Yesterday was a very special day!
Yesterday morning I passed out of Britannia Royal Naval College and commissioned into the Royal Navy as a Chaplain (Bish) in the Reserves..
I am deeply honoured to serve both God and my country in this ministry, @RNReserve@diostalbans
For me, a small gesture in this brief video shows what kind of person Pope Francis was.
Last summer, Pope Francis was reported to have used an Italian-language slur for LGBTQ people and made some negative comments about gay priests. It seemed so out of character with the person I knew, had met and corresponded with, and who had always expressed his desire to care for LGBTQ people pastorally. Not long after these reports, in June, I was at the Vatican, having helped to arrange a papal audience for comedians.
A few days before that audience, I met with the Holy Father at the Casa Santa Marta and we talked about his comments. For me, it was hard to bring up the topic, but a cardinal friend of mine encouraged me. But Pope Francis seemed eager to talk about it and told me he knew many holy and faithful gay seminarians and priests, and encouraged me to share his comments publicly, which I did (after asking him a few times exactly how to word it). And it turned out that he didn’t realize how offensive the slur was and said he’d never use it again. After that, the conversation turned to other, more relaxed, matters: the US church, the Synod, and so on. It happened to be the 25th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood and so before leaving Casa Santa Marta, I knelt down and he blessed me. As always, it was a great gift to be with him.
A few days later, at the papal audience for comedians, along with the rest of the guests, I was invited up to greet the Holy Father in the Sala Clementina, which was captured in this video. You can see that I thank him for inviting me and my laughing because we joked about my being a "famous American comedian." I start to leave, since I know he’s busy, but then he gently pulls me back and surprised me by thanking me for our conversation a few days earlier. He said that he needed to hear that and was grateful for our conversation and then gave me a thumbs up.
Afterwards, I thought: Who does that? What world leader thanks someone for a challenging conversation? For me, that small gesture says a great deal about Pope Francis’s humility, openness and freedom, as well his willingness to listen and learn.
Weren’t we blessed to have him in our midst?
Today the Ministry of Defence is announcing the deployment of the Carrier Strike Group.
1 carrier, 8 ships, 40 aircraft, 4,000 British personnel visiting 30 countries all with one mission to keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad 🇬�
It was an honour to welcome @ZelenskyyUa to Downing Street and reiterate my unwavering support for Ukraine.
I am determined to find a path that ends Russia's illegal war and ensures a just and lasting peace that secures Ukraine’s future sovereignty and security.
Slava Ukraini.
So what exactly should Zelenskyy be thanking Trump/Vance for? Congress, yes. The American taxpayer, yes. But Trump has not done anything for Ukraine yet. All Trump team does is offer gifts to Putin. It's the Russian dictator who they should be demanding thanks from. 12/ END
The 🇬🇧 stands with 🇺🇦!
The US President needs to understand this.
‘a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger. And the President should be prepared for that.’- Love Actually
Powerful and welcome condemnation of Hamas by Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh:
"What we saw today in Gaza is a disgrace to Islam, an act of blasphemy against Allah, and a sin that does not represent the followers of the Prophet, peace be upon him, or the honorable religion of Islam. The path of Islam includes respect even for non-Muslim dead. Today, the Hamas movement has stepped outside the definition of Islam."
@Camer54203Harry Your local parish priest will always be happy to have a chat and you can find details of local parishes using https://t.co/s4syMkPluQ. God bless, Fr Jake
This morning in a school assembly I spoke about courage and what it means to show moral courage. The end of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon is the perfect example of standing up and showing moral courage. Thank you Bishop.
@SpyOnYou007 It isn’t possible to have a proper political debate or conversation when you engage like this and simply insult people. Maybe reflect on that. God bless you, Fr Jake
@Tim276415927688 Not at all. By coincidence, I had been speaking in a school assembly the morning before the Bishop gave her sermon. I spoke about moral courage and how it takes a lot of courage to stand up to our friends when they are wrong. I used a clip from a Harry Potter Film. God bless.
@raffertyova Not at all. By coincidence, I had been speaking in a school assembly the morning before the Bishop gave her sermon. I spoke about moral courage and how it takes a lot of courage to stand up to our friends when they are wrong. I used a clip from a Harry Potter Film. God bless.