Benedict

Dante Alighieri's first book in the divine comedy the Inferno is a religious epic that condemns those who are blasphemous towards the church but is also a careful condemnation of the power of the catholic church.Through the Pilgrim's journey through hell he sees and learns many things from his environment, the people he meets in hell, as well as his guide Virgil. However as he is traveling through the hellscape Dante is commentating about the state of affairs as he sees it in 12th century Europe…

Drop Dead Divas Every day divas do crazy things. Coincidentally a lot of these crazy things seem to happen on October 4. The universal date of crazy things, which also happens to be my birthday. From overdosing on drugs, declaring divorce, or making their pilgrimage to America, these divas are lunatic. According to the New York Post, Janis Joplin, the ‘second noted’ pop singer, died on October 4, 1970 of a heroine overdose. Joplin lived a very involved lifestyle, putting her everything…

Introduction According to Warren & Bennis (2010), “The constancy of change that drives efforts to reinvent government bureaucracies, church hierarchies, and business practices call for audacious leaders who take a stand for what they believe in” (p.29). As a practicing Catholic, I have noticed that the Church is continuously challenged to redefine the role of the Church in our ever changing society under the leadership of Pope Francis. While it is relatively easy to appreciate the public…

Animals Have Souls Do animals have souls? Do people have souls? There are many differing definitions for the soul, and how can you begin to answer any of these questions without a chosen definition? Clarence Darrow’s “The Myth Of the Soul” and my secondary sources will conclude that yes, animals do have souls, and in fact, to think that they do not is much harder to believe. Jesus and Buddha praised vegetarianism because of a humans connectedness to all life (Jones-Hunt). Before eating meat…

Before Romero In many ways, El Salvador was no different than many of its South American neighbors during the 1970 's and 1980 's. The oppressive government that existed in El Salvador had much in common with the violent regimes running Argentina, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and others. Death squads, supported if not organized by the ruling governments, murdered with no fear of reprisal those they saw as enemies of the status quo. However, it was the global setting, not simply a continental…

Bernard Prusak had done many fascinating things throughout life. Bernard grew up in a small town in Slovakia and came to live in America when he was quite young. After Bernard completed high school he went to study, to become a priest, in Rome. During his time in Rome he worked as a “delivery boy” during the second Vatican Council. His job was to pass out all of the different documents and information that the Bishops needed during the meetings of the council. He primarily worked during the last…

Pope Francis Leading a Modernized Society The world is ever changing, and this persistent evolution is due in part to the creation of revised leadership, beliefs, and ideals by each generation. The Catholic Church is a pivotal example of evolving change and perspective. While the Church has always been steadfast in holding to tradition, some people believe she is shifting her laws to fit those of modern culture. This shift started when Jorge Mario Bergoglio become Pope Francis and established…

The figure of St. John Paul II is colossal in modern times. As one of the most influential figures of the 20th century as well as one of Catholicism’s longest serving popes he sought to reconnect the Church with its congregation, other faiths and especially world youth and functioned as a great inspiration for positive social change. Due to his uncommonly long papacy he fully developed numerous theological ideas and promulgated numerous seminal encyclicals, some of which presented a somewhat…

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the 266th elected pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, becoming Pope Francis. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 17, 1936. Prior to becoming elected Bergoglio served as archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013, as a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church of Argentina from 2001-2013 and as president of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina from 2005 to 2011. When elected the 266th pope, the first pope from the Americas, Bergoglio took his…

colonies possessed a cunning commander in Benedict Arnold and his cunningness lead to decisive decisions such as his march to Quebec. However, Arnold betrayed the colonies and joined the British Empire’s army. Arnold switched sides because he believed that the leaders of the United States were corrupt and if he joined the British, he would receive personal benefits and if he delivered a quick victory for the British, the colonies would be better off. Benedict Arnold’s treachery began with his…