who farmed buckwheat and barley in an isolated mountain hamlet, on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, Taktser, in Qinghai province.  He was acknowledged as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama when he was two years old.  As a toddler, he recognised objects belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama, which resulted in lamas proclaiming him as celestial heir.  Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lamas are the manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion and are enlightened beings, who have chosen to take rebirth (reincarnation) in order to serve humanity.  The first Dalai Lama was identified in the 15th century.  At the age of just four, he was taken from his parents to start daily spiritual training at a monastery.  When China’s Mao troops invaded Tibet in 1950, he was forced to assume political power even though he was aged 15. In the past, Dalai Lamas have also served as the political leaders of Tibet.  But, in 1959, when Tibetans took to the street to publicly protest against the Chinese rule, thousands were killed by troops.  With rumours circulating that he would be kidnapped or assassinated, the Dalai Lama fled to India on foot after the failed uprising.  And he hasn't set foot in Tibet ever since.  In occupied Tibet, any sign of loyalty to the Dalai Lama can be met with arrests, lengthy sentences, torture, violent crackdowns and "re-education" programmes.  China says its leaders have the right to approve his successor, as a legacy from China's emperors.  But the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate monk, who lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, has said that his incarnation could be found in India after he dies, and that any other successor named by China would not be respected.  He dreams of returning home to Tibet, but his life’s ambition is unlikely to fulfilled, as China has dismissed him as a "wolf in monk's robes".    With the Dalai Lama approaching his 84th birthday on July 6, the BBC interviewed him at his home, high in the mountains.  He said: “One Chinese official once called me a demon. When I first heard that, my response was, ‘yes, I’m a demon with horns’.”  The Dalai Lama told the broadcaster he “pities China’s ignorance”, slamming the government’s political thinking as “very narrow-minded indeed”.  When talk turned to American President Donald Trump, it soon appeared that he had done an about-turn on the leader, who three years ago said he had “no worries” about a Trump presidency.  Now, though, Nobel Peace Laureate monk considers the US leader as displaying a “lack of moral principle” during his time in office.  His change in attitude partly stems from Trump’s apparent snubbing of him as he’s never asked to meet the spiritual leader, who is chums with many a celebrity, including Richard Gere - a fellow Buddhist.  He told the BBC: “When he became president he expressed America first. That is wrong.”  Plus, he’s upset about the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, and migrant kids being locked up, saying such images make him feel “sad”.  "America, they should take the global responsibility," he said.  He said that he backed women’s rights and called for equal pay in the workplace.  In his interview with the BBC on June 27, he reiterated comments made three years ago, when he said that he was open to a female successor but, controversially, that she "must be attractive, otherwise it's not much use".  Asked whether he could see why a lot of women found the original comments upsetting, he laughed and said: "That is one time.  "If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive."  He then agreed with interviewer Rajini Vaidyanathan that character was also important.  The Dalai Lama also sparked controversy by saying in the same interview that Europe would become Muslim if refugees didn't eventually leave.  "European countries should take these refugees and give them education and training," he said.  "And then [the aim] is... [for them to] return to their own land".  Asked whether refugees should be allowed to stay in Europe if that's what they would prefer, he added: "Limited number... OK. But whole Europe eventually become Muslim country? Impossible.


thesun--2019-06-30--Who is the Dalai Lama and what are his opinions on Donald Trump

CHINESE authorities abhor the Dalai Lama but his many devotees – who consider him as a living Buddha of compassion – venerate their spiritual leader.  Here, we look at the monk's background and how his opinions on Donald Trump have recently changed.  The Dalai Lama, Tibet's current spiritual leader, is branded by Beijing as a dangerous separatist.  Tenzin Gyatso – his spiritual name – was born as Lhamo Thondup in 1935 to parents who farmed buckwheat and barley in an isolated mountain hamlet, on the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, Taktser, in Qinghai province.  He was acknowledged as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama when he was two years old.  As a toddler, he recognised objects belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama, which resulted in lamas proclaiming him as celestial heir.  Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lamas are the manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion and are enlightened beings, who have chosen to take rebirth (reincarnation) in order to serve humanity.  The first Dalai Lama was identified in the 15th century.  At the age of just four, he was taken from his parents to start daily spiritual training at a monastery.  When China’s Mao troops invaded Tibet in 1950, he was forced to assume political power even though he was aged 15. In the past, Dalai Lamas have also served as the political leaders of Tibet.  But, in 1959, when Tibetans took to the street to publicly protest against the Chinese rule, thousands were killed by troops.  With rumours circulating that he would be kidnapped or assassinated, the Dalai Lama fled to India on foot after the failed uprising.  And he hasn't set foot in Tibet ever since.  In occupied Tibet, any sign of loyalty to the Dalai Lama can be met with arrests, lengthy sentences, torture, violent crackdowns and "re-education" programmes.  China says its leaders have the right to approve his successor, as a legacy from China's emperors.  But the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate monk, who lives in exile in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, has said that his incarnation could be found in India after he dies, and that any other successor named by China would not be respected.  He dreams of returning home to Tibet, but his life’s ambition is unlikely to fulfilled, as China has dismissed him as a "wolf in monk's robes".  With the Dalai Lama approaching his 84th birthday on July 6, the BBC interviewed him at his home, high in the mountains.  He said: “One Chinese official once called me a demon. When I first heard that, my response was, ‘yes, I’m a demon with horns’.”  The Dalai Lama told the broadcaster he “pities China’s ignorance”, slamming the government’s political thinking as “very narrow-minded indeed”.  When talk turned to American President Donald Trump, it soon appeared that he had done an about-turn on the leader, who three years ago said he had “no worries” about a Trump presidency.  Now, though, Nobel Peace Laureate monk considers the US leader as displaying a “lack of moral principle” during his time in office.  His change in attitude partly stems from Trump’s apparent snubbing of him as he’s never asked to meet the spiritual leader, who is chums with many a celebrity, including Richard Gere - a fellow Buddhist.  He told the BBC: “When he became president he expressed America first. That is wrong.”  Plus, he’s upset about the withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, and migrant kids being locked up, saying such images make him feel “sad”.  "America, they should take the global responsibility," he said.  He said that he backed women’s rights and called for equal pay in the workplace.  In his interview with the BBC on June 27, he reiterated comments made three years ago, when he said that he was open to a female successor but, controversially, that she "must be attractive, otherwise it's not much use".  Asked whether he could see why a lot of women found the original comments upsetting, he laughed and said: "That is one time.  "If female Dalai Lama comes, then she should be more attractive."  He then agreed with interviewer Rajini Vaidyanathan that character was also important.  The Dalai Lama also sparked controversy by saying in the same interview that Europe would become Muslim if refugees didn't eventually leave.  "European countries should take these refugees and give them education and training," he said.  "And then [the aim] is... [for them to] return to their own land".  Asked whether refugees should be allowed to stay in Europe if that's what they would prefer, he added: "Limited number... OK. But whole Europe eventually become Muslim country? Impossible.


sottnet--2019-01-08--Russian Patriarch Kirill warns humans enslavement by technology will facilitate their control by th

Russian Patriarch Kirill warns humans' enslavement by technology will facilitate their control by the 'Antichrist'

The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has said that humans' dependence on modern technology will result in the coming of the Antichrist.In an interview with Russian state media, Patriarch Kirill explained he does not entirely oppose gadgets, but warned against "falling into slavery" to smartphones.Patriarch Kirill said that the"Control from a single point is a harbinger of the coming of the Antichrist," Kirill told the state-run Rossia-1 TV network on Orthodox Christmas Monday."The Antichrist is a personality that will be at the head of the world wide web controlling the entire human race. Thus, the structure itself presents a danger," he said.The church leader stressed that "if we don't want to bring the apocalypse closer, there should be no single [control and access] center."


sottnet--2019-11-04--'We are one church now': Patriarch Kirill rejoices as Western European priests join Moscow Patriarch

'We are one church now': Patriarch Kirill rejoices as Western European priests join Moscow Patriarchate

The Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe has returned to the historic aegis of Moscow,, Patriarch Kirill proclaimed."We are one church now, there are no reasons to be outside of the ecumenical and people-to-people ties," Russia's Patriarch Kirill said on Monday before a grand mass to celebrate both churches' unification. "There are no grounds to lose this coveted and sacred unity that we strived for during decades," he stated.Governed by Metropolitan John, the Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe (AROCWE) historically belonged to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople until the late 20th century when it was granted broad autonomy. However, Constantinople changed its mind in late 2018, ordering AROCWE to dissolve.The AROCWE was officially formed in the early 1930s by the priests and faithful who fled the Russian Revolution of 1917.Last Friday, Kirill officially signed a charter on the reunification. One copy of the document was presented to John during a joyful Sunday liturgy, while the other one will be kept in Moscow.On Monday, Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan John held a mass together, celebrating the reunification.It comes a year after the Russian Orthodox Church cut ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate traditionally regarded as the Orthodox faith's headquarters, citing its recognition of the schismatic Ukrainian Orthodox Church.The Moscow Patriarchate has at least 150 million followers worldwide, which - according to various estimates - could be more than half of all Orthodox Christians.


sputnik--2019-01-06--Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill Wishes Inner Peace to Believers

"The love of God, revealed in the Nativity of the Savior, brings true peace to people. This peace cannot be shaken either by everyday turmoil, social upheaval, political chaos or even armed conflict," Patriarch Kirill said in his annual speech, marking the Nativity.  Greek Patriarch: Granting Autocephaly to Ukrainian Church Will Not Lead to Peace The Eastern Orthodox Church is preparing to celebrate Christmas on Monday, a day after Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew handed over a decree to a new church in Ukraine that declared it independent from the Moscow Patriarchate, a move compared to the legalisation of schism by the Russian clergy.  Although no Orthodox church except for Constantinople has officially recognized the newly created structure, Constantinople Patriarch Bartholomew handed over an independence decree — Tomos — to the head of the newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine earlier on Sunday.  READ MORE: Ukraine Has No Platform for Dialogue Between UOC-MP, 'New Church' — Archbishop  Under the Tomos, the new church's jurisdiction will be restricted to Ukraine and it will not be authorized to appoint bishops and establish its parishes abroad, making it effectively dependent on Constantinople.