AMERICAN POPE – LEO XIV: Peruvian-American Cardinal Robert Prevost has been elected as the new Pope. To tell you the truth, I’ve never even heard of him. He was created Cardinal by Pope Francis as recently as 30 September, 2023. Born in Chicago, Pope Leo is the first pope from North America. 

What we know about Pope Leo at this point. – From the reaction of the far righteous in America, it seems that he is another ‘Woke Marxist’ Pope. Laura Loomer and Charlie Kirk just both lost their shit about the chosen Pope. He took JD Vance to task about his lack of knowledge regarding Catholic teachings. He also sounds critical of Trumps policies, and if you look at the previous Pope Leo XIII and his attitude towards workers, then I’d say he is more aligned to Francis than Archconservative Raymond Burke, hence the reason MAGA is so enraged. 

Before progressives get over excited, there is a caveat that requires closer scrutiny.

– In 1998, Prevost was elected provincial of the Augustinian Province of Chicago and returned to the United States to assume that position on March 8, 1999. 

In 2000, Prevost allowed Father James Ray, an Augustinian priest, to reside at St. John Stone Friary in Chicago. Ray had been suspended from public ministry since 1991 due to credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors. Although the priory was close to a Catholic elementary school, Prevost did not notify the school administration about Ray. The Augustinians noted that Ray was assigned a monitor while at St. John Stone. Ray was moved to a different residence in 2002 when the US Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted stricter rules for handling priests accused of abusing minors.

Prevost has faced criticism from advocates for clergy abuse survivors regarding his handling of sexual abuse allegations during his leadership in the Augustinian order and in Peru. The advocacy group SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) has alleged that Prevost failed to act against abuse claims involving Richard McGrath, a former president of Providence Catholic High School, allowing him to remain in his position despite longstanding accusations. – Wiki –

VATICAN GOLD MEDAL – POPE LEO XIII: Vin Mariani (French: Mariani wine) was a coca wine and patent medicine created in the 1860s by Angelo Mariani, a French chemist from the island of Corsica. Mariani became intrigued with coca and its medical and economic potential after reading Paolo Mantegazza’s paper on the effects of coca. Between 1863 and 1868 Mariani started marketing a coca wine called Vin Tonique Mariani (à la Coca du Pérou) which was made from Bordeaux wine and coca leaves.

The ethanol in the wine acted as a solvent and extracted the cocaine from the coca leaves. It originally contained 6 mg of cocaine per fluid ounce of wine (211.2 mg/L), but Vin Mariani that was to be exported contained 7.2 mg per ounce (253.4 mg/L), in order to compete with the higher cocaine content of similar drinks in the United States. Advertisements for Vin Mariani claimed that it would restore health, strength, energy and vitality.

Mariani marketed Vin Mariani for a number of ailments, touting its ability to increase energy, appetite and mood. It was promoted as a performance enhancer for creatives and athletes alike, and was endorsed by many notable people of its time. 

Pope Leo XIII and later Pope Pius X were both Vin Mariani drinkers. Pope Leo appeared on a poster endorsing the wine and awarded a Vatican gold medal to Mariani for creating it. Thomas Edison claimed it helped him stay awake longer. Ulysses S. Grant drank Vin Mariani while writing his memoirs towards the end of his life. Jules Méline, the French prime minister, drank the wine despite being otherwise anti-alcohol.

Vin Mariani was apparently an inspiration for John S. Pemberton’s 1885 coca wine drink, Pemberton’s French Wine Coca. Pemberton’s recipe was very similar to that of Vin Mariani, including the coca leaves. It was differentiated only by the inclusion of the African kola nut, the beverage’s source of caffeine. 

Later that year, when Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia, passed prohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing a carbonated, non-alcoholic version of his French Wine Coca. He called the reformulated beverage Coca-Cola, for its stimulant ingredients coca leaves and kola nuts. – Wiki –

May 08, 2025 7:11:39 pm