The surprise of Cardinal Bergoglio from Argentina as the new Pope, Pope Francis, is matched by the order he comes from-The Society of Jesus also known as the Jesuits. Taking his name from St. Francis of Assisi, his Uri Et Orbi welcomed Romans, and hinted at his focus on evangelism. Bergoglio was Pope Benedict’s only real rival in the last Conclave of 2005, receiving 40 votes.

Like Benedict, however, Bergoglio, is a mixed bag. Three days before the 2005 conclave, he was accused of not protecting two Jesuits priest who had been kidnapped in 1976. In an article from the Guardian dated from 2011 Hugh O’Shaughnessy discusses how the Catholic Church in Argentina has been complicit in terrible crimes. He also mentions a book, El Silencio, which reports that the then Cardinal Bergoglio hid the dictatorships political prisoners at his vacation home named El Silencio. The charges were not substantiated, yet human rights groups have found Bergoglio problematic because of the complicity of the church in the Argentine dictatorship, and his stances on abortion, and same sex marriage. The new Pope’s connections to the military junta in Argentina, will also  be discussed heavily in the next few days.

Like many prelates of the Catholic church, however, this story also resides alongside his care for the poor and infirm. In 2001 He is also however, a man who has washed the feet of aids patients, cooks his own meals, and rode the bus to the office as a Cardinal.

What is most interesting however, is that the Cardinals have chosen a from a member of the Jesuits for pope. The order, founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola, has been often touted as the saviors of the Catholic church during the Reformation, for their missionary work and their focus on Catholic education.  Jesuits also take a special oath to the Pope, and their trajectory to become a Jesuit is a rigorous one. Jesuits are noted for their adeptness with languages, spirituality, and their missionary and social justice work. The choice, however, surprised even Father Lombardi, Vatican spokesperson, who is also a Jesuit. Jesuits traditionally did not aspire to clerical offices, seeing themselves as missionaries for God.  The leader of the Jesuits, the General, has often been referred to as “the Black Pope”. Now both the seat of Peter, the White Pope, and the Black Pope are both Jesuits. Let the conspiracy theories begin.

The choice of Pope Francis then, is a complicated one for the church, and for the world. While it has annoyed many non-Catholics to put up with this news all week,  the fact is, it’s not just an election of a religious figure, but a political one. After all, the pope may be the Bishop of Rome, but he also runs Vatican City, a city state. It remains to be seen how this papacy will go, but I can tell you this.. don’t expect women or married priests anytime soon. There are a few messes the church still has to clean up first.

 Edited for clarity 3/13 9:31 pm

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My last post for Religion Dispatches was in December of 2012 on the Newtown Massacre. I did not intend for it to be my last blog for Religion Dispatches. Anyone who knows me, however, knows that I will never allow my writing to be co-opted for other purposes to promote causes or organizations I do not have a personal connection to, nor believe in. As a result of an attempt to co-opt my Newtown blog, I can no longer write for Religion Dispatches at this juncture at its current development and funding home.

I want to however, extend my thanks and profound gratitude to the Editors of Religion Dispatches, who work hard every day to put out a quality product in difficult circumstances: Lisa Webster, Evan Dercatz, and Sarah Posner. Many of us who have written for RD are academics, and we are not the easiest people to deal with, especially about our writing! I have learned so much from each of you and value your friendship tremendously. You have all made me a better writer and thinker, and for that I am grateful.

My blogging career started out of vexation back in 2005 with the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, by writing for The Revealer, which I remain eternally grateful for. I will continue to blog at my personal website antheabutler.com, and you can find me on twitter at @antheabutler. I’ll miss my friends at RD and all of you who were faithful readers, but I trust we will meet again on the Internet, in some form or fashion. Perhaps we’ll meet back here at RD in the future. For now, I bid you goodbye, and good luck.

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The video has context of why I said what I did is clear. It was in response to a Psychiatrist from Vanderbilt. Please folks, learn how to listen, and not believe everything you hear from right wing sites who want to increase their traffic over fake outrage. Breitbart may be dead, but his tactics live on. And if you want to read something about Gun Control and Racism, click here.

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Anthea Butler, Associate professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, is guest preacher for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Memorial Service of Worship. Her talk is titled “God and the 99 Percent”.

January 22, 2013

Martin Luther King Jr. and America’s Bad Check: America’s poor in the 21st Century: University of Pennsylvania professor Anthea Butler offers the keynote address for Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances.
Gomes Chapel

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If this does not wake America up to the fact that not only are guns big business, but that the NRA is invested in people remaining fearful enough to buy their products and support their organization, nothing will. It is very clear that the vitrol and vehemence of the speech today by Mr. LaPierre shows that the fear and determination of those who “cling to their guns and God” without care for those who have died, is a disease. How the NRA can think that they are “the good guys with a gun” is beyond me.

As a professor, I don’t want an armed guard in every school and classroom in the nation. Many schools have security already. Making places of learning prisons only extends the prison industrial complex that feeds the need for gun play and gun power. Meanwhile, families in Newtown continue the grim task of burying their loved ones, listening to the toll of the bells, while a self-righteous NRA leader pontificates about bringing more guns into schools, and about the “safety of our nation’s children”.

If  Wayne LaPierre and the NRA are the ones to protect our children, they are doomed.

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Mitt Romney and President Obama had lunch at the White House… and this is the only photo that was released of the meeting. Somehow, the look on Mitt’s face isn’t too happy, and the fact that it is President Obama standing on the Presidential Seal rug says a hidden message..I got this! Perhaps Mr.Romney was asking the President about how he could give out so many gifts before Christmas! At any rate, the platitudes are over, and now the real fight begins. Will we go over the Fiscal Cliff? Will Boehner and the Republicans continue to be recalcitrant? Stay tuned!!!

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Offering rich, lively accounts of the activities of the Women’s Department founders and other members, Butler shows that the COGIC women of the early decades were able to challenge gender roles and to transcend the limited responsibilities that otherwise would have been assigned to them both by churchmen and by white-dominated society. The Great Depression, World War II, and the civil rights movement brought increased social and political involvement, and the Women’s Department worked to make the “sanctified world” of the church interact with the broader American society. More than just a community of church mothers, says Butler, COGIC women utilized their spiritual authority, power, and agency to further their contestation and negotiation of gender roles in the church and beyond.

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Vanderbilt University Divinity School announces the 2012 Cole Lectures to be delivered by

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The Gospel According to Sarah is a fascinating new look at a little-understood but crucial side of Sarah Palin: her Pentecostal roots. Anthea Butler’s analysis trains the keen eye of a noted religion scholar on religious and political currents that have been widely caricatured but, until now, poorly understood.  The Gospel According to Sarah is a fascinating new look at a little-understood but crucial side of Sarah Palin: her Pentecostal roots. Anthea Butler’s analysis trains the keen eye of a noted religion scholar on religious and political currents that have been widely caricatured but, until now, poorly understood.

The Gospel According to Sarah is a fascinating new look at a little-understood but crucial side of Sarah Palin: her Pentecostal roots. Anthea Butler’s analysis trains the keen eye of a noted religion scholar on religious and political currents that have been widely caricatured but, until now, poorly understood.The Gospel According to Sarah is a fascinating new look at a little-understood but crucial side of Sarah Palin: her Pentecostal roots. Anthea Butler’s analysis trains the keen eye of a noted religion scholar on religious and political currents that have been widely caricatured but, until now, poorly understood.

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