"TWO SAINTS FOR A NEW CHURCH" the headlines on the LIFE publication announced to me. This is because Pope Francis has declared the two preceding Popes before him as "saints." It was a historical moment. Two popes were canonized in one day; and, (you are not going to believe this....) not every Pope gets to be a saint. Only 81 of 265 popes are saints! You have to be someone very special in order to have sainthood bestowed on you.
Roman Catholic teaching is that being a saint is reserved for only the elite few who attain holiness and prove themselves worthy of such status by heroism, martyrdom and the most important factor, the working of miracles on earth by this person after they have died Also you cannot be a "saint" while you are living. you must be dead for quite a long time.... except if you are canonized by the "new"church's new pope, Francis.
Yes, Pope Francis has done a lot of unprecedented things since he has been instated as Pope and he certainly has impressed a lot of people by some of the things he has chosen to do as Pope. Besides the canonization of two popes in one day and this without waiting decades after their death for a miracle to happen in order to do so, Francis has also done some other astonishing things. He given a ride in his pope mobile to a young by, personally called a rape victim to comfort her, invited homeless people and their dog to enjoy his birthday meal with him, and more recently Francis made history by inviting Israeli and Palestinian presidents to pray for peace together in the Vatican gardens. He even took a "selfie." Pope Francis, with his new way of doing things has certainly impressed a lot of people, including Rick Warren.
"I am nothing but impressed by this new Pope. First place, in my book, the three most important characteristics for leadership are, humility, integrity and generosity and in the first months of his a...a. of his leadership he has shown those symbolically, what he has done for a lifetime. OK. Ah, is humility, of showing up... of paying his own hotel bill and checking out.....eschewing all of the... all of the the "bling" and the other things... the accouterments of power... things like that. This is a man who spent his life working with the poor. This is a man who I happen to admire because of his work with people with HIV AIDS and as you know Saddleback has been involved in that; we just had World AIDS Day where we have been real involved in helping try to remove the stigma and end...getting to zero by the end of this decade if we can on AIDS. And so... his integrity....I love how before he talks about businessmen being greedy he talks about bishops being greedy, OK? and before he talks about the low morals int he world, he talks about low morals in the church OK? Let's do a little house cleaning at home first..... and I love that."- Rick Warren,12/6/2013 in conversation with Piers Morgan
Rick says emphatically, "I am nothing but impressed with this new Pope"
Pope Francis might be a nice man, but it is quite interesting to watch Rick put the Pope up onto some sort of pedestal of greatness. Is he flattering the man? Is he attempting to influence his own following to be impressed... just as he is? Truth is, it really does not matter how good we think this man is or is not, our "impressions" can be wrong. Who or what is a qualifier for "nice" or even, "good"? (Luke 18:19)
Bible says, " ...all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:24) When it comes to being impressed with someone to the point of making them the person you look to for an example.... may it always be Jesus (a.k.a. "God,") above all the rest. (Romans 3:4)
Rick says, "First off in my book, the three most important characteristics for leadership are, humility, integrity and generosity "
Rick neglects to use scripture as his plumb line. Instead of the Bible, his book is made out to be the authority that you, as a disciple of Rick Warren use. This "pastor" is not pointing you to the Bible or to Jesus... He is pointing you to his book, and to a man who impresses you with his incredible good works, the impressive man of the moment, Pope Francis.
...." the three most important characteristics for leadership"
And let's also note that Rick is all about "leadership," and he wants to teach you to be a great leader. However, if you think Jesus went around making "leaders" out of people who had potential for greatness, think again. Jesus didn't hold seminars in how to be a great anything. Quite opposite to Rick Warren's "leadership" theories for the church, Jesus' simple words to everyone he discipled were "follow me."
"... paying his own hotel bill and checking out.....eschewing all of the... all of the the "bling" and the other things... the accouterments of power... things like that. "
Regarding the example of humility that Rick uses here to impress us with the actions of Pope Francis; paying his own hotel bill, is interesting. First of all, as Pope, he owned the hotel and din;t really have to pay. Second, if he didn't "own" it already, this is what would be expected of someone who stays in a hotel. There is nothing particularly humble about paying your own debt that you owe, nor paying a bill that you do not have to pay for show.
"....This is a man who I happen to admire because of his work with people with HIV AIDS.... "
Rick loves the new Pope because of his work with AIDS. There's been items in the news of course, but Rick does not say anything here about the work the Pope has done, instead, he uses this opportunity for his own self-promotion.
"...and as you know Saddleback has been involved in that; we just had World AIDS Day where we have been real involved in helping try to remove the stigma and end...getting to zero by the end of this decade if we can on AIDS. "
He uses his supposed admiration of this man to further his own namesake, agenda and cause.
"I love how before he talks about buisnessmen being greedy he talks about bishops being greedy, OK? and before he talks about the low morals in the world, he talks about low morals in the church OK? Let's do a little house cleaning at home first..... and I love that."
What is weird is that Rick thinks this is all somehow "cool: when it's really "church bashing." You know, those evil greedy "bishops," (unlike any "Pope.") No matter where you stand on this issue of greed and moral standards being met in church, you have to understand that if anyone knows how to "clean house" in Church, it would be Jesus.
Jesus was not one to be greedy or controlled by money, he loved God with all his heart, mind and soul and he had no money to his name. He certainly had no bad morals either. Jesus never manipulated crowds who gathered in order to hear him teaching.... and he probably spoke to them for free, not for a fee. He never made merchandise of men. Let's not forget, the Pope who resides in Vatican City as well as Rick Warren, are no strangers to the many temptations that come with wealth.
Rick is so impressed with this new Pope that he gladly joins "forces" with the Roman Catholic church on every front. Rick was a guest on EWTN where he said to everyone, even his pastors and pastors in training, that Pope Francis is the perfect example to look to.
" Authenticity, humility....Pope Francis is the perfect example of this. He is doing everything right."- Rick Warren
Rick is impressed and looking to this man and his great new leadership for the church, are you?
See: Rick Warren on EWTN.
You might choose to read this Stand-Up For the Truth article:The New Evangelization of Christians
