Thomas Jefferson Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Pope Francis took the time Wednesday to do one simple thing that has now captivated the globe: He embraced and prayed with a man covered in tumors in St. Peter’s Square. The encounter between the pontiff and the unnamed individual reportedly took place after Francis addressed his general audience, when the man approached the Catholic leader and asked to be blessed. The man reportedly suffers from neurofibromatosis, which according to the Mayo Clinic is a “genetic disorder that disturbs cell growth in your nervous system, causing tumors to form on nerve tissue.” It is not contagious. While individuals with neurofibromatosis are sometimes shunned because of their appearance, Francis wasted no time kissing the man’s face, embracing him and offering up a blessing. Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/07/the-simple-thing-pope-francis-did-to-a-severely-disfigured-man-that-has-captivated-the-world/ He seems to be the genuine article which is a rare thing these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 My team might be having a terrible season but our one highlight so far happened shortly after this photo was taken: I'm not one for religion but at least it shows he has a sense of humour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lxxx Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Pope Francis took the time Wednesday to do one simple thing that has now captivated the globe: He embraced and prayed with a man covered in tumors in St. Peter’s Square. The encounter between the pontiff and the unnamed individual reportedly took place after Francis addressed his general audience, when the man approached the Catholic leader and asked to be blessed. The man reportedly suffers from neurofibromatosis, which according to the Mayo Clinic is a “genetic disorder that disturbs cell growth in your nervous system, causing tumors to form on nerve tissue.” It is not contagious. While individuals with neurofibromatosis are sometimes shunned because of their appearance, Francis wasted no time kissing the man’s face, embracing him and offering up a blessing. Source: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/07/the-simple-thing-pope-francis-did-to-a-severely-disfigured-man-that-has-captivated-the-world/ He seems to be the genuine article which is a rare thing these days. No, he's just a bit better at PR than his predecessors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sausages Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Those tumors will be gone in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jefferson Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Those tumors will be gone in no time. Maybe not but he will feel better about himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jefferson Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 My team might be having a terrible season but our one highlight so far happened shortly after this photo was taken: I'm not one for religion but at least it shows he has a sense of humour. Please can you sum up what you're on about? I haven't the slightest idea what all this football stuff means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcousticallyChallenged Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I think the new Pope is more in touch with the times, something the Catholic church needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojomonkey Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Please can you sum up what you're on about? I haven't the slightest idea what all this football stuff means. Long story short: The picture shows the Pope holding up a replica shirt of my team. It was taken a few days before we played our local derby game. We won that game. Not too complicated really, but as you're a member of the ruling elite I assume that rugby is more your sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 There are two sides to this. Firstly I think it is great that he is showing compassion and care to someone so terribly afflicted, but there is a second issue: that Roman Catholic doctrine believes it is possible that physical & mental afflictions are caused by demonic possession and that exorcism or the laying on of hands can drive these demons out (and into nearby swine etc). There should be no place for such superstition in the modern world, but it seems Pope Francis has a soft spot for it. If he was showing compassion I applaud him, but if he was laying on hands to drive out demons then he is spreading superstition. Imagine what it would be like for a person so afflicted to believe he is possessed - that would be a genuine psychological torture and something which should be disabused and not reinforced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jefferson Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Please can you sum up what you're on about? I haven't the slightest idea what all this football stuff means. Long story short: The picture shows the Pope holding up a replica shirt of my team. It was taken a few days before we played our local derby game. We won that game. Not too complicated really, but as you're a member of the ruling elite I assume that rugby is more your sort of thing. I don't know anything about any sports whatsoever. Unless you count chess -- in which case, I know how to play the game but I'm completely shit at it. I've never been able to go on the offensive; I begin every game with the assumption that I've already lost and proceed with a protracted defeat. Every single time without exception. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jefferson Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 There are two sides to this. Firstly I think it is great that he is showing compassion and care to someone so terribly afflicted, but there is a second issue: that Roman Catholic doctrine believes it is possible that physical & mental afflictions are caused by demonic possession and that exorcism or the laying on of hands can drive these demons out (and into nearby swine etc). There should be no place for such superstition in the modern world, but it seems Pope Francis has a soft spot for it. If he was showing compassion I applaud him, but if he was laying on hands to drive out demons then he is spreading superstition. Imagine what it would be like for a person so afflicted to believe he is possessed - that would be a genuine psychological torture and something which should be disabused and not reinforced. Oh god, save us the "no place for such superstition in the modern world" bollocks. What exactly is "modern" about the world, Chinahand? What is modernity? And how does it differ from any other period in history? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 We understand the causes of disease and know it isn't due to demons and spirits. Scientific advances are real and provide us with a better understanding of the universe than credulous bronze age goat herders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jefferson Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 We understand the causes of disease and know it isn't due to demons and spirits. Scientific advances are real and provide us with a better understanding of the universe than credulous bronze age goat herders. He wasn't performing an exorcism. He was blessing the man and embracing him as a fellow human being. A hug, sometimes in association with a kiss, is a form of nonverbal communication. Depending on culture, context and relationship, a hug can indicate familiarity, love, affection, friendship or sympathy.[1] A hug can be given as an indication of support, comfort, and consolation, particularly where words are insufficient. A hug is usually a demonstration of affection and emotional warmth, sometimes arising out of joy or happiness at meeting someone or seeing someone that they have not seen in a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paswt Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 We understand the causes of disease and know it isn't due to demons and spirits. Scientific advances are real and provide us with a better understanding of the universe than credulous bronze age goat herders. Some may claim to understand the causes of disease . Sometimes they may be right ,sometimes they cannot explain a death ("sudden death syndrome") or an apparent miraculous recovery. Are "We" medically qualified Chinahand ? Medics may in many cases amuse us while nature gets on with the business of making us better. I am not a religious man myself but I would not presume to ridicule another mans faith , it's offensive , particularly from an admitted global warming/climate change fundamentalist. May your god go with you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Paswt, not quite sure where to start - I did a bioengineering unit at Uni (many years ago now!) but my Prof very much agreed with you - he said an awful lot of medicine was keeping the patient comfortable as the body got better itself. But sorry, I do think people should be ridiculed for believing in Demonic Possession and for evil spirits having a role in illness. The germ theory of illness is, along with the theories of gravitation and evolution, a centre piece of modern science. I'll agree that people's mental state do have huge influences on their health, as is apparent in the placebo effect, and so receiving religious comfort has a role for some people in healing, but that is a very different from seeing a supernatural influence - this is pure superstition with not only no evidence for it, but huge amounts of evidence refuting it. Pope Francis does have a bit of history in dog whistling about exorcisms - he uses the words blessing, comforting, laying on hands, but the old demonic exorcists wink and nudge and see him upholding their superstitions. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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