Fact of the Day: Papal Disagreement

When his wife Catherine of Aragon did not produce a male heir for King Henry VIII, the King wanted a divorce. When the Pope refused to grant him a divorce, King Henry VIII decided to break from the Catholic Church forever and divorced anyway.  

Fact of the Day: Separation of Church and Kennedy

During the 1960 presidential election, some Protestants feared that Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy would take orders from the Pope because he also happened to be Catholic. Under pressure, Kennedy made an famous speech in Houston before a protestant audience affirming his duty to separate church and state. Kennedy would later win the election in a very close race against Richard Nixon.  

Pope Francis Says All Good People Are Redeemed

While I've always had some criticism for the papacy, but I was pleased to hear some of the comments Pope Francis made recently. In short he said that "doing good" is what unites humanity together and everyone is redeemed if they do so. He even extended that view to not only agnostics (which I am) but atheists as well. It's wonderful to see a highly respected religious leader try to make peace for all faiths and ideologies. Which is breath of fresh air for me; as hearing bigoted men like Billy Graham and Pat Robertson spout non-sense has made me a little jaded to say the least.    

Fact of the Day: Date of Christmas

While the Bible gives no exact date for the birth of Jesus, it was officially declared December 25th by Pope Julius I in the year 350. 

Fact of the Day: Two Firsts as Vice President

Vice President Joe Biden is the first Delawarean and Roman Catholic to hold the office. 

Fact of the Day: World's Smallest Nation

While many incorrectly consider it part of Italy, Vatican City is an independent state which qualifies it as an actual nation. It's the smallest nation in the world in both size and population. 

A Look Into History: Blaine Amendment

 The Blaine amendment was a proposed addition to the U.S. Constitution. It was first started by President Ulysses S. Grant who proclaimed that tax dollars should never go to religious institutions and schools. Grant proclaimed that church and state should remain forever separate, and that religion is a private matter only. Congressman James G. Blaine introduced the amendment in congress which would of read as follows:

"No State shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; and no money raised by taxation in any State for the support of public schools, or derived from any public fund therefor, nor any public lands devoted thereto, shall ever be under the control of any religious sect; nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations."

The amendments were initially targeted at the rise of Catholic schools due to immigration.  The Blaine amendment failed to gain enough votes in Congress, and ended right there. However afterwards, many state constitutions adopted their own Blaine amendments.

A Look Into History: U.S. Presidential Election of 1928

With President Coolidge sitting out on re-election left the GOP field wide open. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover managed to gained a good following and nabbed the nomination.  During his acceptance speech he said "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of this land... We shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this land." Which is pretty ironic since the Great Depression was looming close-by in the future.

A Look Into History: Pope Benedict XIII

Pope Benedict XIII became Pope in 1724 until his death in 1730.

Fact of the Day: Pizza, Baseball, and the GOP

Tom Monaghan had the perfect story for a rising CEO. Started out with one crappy pizza joint and within his lifetime, he saw it expand to millions and millions of dollars. He owned both Domino's Pizza, and the Detroit Tigers for some time. However he sold both of them, and later took an interesting choice in life. 

Fact of the Day: Her Daddy Was Pope

Pope Julius II had a daughter out of wedlock. 

Her name was Felice della Rovere, and she was a quite powerful and wealthy woman in Italy. 

Fact of the Day: Young Pope

The youngest Pope was believed to be Pope Benedict IX who could have been as young as 11 or as old as 20 at the time of becoming Pope. 

Pope Beautifies Late Pope John Paul II

Pope Benedict has beautified the late Pope in a ceremony in the Vatican. The fastest person ever to do so, waiting very shortly after the 5 year waiting period. He will most likely get sainthood.