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HagiaSophia
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The papal preacher Fr. Cantelessma speaking:
Referring to the Eucharist as “the sacrament of non-violence,” the Franciscan preacher said that nevertheless, “the meekness of Christ does not justify-- or rather, makes all the more strange and odious-- the violence against him today.”
Father Cantalamessa said that religious faith was being treated as a “scapegoat” for social problems. Punctuating his words with emphatic gestures, Father Cantalamessa said that “it is not just a matter of pressure to remove the crucifixes from public places, and to remove the crèches from the Christmas folklore.”
That pressure, he said, has been “followed up with novels, films, and plays in which the figure of Christ is manipulated on the basis of the discovery of fantastical and non-existent documents.” This assault on Christian faith, he said, “is becoming a new literary genre.”
The preacher appointed by Pope John Paul II said that “the tendency to clothe Christ in the fashions or the ideology of the time has always been with us.” But in the past, he continued, “the causes were serious, and worthy of man.” Today, he said, “in our age, obsessed with sex,” the manipulation of Jesus is both more trivial and more grotesque.
Despite the hostile attitude toward Christianity in modern society, Father Cantalamessa said, “the mystery that we are celebrating during these days encourages us to break away from the attitude of persecution, and not to build walls and bulwarks between ourselves and our society.” The faith, he said, gives hope to the believer, making him confident in his ultimate triumph and his eternal destiny.
cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=36095
Referring to the Eucharist as “the sacrament of non-violence,” the Franciscan preacher said that nevertheless, “the meekness of Christ does not justify-- or rather, makes all the more strange and odious-- the violence against him today.”
Father Cantalamessa said that religious faith was being treated as a “scapegoat” for social problems. Punctuating his words with emphatic gestures, Father Cantalamessa said that “it is not just a matter of pressure to remove the crucifixes from public places, and to remove the crèches from the Christmas folklore.”
That pressure, he said, has been “followed up with novels, films, and plays in which the figure of Christ is manipulated on the basis of the discovery of fantastical and non-existent documents.” This assault on Christian faith, he said, “is becoming a new literary genre.”
The preacher appointed by Pope John Paul II said that “the tendency to clothe Christ in the fashions or the ideology of the time has always been with us.” But in the past, he continued, “the causes were serious, and worthy of man.” Today, he said, “in our age, obsessed with sex,” the manipulation of Jesus is both more trivial and more grotesque.
Despite the hostile attitude toward Christianity in modern society, Father Cantalamessa said, “the mystery that we are celebrating during these days encourages us to break away from the attitude of persecution, and not to build walls and bulwarks between ourselves and our society.” The faith, he said, gives hope to the believer, making him confident in his ultimate triumph and his eternal destiny.
cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=36095