Pope Slams Modern Societies For Godlessness

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI warned Sunday that modern culture is pushing God out of people's lives, causing nations once rich in religious faith to lose their identities.

Benedict celebrated a Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls to open a worldwide meeting of bishops on the relevance of the Bible for contemporary Catholics.

"Today, nations once rich in faith and vocations are losing their own identity, under the harmful and destructive influence of a certain modern culture," said Benedict, who has been pushing for religion to be given more room in society.

The meeting of 253 bishops, known as a synod of bishops, will run from Monday through Oct. 26. The Vatican said that despite Benedict's efforts to improve relations with Communist China, no bishops have come from the mainland, although there are prelates from Macau and Hong Kong.

"Surely they tried, I mean the Holy See tried but obviously they could not make agreement," Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen told AP Television News as he entered the basilica.

"Maybe the Holy See welcomes someone that they (the Chinese) would not allow," he said, adding that China might try to send a bishop who is not acceptable to the Holy See.

Chinese bishops have not been allowed to travel to similar meetings in the past.

Ties between the Vatican and China's communist government have long been strained. Beijing objects to the Vatican's tradition of having the pope name his own bishops, calling it interference in China.

China appoints bishops for the state-sanctioned Catholic church. In recent years, some of those bishops have received the Vatican's tacit approval.

Still, many of the country's estimated 12 million Catholics worship in congregations outside the state-approved church with bishops loyal to the pope.

A document prepared for the meeting rejects a fundamentalist approach to the Bible and said a key challenge was to clarify for the faithful the relationship of scripture to science. A rabbi will address the conference on Monday in what is believed to be the first time a Jew has participated in such a meeting.

Comments

[Fluffnstuff]

The christian god does not exist. If you need proof as to why you shouldn't trust this religion, simply look to its own text. The bible is riddled with errors of all kinds.

[feitctaj]

"Pope Slams Modern Societies For Godlessness"

Oh, yeah, Ratzinger? Well, Modern Societies Slam Pope for Sanctimoniousness. So go svck on that.

[Dystopic]

nice

[Stilts9]

Someone should speak to his haberdasher.

[DoctorWhoDat]

"I like your Christ, I just don't like your Christians".......Ghandi

[Dystopic]

the quote is

" “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

[chronic]

There is a God and God certainly is not religious.

[GerryS]

the pappo is only looking to his next boyo-

[WmC]

Wait till he sees Bill Maher's new movie. I'm sure he'll feel much better about the state of the world then.

[mckinley]

What the Pope is really asking for is more market share.

[Steamboater]

With mysogeny and homophobia at the head of his sermon, the pope needs to start praying about his own godlessness before talking about others. It's a sin to even address the status of the world's poor when you live like a potentate surrounded by gilt and sleep on $$1,200.00 sheets.

[FreedomCorpse]

If anything is aimed to destroy identities in any country is the aim of globalization...but no one will ever hear that out the pope's mouth

[tregibbs]

Organized religion is responsible for all of the hatred, wars and intolerance in ALL societies. The sooner this ex-nazi loses his assumed power, the better off the whole world will be.

The Pope has no business telling any society how to be, especially since he's been indirectly responsible for protecting child molesters from the law. The hypocrisy is staggering.

He should be ashamed of himself.

[SDSL]

"Modern culture" has simply made people aware that the Catholic Church is a deeply patriarchal, misogynistic, perverted, pedophilic and backward religion in many respects.

I am a Christian, but I am deeply ashamed at the Catholic religion for being hypocritical and domineering when it should be humble and accepting of man's nature. That was Jesus' message.

[Dystopic]

Atleast they accept evolution, and science in general

[YeahDonkey]

14 years of Catholic School. and the ex hiltler youth is telling me that Im godless.

sell your riches and give them to the poor
or else shut the hell up before I bring up how you cover up and hide child rapists.

[SimonNZ]

Amen to that.

It's amazing the Catholic Church still feels it has the right to lecture the rest of us about morals when it has a comprehensive history of covering up child sex abuse by it's priests.

[chronic]

May the church say, AMEN!

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...A Men

[expatsteve]

We can only wish our modern society was godless. Religous nuts took over our government in 2,000 and have taken the country into the toilet. The Pope looks ridiculous and should mind his own business. We have all seen what a "godful" group his priests have been. Live by example.

[bachrub]

This man, and his overrated predecessor are the reason I'm an ex-Catholic.