John Marshall Harlan II

Pope John Paul once exclaimed, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his son." By this he means that God's children can overcome or surpass all of their weaknesses and failures, and believe that their God is there for them and bear unconditional love no matter the circumstances. The passage also senses that everyone is made in God's image. Stating that people are all different, yet genuinely…

Personal opportunities / challenges -  Given that there are 32,000 Christian denominations in the world today read John 17:20-21 where Jesus asks His Father that we all may be one. Read, meditate, pray, contemplate.  Read “The Catholic Church Through the Ages” by John Vidmar, OP to understand the challenges, failures and triumphs of the Catholic Church over the past 2000 years. Learn and understand the origin of the schisms of the one Church that Jesus Christ gave to us.  Come to a Catholic…

dignity, promote human development and improvement and protect the rights of all humans equally. To promote and fight for justice is to improve and break down structures and systems which block love of others. Love is spoken about in the Gospels, in John 15:12-13 Jesus says “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” This means that as jesus gave his life for us, he was asking his…

The door to the Catholic church opened into the bright light of the square packed with onlooking eyes. A group appeared from the darkness lead by a tall man wearing all black while carrying a mace upon his hefty shoulders. He was followed by a parade of priests and two prisoners on there way to execution. The one called Peppino was suntanned and handsome while the other Andrea was short and fat. As the men climbed the steps both could be seen shuddering and kissing crosses. Suddenly a penitent…

The pope was and is still the head of the Roman Catholic Church. The church viewed the pope as “its visible head and Jesus Christ as its invisible and supreme head.” (World Book Online) Once elected, the pope has the position for life. They can resign, but cannot be kicked out of office. Only current Roman Catholic men are eligible to be elected. Typically, after the 1300’s all popes have been picked out of cardinals. They hold a high position in the church. The cardinals come together and…

Jose Sanchez Del Rio (March 28th, 1913,-February 10th, 1927,) is a perfect example of resiliency. In 1927, Mexico was ravaged by a terrible war between Christians and a devout Atheist president named Plutarco Calles. Everyone knows that being a Christian means you walk with Christ and being an Atheist means you do not believe in him or any faith whatsoever. But, Calles took being an Atheist to a whole other extent when he began burning churches and brutally murdering anyone who spoke the name of…

In 1981 May 13, Mehmet Ali Agca who is Turkish rightist and assassin long associated with the Gray Wolves, an affiliate of the extreme right-wing Nationalist Action Party, shot Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square(Chomsky and Herman, 2002: p. 144). After seventeen months in an Italian prison, Agca claimed that he was hired by Bulgarians and KGB to shoot the pope. If this was true, it would work beneficially on the Reagan Administration…

returned to his college, the Collegio of San Jose where he taught theology for 6 years. In February, 1998, Bergoglio became archbishop of Buenos Aires succeeding Antonio Quarracino. Three years later in February, 2001, Pope John Paul II chose Bergoglio to be a cardinal. After Pope John Paul II's death in 2005, Bergoglio reportedly received the second most votes to be the new pope after Joseph Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict XVI.…

On October 5th, 1979 military officers went to President Carlos Romero and informed him that he and his staff had until 3 pm to pack up their things, turn over the government, and leave. After this demand, President Carlos Romero made calls to regional leaders, United States embassy, and his headquarters. He called looking for support but everyone he turned to was not willing to support him. With President Carlos Romero having no support from allies he decided to pack his things and turn over…

Annotated Bibliography Source: "Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ Of The Holy Father Francis On Care For Our Common Home (official English-language text of encyclical)". Retrieved 18 June 2015 Pope Francis chooses to share his own personal concern for the enviroment in his writings towards the industrialised world. Francis spoke deeply on his theological perspective of embracing the beauty of God’s precious earth by reducing pollution and aknowlodging the tragic realities of climate change. His…