[Cardhu]

"The young people had spoken: lots of red for Benedict, with hardly any green. It was an apt assessment of the 21st papal visit, before it had even come to an end. The Vatican journalists who'd tagged along on the journey seemed stunned. So much openness, discussion and criticism would be unthinkable back in Rome. "

Imagine a real time poll of catholics attending a Papal Mass and the results were totally negative for the Pope

[pogo101]

"Is the practice of homosexuality a sin?" Of course not. The youths raised their red sticks.

This isn't something we vote on, at the ecclesiastical level I mean. What is popular is not always what is right or Catholic. (And that's coming from a non-Catholic.)

[sayuncledave]

A quick search on google shows enough to indicate that Fräulein Ehlers has more than a bit of an agenda when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church. No offense guy, but, meh. Not impressed.

[koraz]

I am not surprised. It shows how poorly parents and the church have been in educating our children on Church doctrine. It would like to see a clear message from our Church leaders that the views they hold are inconsistent with the Church and that they shouldn't be calling themselves Catholics. I am tired of all these cafeteria catholics and would prefer a much smaller Church of true believers.

[appleharvey]

If you don’t believe in the teachings of your church, leave it. I did that with the Presbyterian Church 39 years ago. I haven’t had one moment of regret.

[Cicero]

Sorry, but all this article says is that tens of thousands of young protestors turned up to diss the Pope.

How many of these jerks were even Catholic in Name Only? Not very many, I would venture to guess.

[sarasmom]

Why would Protestants attend a Catholic Mass with the Pope presiding?(is presiding correct?)

Just curious, because I would think it a bit odd for non-Catholics to attend such a special event, and quite rude of them to “vote” an opinion of the service, Catholicism, or the Pope at such a venue.
I am not Catholic, but I am aware there are many symbolic rituals associated with Mass. Never having attended catechism, I have no idea what most of them mean.I have attended several Catholic services as an invited guest, and followed a few simple, polite rules for non-Catholics.
1.Be prepared to kneel when everyone else does, or sit way in the back.
2.When in doubt of the proper responce, stay silent.
3.Don't participate in the communion under any circumstances.Even devout Catholics are not required or expected to participate in every communion.It's complicated.

[markomalley]

One thing really important to consider is the source of this article: Spiegel.

We make a very serious mistake if we rely on media like the New York Times, Newsweek, CNN, or MSNBC for reliable news about religion. These news media simply don’t provide trustworthy information about religious faith—and sometimes they can’t provide it, either because of limited resources or because of their own editorial prejudices. These are secular operations focused on making a profit. They have very little sympathy for the Catholic faith, and quite a lot of aggressive skepticism toward any religious community that claims to preach and teach God’s truth.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia

Those words apply particularly with a leftist, secularist rag like Spiegel.

In other words, I would no more believe a critical article out of that rag than I'd believe an article about Sarah Palin written in Newsweek.

[marshmallow]

Imagine a real time poll of catholics attending a Papal Mass and the results were totally negative for the Pope

I didn't see any questions which related to the Pope. They were all directed at various aspects of Catholic teaching which this Pope didn't invent and certainly won't alter.

Reminds me of religion class silliness back in the crazy '70s when I was in high school.

"Hands up all those who think the Church is wrong about contraception."

"And those who think the Church is right......"

"The 'nos' have it......motion carried".

A group of 16-year olds have spoken! Let that be a lesson to the Church!

This article rises to about the same sophomoric level.

[Cronos]

It’s incredible that your group, Cardhu — why are Mormons so interested in Catholicism? In fact obsessed is the word..

[Cronos]

"Is the practice of homosexuality a sin?" Of course not.

no matter how much your group may want it, we Christians will still consider homosexuality a perversion.

[dangus]

I’m guessing any serious Catholics would have nothing to do with this, therefore, the participants were largely protesters. The dead giveaway is the homosexuality question.