Fox News host, a Catholic, slams the Pope for his CBS interview

 

Pope Francis Slammed by Fox News Host: 'Churches Are Empty'

Story by Ewan Palmer

A Fox News host has attacked Pope Francis after the pontiff called out climate change deniers during a television interview.

Rachel Campos-Duffy, co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, questioned why Pope Francis discussed climate change during an interview with CBS News when "churches are empty."

During the exclusive interview with CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell, his first with a U.S. TV network, Pope Francis hit out at "foolish" climate change deniers who don't believe the evidence for human-caused global warming.

"There are people who are foolish and foolish even if you show them research, they don't believe it," he said. "Why? They don't understand the situation or because of their interest, but climate change exists."

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Campos-Duffy suggested there are more pressing issues that the leader of the Catholic Church should have discussed.

"Pope Francis used 1st US TV interview to talk climate change??!! I am in Italy now. The churches are empty (Mass attendance WAY down under his papacy) & I rarely see children in Italy," Campos-Duffy wrote. "Birth rate collapsing. Woke Francis has failed the Church."

The Vatican's press office has been contacted for comment via email.

Pope Francis has frequently spoken out about the dangers of climate change.

In an April 22 social media post to correspond with Earth Day, the official Pope Francis X account wrote: "Our generation has bequeathed many riches, but we have failed to protect the planet and we are not safeguarding peace. We are called to become artisans and caretakers of our common home, the Earth which is 'falling into ruin.'"

Elsewhere during his CBS News interview, Pope Francis called for worldwide peace amid ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

"Please. Countries at war, all of them, stop the war. Look to negotiate. Look for peace," the pope said via a translator.

Pope Francis added that Palestinians are suffering from "horrifying levels of hunger and suffering" amid Israel's war on the militant group Hamas, while noting children in Ukraine are also suffering amid Russia's invasion.

"Those kids don't know how to smile," the pope said. "I tell them something, but they forgot how to smile. And this is very hard when a child forgets to smile. That's really very serious. Very serious."

Pope Francis also had a message for those who say they cannot see a place in the Catholic Church for themselves anymore.

"I would say that there is always a place, always. If in this parish the priest doesn't seem welcoming, I understand, but go and look elsewhere, there is always a place," he said. "Do not run away from the Church. The Church is very big. It's more than a temple…you shouldn't run away from her."

An extended version of CBS News' interview with Pope Francis will be broadcast on 60 Minutes on Sunday, May 19, at 7 p.m. ET.

Fox News Anchor loves the Bible including Love Stories of the Bible

 

Fox News’ Shannon Bream on love and friendship in the Bible

CNA Newsroom, May 13, 2023 / 08:00 am

While it’s often said that the Bible is a love story, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent Shannon Bream believes there’s a lot more to it.

In her latest book, “The Love Stories of the Bible Speak: Biblical Lessons on Romance, Friendship, and Faith” (Fox News Books), Bream digs deeper into several love stories found in the Bible and what they can teach us not only about romantic relationships but also about friendship.

Noting that we are called to love everyone, the introduction to the book mentions St. Paul’s exhortation to “love your neighbor as yourself.” 

“I checked — there are not any exceptions,” said Bream, who speaks often and openly about her Christian faith, in a recent interview on The World Over with Raymond Arroyo. “Sometimes we’re the difficult person to love, but often we have to deal with people like that in our lives. It could be a co-worker; it could be a family member; it could be a neighbor. Whatever it is, God didn’t say, ‘Oh you get a pass for them.’ He says you have to love them the way you love yourself.”

When asked why she chose love stories of the Bible to focus on in this, her third book about the Bible (her previous two books focused on women of the Bible), Bream responded: “Some of [the Bible love stories] are really beautiful, whether you look at the original design for Adam and Eve, and man and woman, and what God had said about them.”

“Sometimes I think he [God] gets lost in the shuffle,” she continued. “People think, oh the Bible’s an old oppressive book and it has outdated notions about marriage. But man, it’s full of really good advice.”

From the Song of Solomon to Samson and Delilah, Arroyo asked what these stories say about the nature of married love.

“God is not surprised about our passion for each other or that we would have desire for each other,” Bream responded. “That’s how he created us, and I feel like he’s endorsing it all throughout the Bible but really … it’s clear that he wants us to nurture the romance in our lives.”

Regarding friendship, Arroyo pointed out that in the book Bream mentions how recent studies show that men are suffering from a “friendship recession” — that a greater percentage of men have few if any close friendships anymore.

“I think we’re created to be in community, and those numbers are so sad to me and really kind of shocking,” she said. “I talked to a number of pastors and priests about that number, and about friendships and why we aren’t better about those in modern society. They said we have not placed a value on them like we used to.”

Bream noted that the places where people (especially men) used to gather, such as the Elks Lodge or at Boy Scout meetings — even at churches — are not necessarily places where they gather anymore.

“We’ve let some of our houses of worship go; people aren’t gathering there in the same ways,” she observed. “So I thought listen, Jonathan and David; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego [were] people who stood together through very difficult circumstances. We all want those kinds of friends but it means we have to be those kinds of friends.”

Watch Arroyo’s full interview with Bream below.

https://youtu.be/M241FDukCo4