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Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut officials react to death of Pope Francis

Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut officials react to death of Pope Francis

Yahoo21-04-2025

CONNECTICUT (WTNH) — The Archdiocese of Hartford and officials across Connecticut react following the news of Pope Francis, who died at 88 on Monday morning.
Pope Francis was history's first Latin American pontiff, known for his humble style.
Bells tolled across Rome following the announcement, read by Cardinal Kevin Farrell from Francis' home at the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta. Farrell said Francis 'returned to the home of the Father' at 7:35 a.m.
'As we pray for all Christians at the moment of death, we offer the Chruch's prayer for God's servant Francis:
Go forth, kind soul, from this world in the name of God the almighty Father, who created you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who suffered for you, in the name of the Holy Spirit, who was poured out upon you, go forth, faithful friend.
May you live in peace this day, may your home be with God in Zion, with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, with Joseph, and all the Angels and Saints.'
The Archdiocese of Hartford.
Photos: Pope Francis through the years
Gov. Ned Lamont said he joins Catholics across the world in mourning in a statement on X.
'Leading by his words and example, Pope Francis was one of the most inspiring Popes and spiritual leaders of my lifetime, at a time when we needed him most. He brought people together, teaching mercy, compassion and reconciliation. I join Catholics across the world in mourning,' Lamont said.
Sen. Stephen Harding released a statement on behalf of the Senate Republican Caucus.
'Pope Francis's message and mission was based on compassion. Compassion for the less fortunate. Compassion among races and religions. He was loved by millions of people across the globe. We collectively remember that compassion and we mourn his passing,' Sen. Harding said in a written statement.
A parishioner, Tom Hall, who regularly attends the catholic church in Waterbury, said he hopes things go back to traditional basics, like in the past. He also said he is happy Pope Francis is in a better place.
'In a polarized world, Pope Francis showed us the power of God's love. He was not shy about challenging powerful forces who harmed or demonized our fellow human beings. He spoke out against injustice and always lead with compassion and empathy. May he rest in eternal peace. Well done good and faithful servant,' Sen. Jorge Cabrera wrote.
Tributes from around the globe pour in for Pope Francis after his death
His last public appearance was on Easter Sunday, just a day before his death, to bless thousands at St. Peter's Square.
Francis was the 266th pope introduced 12 years ago on March 13, 2023.
The AP contributed to this post.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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How the Vatican manages money and where Pope Leo XIV might find more
How the Vatican manages money and where Pope Leo XIV might find more

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How the Vatican manages money and where Pope Leo XIV might find more

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100 years ago, the Social Gospel movement pushed to improve workers' lives – but also to promote its vision of Christian America
100 years ago, the Social Gospel movement pushed to improve workers' lives – but also to promote its vision of Christian America

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President Donald Trump has praised the Gilded Age, which he believes was a time of immense national prosperity thanks to tariffs, no income tax, and few regulations on business. Similar to today, the late 19th century was a time where a small group of men enjoyed immense wealth, privilege and power to shape the nation. It was a time of immense inequality, as factory and housing conditions crushed the lives of the poor. And it was a time of white Christian nationalism. In Northern cities, reformers saw the wealth gap, the plight of workers and the squalid conditions in tenements as undermining their vision of a Christian America. Fueled by faith, the Social Gospel movement worked to expand labor rights and improve living conditions at the turn of the 20th century. At the same time, many of these white Protestant activists believed their own culture and race to be superior, and this prejudice hindered their efforts. 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And though the country was still overwhelmingly Protestant, they feared they were losing influence. New research explored the history of the Bible – research that many Christians feared would undermine people's trust in Scripture as the word of God, by emphasizing its human composition. New scientific ideas about the Earth's creation and human evolution challenged their visions of an all-powerful, all-knowing God. Meanwhile, rapid industrialization and urbanization had created new social challenges, such as workers' safety and living conditions, leading some to reject faith as irrelevant to their needs. Social Gospellers wanted to vindicate Christianity and show it was still relevant to modern life. But white leaders' vision of what a Christian America should look like conflated their Protestant faith with their race and culture. Josiah Strong, for example, was a Congregationalist minister known for promoting factory safety. But he stoked fear of Catholic immigrants and endorsed the expansion of the U.S. as a benevolent empire. The Anglo-Saxon race 'is destined to dispossess many weaker races, assimilate others, and mold the remainder,' Strong argued in his 1885 book, 'Our Country.' Another Social Gospel reformer, Northern Baptist theologian Walter Rauschenbusch, railed against unrestrained greed, political corruption, militarism and contempt between elites and the working class. But he shared the white supremacy of his age. God was favoring Germanic and Anglo-Saxon people, he claimed, to enact God's purposes. 'Other races are as dear to God as we and he may be holding them in reserve to carry His banner when we drop it,' he wrote in an undated article. But it was part of God's plan, he believed, for Northern Europeans to 'hold the larger part of the world's wealth and power in the hollow of their hands and the larger share of the world's intellectual and spiritual possessions in the hollow of their heads.' Though many white Protestants felt threatened by the challenges of immigration, they were still a clear majority, and they presumed that most Americans would endorse applying Christian ethics to public policy and social reform. What's more, women gaining the right to vote in 1920 meant Social Gospel leaders expanded Protestants' power at the ballot box. Many Social Gospel leaders embraced women's suffrage because women were already leading supporters for their causes: For example, Frances Willard, who promoted temperance and workers' rights; and Jane Addams, who ran a Christian 'settlement house,' or community center, for the poor. But in another sense, demographics were not on their side. The U.S. might have been a very white and Christian country, but in some Social Gospellers' minds, the era's waves of immigrants were not the 'right' kind of Christian: Northern European and Protestant. Immigration was shifting from Great Britain, Ireland and Germany to Russia, Poland, Hungary and Italy. While Protestants far outnumbered Catholics nationally, Strong wrote that they were double the Protestant population in major cities like New York, Chicago and Philadelphia. Strong argued that Catholic immigrants were lazy, prone to alcoholism and criminal activity, and willing to sell their vote to corrupt city politicians. He claimed they would corrupt the morals of Anglo-Saxon Americans, and that if the Catholic population grew, it would undermine Protestants' religious liberty. Nativist views like these led to the National Origins Act of 1924, which restricted the number of immigrants. Quotas for each country were based on the profile of the American population in 1890 – an attempt to maintain Protestant dominance against Catholic and Jewish immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. That distrust also kept Social Gospellers from partnering with Roman Catholic leaders on shared concern for workers. Still, when it came to workers' basic needs, reformers cared deeply about improving circumstances for the 'least of these.' The movement was strongly influenced by the biblical parable of the sheep and the goats: verses in the Book of Matthew where Jesus promotes feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, clothing the naked and visiting those in prison. Social Gospellers aimed to prove that Christianity could answer the social challenges caused by industrialization, urbanization and immigration. For the most part, they sought to use their privilege in ways that promoted the flourishing of all Americans, such as expanding labor rights and providing services to the poor through settlement houses. In 1908, for example, the Federal Council of Churches adopted a 14-point statement called the 'Social Creed,' affirming that churches should support reforms 'to lift the crushing burdens of the poor, and to reduce the hardships and uphold the dignity of labor.' While some of the reforms they called for are taken for granted today — like one day off per week — other calls, like a living wage for all, are yet to be realized. Over the past half-century, the modern Christian right, too, has feared that its vision for the nation is eroding. Conservative churches have seen their influence drop as more Americans move away from organized religion and reject their rejection of LGBTQ+ people. 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This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Christina Littlefield, Pepperdine University Read more: How Christian nationalism played a role in incorporating the phrase 'so help me God' in the presidential oath of office Claims of 'anti-Christian bias' sound to some voters like a message about race, not just religion How the social gospel movement explains the roots of today's religious left Christina Littlefield does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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