Posted on 07/17/2008 12:08:33 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Thursday told a huge gathering of young people that they were inheriting a planet whose resources had been scarred and squandered to fuel insatiable consumption.
His latest appeal to save the planet for future generations came in a address to some 150,000 youths in Sydney after he rode through the city's harbor standing on the outdoor deck of a white ferry as dozens of boats blew their horns.
"Reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth, erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world's mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption," he told the cheering crowd.
The 81-year-old pope appeared in good form as he started the official part of his trip after three days of rest. He chatted with young people on the ferry and stepped off sprightly to receive a bear hug welcome by an Aboriginal on the dock.
He told the young people, some of whom had come from island nations threatened by rising sea levels or drought-hit nations such as Australia, that protecting the environment was "of vital importance to humanity."
--snip--
"It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story -- light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth and living creatures," he said.
In a welcoming speech to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday morning, the pope said: "It is appropriate to reflect upon the kind of world we are handing on to future generations."
--snip--
APOLOGY TO ABORIGINES PRAISED
The pope also praised Australia for apologizing for past injustices to Aborigines, saying it was a courageous move to repair race relations and offered hope to the rest of the world.
Rudd officially apologized to Aborigines in February.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I was talking to Catholics. Re-read my comments.
I don’t hate the Pope, but the arrogance really bothers me. During the little ice age, Pope Innocent VIII claimed that witches were the cause of the weather problems. You’d think they’d learn, but they never do.
Well, I'm not a Catholic -- and I'm been following the global warming/climate change/whatever fraud for years now, and when I find another convert to that foolishness, I see no virtue whatsoever in wasting time in saying what I think of such statements. He has ever right in the world to his opinion, as have I; even the right to be wrong.
I’ll wait and read a transcript rather then believe Yahoo by way of Reuters. We all know how the MSM can misquote or quote out of context.
Yep. And I'll bet you have made one of two in your lifetime, too.
Whatever.
The Pope is arguing against unchecked materialism and its affect on our planet. You don’t have to believe in global warming or be Catholic to see that frenzied consumerism is really just another form of idol worship. It is placing the desire for “things” ahead of God.
I agree with you. I applaud the Pope (and any religious leader) for encouraging us to be wise stewards of the earth and treat it with respect, as it was created by God for us.
One doesn’t need to subscribe to the man-made global warming myth to be a conscientious conservationist.
I can think of much more important issues for the Pope to address. But of course, this topic is certainly much more politically correct than, say, speaking out against abortion or homosexuality.
That's another thing the Pope did wrong IMO.
It's not wise to go to Australia, which has gone socialist, and talk about "unchecked materialism" which is Marxist-speak and red meat for the left.
They love anti-capitalist messages like this in socialist countries. The "affect on our planet" is exactly why the Pelosi's in Congress won't drill, for example, even though its all demogoguery and just a way to keep people from being freed by capitalism.
I would prefer a message conducive to prosperity, not one which is anti-consumer aka anti-capitalist.
Many posters here seem to get the two confused. From an economic perspective, capitalism is good. From a salvation perspective, excessive personal capitalism is worshiping a false idol.
However, such a position takes more than 4 seconds to ponder.
The Pope already speaks out about those things.
Uh, actually those are your words. He did not mention worship.
But he denigrated consumerism. I think a better message in a socialist country would be one which promoted capitalism, not one which lines up with the left and promotes socialism.
See post #52.
Who is to define unchecked materialism or frenzied consumerism? What do those terms mean?
It's nothing new.
A socialist-leaning country doesn't need an anti-capitalistic message from religious or any other leaders. They already voted in the anti-capitalists. Now the Pope needs to preach the blessings of consumerism, not condemn it.
The Pope's message which teaches that it's spiritually superior to be anti-consumer helps their leftist government stay in power.
I have no evidence to suggest that Australians in general are overly materialistic. Their money helped Howard support Bush in the Iraq war...a good thing. Now they've gone anti-capital and anti-War...a bad thing.
I guess some people think the Pope has the definition nailed down.
The common sense part tells me that a new Cadillac Escalade rolling on 22s is unchecked materialism. More generally, defining yourself by how expensive your car is, or how big your house is, shows an unhealthy attachment to material goods.
I think I'll leave it up to the Pope to decide what his message should be.
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