Tag: Pope Francis

  • Pope Francis, same sex couple, distorted souls

    Pope Francis, same sex couple, distorted souls

    We human beings grow up to know or learn that we are girls and boys or women and men and to naturally fall, easily settle into the respective gender activities. Hermaphrodite are rare among our species of creatures, and are still seen by science and medicine as design errors in the marvelous workshop of nature. Sex change still baffles many of us. So is  the idea that a man would  walk another man down the aisle to the altar as his wife,and a woman would do the same with a fellow woman as her husband.There is another oddity many of  us see less … a person we see outwardly as a man but, inwardly,is a woman or a man who outwardly inhibits the body of a woman. Between them are many cases of persons whose physical bodies are just beginning to  change their forms from  those of the spirit  beings who inhabit them. The normal situation is for the spirit being and its unseen bodies, called the soul,  and its  physical body, to have the same form. All these cases belong to the phenomenon known in spiritual parlance as Distorted Souls. They may very  well also be called Abnormal or Disfigured Souls because they are no longer the  human beings they originally vowed to eternally be at the start of their wandering through creation!

    Quite naturally, I will be asked for evidence of  this  statement. For now, I would suggest we calmly come along. This is  a serious phenomenon which,like Stigmata,, has rocked  Christianity and confused the Church. Recently, Pope  Francis sided with the Distorted Souls when he said Catholic Priests could bless the  ” unions” of same-sex couples. A fastidious, young and single Catholic woman who spoke with me soon after, asked: What is now left  of  our faith as  Christians?

    “A lot more”, I answered,unsure if she understood what  I meant or  where I was  heading.

    I am a Christian, and do not take my Christianity bearing from the interpretation of God’s willl from the personal belief of a Christian leader or directive or that of a group of them. Each individual is on the earth to discover this WILL through serious inner struggles and, prior to coming here, was equipped,  as an intrinsic part of his or her make-up, with the ability of intuitive perception to  perceive the power of God and to obey it. Whoever is unable to do this, but relies solely on ready made opinions of other persons which are often incorrect or false perceptions, is  like a  person  who abandons his healthy limbs and walks on borrowed crutches.

    Before I proceed, please permit that I mention in brief the question of Stigmata which, like that of women in men’s bodies,men in women’s bodies, sex changes or same  sex marriages, all of which belong to the phenomenon of Distorted Souls, have troubled genuine Christianity for a long time now.

    STIGMATA

    During Easter seasons, the unusual  happens to some persons. They may bleed from the wound marks of JESUS which led as He hung on the Cross of crucification. Some of these stigmatised persons hear voices which speak to them in a language they do not understand. Some are  flogged by unseen persons. These phenomenon collectively are called STIGMATA and the persons who bear or express them STIGMATISTS.

    The wound marks may be on the head, like those caused on the Head of Jesus by the crown of thorns derisively forced on it to deride Him as a false King of the Jews. There are, also,bleeding and painful wound marks in the palms through which nails were driven into the wood. The lower abdomen tells its own story. It was here that a spear was plunged to confirm to Roman authorities that Jesus was stone dead and it was , therefore,pointless to break  His bones to make assurance doubly sure to obviate all possibilities of His Resurrection. Finally, there are pains from wounds and bleeding  on the feet which were crossed at the ankles and nailed through into the wood. Language specialists of our time say the voices stigmatists  hear resemble the language of the Golgotha  region of those days where the Crucifixtion took place. What about the whipping, always experienced by the stigmatist  in Owerri,eastern Nigeria, before he was flown to the Vatican?  Certainly, Jesus was flogged all through the walk from the court of Pontius Pilate to the execution area, especially when, out of exhaustion from carrying the Cross, He fell or collapsed.

    So far, Christianity does not understand these phenomena and has made of them what it would. After long and sometimes torturing debates which often ended in voting and  a show of hands, the debaters conclude that Stigmatists  were blessed human beings who are specially chosen to bear the wound marks of Jesus. From their countries, the stigmatists are taken to Rome where they become tourist attractions and fuel the tourism purse of the Vatican. Christians throng the sites to behold them, to physically touch the stigmatists,  to kneel or to prostate before them, writhing their hands in prayer to the Most High God for His Blessings upon them because they are privileged to make their ways to these “specially blessed  human beings”. It does not matter to the pilgrimage that , even as they do,  the stigmatists are in serious pains and beseeching the Almighty Creator to relieve them of their vicissitudes and the pains. At some point of their suffering, the notion of the Church that they are “holy” men no longer is enough to sustain their faith. Also, it doesn’t make sense to the multitude that these pains worsen with attempts  to medicate them. These are Christians who can hardly understand what is going on around them, having  become lame in spirit, letting their spiritual limbs atrophy from disuse and reliance on the crutches offered to them in the ready made opinions of other persons. It is doubtful if such persons would be alive in spirit to  understand the phenomena of women inhabiting men’s bodies, men inhabiting women’s bodies, sex changes, how this has led to same sex marriages, the absence  of proper illumination of this subject which now obliges Catholic priests to bless marriages the majority of mankind recoil from.

    THE KEY

    If we wish to open any door, we would insert the right key into the key hole and turn it aright. Equally, we need to apply the right methods to access phenomena which appear to be within locked closets. The right methods in this case are the appropriate conceptions which must  be understood aright. Two of them are (1) The Law of the Cycle and (2) Forgiveness.

    On the cross, Jesus forgave His assailants. However, Christians make the mistake of believing that they have nothing to account for once their sins have been forgiven.  Yes, the Crucification  sins has been forgiven,  what about the  PROPENSITIES which gave  rise to the sins. The propensity is the inner spring or  fountain from which the sin arose. This has to be expunged  by the sinner.  No  one else  can do this for him or her. It is the impact of the propensity, that is the sin, that can be forgiven. Even in this, the sinner must repudiate  misdeed. The thief on the right side of Jesus on the  cross came to this recognition, but the  one on the left side did not. He even reviled Jesus. In the revelations which accompany expanded spiritual knowledge to the earth at that time promised by Jesus and anchored  in our time  on earth, is now recognised that this thief returned to the rarth in the last century as a woman that time and as a stigmatist named Therese Newman of Konnerieuth. Why did he return, and as a woman? The answer is  in the LAW OF THE CYCLE, one of the laws under which  the universe is  governed. Every event has a beginning and must have an end. This is the opening and closing of cycles. Breathing, for example, is a cycle. Inhalation opens the cycle while  exhalation closes it. Food intake opens a cycle which waste evacuation closes by  returning content from the soil to the soil. Water intake follows this law.Ditto  evaporation and rainfall, blood circulation from the heart and back to  the heart, birth and death.  Even Jesus told us He was going to re-unite with the Father from whose Abode He came. Thus,  the cycle of the murder of Jesus must close, with every participant who had been unable to discard  the propensity or personally recognised  culpability in the  dastardly event offered perhaps at last opportunity to free himself or herself from it. This opportunity is provided  in the present Cosmic Age known as the Aquarian  Age. A cosmic Age is about 2,160 years in the Gregorian Calendar. Incidentally, the present Aquarian Age tallies with the COSMIC Turning Point in which Solar-system and galaxies join the universe to close its own cycle of revolution around its power centre. Thereafter, will begin what theologists has forewarned would happen… THE FINAL JUDGEMENT. Just before then,  all those men and women who laid  dirty hands  on the earthly life of Jesus would have a final opportunity to recognise their misdeed, repent, purge themselves of  all similar propensities to be free of them. The matter concerns not only those of us who were on the front lines, shouting ” Crucify Him”, those who flogged Him and the executioners who nailed  Him to the Cross.  I used to be filled with revulsion for the man who  plunge a spear  into His side untill I discovered he did  it in love, to prevent the authorities from ordering the breaking of the bones of Jesus as definite proof of His death. There  were others like Pontius Pilate who  was warned three  times by  his wife to free Jesus, but feared for his job as Roman Governor over conquered  Judea because he did not wish to offend the Emperor in Rome. There are many of us who have been distorting His teachings and instituting Church dogmas which have been leading many  weak souls astray. Today, we stand before another seaming mystery, the GENDERS and their exact purpose for their creation and existence. Right before what,right or wrong, we should regard as the Presence of the Holiness of God, that is the Altar, a Priest whose is said to stand  in His Power to dispense His Blessings to His Creatures who beseech Him for them, is commanded by an earthly authority to not turn away from a distortion of the teaching  of that very WILL, under the influence of  LUCIFER, the  only real ANTI CHRIST or fighter against Christ.

    Read Also: Pope Francis calls for peace in warring nations, denounces weapons industry

    WOMAN AND MAN

    We did not create ourselves or our world. Above  our home in the universe are the worlds of PARADISE and those of Angels. There are female and male angels. In all the realms of paradise, female and male beings, are  everywhere. On earth, our transient home, woman and man are self- evident species. So, what is this phenomenon all about, and why is there  a distortion of it on earth?

    ONE-OFF  FREE RESOLVE

    As in the womb where our physical beings once lay unconscious, we existed unconsciously  as unconscious Spirit seed germs in some higher realm. At a particular point in this trajectory, we had to decide in which of Creation two types of activities we would consciously  engage. Once taken, the decision cannot be reversed. An attempt to do so, consciously or otherwise, amounts to a DISTORTION. There are two activities…

    • Active or Positive, and

    •  Passive or Negative

    Negative in this sense is not meant in the derogatory sense.

    The active  or Positive is the COARSE Activity which the rugged make physical body espouses. Passive or Negative is the fine or delicate activity which the female  human body represents. These body types characterise the nature of the inner Being, the Human Spirit, which forms them. The woman is the stronger of the two.  Her passive or Negative Activity make her more sensitive to far more readily and easily receive guidance from the Power or Will of the Almighty Creator, and Pass it on to her counterpart, man,whose chief calling is in coarser or physical engagements, for  which reason his physical body is cast in appropriate coarse form. Woman is the DECIDING FACTOR in all things and Man, therefore, the IMPLEMENTOR or executioner of this decisions.  That is THE WILL OF GOD. Accordingly, Woman bore the human spirit seed germs to the earth, and will lead them  back home to paradise. So, on earth, woman had to bear her offsprings in her womb and feed the infants with milk from her breasts. Lucifer, the  fallen Arch Angel, knew of this arrangements. To disarrange them, he seduced, attacked and dragged woman away from her High Task, led her through male thinking and activities, and the imitation of man to lose her DELICATENESS and to become COARSE like man. Evidence of movement towards this goal or attainment of it is sometimes evident in NARROWED HIPS, apart from an onset of other male  characteristic.

    Once made, the choice of one-off activity cannot be annulled. It is eternal. The effects of an activity shift in either the Female Spirit or the Male Spirit is what is observable in the soul and in the PHYSICAL BODY.  Womanly menamd manly women  have DISTORTED SOULS. In the Household of God, that is Creation, they are  USELESS entities, we are told, and, as we are also informed in the enlarged spiritual knowledge given to us at this time, they would be swept away in the MILLENNIUM when the free will of humanity will be subsumed by the WILL of the Almighty Creator.

    For now on Earth, perhaps the only value earth-bound thinking can ascribe to distorted souls is the possibility of procreation.  Even then, what can they procreate  but human beings of the same nature under THE LAW OF ATTRACTION OF HOMOGENEOUS SPECIES? This Law, in the unflinching Justic of this wonderful Creation, brings distorted souls together in several ramifications. A woman incarnated in a male body, will be attracted in marriage to a man in a female body. Women and Men in various degrees of the distortion of their souls and physical bodies, even where the bodies have not manifestly shown any real signs, will also find one another out. Birds of a  feather flock together.

    POPE FRANCIS

    When upon becoming  Pope he promised to re-write the Bible, I thought Pope Francis would correct the errors in several dogmas. He would, instead,  bow under pressure like some of his predecessors. One of these was Pope Justinian who was forced by Emperor Nero to erase the knowledge of re-incarnation from Church  teachings. Nero disliked this teaching and called a Bishops conference to annul it. The Bishops refused. Some boycotted the meeting. Nero drafted a minority communique and asked Pope Justinian  to sign it. The Pope refused. Nero put him under house arrest for two weeks and threatened to depose him. Pope Justinian capitulated. Since then, the Church says there is nothing like re-incarnation. Christians interested in these events may research them on-line.

    Pope Francis on December 17, 2023, one month and  one week ago, bowed to a new Euro-American culture of same sex  blessings  which opposes the scriptural conception of Adam and Eve( opposite sex ) marriage. However, he says, he gave only. ” Pastoral” approval. This means Priest can use their discretion to bless the ” unions” of same  sex couples outside Church officialdom. His backers say same  sex couples are creatures of  God  who desire His Blessings which should not  be denied them. We are also invited to not be judgemental, but to show  “understanding”, “kindness”, Patience”, “compassion” and lots more.

    In  human  beings with  DISTORTED SOULS, the human SPIRIT is not distorted. The distortion is in the none- physical bodies of the spirit which, together with the spirit,is known as the soul, and in the physical body in varying degrees. What causes the distortion is the movement of the spirit from its original activity to another activity. This  aberration affects only garments of  the  Spirit,THE SOUL  and the PHYSICAL EARTHLY BODY tangible to earthly sensory organs. Thus, we may have  female Spirit in male souls expressing male characteristics in female physical bodies or male physical bodies, depending on the degree to which the physical body had been altered. If the spirit recognises his or her blunder and reverses the wrong  volition, distortion of the soul and physical bodies is correctable,in the present or future incarnations.

    Genuine male spirits abhor no meaningful relationships with DISTORTED female  souls and vice versa. Women in danger of distorting their souls are to be found in public life, among military paratroopers, as boxers, wrestlers, footballers, academia, soldiering etc. Spiritually, the distortion of their souls has deprived humanity of their link to higher power.

    If, today, Catholic Priests treat same sex couple with compassion, kindness and patience, will generation to come not believe that same sex marriages are  acceptable to God?

  • Pope Francis calls for peace in warring nations, denounces weapons industry

    Pope Francis calls for peace in warring nations, denounces weapons industry

    Pope Francis yesterday blasted the weapons industry and its instruments of death that fuel wars as he made a Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians.

    Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people below, Francis said he grieved the abominable attack of Hamas against southern Israel on October 7 and called for the release of hostages. And he begged for an end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the appalling harvest of innocent civilians as he called for humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

    Francis devoted his Christmas Day blessing to a call for peace in the world, noting that the biblical story of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem sent a message of peace. But he said that Bethlehem is a place of sorrow and silence this year.

    Francis’ annual Urbi et Orbi (“To the City and the World”) speech typically offers a lament of all the misery facing the world, and this year’s edition was no different. From Armenia and Azerbaijan to Syria and Yemen, Ukraine to South Sudan and Congo and the Korean peninsula, Francis appealed for humanitarian initiatives, dialogue and security to prevail over violence and death.

    He called for governments and people of goodwill in the Americas in particular to address the troubling phenomenon of migration and its unscrupulous traffickers, who take advantage of innocents just looking for a better life.

    Read Also: Pope Francis signs decree forbidding same-sex marriage

    He took particular aim at the weapons industry, which he said was fuelling the conflicts around the globe with scarcely anyone paying attention. “It should be talked about and written about, so as to bring to light the interests and the profits that move the puppet strings of war,” he said. “And how can we even speak of peace, when arms production, sales and trade are on the rise?”

    Francis has frequently blasted the weapons industry as merchants of death and has said that wars today, in Ukraine, in particular, are being used to try out new weapons or use up old stockpiles.

    He called for peace between Israel and Palestinians, and for the conflict to be resolved through sincere and persevering dialogue between the parties, sustained by strong political will and the support of the international community.

    Vatican officials said about 70,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square for Francis’ noonday speech and blessing. They included many people flying Palestinian flags, as well as some Ukrainian ones.

    Francis’ address from the loggia marked his main appearance for Christmas Day, though he is expected to deliver a blessing on Tuesday, the feast of St. Stephen, which is also a holiday in Italy. Rounding out the holiday, he is to celebrate a New Year’s Eve vigil in the basilica and Mass the following day.

  • Pope Francis signs decree forbidding same-sex marriage

    Pope Francis signs decree forbidding same-sex marriage

    Pope Francis yesterday signed a decree that forbids Priests or Bishops from blessing same-sex marriages in Roman Catholic Churches.

    Read Also: Pope Francis counsels Celtic players on sportsmanship

    The Oyo State Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman, Apostle Joshua Akinyemiju, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.

  • Pope Francis counsels Celtic players on sportsmanship

    Pope Francis counsels Celtic players on sportsmanship

    Rodgers gifted Pope Francis a signed Hoops jersey as the pontiff held a private audience with club staff.

    The team were in Rome for Tuesday night’s Champions League game against Lazio.

    In a video of the meeting yesterday, former Liverpool manager Rodgers is seen handing the Pope the jersey which has been adorned with ‘Francis’ on the back just below the club’s sponsorship logo for Magners.

    The football club also gifted the Catholic Church leader a silver Celtic cross alongside the football top during their visit to the Vatican, where players Callum McGregor, Liam Scales, Stephen Welsh, Mikey Johnston, Anthony Ralston, Paulo Bernardo and Cameron Carter-Vickers joined Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell.

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    Rodgers and his club were granted the private audience with the Pope just before flying home. During the visit, the pontiff advised the players to be mindful of their privileged position as role models.

    “I am pleased to welcome you here to the Vatican, during your stay in Rome following your UEFA Champions League match with Lazio yesterday evening,” said the Pope.

    “While it is true that winning rather than losing a match is always preferred, it is not the most important aspect! More vital is the example you give when winning or losing, both on and off the field. An example that embodies the virtues of courage, perseverance, generosity and respect for the God-given dignity of others.

    “Indeed, Celtic Football Club was founded in 1887 with the specific goal of alleviating poverty in the City of Glasgow.

    “The valued legacy of your Club, then, places a heavy responsibility upon your shoulders, reminding you to be good role-models, especially for young people.”

    He added: “In this regard, men and women should see in you not just fine footballers but also people of kindness, big-hearted men who know how to be wise stewards of the many benefits you receive from your privileged positions within society.

    “With these brief remarks, I pray that you will continue to remember and bear witness to everything that makes sport genuinely good and noble. May Almighty God bless each of you and your families. I wish you a safe journey home to Scotland, and ask you, please, to pray for me!”

    Celtic’s 2-0 loss in the Champions League match following substitute Ciro Immobile’s two late goals means Rodgers’ club is now out of Europe.

    “It’s the overall quality. We need to have our very best players available,” Rodgers told the BBC. “What makes the difference is that bit of experience and genuine quality. That’s something we can hopefully resolve over the next couple of windows.”

    The football club’s private audience with the Pope comes as the religious leader cancelled an upcoming visit to the United Nations climate summit COP28 in Dubai later this week following doctor’s orders.

    The Vatican announced on Tuesday that despite Pope Francis’ health improving after a respiratory illness earlier this year which led to him being hospitalised, he has been advised by his medical team to take it easy.

    The visit to COP28 was set to be a three-day trip to begin on Friday. The Pope will celebrate his 87th birthday next month.

  • Pope Francis ‘slightly unwell’, exhausted, Holy See says

    Pope Francis ‘slightly unwell’, exhausted, Holy See says

    Pope Francis is “slightly unwell” and exhausted after numerous audiences at the Vatican, according to the Holy See.

    The head of the Catholic Church mentioned his poor health during a meeting with representatives of the European Rabbinical Conference on Monday, local media reported.

    The pontiff had a long day filled with audiences and preferred to greet the rabbis individually, a spokesperson for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, said in a statement.

    Francis’ planned activities for Monday are expected to continue as usual.

    Read Also: Pope Francis reiterates call for cease-fire in Gaza

    The 86-year-old Argentine’s health has been a concern for Catholics worldwide in recent times, with two hospitalisations this year.

    In March, he was treated for pneumonia, and a few months later, underwent abdominal surgery under general anaesthetic.

    When asked about his health, the Pope has repeatedly insisted: “I am still alive.”

    (dpa/NAN)

  • Pope Francis reiterates call for cease-fire in Gaza

    Pope Francis reiterates call for cease-fire in Gaza

    Pope Francis yesterday renewed his call for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages, according to the Vatican News.

    Amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, the pontiff reiterated his appeals for a cease-fire as well as the release of hostages.

    “I implore you to stop, in the name of God … cease fire,” Francis said at the Vatican, ahead of his Angelus prayer.

    The pontiff expressed hope that “every possible avenue is pursued” to avoid an escalation of the conflict, to provide assistance to the wounded, and to deliver aid to the population of Gaza, where “the humanitarian situation is extremely dire.”

    Read Also: South African among Pope Francis’ 21 new cardinals

    “May we think about the children, all the children involved in this war, as well as in Ukraine and other conflicts: we are killing their future in this way,” he said.

    “Let’s pray that we have the strength to say enough,” Francis added.

    The death toll from Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip has risen to 9,500, including 3,900 children and 2,509 women, the government media office in the Gaza Strip announced on Saturday.

  • Pope Francis orders priests, nuns to report sexual abuse to church

    Pope Francis has issued a new law requiring all Catholic priests and nuns to report sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities.

    The unprecedented move by the pontiff, which will apply to more than 1 million members of the clergy, promises protection for whistle-blowers and requires all dioceses around the world to have a system in place to handle claims confidentially.

    Priests and nuns will now be required to inform church authorities whenever they learn or have “well-founded motives to believe” that a cleric or sister has engaged in child sex abuse, sexual misconduct with an adult, or possesses child pornography — or that a superior has covered up any of those crimes.

    The rules also apply to historical cases meaning priests and nuns must can retroactively report abuse.

    It is thought that the Vatican is likely to see an avalanche of abuse and cover-up reports in the coming years, as a result.

    Read Also: Pope Francis to rebuild churches destroyed by Boko Haram

    However, the law stops short of requiring them to report suspected abuse to the police.

    The Vatican has long argued that doing so could endanger the church in places where Catholics are a persecuted minority.

    In another legal first for the Vatican, the pope mandated that victims reporting abuse must be listened to and supported, as well as offered spiritual, medical and psychological assistance. It does not however, stipulate that they should receive financial reparations.

    Pope Francis has promised a more robust response to the problem than his predecessors, calling for an “all out battle” against a crime that should be “erased from the face of the Earth”.

    In March, he signed a law that made it compulsory in law to report the sexual abuse of children within the Vatican and in its diplomatic missions.

    He also promised “concrete action” would be taken against child sexual abuse by Catholic priests during an extraordinary summit of bishops in Rome in February.

    But members of the clergy continue to speak out about the way claims of abuse have been handled

    Juan Carlos Cruz, a Chilean abuse survivor, said during the meeting in Rome that when he reported abuse to religious authorities he was treated as a liar and an enemy of the Church.

    “You are the physicians of the soul and yet, with rare exceptions, you have been transformed – in some cases – into murderers of the soul, into murderers of the faith,” he said. “What a terrible contradiction.”

    The Vatican was also rocked by the conviction earlier this year of Australian cardinal George Pell, who was found guilty of molesting two choirboys earlier this year.

    In 2016, reports emerged that Australian police were investigating abuse allegations against Pell, then the third most powerful man in the Vatican, that involved minors.

    At the time the Pope allowed the cardinal to stay on in his roles as his leading financial adviser and as the pontiff’s economy chief.

    www.independent.co.uk

  • Sri Lanka: Pope, Buhari kick over bomb attacks

    The Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis and President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday criticized the suicide attacks in Sri Lanka early in the day that killed no fewer than Over 200 people.

    Both described the attacks as dastardly and cowardly and pledged their solidarity with Sri Lanka people in the elimination of such heinous crimes.

    Reports indicated that no fewer than 450 others were injured in bomb blasts that ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, the first major attack on the Indian Ocean island since the end of a civil war 10 years ago.

    Read Also: Pope appoints Kaigama Bishop of Abuja

    Seven people were arrested and three police officers were killed during a security forces raid on a house in the Sri Lankan capital several hours after the rash of attacks, some of which officials said were suicide bombs.

    The government declared a curfew in Colombo and blocked access to social media and messaging sites, including Facebook and WhatsApp. It was unclear when the curfew would be lifted.

    “Altogether, we have information of 207 dead from all hospitals. According to the information as of now we have 450 injured people admitted to hospitals,” police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera told reporters.

    NAN

  • Pope kisses feet of South Sudan leaders

    Pope Francis on Thursday knelt to kiss the feet of South Sudan’s previously warring leaders, in a dramatic gesture after an unprecedented retreat at the Vatican.

    Pope however urged them to not return to a civil war.

    He also appealed to President Salva Kiir, his former deputy turned rebel leader Riek Machar, and three other vice presidents to respect a peace agreement they signed and commit to forming a unity government in May.

    “I am asking you as a brother to stay in peace. I am asking you with my heart, let us go forward.

    READ ALSO: Pope Francis to rebuild churches destroyed by Boko Haram

    “There will be many problems but they will not overcome us. Resolve your problems,” Francis said in improvised remarks.

    The leaders appeared to be stunned as the 82-year-old pope, helped by aides, knelt with difficulty to kiss the shoes of the two main opposing leaders and several other people in the room.

    The pope’s words were made even more pressing as anxiety grew in South Sudan over whether Thursday’s coup in neighbouring Sudan could scupper a fragile peace deal that ended South Sudan’s brutal five-year civil war.

    The Vatican brought together South Sudanese leaders for 24 hours of prayer and preaching inside the pope’s residence in a last ditch attempt to heal bitter divisions a month before the war-ravaged nation is due to set up a unity government.

  • You can admire Messi but never call him ‘God’ Pope Francis cautions

     

    Soccer fans especially those obsessed with magical legs of Argentina international and Barcelona goal machine, Lionel Messi have been told to resist the temptation to either compare him with God or call him ‘God’ as that amounts to sacrilege.

    Head of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the Vatican City state, Pope Francis, who cautioned over the growing tendency to paint a larger than life image of the Barcelona ace, said while there is nothing wrong in appreciating expertise, adoring should only be for God.

    The pontiff was speaking to host Jordi Evole on the ‘Salvados’ programme broadcast on Spanish TV channel La Sexta when he was asked about people referring to Messi as ‘God’.Evole asked the Pope: ‘Is it sacrilege to say that Messi is God?’

    And Pope Francis replied: ‘In theory it is sacrilege, you cannot say it, I don’t believe. Do you believe you can?

    When Evole replied that he thought it was fine to say that, the pontiff, a native of Argentina like Messi, responded with a laugh and said: ‘I don’t.

    ‘People say ‘God’ like they say ‘I adore you’. Adoring is only for God, they are expressions people use. ‘He is a god with a ball on the pitch’, they are popular ways of expressing oneself.’

    ‘But look how he plays, eh?’ Evole responded.

    The pope replied: ‘Of course, he brings happiness, but he isn’t God.’

    The Pope has previously admitted to being a football fan and follows Argentine top-flight side San Lorenzo de Almagro.

    Messi’s second-half brace gave Barcelona a 2-0 victory over city rivals Espanyol on Saturday.

    Messi is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, with five Balon D’Or and five European Golden Shoe awards to his name.

    He has spent his entire his professional career at Barcelona, where he has won nine Liga and six Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions League cups. However, he is yet to play in a World Cup-winning side for his native Argentina.

    Pope Francis, born, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is an Argentine and first Pope from outside Europe since the Gregory III who reigned in the 8th century.

    Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi.