I saw the Pope!

[mustang84]

I went to Palm Sunday mass today at St. Peter's and saw the Pope! One of our instructors knows someone here in Rome who was able to get us tickets so we could have seats in the piazza rather than standing, so I was in the middle near the obelisk. I was surrounded by mostly Italian speakers, but there were people from Poland, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, and a ton of other countries there (flying flags). The mass was long...about 3 hours...and the sun was beating down on my neck, but it was definitely an experience. I'm not that religious of a Catholic, but being there and hearing singing echo throughout the whole piazza and hearing tens of thousands clapping at the very end gave me goosebumps.

I'll update tomorrow or Tuesday with some pictures that I took.

[Satty]

Thats pretty cool, visiting Rome (well, Italy and the rest of Europe in general) is something I would love to do, seems like you're having a great time. I will admit that I was kinda hoping that you would say that you saw the Pope in the waiting room at Jiffy Lube or in the produce section at Wal-Mart or maybe seated at a corner table at the Olive Garden.

[trinacriabob]

I was kinda hoping that you would say that you saw the Pope in the waiting room at Jiffy Lube or in the produce section at Wal-Mart or maybe seated at a corner table at the Olive Garden.

:rotflmao:

That's cool. I've been to the Vatican a total of 5 times or so, including one climb to the top of the cupola which is a must.

Never got to see the Pope. In fact, with today being Palm Sunday, I had written down Mass on my daily schedule. Then, I thought about the 2 hour factor. I said nah. I'll dutifully eat fish next Friday night, be good and go to Easter Mass.

Glad to hear you're having an awesome time. This is something that makes for a lifetime of memories. Study abroad for us (U of Ill goes to Versailles, outside of Paris) wasn't compelling because it extended the time in school, derailed me from in-state tuition, and all the jerks in my class were going. Plus, I had lived in Europe between 4 and 8. But your stories all kick-ass!

[Sixty8panther]

I'd love to visit the Vatican but ave lost any/all respect for my faith. (Roman Catholicism)

[mustang84]

Pictures

[mustang84]

Thats pretty cool, visiting Rome (well, Italy and the rest of Europe in general) is something I would love to do, seems like you're having a great time. I will admit that I was kinda hoping that you would say that you saw the Pope in the waiting room at Jiffy Lube or in the produce section at Wal-Mart or maybe seated at a corner table at the Olive Garden.

Lol! Maybe one of these days I'll see 'ol Benedict waiting at Elelttrauto to get his oil changed on the Popemobile.

[Sixty8panther]

If you get some one-on-one time with him you might want to

ask what he thinks about the hundreds of coverups here in

the states involving molsted kids. Every time a priest was

exposed as having sexually abused a child he was moved to

another parish and the whole process repeated itself.

Disgusting.

I for one am glad that my parents were not too religious, or

it could have happened to me. There were dozens of priests

here in just the Boston area that molested hundreds of kids.

Sorry to spout negativity but I have lost all respect for any

amount of religion. I'm spirtual but not religious.

[mustang84]

If you get some one-on-one time with him you might want to

ask what he thinks about the hundreds of coverups here in

the states involving molsted kids. Every time a priest was

exposed as having sexually abused a child he was moved to

another parish and the whole process repeated itself.

Disgusting.

I for one am glad that my parents were not too religious, or

it could have happened to me. There were dozens of priests

here in just the Boston area that molested hundreds of kids.

Sorry to spout negativity but I have lost all respect for any

amount of religion. I'm spirtual but not religious.

The priests in my parish were always nice...I don't know if it was the rural setting or what, but they were all good guys that were easy to talk to. My last year of serving for Sunday morning mass was when I was a freshman, and the priest at that time would always talk golf with me before it was time to go.

But I'm not very religious anymore and haven't been for a number of years...pretty much ever since college. I'm starting to see religion more as merely an organization to gain power over those that are weaker. Architecture history teaches you a lot of interesting tidbits of fact you didn't know before...there were a lot of atrocities committed during the Middle Ages in the name of religion, and it continues today with the bigotry that runs rampant in organizations such as Westboro Baptist Church. I believe that everything I have acheived is because of myself and my will to do so...studying science, physics, and biology in general makes the stories of the Bible seem merely fiction; I have a problem with those that take the Bible literally, because the Bible is a collection of stories that were likely originally written by those with a desire to force their political agenda upon others. Stories of redemption in the afterlife as long as you have absolute faith in the Church...it was a great way to acheive control over the poor masses who had nothing else to live for.

There's a reason that religion in Europe and the United States has been declining over the few decades...it's just not as relevant today in the 21st century. I'm a very moral person...I enjoy helping others and am kind and considerate. It's part of the reason I liked my Catholic parish back at home...we held all kinds of fundraisers and other charity events. Religious Ed at my parish wasn't about beating the Bible into our heads...it was about understanding the world around us and making a better place of it, whether that meant helping at the local nursing home or collecting canned goods for the food pantry. But when I hear someone say that a Muslim or a Jew or an atheist is going to Hell because they are not Christians, I have a problem with that. It's a mindset from a time when we didn't understand the world as well as we do today...so we used religion as a way to comfort ourselves from that which we couldn't explain or didn't want to understand.

Religion is something that divides rather than unites. It pits people against one another and breeds intolerance. In our globalized society today, it's simply not as relevant.

[aaaantoine]

I'm a very moral person...I enjoy helping others and am kind and considerate. It's part of the reason I liked my Catholic parish back at home...we held all kinds of fundraisers and other charity events. Religious Ed at my parish was about understanding the world around us and making a better place of it, whether that meant helping at the local nursing home or collecting canned goods for the food pantry.

This is what's called Servant Evangelism.

One charitable deed, done joyfully, will do more to right the world than a thousand words of preaching.

[trinacriabob]

I for one am glad that my parents were not too religious, or

it could have happened to me. There were dozens of priests

here in just the Boston area that molested hundreds of kids.

Wow. I went to 16 years of Catholic school (grammar + HS + bachelor's degree). Nothing ever happened to me. Agreed - this thing has been a black eye for the church. I seriously think that priests ought to be able to be married and that women should be admitted to the priesthood. (Our two closest allies, the Episcopals and/or the Greek Orthodox) allow these things. In grammar school, I just did my work. In high school, one could actually talk to them. In college, the few teachers that were priests or nuns treated you like an adult and were wonderfully helpful and easy to talk to. In fact, I have one priest friend in Portland, who transferred there from the Northeast, that is so "salt of the earth" and commonsensical, that I call him up and take him to lunch when I go up to there to visit my Mom to get his feedback on things.

On the flip side, I don't have a uniform respect for the clergy. I have met some bad apples. When I lived in ATL, I went to a monied parish on the north side. Every one of the priests was as much of a jerk as the parishioners. It made me puke. I have also experienced some gross inconsistencies at confession as to the reaction I've gotten for some "transgressions."

I don't know. I am ok with the content of the faith. I am NOT that ok with the bureaucracy and dogma that accompanies the Catholic Church. But, in reality, I think other religions would suit me even less. I just try to choose Catholic parishes and events that suit my sense of what is "correct."

The Catholic church erred gravely with how the molestations were handled. A lot of people are mad. The Archdiocese of Portland OR has declared bankruptcy, as have others. Contributions and being named as beneficiaries of estate plans are way down because people don't want their money going to lawyers to defend these suits. Can you blame them?

Edited April 2, 2007 by trinacriabob