here s one thing i learned. flying on the papal plane is in many ways not a very fun experience. the seats are uncomfortable, the food is mediocre. i ll give it this, the in-flight entertainment is spectacular. because it s the pope. because it s the pope engaging in these free wheeling no holds barred with the press. today he was asked about perceptions in the united states that he s a leftist. the reference was, of course, to the recent newsweek cover is the pope still catholic? about which he said, listen, if you need me to recite the creed, the thing at mass catholics say to echo their beliefs, he said i m ready to do it any time. he said i know it s true some people perceive me as a leftist but that s a misinterpretation, maybe things have not been explained well enough because he said all i am doing is echoing the social doctrine of the catholic church, the church s official code of teaching about social matters. what he wanted to do is say i m not hugo chavez, okay, what i
they can either hunt for heretics or seek out converts. clearly pope francis is someone who is seeking out converts. and obviously his message about putting the poor back into the center of the church s story and our obligations to the poor i think has captured the imagination of a lot of people, including, by the way, i think many conservatives who don t agree with his economic analysis but realize that if you re going to follow jesus, you d better think about the least among us. who don t agree with him, father, on his economic analysis in many cases but also they have concerns about the way he presents some social issues. when the fact of the matter is i think the reason he s won over a lot of people is they have the impression he s a much more liberal pope where on many of these issues in fact he has not changed church teaching at all, he s just been more open. and the analogy that i made this past weekend in my homily was comparing the prophet isaiah
there are only three people born in the u.s. the catholic church has canonized as saints. one was a mohawk indian woman who lived and died before the united states was founded as a country. the other two founded orders of nuns, one in the 1770s and 1850s and others canonized as saints because of what they did in the u.s. but as far as americanized saints go, that s it. a few years ago, an investigator from the vatican traveled to kansas to see if there might be another saint named sometime soon. another part of the formula is the issue of miracles. according to an eight part series of the wichita newspaper, the church s investigator in 2009 came to look into seemingly miraculous medical recoveries of two young kansans, one from an autoimmune disorder and one from catastrophic pole vaulting accident.
one was a mohawk woman who died before the united states was founded as a country. one born in the 1770s, the other in the 1850s. other people were canonized as saints because of things they did in the u.s. but as far as actual american saints go, that s it. but just a few years ago an investigator from the vatican traveled to kansas to look into whether there might be another american saint named sometime soon. an important part of the formula for saint hood, of course, is the issue of miracles. and according to a rather epic eight-part series, the church s investigator in 2009 came here to look into seemingly miraculous medical recoveries of two young kansans, one from an autoimmune disorder and one from a catastrophic pole-vaulting accident. their families both organized mass prayers, not just to god and jesus but to someone who in kansas is already thought of as being a saint already, even if
there are only three people born in the u.s. the catholic church has cannonized as saints. one was a mohawk woman who lived and died before the united states was founded as a country. the other two founded orders of nuns, one in the 1770s and 1850s and others cannonized as saints of what they did in the u.s. but as far as americanized saints go, that s it. a few years ago, an investigator from the vatican traveled to kansas to see if there might be another saint named sometime soon. another part of the formula is the issue of miracles. according to an eight part series of the wichita newspaper, the church s investigator in 2009 came to look into seemingly miraculous medical recoveries of two young can san, one from an