Posted on 12/22/2017 2:37:18 PM PST by ebb tide
The decorations on the Vatican Christmas tree in St. Peter's Square this year are devoid of Christian religious symbols, a veteran Vaticanist reports.
"Look," a friend of Dr. Robert Moynihan pointed out to him. "There are peace signs, and the oriental yin-yang signs, but no angels, no depictions of the Magi, no images of Mary, nothing but universal symbols.”
"We have not seen a single religious symbol, not a single Christian symbol, on the tree."
Close up of the 2017 Vatican Christmas tree showing a yin-yang symbol. Dr. Robert Moynihan
Continued Moynihan: “And I too saw that there seemed not to be a single Christian symbol on the tree, unless the star on the top of the tree could be considered a sign of the star that led the Magi to the Christ-child.”
The report came in Moynihan’s December 20 eLetter, which recounted his running into two friends recently while walking through St. Peter's Square. Moynihan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Inside the Vatican magazine.
Moynihan said his friends were alarmed about the tree decorations.
“Many nuns in Rome say they are shocked and are very worried about the message these decorations are sending to the youngest,” Moynihan’s friend said. “I wish I knew the Pope's secretaries to tell them to tell the Pope what is on the Square, if really the Holy Father wants to go and to bless such things. The worst thing for all these sponsors would be for the Pope not to come to the Square on December 31.”
The tree is a gift to the Vatican from Poland. It was Pope St. John Paul II who established the tradition of Christmas trees in St. Peter’s Square decades ago.
Media reports by and large on the ornaments followed the Vatican report’s lead, mentioning that the ornaments were created by children receiving treatment at several Italian hospitals and children from the Italian Archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia, which was rocked by earthquakes in 2016.
News reports discussed the ornaments being made of synthetic materials to stand up to winter weather, but not the ornaments’ designs.
Moynihan’s friends told him that in past years, the Christmas tree had been decorated with brilliant white and yellow balls, denoting the Vatican colors.
The two said as well they had written a letter to the Government of Vatican City, protesting the decorations on the Christmas tree.
Controversy continues to swirl around the Vatican Nativity for its particular approach to using nudity. Facebook flagged the image of this year’s Nativity display for being “sexually suggestive or provocative.”
The tree and the Nativity scene are set to remain in St Peter’s Square until the evening of Sunday, January 7, 2018, when the Church celebrates the feast of the Lord’s Baptism.
Not too long ago, the christmas tree was considered of pagan origin. Now, it isn’t Christian enough.
So-called Peace Signs are explicitly anti-Christian, not universal.
Thanks ebb tide.
Nice yin-yang doodad they’ve got there, very inclusive.
Any Catholic that is shocked by this is fast asleep.
It’s origin is pagan, Teutonic to be precise. I accept them as what they are to us, however. Others may differ and do, for instance my late paternal grandparents. No tree, no nothing really, they didn’t celebrate Christmas because it was not a feast or holy day in the Bible. They did soften when it came to the grandkids though, small presents. They’d give their time by volunteering for necessary functions on Christmas Day. Despite their beliefs sounding harsh to many today, they were kind, giving, shirt-off-their-backs sort of people. Michael Medved can go to you know where for his opinion on that, I still remember that column. He’s an abject idiot.
I’m not Catholic, ( but my next-door-neighbors were Catholic when I was a kid, ) ... ( oh, and my uncle converted to Catholicism ... ) but I have to say that I am actually shocked that the Vatican would put a Yin-Yang symbol on their Christmas tree. It seems to me abstractly and fundamentally shocking. I feel as though I am more Catholic than the Pope, only by virtue of my incidental associations.
It’s not decorated with condoms. I’ll chalk it up as a win.
Thankfully he’s no spring chicken; there is hope. If God doesn’t guide the hierarchy to straighten it out, then maybe plummeting enrollment and collections will. There are far less “Catholics” than claimed by the Church - and in the West that number continues to shrink.
When I was a pagan I went all out for
Christmas, I never have since I beome
a beliver.
Nothing wrong with celebrating the birth of our Saviour. Now that you are a believer you can truly appreciate His birth. Granted we do not know the exact day, but we all together celebrate His wonderful birth on December 25th. I think Christmas is especially meaningful to children. The angels celebrated His birth, why shouldn’t we? The Bible has quite a bit to say about His birth. It is very, very important!
True, as long as we make it about him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.