Pope Warns Children Over Celebrity Culture

The Daily Telegraph ^ | 9/17/10 | Martin Beckford

[marshmallow]

Fame and fortune do not bring happiness, the Pope told thousands of schoolchildren in a warning about Britain’s celebrity culture.

The Pope said he hoped there were “future saints of the 21st century” among the audience at an event celebrating Roman Catholic education in Twickenham.

He encouraged them to develop skills and admitted that money is useful, but told the pupils that pursuing worldly success alone would not give meaning to their lives.

The pontiff, speaking on the second day of his historic state visit to Britain, also said to the schoolchildren that they should not “narrow” their education to exclude ethics, while acknowledging that religion too must not ignore science.

Benedict arrived at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham, after 10am, having spent his first night in England at the Wimbledon residence of his ambassador, the Nuncio.

Dozens of well-wishers lined the narrow suburban street along with protestors, mainly individuals rather than official groups, bearing placards criticising the Vatican’s stance on homosexuality and its attitude to the clergy abuse scandal.

In the courtyard his motorcade was met by dozens of children in school uniform, all of whom had been searched by police officers, who waved flags and cheered. The Pope raised his arms to greet them, kissing one boy who was held aloft, and was introduced to dignitaries including Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, and Vince Cable, the Business Secretary and local MP.

After speaking to guests in the Catholic college’s chapel Benedict travelled by Popemobile around a running track where 4,000 children from church schools around the country along with religious groups and politicians were waiting for him, in what was billed as the world’s biggest school assembly.

At an event compered by the Blue Peter presenter, Andy Akinwolere, two choirs on a stage sang hymns including a verse of...........

[marshmallow]

The only hypocrisy is yours.

The naysayers deeply resent the Pope's profile as the most world's most visible and articulate spokesperson for the Christian religion. Not to mention the most respected. In certain quarters, some of them supposedly "Christian", he's also the most hated. On occasions such as this when he makes state visits and lectures the princes of this world, that resentment becomes impossible to contain.

This leads to accusations that he himself is a celebrity, although he isn't but his high profile is such a source of irritation that rationality goes out the window. This in turn leads to rejection or ignoring of his timely message to young people in favor of peripheral issues such as souvenirs and accusations of hypocrisy.

The hypocrisy of the naysayers is to be found precisely in the fact that they agree with the Pope's fundamental message about the dangers of the "celebrity" culture but such is their personal animosity towards him that they cannot bring themselves to support his ministry even when they agree with his message and instead attack him.

Tragic.

[circlecity]

Well, now we know which celebrity you worship. Don’t forget your tee shirt!

[trisham]

Amen, friend.

[marshmallow]

Well, now we know which celebrity you worship. Don’t forget your tee shirt!

Go on, say it........"on this issue, the Pope is right"...... :-)

You know it.........I know it.

Give it a try.......you won't burst into flames.

[little jeremiah]

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Whether anyone is a Catholic or not, the Pope spoke the truth to these children. People who hate the Pope or Catholicism should realize that despite its human caused flaws (and every other religion has them, btw), Catholicism continues the fight for absolute moral standards, without which the entire earth would become hell in one generation. People of faith need to (IMHO) stop fighting with people of other sects, denominations and religions (leaving aside Islam as usual) and unite to fight the Marxists, hedonists, militant atheists and other assorted tyrants and butchers who want to kill babies, the sick, the elderly, the helpless and enforce homosexualism on the whole world.

Fighting with other believers in God and moral absolutes is exactly what will best help those promoting evil.

[trisham]

Thank you, lj.

[OpusatFR]

It’s like living in the South in the ‘30’s. Some people can’t see past their bigotry.

[Alex Murphy]

1. I just went on line to look for “pope hat.” The very few references I found were pejorative, which makes it odd that a Catholic would be using it.

The question of "foam miters" came up in the context of papal visits/souvenirs a couple of months ago. What caught my attention was this description of "official merchandise" selection in a 1995 article, which called out foam rubber miters specifically:

...Committees at both archdioceses had to approve each papal product. "People were trying to get us interested in papal coffee mugs and foam rubber miters," said the Rev. Leslie Ivers, director of the New York Archdiocese's office for the papal visit. "These are things that we don't think are in good taste."

"Why would(n't) a Catholic want to own a foam miter?" The archdiocese responds by saying "we don't think they're in good taste". And a t-shirt is? Why not a miter? What about a miter with the Pope's picture on it? And what's wrong with calling it a "Pope hat" anyway? Some Catholics use slang to refer to the Pope as "papa" - why not slang to refer to his traditional headgear?

I think it's safe to assume that the availability of foam miters at any papal appearance is purely "unofficial" at best. I think it's also safe to assume that vendors anticipate a demand for them, since in 1995 they tried to get the archdiocese's blessing (pun intended) to sell them. Would an archdiocese sue competing vendors for selling "unauthorized" souvenirs from the Pope's visit?

I get the impression that the more traditionalist Catholics among you would consider buying or wearing a foam miter to be a disrespectful act. It certainly diverts revenue away from archdiocesan efforts to pay for the Pope's visit via "official" souvenirs. Would you consider that disrespectful as well?

2. Couldn’t find anything on that picture of Asians in YMCA t-shirts and foam miters.

Having read that vendors in fact sold them at the 1993 appearance, and wanting to sell them in 1995, I went looking for pictures. I found the picture in question on the blog of Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic parish, Brighton, UK. The same entry carried another picture:

3. Everything you think you know about Catholicism is wrong.

I know that a foam miter on a parishioner is less tacky than a rainbow umbrella hat on a priest.

[RnMomof7]

I wish he had lectured the parents that encourage this..

[circlecity]

"Give it a try.......you won't burst into flames."

I'm not the one who needs to be worrying about that.

[little jeremiah]

People who get their jollies bashing Catholicism, the Pope and all things Catholic do not realize the great good the Catholic Church does. They have no clue. Either that or they would like a world steeped in immorality and barbarism.

If people don’t get over religious bigotry, they’re going to find their homosexualist/euthanizing/fascist/Moslem overlords a lot meaner than the mean Catholics.

[little jeremiah]

Hopefully they listened as well.

[marshmallow]

The overarching theme of the Pope's visit to Britain is the right of religion to be seen and heard in the public square in the face of an increasing secular hostility. This may be the last opportunity for this pitch to be made in the UK before the noose finally tightens around those who hold to traditional Christian beliefs on issues such as the sinfulness of homosexual acts, the nonexistence of such a thing as homosexual "marriage" and the sinfulness of abortion, etc. I would have thought that this was an issue of importance to all Christians, not just Catholics.

In Britain, we're almost at the point and maybe have already arrived, where punitive measures will be taken against persons and organizations who espouse these beliefs.

In all honesty, the Pope is the best person to make this pitch. Who else has the gravitas?

Given this, doesn't it seem a little ridiculous to be getting bent out of shape over the issue of souvenirs? Is your concern for the question of religious freedom less than your concern that the Pope might actually have some success in his campaign and that the Catholic Church in general and the Pope in particular might somehow be benefited or enhanced in public esteem as a result?

Britain is on the edge of the precipice. Can't you drop the animus for just this once?

[Alex Murphy]

Britain is on the edge of the precipice. Can't you drop the animus for just this once?

Who, me?

[marshmallow]

Is the post addressed to you?

[Alex Murphy]

Is the post addressed to you?

Which post of mine contained "animus"? Was I supposed to max out my credit card on souvenirs from www.papalvisitstore.com before posting on the thread?

[marshmallow]

Which post of mine contained "animus"?

The gist of your intervention on this thread is that the Pope himself is a part of "celebrity" culture.

If that's not your point, what is?

[Alex Murphy]

The gist of your intervention on this thread is that the Pope himself is a part of "celebrity" culture. If that's not your point, what is?

Ooooh, I dared to "intervene" on an open thread. Animus!

[marshmallow]

Ooooh, I dared to "intervene" on an open thread. Animus!

And the point of your intervention was.............??

To say something positive about the Pope? If so, then lay it on us.

I missed it.

[Alex Murphy]

And the point of your intervention was.............?? To say something positive about the Pope? If so, then lay it on us.

The next time I consider "staging an intervention", remind me that I'm required to genuflect before posting. And to do that properly and officially, I'll need to purchase a souvenir pair of official papal kneepads (now available at www.papalvisitstore.com) beforehand.

Unless you'd like to loan me your pair.