Pope elevates British convert Newman to sainthood

Yahoo – AFP, Ella IDE, October 13, 2019

Giant portraits of the new saints were hung from Saint Peter's Basilica for the
canonisation ceremony which attracted tens of thousands of pilgrims (AFP
Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Giant portraits of the new saints were hung from Saint Peter's Basilica for the canonisation ceremony which attracted tens of thousands of pilgrims (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis created five new saints on Sunday, including Britain's Cardinal John Henry Newman -- one of the Catholic Church's most renowned converts -- and a nun dubbed the "Mother Teresa of Brazil".

Heads of state from across the world attended the canonisation ceremony, which also raised a Swiss laywoman plus two other nuns -- an Indian and an Italian -- to the highest position within the Church.

"Today we give thanks to the Lord for our new Saints," the pope told the faithful on Saint Peter's Square.

"They walked by faith and now we invoke their intercession."

Prince Charles, future head of the Church of England, led the British delegation honouring Newman, a 19th-century Anglican theologian who went on to become one of the Catholic Church's leading thinkers.

Francis quoted Newman describing "the holiness of ordinary life" in which, "the Christian is cheerful, easy, kind, gentle, courteous, candid, unassuming; has no pretence... with so little that is unusual... that he may easily be taken at first sight for an ordinary man."

Born in 1801, Newman attempted to "renew" the Anglican Church, before becoming convinced that Catholicism was the only true faith and converting aged 44, rising through the hierarchy to become a cardinal.

Giant portraits of the new saints were hung from Saint Peter's Basilica for the ceremony which attracted tens of thousands of pilgrims.

Pope Francis celebrates the canonisation mass on Saint Peter's Square 

(AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

'Miracles'

The pope noted that three of the new saints were religious women, showing "that the consecrated life is a journey of love at the existential peripheries of the world".

But the fourth, Marguerite Bays, was a seamstress, a laywoman from Switzerland known for bearing the stigmata -- wounds corresponding to the injuries Christ suffered on the cross.

"She speaks to us of the power of simple prayer, enduring patience and silent self-giving," Francis said.

Born in 1815, the second of seven children, Bays showed an intense faith from very early on, often breaking off from playing with other village youngsters in order to pray quietly, according to the Vatican.

Despite suggestions she should become a nun, she instead began an apprenticeship as a seamstress aged 15.

Bays underwent surgery for bowel cancer in 1853, and prayed to the Virgin Mary to heal her, offering to swap her disease for the pains experienced by Jesus. The Church says she was cured but given the stigmata in exchange.

Every Friday, she would be immobilised in "ecstasy" as she relived the suffering in body and mind, it says.

Most new saints must have two "miracles" to their names -- usually scientifically inexplicable healings, attributed to prayers.

Giant portraits of the new saints were hung from Saint Peter's Basilica for the 

ceremony which attracted tens of thousands of pilgrims (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Newman is credited with curing an American man from Boston with a debilitating spinal disorder, who claimed in 2001 he could suddenly walk again after praying to the British cardinal.

His second "miracle" -- the inexplicable healing of a woman with a "life-threatening pregnancy" -- was approved this year.

'Mother of the poor'

Bays was canonised alongside Brazilian Sister Dulce Lopes Pontes, who was a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and considered a "mother of the poor".

Born in 1914 into an upper middle-class family in Salvador, she started a health clinic for poor workers and opened a school, a hospital, and an orphanage, as well as care centres for the elderly and disabled.

Sister Dulce, dubbed the "good angel of Bahia", was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.

She was visited in hospital the year before her death by Pope John Paul II, who called her work "an example for humanity".

Tens of thousands of people attended her funeral in 1992.

Anglicans pray for unity in Brexit chaos

Yahoo – AFP, James PHEBY, March 31, 2019

At Chelmsford Cathedral, Christians got on their knees to pray about the bitter
divide within British society over the chaotic Brexit process (AFP Photo/Tolga Akmen)

Chelmsford (United Kingdom) (AFP) - With Britain's political world in chaos over Brexit, Christians across the country this weekend took part in special prayer sessions hoping for some divine help in healing bitter Brexit divisions.

"It doesn't matter whether you voted leave or remain, we're still one humanity, one nation," Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, told AFP after imploring his congregation to heal the rift.

The Church of England has promoted the initiative as "tea and prayer drop-ins" -- combining two of its most well-known sources of comfort.

Despite a sharp decline in church attendance, Cottrell believes faith still has the power to unite the country after Brexit.

"It's no good the church standing on the sidelines, waving our hands saying 'why doesn't everybody just love each other', what we've got to do is show what that love looks like in action," he said.

Worshipper Angela Sadler, 65, said the church needed to play a larger role in helping resolve the broader issues surrounding the crisis.

Bishop of Chelmsford Stephen Cottrell believes that faith has the power to heal 

the rift caused by Brexit (AFP Photo/Tolga Akmen)

"It's quite difficult for the church because the church needs to be seen as a non-political body, which is correct, but I also think... we need to see more of God's love," she said.

As sunlight flooded through the ornate stained glass windows of Chelmsford Cathedral, Cottrell told the group of around 20 worshippers that the values of the church could be expressed through a return to "British values" that were "rooted in the Christian tradition".

"Those British values of care for the underdog, care for the stranger, tolerance."

'Prayer is so important'

As the floor was opened to parishioners, one woman called for help in being "patient", something she was struggling with in the inescapable and ever-growing crisis.

Another echoed the bishop's call for a return to "traditional values", although the definition of what those values are is one of many debates swirling around Brexit, highlighting the challenges in uniting the country around a common message.

"It's going to be a long process, there's no easy solution to unity," said Sadler's husband Stuart, 66.

Three years from a hugely divisive referendum over Britain's EU membership in which the Leave vote won by 52 percent, Anglican leaders have called for communities across the country "to join together in conversation and prayer".

As the Brexit crisis deepens, the Church of England has invited communities to 

come together at its "tea and prayer drop-ins" (AFP Photo/Tolga Akmen)

The result in Chelmsford was about the same as the national average, with Leave winning by 52.8 percent.

Angela Stuart said she felt "compelled" to come to the service, "to stand amongst others that believe the same".

"We are a great nation and we do need the Lord in this nation, and prayer is so important in bringing that forward," she said.

A recent survey found that around four in 10 British adults have been left feeling powerless, angry or worried by Brexit, exposing the mental toll being taken on citizens.

Without faith, it's impossible

The early-morning service began with a reading of the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector from Luke's gospel, chosen as a warning against the divisiveness of moral hubris.

"For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted," the parable ends.

The toxic debate about Brexit has split communities across Britain and the result 

in Chelmsford reflected that across the country where Leave won by 52.8 percent 

(AFP Photo/Tolga Akmen)

"The reading is about how we define ourselves, we've got to stop defining ourselves by whether we voted leave or remain," said Cottrell, who also sits in the parliament's House of Lords.

"We have to define ourselves by our common humanity... by recognising the presence of God in each other."

Retired policeman David Gilbey, 56, said this could only be achieved through faith, recalling a Bible passage in which Jesus tells his followers to be united, saying: "be one, just as I am one with my Father".

"Unless we have that unity with our heavenly Father, we haven't got anything to grip onto," he warned.

"Everything is slipping and sliding these days, there is no common anchor point."

Protestants, Catholics mark 500 years since Reformation

Yahoo – AFP, John MACDOUGALL, October 31, 2017

The service at the gothic Schlosskirche (All Saints' Church) in Wittenberg in eastern
Germany marks the end of year-long celebrations of the 500 anniversary of the
Reformation (AFP Photo/John MACDOUGALL)

Wittenberg (Germany) (AFP) - Catholic and Lutheran leaders Tuesday begged forgiveness for violence sparked by the Reformation, as worshippers celebrated 500 years since the religious revolution that created the Protestant church.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived for a service at the church where German theologian Martin Luther is said to have first displayed his list of criticisms of the Catholic Church in 1517.

Legend has it Luther nailed his "95 theses" to the church door in a brazen challenge to the powerful institution, creating shock waves that eventually changed the face of Christianity.

The Reformation caused major upheaval in Europe, leading to wars, persecutions and exoduses, including the departure of the Pilgrims for what was later to become America.

The deadliest of Europe's religious conflicts was the Thirty Years' War which ended in 1648 and after which religion's role in European politics was reduced.

The Vatican and Lutheran World Federation released a rare joint statement on the anniversary Tuesday, saying they "begged forgiveness for our failures and for the ways in which Christians have wounded the Body of the Lord and offended each other during the five hundred years since the beginning of the Reformation until today".

"We recognise that while the past cannot be changed, its influence upon us today can be transformed to become a stimulus for growing communion, and a sign of hope for the world to overcome division and fragmentation," they said.

'Overcoming differences'

The service at the gothic Schlosskirche (All Saints' Church) in Wittenberg in eastern Germany marks the end of year-long celebrations by protestants in 700 German towns and cities.

A statue of German theologian Martin Luther stands in Wittenberg, eastern Germany, 

where he is said to have launched his challenge against the Catholic Church (AFP 

Photo/Hendrik Schmidt)

Ahead of the service, celebrants crowded the street leading to the 16th-century house of worship, which houses Luther's tomb.

Luther challenged Catholic clerics' practice of selling "indulgences" to repentant worshippers.

He said Christians could not buy or earn their way into heaven but only entered by the grace of God, and his challenge had widespread ramifications, including the establishment of the Church of England in Britain in 1534.

However, the theologian's name has also been associated with one of Germany's darkest periods: his attacks on Judaism in his writings were used as a reference for Nazi ideology.

Merkel, herself the daughter of a Protestant pastor, said it was essential that Luther's anti-Semitism never be scrubbed from his theological legacy.

"That is, for me, the comprehensive historical reckoning that we need," she said in her weekly video podcast on Saturday.

There are many theological differences between Protestants and Roman Catholics, including whether or not the Bible is the highest authority in matters of faith and whether the pope has full power over the Church.

In the joint statement, both parties committed to "overcome remaining differences between us", adding that it was "clear that what we have in common is far more than that which still divides us".

The precise number of Protestants is difficult to establish, given the number of Churches and offshoots, but the independent Pew Research Center estimates there were more than 800 million in 2011.

Pope's Mass snubbed in Orthodox Georgia

Pope Francis has celebrated Mass in a sparsely attended Tbilisi stadium in predominately Orthodox Georgia. The Pope was deserted by the leadership of the Georgian Orthodox Church, in a surprising snub to the Vatican.

Deutsche Welle, 1 Oct 2016

Barely 3,000 people braved brilliant sunshine Saturday on a beautiful autumn day to attend a Mass held in the former Soviet republic's 27,000-capacity sports arena in a snub that highlights ongoing divisions between the Catholic and Georgian Orthodox churches.

The snub was unexpected. Pope Francis had received a surprisingly warm welcome from the Orthodox leader upon his arrival Friday for the three-day visit that also includes a stop in Muslim-majority Azerbaijan.

Patriarch Ilia welcomed Francis as my "dear brother" and toasted him saying: "May the Lord bless the Catholic Church of Rome."

However, the Orthodox leader and other senior figures were nowhere to be seen on Saturday. Meanwhile, some hardline Orthodox protesters gathered in the city to criticize the Papal visit. Signs read: "The Vatican is a spiritual aggressor," and "Death of papism."

The Orthodox patriarchate, though, had criticized the protests, indicating something of an institutional shift that compared to the frosty reception by then-Pope John Paul II's 1999 visit, which the Orthodox Church explicitly encouraged Georgians to boycott.

The Georgian Orthodox church is ultraconservative and nationalistic and tied to the Moscow Patriarchate, which has strained, though improving, relations with the Holy See.

Hardline Orthodox Christian protesters
didn't exactly roll out a red carpet for
 Pope Francis in Tbilisi, Georgia.
September 30, 2016.

Georgia has a miniscule 2.5-percent Catholic minority in the overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian country. It was to those Catholics that Pope Francis seemed to tailor his address.

"Little and beloved flock of Georgia, who are so committed to works of charity and education, receive the encouragement of the Good Shepherd, trust in the One who takes you on his shoulders and consoles you," Francis said in a homily.

But some Orthodox Christians did turn up to hear the Pope's message. "I'm Orthodox, this is a Catholic Mass, but we are all Christians," Nata Koridze, a 40-year-old woman, told the DPA news agency.

Francis' Saturday itinerary includes a meeting with Georgia's Catholic clergy, a visit a hospital for the poor run by Catholic missionaries and a cathedral in Mtsketa, 22 kilometers (14 miles) northwest of the capital city and considered the spiritual center of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

His three-day visit will next move on to Muslim-majority Azerbaijan. That country is locked in a bitter and bloody conflict with Armenia over the breakaway province of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Francis visited in June.

jar/rc (AP, dpa)

Related Articles:

Pope makes subtle dig at Russia on arrival in ex-Soviet Georgia

Pope hails ties with Jews on landmark synagogue visit
Pope and Welby joined by imams and rabbis for anti-slavery declaration

Pope Francis and other religious leaders at the Vatican. Photograph: AP

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

"The Humanization of God"–  Jul 16, 2011 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… The Humanization of God

I'm going to title this channelling so that my partner will not. I don't always title them, for labeling items is something done for 3D reasons. In your reality, you want a label for the message you're about to hear. So I'll give it to you, just as a dichotomous exercise. Its title will be, "The Humanization of God."

My partner sits in a chair. It has taken him 22 years to bring my conceptual thoughts to you. Even though these conceptual thoughts from the other side of the veil are also within each Human, within your Higher-Self, they are not easy to access. This is because they exist in a multidimensional state and not one that a Human relates to. Therefore, it has taken 22 years for my partner to learn to linearize the concepts into a string of words, presented in a language that you will understand.

Not all of you here and reading this will understand what I'm teaching today. I am aware of that, for Spirit does not speak to Human Beings with words in this fashion. Instead, the language of Spirit speaks in that what you call intuitive flashes, outside of linear time, and all at once. That is how you get your best information. Yet many of you feel you have God all figured out.

Examples of the Linear

As I sit here, perhaps an individual who may be here for the very first time asks the question, "Who are you, Kryon, and where are you from?" Now those two questions may absolutely be logical and normal to every single Human Being who hears and reads this message, but I will tell you that the questions themselves betray biased linear thinking. For Kryon is not a who and is from nowhere. How can that be? The only way I can explain this is to give you metaphors. I know that metaphors don't hold up under full examination, since no analogy is perfect. So consider it only a close example to get you to begin the understanding process.

Let's say you feel incredible love in your life for another Human, or for an animal, for instance, or for your child. Let us say that it is overwhelming and perhaps even has you weep with joy, so strong it is! Now, when you feel this way, do you look around and say, "Who are you, really? Who is there?" Would you address that love emotion as though it had a body and ask, "Where are you from?" You would not! Instead, you'd simply accept it and say, "I know it's coming from me, but it really doesn't feel part of me."

There's something about love. It comes from everywhere. It permeates the soul of the Human Being. You feel it so strongly. You are not aware of it being sent to you, or pulled to you; it just is. But it's unusual and profound, almost like it's part of something else, something bigger. Perhaps it's the God part of you, expanding? You'd be right about that. Love is not singular. You don't segment it into parts, or put a body on it and give it a name either. It's a concept that affects every cell of your body and all your body functions. It sometimes even takes over! This is the beauty of love.

I'm not a who. You hear me within this voice, coming from a singular body of a Human Being. So you understandably want to know who's talking. But the only thing singular here is the Human who I come through. I am best identified as that which is the collection of the confluence of the creative energy source in the Universe. I am uncountable and am not isolated and singular. You can't notate me (define me with attributes in 3D). Twenty-two years ago, I identified myself and said, "I am, that I am." And then I said, "And so are you!" I told you that at the center of the atom is where I am. I told you that the space between the electron haze and the nucleus is filled with love. I told you that the benevolent, creative source energy that is part of you is part of me. It is all things together. You'll find it in a tree, in the dirt and in the grass. You'll find it in the air and you can't ask who because we are not singular. You can't count the flavor in the soup, or identify "where is the salt?" It just "is" the soup.

God does not have the mind of a Human Being with the consciousness of a Human Being. God is not a collection of many separate consciousness parts either, and this is difficult for you to understand. God can talk to every single Human - all 6, 7 billion of them - at the same time. God can carry on a loving, healing conversation, being personal all at once with every single one of you. Think of that! That's not a who. That's the creator of the Universe. That's a divine, intelligent, loving energy. Don't humanize this source! It's not like you.

The Linear Thinker

Humans want to make everything separate and individual. You want to separate, identify, and quantify. This is Human nature, for every living thing you come into contact with is separate and singular - a Human, an animal, a bug, a tree. They all have this in common. Each one is a closed life system and is ONE thing. So placing God in this box makes you feel better. Because only then can you grasp how you're supposed to act and react to Spirit. Linearizing God helps you to feel what you're supposed to do and when you're supposed to do it. All of the survival attributes that you've learned all your life go into this, and we call it the Human linear bias. God is better understood if it's a man with a beard and a low voice - the authority figure. But Spirit is not like that.

God is not an authority figure, either! Yet many of you will not accept that. "You mean the creator of the Universe is not in charge?" I didn't say that. I said that God is not an authority figure. God is family. If there is any authority energy, then you share it with God, for God is in you. Therefore, YOU are the authority figure.

There is no protocol, either! Did you hear me? There is no generic protocol! Thousands of years of religion have created thousands of "rules" of how to "get God's favor." What if none of that is so? Let me ask you something: If you wanted to talk to your own body's cellular structure, what's the protocol? If it's you with you, how do you start? Should you dress up a bit, kneel, prepare yourself? Do you invent something, some framework of motions, so it will work better? Or do you simply go inside with your mind, talk to that which you own, and work the puzzle out? Do you see what I mean? Humans never consider God in them. Instead, they wish to separate God. They wish to elevate God and put Spirit on the altar where they can face it and perhaps even create a statue so they can visualize who to talk to. That is humanizing God.  …”

Pope brings 12 Syrian refugees to Rome after visit to migrant hotspot

Yahoo – AFP, Fanny Carrier with Odile Duperry in Lesbos, April 16, 2016

The pope took three Muslim Syrian families whose homes have been bombed
back with him to the Vatican from lesbos (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

Rome (AFP) - Declaring "we are all migrants," Pope Francis visited the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday with a message of hope for those seeking asylum in Europe and a stinging rebuke for those who closed their hearts to the desperate.

His one-day trip to Europe's migration hotspot culminated dramatically when three Syrian refugee families, all Muslim, returned with the pontiff to Rome, where they will be housed by the Vatican.

The pope told reporters that his gesture was "a drop in the ocean" but hoped that afterwards, "the ocean will never be the same again".

"All refugees are children of God," he said aboard the papal plane on its flight back to Rome.

Pope Francis welcomes a group of Syrian refugees after landing at Ciampino airport

 in Rome following a visit at the Moria refugee camp on April 16, 2016 in the Greek

island of Lesbos (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

The departure of the 12 refugees was the climax of an emotional visit that saw migrants kneeling in tears before the 79-year-old Roman Catholic leader.

"You are not alone... do not lose hope," the pope, who was accompanied by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop Ieronymos, the head of the Church of Greece, said at the Moria registration centre, where around 3,000 migrants are being held.

The vast majority have requested asylum but will likely be deported under a controversial agreement reached last month to tackle Europe's refugee crisis by sending all irregular migrants who land in Greece back to Turkey.

'Save us, Papa'

As the pope was escorted through Moria to meet a select number of migrants, one man broke into tears as he knelt at the pontiff's feet, requesting his blessing.

Another woman who slipped past security to approach the pontiff also broke down in tears as he paused to listen to her.

Other migrants gathered outside held hand-made signs that read "We want freedom", "Let my people go" and "Papa cherche a nous sauver" ("Pope, try to save us").

Pope Francis, center, flanked by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, spiritual

 leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, left, and Archbishop of Athens and All 

Greece Ieronymos II, head of the Church of Greece, meet migrants at the Moria

 refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, Saturday April 16, 2016. (AP

Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A group of small children presented the pope with a dozen drawings.

Lesbos is one of the first ports of call in the EU for the hundreds of thousands of asylum-seekers who have fled war, poverty and persecution in the Middle East and Asia across the Aegean Sea via nearby Turkey in the past year.

The religious leaders said a prayer at Lesbos harbour in memory of the hundreds of migrants who have drowned during the voyage in overcrowded smuggler boats.

"Merciful God... though many of their graves bear no name, to you each one is known, loved and cherished," the pope said.

Earlier they signed a declaration calling on the international community to "respond with courage" to the humanitarian crisis and calling on religious communities to step up efforts to assist refugees.

The pope stressed that migrants were not numbers but people with "faces, names and individual stories" who were preyed on by "unscrupulous thugs" and called for "resolute" efforts to clamp down on arms trafficking.

"The world will be judged by the way it has treated you. And we will all be accountable for the way we respond to the crisis and conflict in the regions that you come from," Bartholomew said.

The pope took three Muslim Syrian families whose homes have been bombed 

back with him to the Vatican from lesbos (AFP Photo/Jochen Gebauer, AFP)

'Worst humanitarian disaster'

The refugee influx has sparked fierce disagreements between EU members and brought the bloc's system of open borders to the brink of collapse.

Lesbos has become the focus of criticism of the EU's deal with Turkey to take back migrants who travel to the Greek islands, in return for billions in EU cash.

All new arrivals on the island are being held at Moria while they wait to be processed to determine whether they can legitimately claim asylum or should be returned as "economic migrants". Rights groups have accused Greece of turning the centre into a detention camp.

Migrant arrivals in Greece have drastically fallen since the agreement took effect while the number of deaths among people making the perilous crossing has also dropped.

Another 125 arrived via the Aegean in the last 24 hours, including 46 on Lesbos, the Greek government said on Saturday.

The refugee families to be taken in by the Vatican, including six children, will be initially cared for by the community of Sant'Egidio in Rome, the Holy See said.

They come from Damascus and Deir Azzor, an area currently occupied by jihadists, and lost their homes to bombings, it said.

The pope said that all 12 had papers which were in order and that he had played no part in their selection.

"There were two Christian families but their paperwork wasn't ready. (Religion) was not grounds for exemption. All refugees are children of God."

Francis had framed his visit as an exercise in raising awareness of the "worst humanitarian disaster since the Second World War".

The former Jesuit priest has repeatedly said he does not accept the EU's distinction between those fleeing conflicts, like the war in Syria, and those fleeing poverty and starvation created by global economic inequalities.

Over one million people crossed clandestinely from Turkey to Greece in 2015 and some 150,000 have made the trip since the start of this year.

Related Articles:

Pope Francis washes the feet of refugees

EU, Turkey strike 'historic' deal to send back migrants

A key part of the agreement will take effect from Sunday midnight when all 

migrants arriving on the Greek islands will be designated for return to Turkey 

(AFP Photo/Simon MALFATTO, Jean Michel CORNU)

"New Systems" - Feb 27, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"The New Human P1" - Sep 19-20, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)
"Return of the Masters" - Apr 11-12, 2015 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

Pope Francis washes the feet of refugees

In a sign of "humility and service," the Argentine pontiff has washed the feet of refugees from various religious backgrounds. One of the asylum seekers said he felt "more important than Obama."

Deutsche Welle, 24 March 2016

Pope Francis washed the feet of 11 Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu and Catholic refugees and one aid worker at a shelter for asylum seekers as part of traditional rituals held on the Thursday before most Christians celebrate Easter on Sunday.

The "washing of the feet" ritual represents a "gesture of humility and service" that reflects the moment Jesus washed his disciples' feet in chapter 13 of the Gospel of John, according to the Vatican.

"All of us together - Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Copts, Evangelicals - but brothers, children of the same God, who want to live in peace, integrated," the pope said in unscripted comments, according to Reuters news agency.

"Three days ago, there was a gesture of war, of destruction, in a city of Europe by people who don't want to live in peace," he said, referring to attacks in Brussels that left more than 30 people dead. "Behind that gesture, there were arms manufacturers, arms traffickers, who want blood, not peace, who want war, not brotherhood."

The pope, who has championed refugees' rights in Europe at a moment of growing anti-migrant populism, has called on European leaders to do more for refugees and migrants, many of whom are fleeing war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Pope Francis washed the feet of refugees this #MaundyThursday in Rome. Other leaders can't even see them as human. pic.twitter.com/KfdteRcOvM

— Joseph Willits (@josephwillits) March 24, 2016

"Washing the feet of the refugees, Pope Francis demands respect for each one of them," wrote Archbishop Rino Fisichella earlier this week.

'More important than Obama'

Angelo Chiorazzo, who founded the charity running the shelter outside of Rome, told Vatican Radio that the asylum seekers were looking forward to the ceremony.

"One of the boys [at the shelter], a Muslim from Mali, told me: 'I really feel more important than [US President Barack] Obama. That the pope, the most important in the world - the best man in the world - will wash my feet," said Chiorazzo.

After the ceremony, the pontiff individually greeted many of the nearly 900 asylum seekers residing at the shelter.

Related Articles:

Pope Francis Says He'd Love to Visit Indonesia

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."