- Pope Benedict XVI attends the monastery of El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial
Posted on 08/21/2011 7:39:16 AM PDT by bronxville
Madrid - Pope Benedict XVI warned in a speech to more than one million pilgrims in Madrid that marriage is between a man and a woman and cannot be dissolved...
"The Lord calls many people to marriage, in which a man and a woman, in becoming one flesh, find fulfilment in a profound life of communion," he told the young pilgrims.
A Vatican spokesman said on Sunday as many as 1.5 million pilgrims had gathered to hear the pope. Marriage was a project for true love, deepened by sharing joys and sorrows, and marked by "complete self-giving", said the pope.
"For this reason, to acknowledge the beauty and goodness of marriage is to realize that only a setting of fidelity and indissolubility, along with an openness to God's gift of live, is adequate to the grandeur and dignity of marital love."
The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the sweeping liberal reforms brought in by Spain's Socialist government in recent years, including easier access to abortion, gay marriage and fast-track divorce.
The attitude of the pope, spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, has sparked anger among the gay and lesbian community in Spain, however.
Spanish police on Thursday foiled plans by 100 gays and lesbians to stage a kiss-in before the pope in Madrid, blocking the protesters before they could meet up.
Read more: http://www.indiavision.com/news/article/international/221091/pope-defends-marriage-between-man-and-woman/#ixzz1VfqtJrMD
- Pope Benedict XVI attends the monastery of El Escorial in San Lorenzo de El Escorial
If you care about some boy or man, some girl or woman who thinks of themselves as "gay," you find you don't want "lightning" for them, but enlightenment.
Something I want for myself, too, darkened as I often am. Pray for me, if I may ask.
And thanks for spotting that fine and thoughtful statement from atheist Ana Munoz.
"This one is not far from the Kingdom."
I don’t wish this.
The Spanish press is now saying about 2 million people attended the mass. This is about twice as many as were expected; even with the earlier number, Madrid was expected to make about $100 million on the event, so it looks as if they made even more than that. Judging by the spending I saw going on today, I´d say they made a lot more than that!
A lot of the unanticipated people who attended were adults from all over Spain. This has been a real shot in the arm for the Spanish Church, and people I have talked to have said that they don´t feel defensive and afraid anymore, they´ve seen their fellow believers from all over the world, they´ve seen the Pope and have listened to him and seen his faith, and suddenly they´re feeling confident in a way they haven´t felt ever before, or certainly not for almost 50 years, in the case of older people.
While Vatican II had many good things about it, unfortunately it was often interpreted as a rejection of the past and even of traditional faith, and this inspired the left to embark on an all-out campaign to destroy a weakened Church. The Spanish do things in a very whole-hearted way, so it has been particularly vicious in Spain, and the addition of gays to the mix has really put it over the top. So this was a wonderful moment for the average Spanish believer, and I don´t think the left has the upper hand anymore.
Well the Pope simply told the Spanish to vote out those who support this same-sex marriage garbage in the next elections in the coming months. I get the gut feeling that the Spanish are going to set the stage to send packing, with other nations, their socialists.
From what I have seen on last night’s encore on EWTN of the prayer vigil, I have never seen up close to personal, via tv so many happy faces of young people as I had last night. This morning towards the end of Sunday mass, my parish priest got an e-mail from one of a group of 9 young people telling how their experiences in Madrid went. They have been blessed indeed. Also I feel asleep during the adoration part of watching the vigil and the music was so peaceful. If you must fall asleep, do so watching an adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrement.
This was truly a NEEDED shot in the arm of a hurting Church and in special way, in Spain. I say this as a person who grew up under the shadow of VC II.
Well you have been sharing what I have been saying around in the faith threads. The socialists in Spain are on the way out and once the conservatives come in, this type of nonsense as to what was seen by the anti-Pope protesters, including the radical gays will no longer be tolerated. Could be a sign of future elections to come in a number of western countries, including America in the next few years when the socialists are voted out.
Amen...
wonderful news and pictures. Thank you for posting this
More likely what will happen is that this is the begining of a major “house cleaning” in a number of western governments, and just in western Europe, starting in Spain, but in the USA come next year. The socialist era is over.
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