The daughter of league legend Tawera Nikau has told how the church helped turn her life around and left her keen to repair her relationship with her father.

And war hero Willie Apiata's estranged wife, Sade Waikato, has posted a video on Facebook of her baptism by Destiny leader Bishop Brian Tamaki and his wife Hannah. Continue reading

Bishop Pedro Arigo of Puerto Princesa said activities during the Pope's visit from January 15 to 19 should be "simple and not extravagant".

"Sometimes people treat occasions like this as if a celebrity is coming. I hope people will instead look at what message Pope Francis is trying to tell us," Bishop Arigo said.

He told Radyo Veritas that Pope Francis was displeased with the extravagant receptions after the canonisations of Sts John Paul II and John XXIII earlier this year.

"We should make [the activities] simple because if we make it too extravagant that will be an insult to the poor," Bishop Arigo said.

Earlier this year, graffiti depicting the Pope as superman appeared in Rome.

Francis rejected the hype surrounding his papacy, saying he is a "normal person" and calling comparisons between himself and Superman "offensive".

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has said that Pope Francis wants his visit to the Philippines "to be pastoral and simple".

"Central to the visit of the Pope is to show solidarity and compassion to victims of calamities," the cardinal said.

He said that Pope Francis wants to have an "encounter" with those who suffered recent calamities, especially in the central Philippines where Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 10,000 people and left millions homeless last November.

The Philippine bishops' conference in a pastoral statement last month said the underlying spirit of the papal visit to the country is "mercy and compassion".

The bishops encouraged the faithful to prepare for the Pope's visit by spending more time in prayer.

Pope Francis will be the third pontiff to visit the country after Pope John Paul II in 1995 and Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Before Pope Francis arrives in the Philippines, he will visit Sri Lanka from January 12-15.

He is scheduled to make a visit to Korea from August 14-18, next week.

Sources

• UCA News
• Vatican Radio
• National Catholic Reporter
• Telegraph
• Image: Time

In a provocative campaign that pokes fun at our culture's obsession with celebrities, WoodGreen Community Services in Canada places struggling single mothers on the covers of glossy magazine mock-ups.

The standard tabloid teases are replaced with headlines such as "Tanya Tries To Avoid Eviction" and "25 Things She Can't Afford."

"What if we cared about those living in poverty as much as we care about celebrities?" the organization asks. At the end of the clip, viewers can click to hear the real stories of five single mothers.

But the best skewering is aimed at TV's gossip shows. A spot-on parody makes the same women the subjects of two chirping hosts. No reality stars or spoiled singers in this segment. Continue reading

Quite simply, the list measures, as Forbes shamelessly puts it, "money and fame".

Calculating the in-crowd includes looking at earnings over the past year, as well as "media and social networking power".

One gets the sense that we are encouraged to idolize these people.

Wealth and fame are incredibly seductive, and have become the holy grail in our modern religion of self-worship.

Beyonce, JayZ, Dr. Dre, Ellen DeGeneres, Rhianna, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber, Lady Gaga, etc. are among our new saints - even though many of them are anything but.

The longer I am a parent, the less I understand our fascination with celebrities.

Being a parent, I think, opens your eyes to what is really important in life - things like unconditional love, selflessness and stability.

Yet, the celebrity culture seems to turn everything on its head: what is essential for a happy life is not valued, while the less important things - such as wealth, fame and beauty - are touted as the only way to happiness.

Recently, the philosopher Alain de Botton wrote in The Guardian that we need celebrities because we have a natural tendency to admire people who seem glamorous and successful.

We should ‘anoint' good celebrities, he argued, so that we can channel our admiration appropriately.

I disagree. In fact, I think it's a dangerous idea, because celebrity culture is based upon myths about what it means to live a meaningful human life.

For instance, celebrities are portrayed as skinny - but with big breasts - unbelievably beautiful or handsome, wealthy and famous.

The message we get is that, because of these things, they are therefore of more value than us.

And they have more fun, better sex, and more meaningful relationships.

Indeed, the wisdom from celebrity land is that wealth, fame and beauty are the things that give anyone value, and they must be pursued above everything else. Continue reading

Sources

• Mercatornet
• Image: Philosophy for Parents

It's that he's consistently able to match the themes that animate his spirituality and faith with issues that people around the world are thinking about, such as economic justice, income disparities, and poverty.

Nearly 13,000 people retweeted his statement about inequality and social evil—clearly, this idea resonates.

If Francis seems radical, it's because he has a remarkable PR-savvy, winning the obsessive attention of bloggers and journalists, earning the retweets of the masses, and charming economists and his flock in one fell tweet.

Has the pope subtly endorsed the new book of a leftist French economist on Twitter?

This is the question Slate, the Daily Beast, and the Huffington Post breathlessly asked when @Pontifex once again took to social media yesterday:

Inequality is the root of social evil.

It's totally possible that Francis is an avid student of economics and has diligently picked up a copy of Thomas Piketty's new book about 21st-century capitalism—I would never venture to speculate on Papal reading lists.

But it doesn't seem very likely that the pope is trying to weigh on the somewhat-rarefied debate sparked by this book. Continue reading.

Emma Green is an associate editor at The Atlantic, where she oversees the National Channel, manages TheAtlantic.com's homepage, and writes about religion and culture.

Source: The Atlantic

Image: Google+

I noticed on my Facebook newsfeed a story about an Sr Cristina Scuccia, an Italian member of the Ursuline Sisters of the Holy Family, and her stunning performance of "No One" (originally by Alicia Keys) on the Italian version of the popular tv show, The Voice.

Her voice, enthusiasm, and spirit brought the crowd to its feet and tears to the eyes of at least one judge. Watch here.

Soon after watching, I came across an article in "The Atlantic" questioning the enthusiastic response of the crowd and wondering to what degree they were excited by the novelty of the scene, rather than by a response to the performance or to a genuine value of seeing a vowed religious in this context.

These are strong questions arising from a legitimate concern that our society of spectacle embraces even (or perhaps especially?) religiosity in a way that does not, at the same time, invite reflection and allow for the possibility of deep transformation toward God. Continue reading.

Source: Daily Theology

Image: Daily Theology

Pope Francis for Nobel Peace Prize

1. He's practically a rockstar

What does Pope Francis have in common with Megan Fox, Kanye West and David Bowie? They've all been on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine.

His appearance on the cover reflected his ability to appeal to younger generations, and hinted at the fact that he is trying to separate himself from past popes—he's not about tradition, he's about the people.

2. He's an internet sensation

Pope Francis has done what Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber couldn't do - he won the Internet. The pope was the most talked about person on social media in 2013, which just shows how big of an impact he's already made in such a short amount of time. Continue reading.

Source: Voxxi

Image: Rolling Stone

There are people, usually actors and rock stars, that have the x-factor; something about them that attracts people. If I knew what it was I would be a wealthy man!

But I am not a fan of Pope Francis.

Fans celebrate when their team wins and commiserate when their team loses. They buy the shirts, flags, and seek out autographs.

Star players or top musicians and actors are paid millions to endorse a product because fans will buy. Remember, fan is short for fanatic.

People cheer Pope Francis when he makes a statement they like such as helping the poor or being inclusive - "who am I to judge" has become famous.

Rolling Stone magazine painted Pope Francis as though he were a rock star but that misses the point of him as Shepherd.

As Shepherd he is there to lead and guide the flock to an ever deeper relationship with the Triune God.

In reading Evangelii Gaudium there were things that I could not cheer - they cut me to the core and challenged me to live a life more committed to Jesus.

So yes, it is good that the world likes the Pope but I hope that we are guided by his words in deeds to love and serve God and neighbour more and more.

Adrian O'Flynn is a seminarian for the Society of Mary, studying at the Angelicum in Rome. He blogs at Freedom in Faith and can be found @AdrianOFlynn on Twitter.