Santa Muerte / Saint Death

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I thought I’d start this thread so people could speak out against Santa Meurte, and post links regarding the Catholic Church’s condemnation of this pseudo Saint.

This has been blowing up lately on other forums, and news sites do to the resent “outrage” these idolaters are having over the destruction of these fake Saint statues in Mexico.

Please post official Catholic Church condemnations in this thread, and discuss.
 
Here’s a primer on the current situation:

google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jqfNhDmadO52vyj274r_ZlmsQOkwD97CKD0O1

Last time I was in Mexico, I noticed that statues of Santa Muerte were widespread. The average Catholic in Mexico is very poorly catechized (like the US or maybe worse) and I don’t think that most of “Saint Death’s” worshipers see the conflict with their Catholic faith. (Notice the Santa Muerte statues being sold below in the 3rd and 4th columns of figures)



Of course, this is mostly because the indigenous religions present in pre-Christian Mexico never really went away when Mexico was evangalized. Even though most people are “offically” Catholic, pagan religious influences are ubiquitous and obvious.

This isn’t a factor in America because the colonizers effectively exterminated or isolated the original inhabitants, so their culture had little impact on ours. In contrast, the native Mexican population was mixed with the Spainards, so the native culture (and native religions) never went away.



(The above photos are not mine.)
 
:eek: Is that a real patron saint? I should’ve taken that name when I was confirmed. 😉

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood
 
“Santa Muerte” is definitely not a saint in the tradition sense. At the bare minimum, a saint must be a real person who died and went to heaven. The “Santa Muerte” figure does not represent any historical person, nor do her followers claim as much.

This difference alone should be enough to suggest that something weird is going on here, some kind of pre-Christian religious tradition that has bubbled up in an incoherant way,
Blade_and_Blood said:
:eek: Is that a real patron saint? I should’ve taken that name when I was confirmed. 😉

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood
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MarcoPolo said:
Then why would anyone follow them?
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Consider it from the perspective of a Santa Muerte follower: You have little formal education in your faith (or anything else for that matter). Instead, your beliefs come from the traditions of your family, friends, and community. One day, a friend or co-worker approaches you and tells you all about about “Santa Muerte”, a new saint who grants incredible favors to her followers. You have a strong faith but don’t consider yourself to be a “good Catholic”; maybe you’re living with your girlfriend or dealing drugs. Unlike the other saints, Santa Muerte isn’t perfect either and she promises not to judge you.

So, you say a few prayers to Santa Muerte and you soon receive the favors that you requested (probably by concidence!) Maybe your mother recovers from a serious illness, your business has a profitable day, or you recieve a lucrative ransom for the businessman that you kidnapped. Now a believer in Santa Muerte, you lay an offering of flowers, tequila, or gold on her altar to repay her for the favor, and you become a new evanglist for her.

You still consider yourself a Catholic (because only the Catholics believe in saints) and Santa Muerte becomes a devotion, in the same way that other Catholics are devoted to the Divine Mercy or Saint Jude. Your priest is probably preaching against Santa Muerte, but you hardly ever go to Mass anyway so you never hear it.

This is how a folk religion gets started.

There is an interesting element of “bargining” in the Santa Muerte devotion which resembles how many American Catholics believe that a certain “miracle prayer” will guarantee results. You often see these on CAF, with a note that a certain prayer or novena has “never been known to fail”.
 
News posts and Wikipedia (probably referencing them - no citation is given) are saying the Catholic Church has condemned the Worship and or Veneration of Saint Death, has anyone stumbled across anything documenting this? It’s handy Apologetics if we can locate it.

Thanks Bretheren, good posts all around.
 
Of course the church does not approve of the Santa Muerte cult – it is completely nonsensical. Is there a specific reason why you are looking for this? I can’t imagine that those who worship Santa Muerte would show much interest in official church documents.

A belief like this would be eradicated through peer pressure (which is where the belief came from anyway.)
mawst said:
News posts and Wikipedia (probably referencing them - no citation is given) are saying the Catholic Church has condemned the Worship and or Veneration of Saint Death, has anyone stumbled across anything documenting this? It’s handy Apologetics if we can locate it.

Thanks Bretheren, good posts all around.
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ack said:
Of course the church does not approve of the Santa Muerte cult – it is completely nonsensical. Is there a specific reason why you are looking for this? I can’t imagine that those who worship Santa Muerte would show much interest in official church documents.

A belief like this would be eradicated through peer pressure (which is where the belief came from anyway.)
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My plan isn’t to show the Cultists the official documents, but having some references would prove handy. As I stated at the beginning of the thread, this is a big issue on other apologetics forums I debate on. Having some quotes would be nice.
 
mawst said:
My plan isn’t to show the Cultists the official documents, but having some references would prove handy. As I stated at the beginning of the thread, this is a big issue on other apologetics forums I debate on. Having some quotes would be nice.
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In what way is this an issue on the other websites? Are people outraged that the Catholic Church is destroying a “saint”, or are these Protestants who use Santa Muerte as evidence that the Catholic Church is pagan?
 
ack said:
In what way is this an issue on the other websites? Are people outraged that the Catholic Church is destroying a “saint”, or are these Protestants who use Santa Muerte as evidence that the Catholic Church is pagan?
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I deal with the protestants, and no, I don’t agree with them, but they act like the Church is “in on it” and hasn’t spoke out, so that’s what I’m after.
 
mawst said:
I deal with the protestants, and no, I don’t agree with them, but they act like the Church is “in on it” and hasn’t spoke out, so that’s what I’m after.
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ArticleSanta Muerte is no saint, say Mexican bishops
The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Mexico City condemned devotion to Santa Muerte “Saint Death” that masquerades as authentic Catholic Christianity.
Thursday, November 06, 2008 By Martin Barillas
*
According to a statement by Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico City on November 3, 2008, popular devotion to the so-called “Saint Death” is not compatible with the Catholic faith*.FULL ARTICLE
 
MarcoPolo said:
ArticleSanta Muerte is no saint, say Mexican bishops
The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Mexico City condemned devotion to Santa Muerte “Saint Death” that masquerades as authentic Catholic Christianity.
Thursday, November 06, 2008 By Martin Barillas
*
According to a statement by Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico City on November 3, 2008, popular devotion to the so-called “Saint Death” is not compatible with the Catholic faith*.FULL ARTICLE
Click to expand...
The basic information in this article is accurate, but I disagree with some of it (such as the unfounded assertions that the Santa Muerte cult is older than Christianity itself.)
 
ack said:
“Santa Muerte” is definitely not a saint in the tradition sense. At the bare minimum, a saint must be a real person who died and went to heaven. The “Santa Muerte” figure does not represent any historical person, nor do her followers claim as much.

This difference alone should be enough to suggest that something weird is going on here, some kind of pre-Christian religious tradition that has bubbled up in an incoherant way,
Click to expand...
I know this is neither here nor there, but there is actually a patron saint of the occult. 😃 (I forgot his name though. I think it started with an “L”.) I thought that was cool.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood
 
All patron saints of the occult are patrons of leaving the occult and dropping occult practices like hot rocks.
 
Sean Hannity had a segement on his “Beyond Belief” show on this very subject. This cult and the worship of saint death grew out of the need for revenge and retaliation in drug trafficing. Cultists ask st death to avenge the death of family and friends murdered by violence. The origins of this cult started in Mexican prisons… no kidding, worshippers leave ciggarrettes, beer, and photos of those they want killed at the foot of the robe-dressed skeleton…Last I read this Cult group was making threats to bishops and priests for not honoring this st death…

In Christ!
 
Blade_and_Blood said:
I know this is neither here nor there, but there is actually a patron saint of the occult. 😃 (I forgot his name though. I think it started with an “L”.) I thought that was cool.

Ironically Yours, Blade and Blood
Click to expand...
Blessed Bartholomew Longo
 
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