Posted on 04/15/2006 1:03:31 AM PDT by MadIvan
Pope Benedict said last night that the world was in the grip of Satan and prayed for mankind to open its eyes to the "filth around us".
At an Easter ceremony that recreated the passage of Jesus Christ to the crucifixion, Benedict XVI lashed out at man's "decadent narcissism".
He said "a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan".
The Good Friday service, held at the Colosseum, showed the 14 stages of Christ's suffering and was designed to allow worshippers to share in the agony of Jesus. During the first and final stage, the Pope carried the cross.
The prayers, written by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Vatican City's vicar general, were approved by the Pope, and reflected his strongly conservative outlook.
"Surely God is deeply pained by the attack on the family," the Pope said. "Today we seem to be witnessing a kind of anti-Genesis, a counter-plan, a diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family."
He also expressed fears about genetic modification, and said it was "insane arrogance" to play with the "grammar" of creation.
The meditations were designed to invoke a feeling of man's sinfulness ahead of the dark hours of Easter Saturday. Bodies are "constantly bought and sold on the streets of our cities, on our television channels, in homes that have become like streets," he said.
Accumulating wealth was "robbery" when it "prevented others from living". He deplored "the division of our world into belts of prosperity and belts of poverty".
The Pope said society valued "immorality and selfishness as if they were new heights of sophistication".
The downbeat message echoed the Pope's words at the same ceremony last year, when, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he led the Way of the Cross in place of the ailing Pope John Paul II.
In those meditations, he compared the Church to "a boat about to sink, taking on water on every side". He lamented "how much filth there is in the Church", and said that "a Christianity which has grown weary of faith has abandoned the Lord".
Since his election almost a year ago, the Bavarian-born Pope has surprised many with his gentle public persona. At yesterday's service, however, his ferocity was a reminder of why he was once nicknamed "Cardinal Rottweiler".
John Allen, the author of two books on Pope Benedict, said: "Is this the real Pope Benedict re-emerging? He has projected a very different tone in the last year, but that does not mean that he has changed."
On Thursday, the Pope poured scorn on revelations within the recently published Gospel of Judas, a fourth century text which is sympathetic to Judas Iscariot and whose crumbling fragments claim that Jesus instructed Judas to betray him.
The Pope celebrates his 79th birthday tomorrow, Easter Sunday.
Mr Allen said he would adopt a lighter tone at an open-air Mass at St Peter's.
No I was taught that you don't bitch about a situation unless you are willing to do something about it.
Yes, the Church has wealth. Priceless artifacts. Would you suggest that they sell them all to help the poor? That would take care or the here and now, but what of the next generation of poor? What would be left to help them? Remember Christ's words, "The poor you will always have with you."
BUMP!
Thanks for posting this, Ivan. Even if it is written to provoke the kind of response it got. All I can say is "Truth hurts." There are some very sore people out there. Thankfully, through His death and resurrection, we can all be healed.
I love this Holy Father.
The people of these countries made a choice- a choice to reject God's way of doing things in favor of man's way of doing things.
That's why Europe is a sad shell of it's former vitality, and that's why the people of Latin America are installing God-hating socialists in thier governments as fast as they can. They made the decision to forget God.
And that's why all of them will continue to fail and to suffer.
Make sure if you ever need help you avoid getting it from the Catholic Church and keep a card in your wallet that if you're ever in an accident and in need of medical treatment that you are not to be taken to a Catholic hospital.
Be sure to post an image of your KKK membership card, Jack.
Excellent point. And for what it's worth, these countries all went through periods of anti-clericalism during their transfers from monarchy to republics or democracies in which they created strong separations of church and state. Socialism is their religion, man-centered, government controlled, from cradle to grave.
When the Pope cleans house then it will be important. Till now Cardinal Law still retains his position at the Vatican.
The pretender gets a toss out of heaven before Christ returns to set things right. The Bible says the whole world except for the 'elect' will whore after the pretender "peace peace peace maker", thinking he is Christ.
The man has nads and is willing to stand up and speak the truth. God bless him.
I also heard Savage speak about the Pope's speech. Savage is odd sometimes though. This time he spoke the truth about the family and gays. It's interesting, three weeks ago he was slamming the Catholic Church for encouraging immigration for money and now he thinks the Pope's words are the new "10 Commandments", as he said. Jeesh.
I hope Pope Benedict has many healthy years ahead of him. We don't need a wimp Pope in this era.
"Decadent world is in the grip of Satan, says Pope"
Thus it has always been, and likely to be for quite some time. We are no more decadent now than in the history of mankind.
The good news is, there is plenty of work for the Pope to do.
The thing about capital accumulation though does bug me a bit. The Catholic Church knows a thing or two about asset accumulation - it allows it to perform sustained good works. Same goes for most free capitalist societies.
The socialism of which the Pope appears to advocate (if one can believe what is reported here) is what is truly Satans work. No biggie, he's Pope, not an economist.
Viva il Papa!
Good people are connecting rapidly.
That is a wonderful picture for Easter. Thank you. I love it Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox UNITE!!!! A wonderful message on Easter. Thank you.
That is our Pope! Looking at Pope pic who carry the cross on Good Friday, he look so serious about our faith. Let us pray rosary for HIM...Unite the Church!!!
I am not Catholic, but I believe this Pope clearly sees the writing on the wall. He's sees Western civilization being squeezed at both ends: by the cultural rot of secular hedonism on one side, and by the surging Islamists on the other. The picture isn't pretty, but fundamentally it is all about a crisis of faith. Cultures that don't have sufficient confidence in themselves to even have children don't last very long. Cloaked in religious allegory, his words may sound kooky to many, but the message is sound and on-target.
And now more than ever we need to stand together.
I knew it wouldn't take long for the rabid bigots to show up. Boor old benighted Jack Chick and his whackaloon tracts.
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