"Pope seeks Catholic rebirth in Argentina" by Bradley Brooks | Associated Press, July 21, 2013
RIO DE JANEIRO — The white sands of Copacabana beach typically draw millions of sun-worshipers, New Year’s Eve revelers, and fans for free concerts by the likes of Stevie Wonder and the Rolling Stones. In the coming week, a different sort of star promises to stir up just as much passion among devotees.
Pope Francis, the 76-year-old Argentine who became the church’s first pontiff from the Americas in March, will turn the crescent-shaped shoreline into a giant stage for his first international trip as pope, returning to the embrace of Latin America to preside over the Roman Catholic Church’s World Youth Day festival.
Related: A Pope Full of Hope
The pontiff is coming to the heart of a city known for pricey real estate and sexy samba with a message of humility, simplicity, and support for the poor — priorities that he has set out already in his four months as pope.
The Catholic Church in Brazil is one he knows well, aware that it is losing legions of adherents to Pentecostal churches and secularism.
But Catholic youth festivals are meant to reinvigorate the faithful, and Francis, a soccer-loving native son, is expected to rally young people with his humble and unconventional ways.
More than a million young Catholics are expected to flock to Rio to celebrate their new pope. The city overseen by the giant Christ the Redeemer statue has mobilized thousands of soldiers and police to make sure the visit goes smoothly, even as violent antigovernment protests continue to erupt a month after Brazil saw mass demonstrations nationwide.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Brazil Protests Fizzled
I've checked over my Globes and that's all I've seen. obviously, the Brazilian people's displeasure is an unapproved protest.
Some residents have already prepared a uniquely Rio de Janeiro welcome for Francis: They’ve built from sand life-sized images of the pope on Copacabana, in place of the usual sculptures of bikini-clad beauties.
Do they even were bikinis there?
Rafaela Bastos, a pilgrim walking along the beach a few days before the pontiff’s arrival, said the ‘‘Francis effect’’ was already evident. As she spoke, an army of construction workers toiled at a furious clip on the beach to finish the enormous, white altar where Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass.
‘‘Francis has captivated me; he’s absolutely won me over,’’ said the 23-year-old from Brazil’s Minas Gerais state. ‘‘He’s brought the church close to the people and especially to young Catholics. He’s creative, he’s modern, he’s not changing doctrine, but he seems far more flexible and open to discussion.’’
Also see:
But he can't breath underwater?
That Francis is from Latin America ‘‘just makes him even better: He understands our culture and that brings him closer to us and allows us to understand him,’’ Bastos said.
Despite such optimism, these are worrying times for the church, and Brazil’s case is emblematic.
The vast nation was 89 percent Catholic when Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to visit in 1980. According to the national census, that figure had dropped to 65 percent by 2010.
Such declines are happening all over Latin America, which is one of the church’s remaining strongholds amid growing secularism in Europe and the United States. Sex abuse and corruption scandals have further eroded trust in the church.
Francis’s response to the challenges has been to help find ‘‘an entirely new way to interact with the world’’ by the manner in which he communicates, said Sao Paulo Cardinal Odilo Scherer, one of two Latin Americans named to the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization created in 2010.
‘‘The church, Christianity, the Catholic faith cannot be apart from the world,’’ Scherer said. ‘‘It must be a part of the world, inside of it, and it must interact with modern society if it hopes to have repercussions and influence.’’
After meeting with President Dilma Rousseff shortly after his arrival Monday, Francis will take a day off on Tuesday.
On Wednesday he will begin his public activities in the rolling hills of rural Sao Paulo state, visiting a huge shrine built around a small clay statue of the Virgin Mary that is a figure of worship for millions of Brazilians.
In Rio, he will walk the Stations of the Cross surrounded by more than a million young devotees on Copacabana beach as part of World Youth Day festivities.
The protests are ignored but World Youth Day is featured?
It's all agenda, all the time in my damn newspaper!
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So I suppose I will have a lot of links and updates to provide you with this week. hope you don't mind me skipping Mass.
UPDATE:
"Ecstatic crowds greet Pope Francis in Rio" by Nicole Winfield and Bradley Brooks | Associated Press, July 23, 2013
RIO DE JANEIRO — A wrong turn sent a humble Fiat carrying Pope Francis into the thick of a frenzied Rio crowd Monday, in his first minutes back in South America since becoming pontiff. It was a nightmare for security officials, but for the clearly delighted pope just another opportunity to connect.
What I find incredible is the complete rewrite, I guess they call it update, I'm looking at on the web. I will hold my concerns until the end of this sermon to see it it is touched upon. Maybe the press is partying too much.
Ecstatic throngs repeatedly forced his motorcade to come to a standstill, weeks after violent protests against the government paralyzed parts of Brazil.
That's less (literally) than what I was looking for (my printed paper gave my two afterthought paragraphs at the end).
"Playing out alongside the papal visit is political unrest in Brazil, where widespread anti-government protests that began last month have continued. With the exception of gay rights groups and others angered by the church's doctrine against abortion and same-sex marriages, the target of most protesters won't be Francis but the government and political corruption."
Web search even gave me a bit more.
Francis’s driver had turned into the wrong side of a boulevard at one point, missing lanes that had been cleared for the pope. Other parts of the pope’s route to the city center were not lined with fencing, giving the throngs more chances to get close, with uniformed police nowhere in sight.
Please be careful. The real reason he got stuck in traffic is because he decided to go the way you or I would have had to; the authorities could have whisked him along with sirens and all but he said no)
The three dozen visible Vatican and Brazilian plainclothes security officials struggled to keep the crowds at bay. Francis, however, not only looked calm but got even closer to the people.
He rolled down his back-seat window, waved to the crowd and touched those who reached inside. He kissed a baby a woman handed to him.
‘‘His secretary was afraid,’’ said Rev. Federico Lombardi, a papal spokesman. ‘‘But the pope was happy.’’
The pope is here on a seven-day visit meant to fan the fervor of the faithful around the globe.
Did I look fervored to you?
That task has grown more challenging as Roman Catholics stray, even in strongholds of the religion such as Brazil, yet it seemed to come easily to Francis even on the drive from the airport to an official opening ceremony.
Near verbatim piece:
After finally making it past crowds and blocked traffic, Francis switched to an open-air vehicle as he toured around the main streets in downtown Rio through mobs of people who screamed wildly as he waved and smiled.
That's it for verbatim, and see that, no. I don't know if that kind of ride is such a good idea.
Related:
"a homemade explosive device was found Sunday by Brazilian authorities in a public toilet near the basilica at Aparecida"
But no connection.
So who would want to fan the war flames of sectarian propaganda, folks?
He left his popemobile — the bulletproof one — in the Vatican garage so he could better connect with people during the church’s World Youth Day.
The Vatican insisted they had no concern for the pope’s safety as his vehicles eased through the masses, but Lombardi acknowledged that there might have been some ‘‘errors’’ that need correcting.
‘‘This is something new, maybe also a lesson for the coming days,’’ Lombardi said.
Many in the crowd looked stunned to see the pope, with some standing still and others sobbing loudly.
Verbatim piece I was going to edit out:
‘‘I can’t travel to Rome, but he came here to make my country better. . . and to deepen our faith,’’ Idaclea Rangel, a 73-year-old Catholic choked through her tears after the pope passed by.
Then back to rewrite!
As many as 1 million young people from around the world are expected in Rio for the Catholic youth fest, a seemingly tailor-made event for the Argentine-born pope, who has proven enormously popular in his four months on the job.
That's when guys have to watch their back.
Popes generally get a warm welcome in Latin America; even the more aloof Pope Benedict XVI received a hero’s welcome when he visited Mexico and Cuba in 2012. John Paul II frequently received rock star treatment.
Back to the near verbatim to end it:
Brazil, like much of Latin America, is a region with more faithful than any other in the world but where millions have left the church for rival Pentecostal evangelical churches or secularism.
Sex scandals haven't helped, but why spoil the article, 'er, visit?
A poll from the respected Datafolha group published Sunday in the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo said 57 percent of Brazilians age 16 and older call themselves Catholic, the lowest ever recorded.
I'd intended to edit that last paragraph as it is repetitive.
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Related (got stuck in church):
"During his stay, the 76-year-old pope will meet with legions of young Catholics converging for the church's World Youth Festival in Rio. More than 1 million people are expected to pack the white sands of Copacabana for the Mass celebrated by Francis. He will also visit a tiny chapel in a trash-strewn slum and make a side trip to venerate Brazil's patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida.
That's where the bomb was found.
Earlier on the flight from Rome, Francis expressed concern for a generation of youth growing up jobless as the world economy sputters. He warned about youth unemployment in some countries in the double digits, telling journalists there is a "risk of having a generation that hasn't worked."
He didn't specify any country or region, but much of Europe is seeing those gloomy youth joblessness numbers, especially in Greece, Spain and Italy. Brazil is in far better shape than European nations, with unemployment at an all-time low after a decade of economic expansion.
Then why are Brazilians protesting wealth inequality?
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Related: Francis Makes Me Feel Better About Bangladesh
I will be inspecting those factories shortly.
Also see: Brazilian crowds delight pope, frustrate security
Same treatment, but a lot more about his visit in there. Sorry, but I have to get up and leave even though it is in the middle of a sermon. I've made my point.
