Posted on 09/11/2002 5:32:02 AM PDT by Pern
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul, marking the anniversary of the attacks on U.S. cities, branded terrorism "ferocious inhumanity" but asked for prayers that God would show mercy and forgiveness for the attackers.
The pope also urged the world to change in situations of injustice that spurred the desire for revenge.
"We pray for the victims today, may they rest in peace, and may God show mercy and forgiveness for the authors of this horrible terror attack," he said in Polish, according to a translation provided by Vatican Radio.
The pope was speaking in unscripted remarks in Polish during a special general audience dedicated to commemorating the victims of the attacks by hijacked aircraft on New York and Washington landmarks.
The service included mourning music and a peace prayer.
"Terrorism is and always will be a manifestation of ferocious inhumanity, and because it is, it never will resolve conflicts between human beings," he told some 10,000 people in the Vatican's vast auditorium.
"Violence can only lead to further hatred and destruction."
But he called for changes in "scandalous situations of injustice and oppression, which continue to afflict so many members of the human family, creating conditions that are favorable to the uncontrolled explosion of the thirst for vendetta."
After his address, special prayers were read in several languages, including Arabic, for the victims of the attacks and for peace among religions.
MORE THAN 3,000 DEAD
More than 3,000 people died in the attacks on New York's World Trade Center, U.S. military headquarters at the Pentagon on the Washington outskirts and in a hijacked plane that crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
The prayer read in Arabic asked believers of all religions to "firmly reject every form of violence and commit themselves to resolving conflicts with sincere and patient dialogue" while respecting different histories, cultures and religions.
Speaking in a somber voice in his address, the pope said injustices had to be tackled through urgent and resolute political and economic actions.
He said that when fundamental rights were violated in oppressive situations, "it is easy to fall prey to the temptation of hate and violence."
But one year on, the pontiff said it was not enough to commemorate the victims and pray for their families.
"We also want to interrogate the consciences of those who planned and carried out such a barbarous and cruel action," he said.
"One year after September 11, 2001, we repeat that no situation of injustice, no feeling of frustration, no philosophy or religion can justify such an aberration."
"On this very sad anniversary, we raise to God our prayer so that love may be able to take the place of hate, and, with the help of all people of good will, that concord and solidarity may take root in every corner of the earth," he said.
"Laz'-a-rus, come forth." (John 11:43, KJV)
It is true that this is not a prayer for salvation. However nothing seems to indicate that it is impossible that Lazarus believed and was saved after he was resuscitated (certainly it would be a dramatic witness to Lazarus himself). So by extension could it be possible for a message of salvation to be transmitted to Lazarus' soul while it was in the "wherever" between his first death and his resuscitation? The Bible does not really address itself to this question.
Our Lady said: "most people go to purgatory, after that most go to hell. Very few go straight to heaven."
I am not Catholic, but there was nothing wrong with what the pope said.
Do you believe Jesus would have wished the attackers to burn in hell?
His Holiness is only asking what Jesus would have asked.
This is easy. OT Canon are those book which were Canon to the Jews - those book written either by a prophet or written during the time of a prophet(s). NT Canon are those book known to have been written by an Apostle or a companian of the an Apostle.
The Jews NEVER considered the Apocryphal books to be Canon
Parkinson's dz is a progessive loss of motor function, rigidity, and involuntary continuous tremor - etiology unknown. The main pathologic feature occurs in the dopaine secreting neurons found in the basal ganglia of brain neclei. The mechanisms that lead to abnormal motor affects are also unknown.
Cognitive functions are normal.
That would be extremely risky, since I don't know when I'm going to die.
You noticed that didja? Heh. So did the early princes.
Here was the deal. You got baptized at birth so that
if you were killed too soon, you still got into heaven.
The problem was, they believed sin committed after
baptism was much worse that before baptism because
you were supposed to be in some sort of grace.
Well, that sure cut into being able to sin as an adult.
So the solution was to invent Purgatory. Now you
could sin in a state of grace without going directly
to hell because you would be given an oppotunity
to have someone back home pay indulgences to
the church to hustle you out of Purgatory and
into heaven. It was a win-win for everybody!
Certainly the terrorists manufactured and/or printed and/or delivered the "book",so to speak,but I think it highly unlikely they authored it.Far more likely the "authors" are alive and well and continuing to write lines for a script that may result in further,future acts of terrorism and violence.
No,I think the Pope was calling for prayers for many of us who unwittingly,with little malice or intent,support,for example,an NGO for refugees that require all women take birth control pills.This before they can access the antibiotics needed to combat their infection.
The Pope can only take every opportunity to invite us to look at ourselves through the eyes of Christ and ask us all to pray that God forgives and has mercy on those of us who may be blinded to our own complicity in evil.
I don't know what you are thinking of, but it is in error. Purgatory is a place of purification prior to entering Heaven. There would be absolutely no point for a damned person to go to Purgatory. Those who die in a state of mortal sin go to Hell. They are never purified. Those with no unrepented sin or attachment to sin or in need of temporal punishment for sin go straight to Heaven, cause they are already pure. Those who are "saved," but require further cleansing, go to Purgatory before entering Heaven.
SD
To whom are we addressing the prayers? God is not bound to time. He can make our prayers efficacious, even if it is an efficacy that violates our experience with time. I hate to think that any prayer is unproductive.
So is the dead person - and this is more important - his life is OVER, and his chance GONE. If we say "I pray that he found repentence before he died," then that is valid, but only in the realm of hoping, not for effecting change.
Here we more or less agree. Thanks for the discussion.
SD
Most people who make a big deal out of the fact that the Catholic Church finds fault with Capitalism, do so in a way to imply that the Church believes Socialism is a better way. If that was not your intention, I apologize. I did want to make the point that the Church approves of neither extreme.
SD
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