[betty boop]

Have you ever seen a bunch of kids at a rock concert? Same phenomenon. It's called hero-worship. It has nothing to do with Catholicism. What was preached that was particularly Catholic at this World Youth Day? This is actually a dangerous, not a good, thing. It's called charisma and Hitler had it in spades. They wept for him, too. It has nothing to do with message. If it did, we'd see some carry-through. There isn't any.

In my observation, children are less easily fooled than adults. They respond to what is genuine, and do not rationalize away things they find "inconvenient," as many adults do. Yes, the Holy Father has charisma "in spades": the charism of Christ. Your comparison of John Paul II to Hitler, ultima ratio, is gratuitous and tendentious. IMHO. FWIW.

Before you accuse this holy man of being some kind of dangerous pied piper cynically misleading the innocents, it might be useful for you to read some of his books. You could start with Crossing the Threshold of Hope. As for the "carry through" of the Holy Father's message in the lives of these young people: Operations in the spirit are not things that you or I can directly observe. But in a world gone mad, people -- perhaps especially young people -- hunger for the sanity of eternal truths. Which you will find articulated in the referenced work, provided you have the eyes to see, the ears to hear. May the grace of God be with you.

[ultima ratio]

As a matter of fact, I've read Crossing the Threshold of Hope. i found it indecipherable. And I did not compare the Pope to Hitler. Apparently you read the word "Pope" and the word "Hitler" and you put them together in your head. I was talking about the danger of hero- worship. A mother wrote to say her son benefitted spiritually--and I backed off--since she seemed for real. But if you want to believe I think the Pope is like Hitler, it's a free country, I can't stop you from twisting my words.