21st Century Wire asks…
What’s behind Pope Francis’s recent visit to America?
‘FIAT FAIRYTALE’ – Marketing ploy or plea for the poor? NPR suggests that Pope Francis’s modest 500L Fiat appeals to the poverty stricken masses. (Photo twitter)
The Pope in America
There’s been much pomp and circumstance associated with the pontiff’s apostolic journey that paraded through Washington, New York and Philadelphia this past week. In fact, Pope Francis’s tour de force through America appeared to be an effort to rebrand the image of the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church – two years after a flurry of abuse accusations and the sudden resignation of Pope Benedict.
While addressing the United Nations during the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit 2015, Pope Francis offered a revealing perspective on recent geopolitical happenings. The following is a passage from RT:
“Addressing the UN Sustainable Development Summit on Friday, the head of the Roman Catholic Church made a nod to the importance of the UN, now that technology has enabled humanity to overcome distance and frontiers and “all natural limits to the exercise of power.”
“Technological power, in the hands of nationalistic or falsely universalist ideologies, is capable of perpetrating tremendous atrocities,” the Pope said, praising the achievements of the UN in containing that potential as “lights which help to dispel the darkness of the disorder caused by unrestrained ambitions and collective forms of selfishness.”
Continuing, the pontiff made a ‘collective’ appeal to the masses:
“The common home of all men and women must continue to rise on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic.”
In a heavy-handed article from CNN entitled “10 ways Pope Francis challenges us,” there is mention of the papacy’s strong view on subjects like climate, capitalism and science. On the surface, the purpose of the article seems to be a way of inspiring the public, however it reads more like an indictment of those who are critical of globalization by linking to the pope’s environmentally centered encyclical.
At the start of 2015, 21WIRE laid out a comprehensive list of things to look for throughout the year in an article entitled “Game Changers: Predictions and Trends for 2015.” Interestingly, much of the trendspotting posited in the article has already come to fruition, including the prominent role that Rome’s pontiff has played on the global stage:
“The Vatican – Without a doubt, Rome’s new Pontif (translated, it means ‘bridge-builder’), Pope Francis, has already registered on the geopolitical Richter scale by helping to broker an end to Washington’s 50 year strangulation of Cuba. Whether or not your are a Catholic, or even a Christian, it will be hard to ignore this Pope going into 2015. He’s been tasked with cleaning up some of the epic disasters left behind by his holier-than-thou predecessors, and his immense popularity out of the gates is simply unprecedented. Judging by his humble trappings, and his affinity with the world’s poor, he is also a true socialist Pope – and that translates into real political power on the Christian Street. Be warned: this Pope could actually sway major geopolitical events. This already looks like it will be the Vatican’s comeback year.”
In an interesting twist at the UN sustainable summit, Pope Francis commended the UN for their support in negotiating the recent Iran-nuclear deal. This would appear to be in direct conflict with the views of many neoconservatives with ties to US-Israeli leadership.
Pope Francis’s UN speech is below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knOryefCYwI
Israel, Palestine & the Vatican
Over the summer, the Vatican signed a treaty with Palestine, after a meeting with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, two years after officially recognizing the State of Palestine. However, as 21WIRE recently pointed out, confidence in a peace process with Israel is at an all-time low, as Abbas’s approval has taken a nosedive.
According to a new survey published by a Palestinian think-tank, an “overwhelming majority of people believing Palestinian institutions are corrupt.”
Back in February, Aljazeera published an article disclosing that the CIA was ‘desperate’ to make contact with Hamas in 2012 according to leaked documents. Since US agencies list Hamas as a terror-linked organization and have no official contact with the group, this would make for quite a story:
“A CIA agent “desperate” to make contact with Hamas in Gaza pleaded for help from a South African spy in the summer of 2012, according to intelligence files leaked to Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit. The US lists Hamas as a terrorist organisation and, officially at least, has no contact with the group.”
“That was just one of the revelations of extensive back-channel politicking involving the US, Israel and the Palestinian Authority as they navigate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid a stalled peace process.”
“Classified South African documents obtained by Al Jazeera also reveal an approach by Israel’s then-secret service chief, Meir Dagan, seeking Pretoria’s help in its efforts to scupper a landmark UN-authorised probe into alleged war crimes in Gaza, which was headed by South African judge Richard Goldstone.”
Continuing, the article claimed that PA leader Abbas had a role in rejecting the Goldstone Report:
“Dagan explained that his effort to squelch the Goldstone Report had strong support from Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas.
The Mossad director told the South Africans that Abbas privately backed the Israeli position, saying he wanted the report rejected because he feared it would “play into the hands” of Hamas, his key domestic political rival.
The Spy Cables also reveal that US President Barack Obama made a direct threat to Abbas in hope of dissuading him from pursuing United Nations recognition for a Palestinian state.”
One wonders what kind of knowledge the Vatican possesses regarding the reality of the US-Israeli alliance in the Middle East, along with those in leadership roles who steadfastly refuse to accept the Iran-nuclear deal.
Is Pope Francis playing a geopolitical balancing act between nations, particularly in the Middle East – or is it a smoke screen for a larger global agenda?
More from No More Fake News below…
‘MASS CONTROL?’ – Pope Francis addressing the masses. (Photo twitter)
Jon Rappoport
No More Fake News
In his first statement to the press after his election as Pope, Francis said: “This is what I want, a poor church for the poor.” And a jet and an entourage and massive security, as he wings his way to bring that message of poverty to the masses.
I wonder how the message would be received in America’s inner cities.
The Pope’s recipe for change, if there is to be any change at all, seems to fall under the category of “income redistribution.”
Apparently, carbon taxes and cap and trade would fit the redistribution agenda.
Forget the fact that a carbon monarchy would drastically reduce available energy in the Third World. But don’t worry, poverty is good. Embrace it.
The Pope is headlining a big show in the US because he and Obama are on the same page. They both want to excoriate capitalism, while conveniently avoiding the subject of Globalist trade treaties, which are designed to expand poverty and destroy millions of jobs.
Since the Pope is willing to mention specifics, such as the horrors of air conditioning, he should be willing to address GATT, the WTO, NAFTA, CAFTA, and the TPP: the treaties by which elite Globalists wreak havoc. Until he does discuss them, and at length, his statements about poverty deserve no more attention than any politician’s.
As for his stance on immigration and the US southern border, his sympathy for destitute Catholic refugees making their way into America dovetails nicely with the goal of expanding the flock, which has been declining in this country.
If the Pope wants a poor Church, I have a suggestion. Bring in an army of expert appraisers and have them pore over every rare book, every scripture, scroll, artifact, piece of furniture, painting, sculpture, jewel, gold coin—every possession of the Vatican, including its lands and buildings—in order to see what price the whole collection might bring at the largest auction ever held on the planet.
Then sell it all. Take the cash and feed and house the poor.
At that point, I would start to take this man in the robe and the big hat seriously.
Continue reading this article at No More Fake News
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