Kaban ni D_BystandeR: ANG INAGURASYON NI PAPA FRANSISCO I

Pope Francis I inaugurated his papacy on Tuesday with an address calling for the defense of the weakest in society and the environment, saying that otherwise the way was opened to death and destruction. Addressing an estimated 200,000 people and many foreign leaders gathered under bright sunshine in St. Peter's Square, the Argentine pope underlined his constant message since he was elected by  secret conclave of cardinals last Wednesday - that the Church's mission was to defend the poor and disadvantaged.  In line with this message , the Mass on the steps of the giant St. Peter's Basilica was simpler than the baroque splendor of his predeessor Benedict's inauguration in 2005. The Church's mission means respecting each of God's creatures and respecting the environment in which we live. It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about," he said in the homily. Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, took his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of poverty, simplicity, charity and love of nature. 

He said that whenever human beings failed to care for the environment and each other," the way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened. Tragically in every period of history there are 'Herods' who plot death, wreak havoc and mar the countenance of men and women. The hallmark simplicity of Francis, the first Jesuit pope, has fueled hopes for change and renewal in a Church beset by a deep global crisis. "He is simple humble person, he is not like the untouchable popes, he seems like normal people you can reach out to," said one of those in the huge crowd, Argentine electrician Cirigliano Valetin, 51, who works in southern Italy. Francis inherits a Church mired in scandals over priests' sexual abuse of children and the leak of confidential documents alleging corruption and rivalry between cardinals inside the Church government or Curia.   

He has also been accused by some critics in Argentina of not doing enough to oppose human rights abuses under a military government during the 1976-1983 "dirty war" when some 30,000 leftists were kidnapped and killed. The Vatican has strongly denied the accusations. In his homily, the new pope called for world leaders to be protectors of one another and of the environment... Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives. Being protectors, thus, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts." POPE  TOURED SQUARE IN OPEN JEEP. Before the Mass, the pope toured St. Peter's Square, which was crammed with people waving flags, in an open white jeep, abandoning the bullet-proof popemobile often used by Benedict. 

He stopped frequently to greet those in the sprawling square, kissing babies, and getting out at one point to bless a disabled person. For the mass he wore plain white vestments, trimmed with gold and brown, and black shoes, in contrast to the luxurious red loafers that attracted attention under Benedict. The ceremony, conducted from an altar on the steps of the huge basilica, was shortened to two hours after a three hour service in 2005 when Benedict began his papacy. After the mass hundreds of priests, sheltering from the sun under umbrellas in the Vatican's white and yellow colors, distributed communion to the crowd while Francis watched from his raised throne behind the altar. Before the Mass, Francis collected his newly minted gold ring and pallium, a liturgical woolen band worn around the neck on the tomb of St. Peter under the basilica's altar. 

He processed out of the church in a column of cardinals chanting a litany calling for support for the new pontiff from saints, including several previous popes. The Mass formally installs Francis as the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics. Many in the crowd said they had high hopes of a more humble papacy under Francis, who as a Jesuit has taken a vow of poverty and who said he would be inspired by the lowly. "My first impression is that the pope is very humble, and has taken the church in his heart," said Isaac Adroamabe from Arua in Uganda, who is studying to be a priest in Rome. "I think he is going to fulfill his promise, he will lead the Church based on the example of St. Francis, you can already see he is down-to-earth pope who mingles with people."

 Six sovereigns, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Argentine Pres. Cristina Fernandez, other leaders as well as heads of many other faiths were among the 130 delegations on the steps of of the famous basilica. Among them was Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew from Istanbul, the first time the spiritual head of Orthodox Christians has attended a Roman pope's inaugural Mass since the Great Schism between western and eastern Christianity in 1054. The former Buenos Aires Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio has aroused enormous enthusiasm and interest in the Catholic world due to the modest way he has assumed a post that was modeled after a Renaissance Monarchy and carries titles such as "Vicar of Jesus Christ" and "Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church." In the six days since his election, he has referred to himself only as Bishop of Rome, the position from which his authority flows, and hinted he plans to reduce Vatican centralism and govern in consultation with other bishops. Francis will receive the visiting political leaders in the basilica after the Mass. Francis had his first taste of diplomatic challenges of the papacy when on Monday, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez asked him to support Buenos Aires in a dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. Vatican spokesman had no comment on the request. He will also find himself greeting an international pariah, Zimbabwe President Robert Mogabe, who has been under a European Union travel ban since 2002 because of allegations of vote rigging and human rights abuses. The Vatican is not part of the European Union, allowing Mugabe to travel there. 

The Vatican on Monday revealed the new pope's coat of arms, similar to the one he used as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, with symbols representing Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Symbols of the papacy have been added behind it, including two keys which signify the Biblical passage in which Jesus told St. Peter he would give him "the keys of the kingdom" of heaven. The motto on his coat of arms is "miserando atque eligendo" (having mercy, he called him), which come from a meditation by the Venerable Bede, an 8th century English monk, on a passage of the Gospel in which Jesus calls St.  Matthew to be an apostle. In various sermons and comments since his surprise election last Wednesday, the pope has urged the people to be more merciful and not to be so quick to condemn the failings of others.

(Bug-os ang  pasalamat sa KAHAYAG ngadto sa magtatampo niining artikulo'ng kinutlo gikan sa Yahoo News  nga si JOHNNY LOVE. Nagtakuban siya sa pangalan, "D_BystandeR".  Natawo siya sa Sugbo apan anaa na karon manimuyo sa Illinois sa tinipong nasod sa Amerika. Ang kusog nga koneksyon sa kasayuran pinaagi sa internet kanunayng naghaling sa iyang kadasig  pagtuki sa mga nagbukalbukal nga hisgutanan dinhi sa atong nataran. Usa siya ka magsusulat nga gradwado sa kursong komersiyo padulong sa pagka accountant sa University of San Carlos kaniadtong tuig 1961.  Nahimo siyang miyembro sa usa ka hugpong sa mga batan-ong magsusulat nga gitawag ug STUDENT PRESS.  Nahimo usab siyang   Associate Editor sa basahon  USC-JPIAN sa tuig 1962-63. Magtatampo usab siya isip magsusulat sa nasudnong magasin,  "Philippines Free Press" ug sa mga nag-unang peryodiko dinhi sa dakbayan sa Sugbo sa lunhaw pa ang iyang pangedaron. Nahimo siyang mamumuo sa usa ka pribadong kompaniya sa dakbayan sa Sugbo, ESCANO LINES, sulod sa napulo ug duha (12) ka tuig  dayon niyang tapon  ngadto sa NAPOCOR  ug nahimong kawani sa kagamhanan  sulod sa bayente dos (22) ka tuig. Niadtong tunga-tungang bahin sa tuig 2000, nilalin siya ngadto sa tinipong nasod sa Amerika ug sulod sa napulo (10) ka tuig, nagtrabaho siya sa  buhatan sa kagamhanan sa nasod sama  sa  UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE (USPS).  Karon sa pangedaron nga 68,  gihuptan gihapon niya ang walay pagkutat nga kadasig ug walay busganan nga kaikag sa pagpaambit sa iyang nahuptang abilidad  ug kabatid sa panulat.  Dili niya mapugngan ang kaugalingon sa pagpaambit sa iyang mga hunahuna labi na kon molambigit kini ug hisgotanan nga makadani sa iyang mga mata.)