Posted on 04/20/2005 8:08:14 AM PDT by blitzgig
After the dust has settled -- after the processions are over and the Masses have been said, after the new pope has accustomed himself to new apartments, new tasks, new vestments -- Benedict XVI will face an extraordinary list of problems, ranging from the bioethical to the geopolitical. But for this German pope, among his toughest tasks by far will be the battle for acceptance on the continent of his birth.
It sounds paradoxical, given the European splendor in which the church has been cloaked for the past several weeks -- the scenes of Rome, St. Peter's Square, the Sistine Chapel -- but nevertheless it is not Africa, or Latin America, or even the rebellious United States that poses the greatest set of difficulties for the Catholic Church at the moment. It is Europe itself.
By this I don't mean merely that church attendance is falling in Italy and Spain, as is often reported, or that birth control is widely used among European Catholics. Although there is plenty of religious apathy in Europe, it is far less powerful than the antipathy directed not just at the Catholic Church in Europe but at religion in general. It's not that Europeans think the church is out of touch or backward, but that they -- or rather an influential group of intellectuals and politicians -- heartily despise everything about it. Some of this was visible yesterday. Within hours of his election a BBC profile had already speculated that the new pope had honed his rhetorical skills in Nazi Germany (he deserted the Wehrmacht at age 15) while some on the German left were describing his election as a "catastrophe." I expect we'll hear far worse insults in the next few days.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Europe needs a "Great Awakening". Perhaps it will actually happen. I think part of the motivation for this choice of Pope was the anti-Christian situation in Europe, today.
Europe needs a "Great Awakening". Perhaps it will actually happen. I think part of the motivation for this choice of Pope was the anti-Christian situation in Europe, today.
Europe needs a "Great Awakening". Perhaps it will actually happen.
It is happening, and it has a crescent at its front.
To Anne Applebaum of the Washington Post:
It is NOT the task of the Pope to seek popularity and acceptance, but to be a "sign of contradiction," if need be - and the need is very great, indeed! What John Paul II said about "new ideologies of evil," and what Benedict XVI is now saying about the "dictatorship of relativism," is a very cogent analysis and powerful insight into the mindset and motivation of those "liberals" who pretend to represent the "better instincts of better people everywhere."
When John Paul the Great was criticized by people left and right, as Benedict XVI is going to be criticized, perhaps even more so.
(DIDN'TCHA know, for example, that he was in the Hitler Youth, for GODSSAKE!-- never mind that such membership was COMPULSORY in Germany of that era - and error --) This criticism, incidentally, comes largely from the loudmouthed red-diaper babies who suffer from the preternatural stupidity of terminal adolescence.
As one of our Supreme Court justices long ago said, "Sunshine is the best disinfectant."
I watched CNN this morning and the local chirstophobes attack Jack Cafferty, who I assume is Catholic since he defended the church.
Interesting article. Thanks for posting it.
When all else fails, read the instructions (CCEL > Bibles and Commentaries)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.