200,000 Turn Out for Today's Angelus
Here are pictures and details from the Associated Press of the huge (200,000) turn-out for today's Angelus led by Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Square. The huge turn out is a show of support for the Pope after his appearance at a local Roman university was cancelled due to protests by a small group of faculty and staff. This is a much larger attendance than normal.
In reaction, Invitations are reportedly flooding in for the Pope to speak at various Italian universities including Galileo's own university.
"Benedict referred to the issue on Sunday, saying he had put off the visit "against my will" but that the climate surrounding his appearance had made his presence at the school "inopportune."
He noted that he had a long history in academia - he taught theology in Germany for many years - and that he was greatly attached to the "love for the search for truth, for confrontation, for frank and respectful dialogue for reciprocal positions" found in university life.
"As a professor - shall we say, emeritus - who has met with so many students in my life, I encourage all of you, dear university students and professors, to always be respectful of other people's opinions and to search for truth and goodness with a free and responsible spirit."
In recent years, however, there has been a debate in the United States about whether Catholic universities should invite speakers, such as politicians, whose positions differ with Catholic Church teaching.
The pope was interrupted several times by applause from the crowd, which included students carrying banners that read "University Students," "Sapienza" and "At University for Truth" as well as Italian politicians. Students were also out in force because Sunday marked the Diocese of Rome's celebration of the Day for Catholic schools.
The pontiff thanked them all for turning out in such large numbers."
posted by Sherry W @ 7:47 AM
11 Comments
11 Comments:
Hello Sherry,
What if you're wrong and 2 Thessalonians 2:11 is in the so-called "New Testament" as a direct and purposeful warning to Christians about the dangers of money, religion, and politics (a.k.a. strong delusions (three unclean/foul spirits))? How will you make amends to me for worshipping lies and helping the great deceiver(s) to oppress the poor and innocent?
Time is indeed short!
Religion is FlimFlam spirituality !!!
It is beyond amazing that these "snakes in fancy clothing" still have the gall to continue to defend the abomination that was/is the Inquisition. Now we have a Grand Inquisitor Pope (a.k.a., Glory of the Olives...) who personally defends much of the Vatican-Papacy's most heinous and despicable activities.
Why does anyone need anymore proof that religious leaders are lying through their teeth to save their own skins? Christianity has been decisively proven to be a Roman deception, and they know the end is nigh!!
Speaking of more proof...
Here is comprehensive proof that the symbolism of many ancient texts, canons, and concepts is an advanced and extremely ancient spiritual & philosophical technology that predates all extant religions and mystery schools. Consequently, here is proof, beyond disproof, that all three so-called "Faiths of Abraham" are purposeful deceptions.
Here is Wisdom...
Peace...
Seven Star, are you really for real??? Are you so completely perfect that you can spew out garbage like that?
All I can say about Benedict cancelling the speaking engagement is that it has backfired on the protesters very very badly.
Stephen Sparrow
Stephen:
I have no idea who Seven star hand is but I didn't think anyone would take him seriously. Of course, if he makes a habit of dropping in, I may change my mind.
but I think you are dead on - it is the protesters who are looking like the censors here.
Seven Star Hand,
I appeal to you're sense of truth. And I encourage you to seek it and to speak what you believe is true, but I also encourage you to test it... from my experience Truth is freeing and converts people, changing their lives from one of doldrums and strife to one of essential peace and joy.
I'm former atheist and a philosopher/former physics student (5 yrs in college) so I know how to make arguments that other people can't refute and if they do I know how to make them look like idiots. And with my background I also know that almost ANY position is defensible if you have certain views about the universe.
So I do not wish to argue with you but to ask you to do something so much easier and equally so much harder. Look at what your beliefs about truth are, analyse them and assess if your beliefs about truth match what you see in the truth that you know. I.e., if you believe "truth" is enslaving, then does what you know to be truth enslave or set free, if you believe truth (after the initial internal conflict) ultimately brings peace, does what you know to be truth bring peace or does it bring frustration, anger and hatred about others who oppose you? If you believe truth enlightens you and that others need enlightenment, then when you spread what you believe is truth to others, do they become enlightened or do they dismiss you as an oppressor and not an enlightener? If you believe truth brings joy, then do others find joy in the truth you know or do they find malice and oppression?
For me I believe truth is freeing, joyous, peaceful and enlightening though I also believe when confronted with the truth, it clashes each time with our own egos and we reject it. But it infects us, until at some point it becomes so powerful that we can no longer decide to reject it and remain at peace with ourselves. It is at that point that we have to choose to be honest and humble and accept the truth or be prideful and arrogant and reject it.
And for me, it is hard to decide when I do one or the other. Yet in time I can look at my life and decide am I at peace and do I bless everyone I meet or do I curse every person I meet? Do I find joy with being in silence for an hour? Or can I not stand to be silent for a minute? And find every moment not distracted torturous?
I encourage you to continue seeking truth, speaking truth, and assessing what you think is truth.
I will do the same, though I must say I have met Him, and He is Glorious!
Blessings and Praise,
Sirhair
Sirhair,
Thank you for your response to the original commenter.
Pope Paul VI once said, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and, if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses." (#41 Encyclical on Evangelization)
I'd love to hear/read your "witness" that involves "meeting Him and He is glorious"...
Is there a site on the Web where you've recounted your witness? A fellow, one-time-physicist, apologist and apprentice of The Truth wants to know.
Peace,
Ed Keefe
Hi, everyone...I am in the opinion that we should not allow public figures advocating abortion to address at Catholic institutions even if the topic is beyond the scope of sexual morality. The foremost reason for such "censure" would be the preservation of the Catholic character of the institution...With the Holy Father's experience and call to "be always respectful of other people's opinions and to search for truth and goodness with a free and responsible spirit", do you think I have to modify my opinion? Or is there a way to reconcile it with the pope's challenge? Thanks for your thoughts.
" ... it is the protesters who are looking like the censors here."
I would disagree. It was the pope who pulled out of the appearance. The protesters seemed to want some sort of dialogue on their perceptions of the 1990 talk on Galileo.
I don't disagree the protests were clumsy, but I think it's a caricature of their views to say they censored the pope in any way. He still published the speech. Lots more people read it than would have. But B16 missed his intended target audience.
All sides lost something, I'd say.
Todd
Todd:
I would agree that all sides lost something here - but I didn't say that the protestors "censored" the Pope since they don't actually have the objective power to do so.
I do think that their strident protests backfired on them and gave them the appearance of seeming like de facto censors in the eyes of many. That the political fall-out is not what they intended and has largely aroused sympathy for the Pope.
I think the pope's PR on this was just about perfect, withdrawing from the appearance at just the right time.
However, it would have appeared more fearless for the Holy Father to go to La Sapienza anyway, possibly address the concerns of the protesters personally. How much would it take for him to add a paragraph?
As it happens, two polarized sides can each take a degree of satisfaction from the incident. Anti-religion folks can say they ousted the pope from a speaking engagement, and loyal Catholics can have a pep rally.
I wonder how many peppy Catholics even know what the gist of B16's talk was?
Todd
Ed,
(Funny, as my name is Edward, an Ed as well).
I don't know of any particular post yet that recount my personal conversion... but perhaps this is a good time to put it into writing.
It's funny to me to realise how many thousands of people have heard my conversion story, that I've yet to really write it down. It's something I'm somewhat embarrassed by. Because I feel like it's so unexplainable.
But I did write a basic form of it in a creative non-fiction story I wrote for a college class... http://vobisestspe.blogspot.com/2006/03/one-day.html
The last few paragraphs are the story, and if you choose to read the whole thing, mind you it's a bit clumsy and written in such a way as to capture a whole year in one day.
Blessings and praise,
edward
Edward:
Yours is an amazing story (!) and I'm delighted that you have shared it with us and with so many before. But God does that sort of thing more regularly than we know, I think. It takes different forms for different people. We don't hear these stories most of the time because, unlike you, most of us don't share our lived journey with God with one another.
A number of us are Catholic today because, without any background at all, not even the faintest idea that any one believed such a thing was possible , we walked into a Catholic Church and experienced a presence of God that we had never felt before even though we spent most of our lives in church.
And we've heard other versions of the story I've blogged on this at some point last year but this story bears repeating. I heard it from a woman who had just been received into the Church the week before:
The turning point for her was an evangelization retreat which she attended at a local parish in Twin Falls, Idaho at the invitation of a Catholic friend:
She told me that when the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, (Benediction being a regular part of the this retreat which was designed for Catholics) she felt a powerful spiritual energy issuing from the Host. "What is that?" she gasped to her friend.
Before that moment, she had never imagined what the Church teaches about the Eucharist could be true, that Jesus is really and fully present. But by the time the retreat ended, she had come to believe her Catholic friends were right. A year later, she was received into full communion.
And this is not addressed to you, Edward, but is a question in general:
Why should we expect Jesus, if he is truly present, in all his fullness, through the Eucharist *not* to manifest his presence and love in ways that capture our hearts and minds beyond the obvious sacramental forms.
He isn't a prisoner of the Eucharist. He has chosen to be among us in many ways, especially through the Eucharist. And wherever he is, he may reach out to encounter us in swift, startling ways that speak to our deepest questions and desires.
That's why so many evangelization processes involve Adoration as well as sharing with one another. The one who took the initiative with the woman at the well, who confronted Peter and Andrew while they were fishing, who healed the woman with the hemorrhage when she simply touched the hem of his garment, is still among us and his purpose is still the same.
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