Religious Freedom, Tolerance, And Intolerance You are here: Apologetics Index | Religious Freedom | Religious Freedom, Tolerance, And Intolerance Religious Freedom and Tolerance The concepts of religious freedom and tolerance – allowing individuals to believe in, practice, and promote their religion of choice without repercussions – are legitimate and worthwhile. However certain organizations (e.g. the [...]

Kill me twice?  By Capt. Fogg What do you say about a “religious” couple who have so much faith that they let their 2 year old die in 2009 because they thought prayer was making him better — and again letting their 8 month old die from diar…

Today is Good Friday, the most holy of Christian holidays. A day full of long masses and commemoration.

This
is the day we celebrate the sacrifices that  Jesus Christ made to
ensure that those of us that believe will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

It marks the end of the annual Lenten ritual of performing the
Station’s of the Cross.  Since a child, I have endeavored to find a
church and

As everybody knows, a new Pope was elected last week, following Benedict XVI’s resignation, and the man chosen to lead the Roman Catholic people for the next few years was a cardinal from Argentina, Jorge Bergoglio, who took the name Pope Francis. There was surprise among most people, I guess mostly because of his age (75), because it had already been mentioned that he had been very close from having been chosen the previous time.

I don’t belong to the RC church anymore, and one of the things I hated the most about it was precisely all this political structure with the Pope, the cardinals, bishops, archbishops, etc. Still, I have to admit that I like this Pope Francis, unlike his predecessor (sorry, but he looked too much like Emperor Palpatine to me).

A vast majority of people have had nothing but great things to say about the new Pope. There was one sad exception: Argentina. Here and there, people who support the current government express their disdain, outrage and in some cases, hatred over this election. They even went further, and accused former Cardinal Bergoglio of having ties with the Military Junta that ruined the country in the ’70s (a baseless and preposterous claim, ironically propagated by members of the current government who did work and got rich with the de facto government).

The reason for such a disrespectful, regrettable attack was simple: the government and Cardinal Bergoglio had not gotten along at all while he was still in Buenos Aires. Both President Fernández and her late husband, President Kirchner had repeatedly snubbed him and would even travel to other cities to attend the Te Deum masses, so they would avoid seeing him at the Buenos Aires Cathedral (thus breaking a decades-long tradition). Bergoglio had asked for an audience with the current President fourteen (14) times, and had been ignored.

Pope Francis criticized the government and its politics several times, and at one point he looked like one of the most prominent voices of the opposition (somebody who has never been in politics, which gives you an idea of how divided and representative the opposition is). It was clear that President Fernandez and then Cardinal Bergoglio were never going to be the best of friends.

The President gave the order, and the lambs obeyed. Both politicians and common people wrote and said horrible, disrespectful, disparaging things about the new Pope. The crowd booed when the announcement was made during one of the many speeches Fernandez does every day. A legislator refused to salute the new Pope and ordered the entire party to leave the House of Commons immediately. Hebe Bonafini, leader of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, and Estela Carlotto, leader of the Grandmothers, accused him of being partially responsible of the disappearance of two priests during those ages and even labelled him as somebody who had been involved in the appropriation of children born in captivity. Carta Abierta (Open Letter) a group of intellectuals who are pro-government mention Pope Francis’ election as ‘the worst news possible’ and ‘a shame’.

The campaign was so poorly orchestrated and executed that they distributed a picture of another priest, 30 years older than Pope Francis, giving communion to former dictator Jorge Videla and tried to make it look like it was Bergoglio, something that would put him as being 107 years old today. People reproduced and shared the pictured religiously, always obedient and ready to do or say anything, true or false, right or wrong, to defend ‘the model’. Even after it became so evident how lame and stupid this attempt had been, they still defended the government’s and their own action, saying that the picture was ‘a symbol’ of the ties that the Church had with the Military Junta, a true fact but a curious accusation from a government whose leader and her late husband reportedly got rich during those years and did appear on real pictures with them…

And then, something changed. The President soon realized how unpopular and badly seen her actions were, even among a growing portion of her mostly Catholic supporters. Pope Francis, in the meantime, was captivating the whole world with his humble, unpredictable, informal approach. Something had to be done!

Almost as quickly as they went to the media to criticize the Pope and his election, the President flew to Rome to be present at the Inauguration and managed to get an audience with the Pope, something that was obviously used as propaganda. Immediately, those who had criticized the Pope so openly and violently, began talking about this cool ‘peronist Pope’ and shamelessly lauded and celebrated his election. Cabandié (that MP who refused to honour the Pope and led the entire block out of the building) is now praising Francis’ humility and even Bonafini (who is said to have used the altar of the Buenos Aires Cathedral as a Port-a-Potty during an invasion she led) wrote an open letter in which she said that she ‘didn’t know’ how good the Pope actually was…

It is embarrassing to say the least. Such an embarrassing effort to erase with their elbow what they have written with their hand… There is a clear, obvious effort from the government to try to sway things and make it look like having an Argentine Pope is an accomplishment of the current government. These people should do what most of those who repeated and spread their lies in the social media are doing now: they should have shut their mouths. But now it’s too late, and everybody is exposed and seen for who they are.

They have accomplished something even worse: they have made one of their worst ‘enemies’ look good. Mauricio Macri, the questionable and questioned Mayor of Buenos Aires, wasn’t even invited by the president to be part of the official delegation, but travelled to Rome nonetheless. He was obviously kept out of the spotlight, but the Pope saw him and ordered for him to be brought to his presence. They talked very informally, like friends, and Francis even asked Macri why he hadn’t brought his daughter to the Inauguration. For once, Mayor Macri looked authentic, down to Earth and even humble. Things couldn’t have backfired worse than this.

It’s going to take some time for the Argentine Government to find its way back to credibility. Its clumsy and thoughtless behaviour has once again caused them to shoot themselves in the foot. Timing couldn’t have been worse, on an electoral year and Fernández’s popularity on its way down due to numerous accusations of corruption, a faltering economy, constant attacks to the press and the actions of many of the of the members of the government that are either stupid, discriminatory, violent or just painful reminders of the dark times from our recent past. The only thing that plays in their favour is that… the opposition is not much better, to the point that the best alternative to Fernández’s aspirations of staying in the power saecula saeculorum is the Governor of Buenos Aires, Daniel Scioli, who belongs to the same party as the President. These are interesting times in Argentina, I just hope this ‘change of heart’ about the Pope contributes to a little more tolerance and less violence between government and opposition supporters.

Special mention goes to Nicolás Maduro, current (legal?) President of Venezuela, who said (without blushing) that the late Hugo Chávez must have talked to Jesus Christ up in the skies and somehow intervened so a Latin American Pope was chosen. Seriously? Maduro, are you actually implying that Chávez and Jesus were talking in person? I would say that if this really happened, it was a long distance call at best. I mean, a very, very long distance call…

Ya todos saben que un nuevo papa fue elegido la semana pasada, luego de la renuncia de Benedicto XVI, y el hombre elegido para liderar la grey católica por los próximos años fue un cardenal de Argentina, Jorge Bergoglio, que tomó el nombre de Francisco. Hubo sorpresa para mucha gente, calculo que más que nada por la edad (75), porque se había mencionado que había estado muy cerca de haber sido ungido papa la última vez, ocho años atrás.

Yo ya no pertenezco a esta iglesia, y una de las cosas que más me había molestado por años era precisamente esta estructura política con el Papa, los cardenales, obispos, arzobispos, etc. Igual tengo que admitir que este Papa Francisco me cae bien, a diferencia de su predecesor (lo siento, pero para mí se parecía mucho al emperador Palpatine de Star Wars).

La gran mayoría de la gente no ha hecho más que elogiar al nuevo Papa. Ha habido una triste excepción: Argentina. Aquí y allá, la gente que apoya al gobierno actual ha expresado su desprecio, bronca y en algunos casos hasta odio sobre esta elección. Si hasta fueron más allá, y acusaron al ex Cardenal Bergoglio de haber tenido lazos con la Junta Militar que asoló el país en los ’70s (una acusación sin fundamento y con malicia, irónicamente propagada por miembros del gobierno que sí han trabajado y se han enriquecido con ese gobierno de facto).

La razón de un ataque tan irrespetuoso y lamentable es simple: el gobierno y el Cardenal Bergoglio nunca se llevaron bien mientras el estaba aún en Buenos Aires. Tanto la Presidente Fernández como su difunto marido el ex-presidente Kirchner lo despreciaron continuamente y hasta viajaban a otras ciudades a asistir a las misas de Te Deum, así evitaban verlo a él en la Catedral de Buenos Aires (rompiendo así una tradición de décadas). Bergoglio le pidió audiencia a la actual presidente catorce (14) veces, y fue consistentemente ignorado.

El papa Francisco criticó al gobierno y sus políticas varias veces, y a un punto se lo llegó a considerar una de las voces más prominentes de la oposición (alguien que nunca anduvo ni cerca de la política, lo que da una idea de lo dividida y poco representativa que es la oposición). Era claro que la Presidente Fernandez y el ex Cardenal Bergoglio no iban a andar justamente correteando de la mano por las calles.

La presidenta bajó la orden y el rebaño como siempre obedeció. Tanto políticos como gente común escribió y dijo cosas horribles, calumniantes e irrespetuosas sobre el nuevo Papa. La multitud lo abucheó cuando se hizo el anuncio se hizo durante uno de los tantos discursos que hace a diario la presidente. Un legislador se rehusó a saludar su designación y retiró a su bancada del recinto inmediatamente. Hebe Bonafini, líder del movimiento de las Madres de Plaza de Mayo y Estela Carlotto, líder de las Abuelas de la Plaza, lo acusaron de haber sido en parte responsable por la desaparición de un par de religiosos durante esos años y hasta lo acusaron veladamente de haberse apropiado de criaturas nacidas en cautiverio. Carta Abierta, un grupo de intelectuales afín al gobierno, mencionó la elección del Papa Francisco como ‘la peor noticia posible’ y ‘una desgracia’.

La campaña fue orquestrada de manera tan pobre que hasta distribuyeron una foto de otro sacerdote, 30 años más viejo que el Papa, dándole la comunión al ex-dictador Jorge Videla, y trataron de hacerla pasar como si hubiera sido Bergoglio, algo que haría que el nuevo Papa tuviera como 107 años de edad hoy. La gente reprodujo y compartió esa foto con fervor religioso, siempre obedientes y listos a hacer lo que sea, verdadero o falso, bueno o malo, para defender al ‘modelo’. Incluso luego de que se hizo evidente lo berreta y estúpido que había sido el intento, trataron de defender al gobierno y sus acciones, diciendo que la foto en realidad la foto era un ‘símbolo’ de los lazos que unieron a la Iglesia con las Fuerzas Armadas durante esos años, un hecho verdadero pero una una acusación curiosa de un gobierno cuyo líder y su difunto esposo son acusados de haberse enriquecido durante esos años y aparecieron en fotos reales junto a funcionarios de ese proceso…

Pero de golpe algo cambió. La Presidente pronto se dio cuenta de lo impopular y mal visto de sus acciones, incluso en una creciente porción de sus propias filas, mayoritariamente católicas. El Papa Francisco, mientras, cautivaba al mundo con su personalidad humilde, informal e impredecible. Había que hacer algo cuanto antes!

Tan rápido como había salido a criticar la elección del Papa en los medios (o al menos a ‘ningunearlo’), Fernández viajó a Roma para estar presente en la Inauguración del mandato de Francis y hasta logró una audiencia con él, algo que obviamente fue usado para propaganda. Inmediatamente, aquellos que habían criticado al Papa tan abierta y violentamente comenzaron a hablar de este ‘Papa peronista’ y sin vergüenza se subieron al carro de los triunfadores. Cabandié (ese legislador que se había rehusado a rendir honores al Papa y llevó a su bancada a abandonar la legislatura) ahora habla sobre la humildad de Francisco y hasta Bonafina (de quien se dice que usó el altar de la Catedral de Buenos Aires como baño durante una invasión que lideró) escribió una carta abierta en la que dice que ‘no sabía’ lo bueno que era el Papa en realidad…

Es un papelón infernal para ser bondadoso. Un esfuerzo vergonzoso para borrar con el codo lo que habían escrito con sus manos… Hay un claro y obvio esfuerzo del gobierno para tratar de torcer el curso de las cosas y hacer parecer la elección de un Papa argentino como un logro del gobierno. Esta gente debería haber hecho lo que muchos de esos seguidores ciegos que repitieron y diseminaron las mentiras y calumnas en los medios sociales hacen hoy: deberían haber cerrado sus bocas. Pero ahora es muy tarde, y todos han quedado expuestos y descubiertos por lo que realmente son.

Han logrado algo aún peor: han hecho lucir bien a uno de sus peores ‘enemigos’. Mauricio Macri, el cuestionable y cuestionado alcalde de Buenos Aires, no fue siquiera invitado por la Presidente para ser parte de la comitiva oficial, pero viajó por su cuenta. Fue obviamente mantenido lejos de la acción, pero fue el propio Papa que lo vió y ordenó que lo trajeran a su presencia. Hablaron muy informalmente, como amigos, y Francisco hasta le preguntó a Macri por qué no había traido a su hija. Por una vez, Macri lució auténtico, mundano y hasta humilde. Las cosas no podrían haberle salido peor al gobierno!

Va a llevar un poco de tiempo para que el gobierno argentino encuentre el camino de vuelta a la credibilidad. Su conducta torpe e impulsiva otra vez los ha hecho dispararse en sus propios pies, como dicen aquí. El timing fue pésimo, en un año electoral y con la popularidad de Fernández en descenso en medio de acusaciones de corrupción, una economía sin rumbo, ataques constantes a la prensa y las acciones de muchos de los miembros de este gobierno que son estúpidas, discriminatorias, violentas o simplemente dolorosos recuerdos de los años oscuros de nuestro pasado reciente. Lo único que juega en su favor es que… la oposición no es mucho mejor, al punto que la mejor alternativa a las aspiraciones de Fernández de entronizarse en el poder es el Gobernador de Buenos Aires, Daniel Scioli, que pertenece al mismo partido que la Presidente. Son tiempos interesantes estos en Argentina, y yo espero que este ‘golpe de timón’ sobre el Papa contribuya a que haya un poquito más de tolerancia y menos violencia entre el gobierno, la oposición y sus respectivos simpatizantes.

Mención especial para Nicolás Maduro, el actual (y legal?) presidente de Venezuela, que dijo (sin ruborizarse) que el finado Hugo Chávez debe haberse encontrado con Jesús en el cielo y de alguna manera intervino para que eligieran un Papa latinoamericano. En serio? Maduro, estás insinuando que Chávez y Jesús hablaron en persona? Yo creo que si esto realmente ocurrió, fue como mínimo una llamada de larga distancia. Quiero decir, de MUY larga distancia, no sé si me explico…

Superstition, and it’s ugly codified twin brother religion, rely on the suspension of one’s critical faculties. When someone is going on about how jeebus talks to them or they are feeling the power of god or <insert prurience for inane godbaggy here> or whatever, the topics covered in this video by Qualia Soup come to mind. Confirmation bias, what we all struggle against (or should be struggling against) robs us of the capacity to evaluate situations and events around us in a reasonable way.

You may be “good with god” but you look pretty stupid to the rest us because we lack the cognitive barriers of faith you’ve erected against reason (aka the world as it is, as opposed to how we want it to be.)

Anyways, QS says this much better than I, thus on to the video!

Filed under: Religion Tagged: Christianity, Faith, Qualia Soup, Religion, . . . → Read More: Dead Wild Roses: The First Step in Deprogramming the Religious – Superstition

Like her older brother two years ago, Carolina is in Central America for 10 days, with a group of kids from different United Churches in this region. She is in San Salvador, capital of El Salvador, and they will be working at a school and/or community centre, while staying at the houses of several families that have volunteered their time and places.

It’s an important experience for Carolina, something I know is going to change her life completely. She has been going through some rough times lately; this trip will not only provide a welcome break from her daily activities and tribulations, but also give her a completely new view of what’s going on out there, how other people live, what other cultures look like and how come other people can live with 2% of what she and many of her friends would consider ‘basic’ or ‘normal’ perks and yet they are happy. Puzzling, eh?

Caro was a little nervous before she left, but I bet she’s enjoying her time in El Salvador a lot right now. Like her brother before, she probably thought she was going there to ‘change the world’. It’s going to be fun to see how has the world changed her by the time she comes back.

You can find more info about Caro’s trip here:

• TCOW – Two Countries, One World
• ESNA Village Network – Facebook page

Es una experiencia importante para Carolina, algo que sé que va a cambiar su vida por completo. Ella ha pasado por algunos contratiempos últimamente; este viaje no sólo le va a dar un bienvenido ‘break’ de sus actividades y preocupaciones diarias, pero también le va a dar una visión absolutamente nueva de qué es lo que hay ‘ahí afuera’, cómo es que vive esta gente, cómo es su cultuar y cómo es posible que vivan con el 2% de lo que ella y muchos de sus amigos considerarían cosas ‘básicas’o ‘normales’ y sin embargo parecen estar felices. No le va a ser fácil de digerir.

Caro estaba un poco nerviosa antes de salir, pero seguro que ya a esta altura la está pasando genial en El Salvador. Como su hermano lo hizo, seguramente pensó que estaba yendo allí para ‘cambiar el mundo’. Va a ser divertido ver cómo el mundo la cambió a ella para cuando vuelva el domingo que viene.

Pueden obtener más información (en inglés) sobre el viaje de Carolina aquí:

• TCOW – Two Countries, One World (Dos países, un mundo)
• ESNA Village Network – página Facebook

Arriving in San Salvador – Llegando a San Salvador 

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