Massive crowds for Pope’s audience

The Pope is under massive attack in the Italian press.  Today 50,000 people came for the Wednesday Audience! It was really hot here today.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in SESSIUNCULA. Bookmark the permalink.

25 Comments

  1. Joe says:

    Fr. Z., what was/is the nature of the Italian media’s onslaught against the Holy Father? (Any photos of the audience?)

    AMDG,

    -J.

  2. RBrown says:

    The Pope is under massive attack in the Italian press.

    Doesn’t this prove the thesis of JRatzinger that the Church’s attempt at detente with secularism has been a failure?

    Actually, now would be a good time to release the Motu Proprio. Under attack by the secular media? Respond with a unique act of papal authority (cf Pius IX and the Republicans).

  3. danphunter1 says:

    Father,
    I hope the Swiss Guard have gas masks and tear gas grenades on hand.

  4. Andy S. says:

    Maybe he should start giving his speeches from the turret of a panzer.

  5. Syriacus says:

    “Any photos of the audience?”

    Mmmh… …What about THIS :

    http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/wl/033002pope/im:/070523/481/rom16005231431 ?

    :-))

  6. I am not Spartacus says:

    We Christians are Blessed to have such a Pope. In such a confusing world, other folks are starving for leadership like we have. Pray for our Sweet Jesus on Earth and thank God for him. We are Blessed way beyond what we deserve

  7. Michael says:

    Leaving aside the pilgrims, how can this many people show up in St. Peter’s Square on a Wednesday? Don’t they have jobs?

  8. Well, IF the Holy Father is going to be under massive press attack, it’s gratifying to see that the public are going to swell their visible support for him. Perhaps that will be the only thing that will quiet the ravening wolves both outside the Vatican and IN it, who seek to do him ill, and the rest of us with him.

    I was reading yesterday about the heresy of Arius, and how his supporters EXILED Pope Liberius, and killed many orthodox bishops and priests. It may come to it again, so be prepared. Perhaps that was what St. Malachi’s prophecies about the popes are all about. I don’t know. Personally I think once a prophecy is known it can become self-fulfilling. I think it’s much better to keep it secret and see if it really happens. One way or another we’ll find out, but if any of us have a way – and the internet is an EXCELLENT way to visibly support the Holy Father, we’d better be doing it, and not just amongst ourselves, but writing letters to newspapers, politicians and everyone else we can find to make it clear that the Pope has more legions than they can deal with.

    The church founded on Peter cannot fail, but it can be seriously damaged to the perdition of many. Let us make our voices heard, both in prayer and in warning. Fortes in fide: strong in faith.

  9. mark says:

    Demerzel, is this what you’re looking for: It’s Saturno time!

    Also from Amy’s site: Photos

  10. Edmund Campion says:

    Father John,

    Care to comment on this comment by Phil Lawler from Catholic World News on May 23, 2007?

    “another piece of the puzzle?
    Posted by: Phil Lawler – Today 12:10 PM ET USA

    If I were in the business of watching Vatican developments (which I am), and…

    If I were particularly interested in developments regarding the liturgy (which I am), then…

    I’d certainly be interested to hear about another pending appointment for someone who took a special interest in the liturgical tradition, and whose views on that topic had earned the Pope’s praise.

    And if that new appointment was to the Pontifical Council for Cultural Patrimony, I’d be especially interested, because only a few weeks have passed since the appointment of Abbot Michael John Zielinski, OSB, another man with a strong interest in traditional liturgy, to the same pontifical council. I’d be showing a newfound interest in that pontifical council– which, ordinarily, is not exactly the most newsworthy office in Rome.

    Which I am. ”

    A.M.D.G.+
    Edmund

  11. Syriacus says:

    Even Better: …Let’s promote Abp. Ranjit as Prefect of the CDW, and make Fr. Uwe Michael Lang his Secretary…!!! ;D

    Omnes in Vaticano sint… Conversi ad dominum!!! ;-)

  12. Richard says:

    I’ve heard that another appointment to the PC for Cultural Patrimony is Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, the noted liturgical scholar whose book “Turning Towards the Lord” (translated into English and published by Ignatius) has made such an impression and gone a long way to focusing recent attention on the central question of the orientation of liturgical prayer.

    So if Phil Lawler is onto something, perhaps he is *really* onto something.

  13. Surge says:

    Confirmation of Fr Lang’s appointment is given on 9 May

  14. RBrown: No. It means that the Church has made huge gains. The “filter” of the DC is gone and the war is joined. This is a positive. Bag thing might happen along the way, of course. But this had to happen.

  15. John Polhamus says:

    Then let it come NOW. I’m all for a “Just War,” if only to prove that such a thing does exist doctrinally and in practice. Of course I’m being mildly sarcastic, but on the other hand if one can’t say it even in jest, one has no hope of coping with the real thing when it comes…and it WILL come. It always does from age to age. Best to steel ourselves to it right now. Let us draw pens first…swords if ultimately necessary.

  16. GTD says:

    Fr. Z,
    Any word on a possible consistory? Whispers had something recently but I haven’t seen or heard anything else since.
    GTD

  17. Demerzel says:

    mark,

    Not that one. Rorate Caeli provides the translation of http://www.radiovaticana.org/fr1/Articolo.asp?c=135206 on http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2007/05/radio-vatican-latin-at-vatican.html but I am wondering if there is a translation of the interview that was in French.

  18. RBrown says:

    “The Pope is under massive attack in the Italian press.”

    Doesn’t this prove the thesis of JRatzinger–that the Church’s attempt at detente with secularism has been a failure?

    What gains?

  19. RBrown says:

    Ignore the previous post, per favore.


    No. It means that the Church has made huge gains. The “filter” of the DC is gone and the war is joined. This is a positive. Bag thing might happen along the way, of course. But this had to happen.

    What gains?

  20. RBrown says:

    Even Better: …Let’s promote Abp. Ranjit as Prefect of the CDW, and make Fr. Uwe Michael Lang his Secretary… ;D

    Cardinal Arinze turns 75 in November, and it’s not unlikely that Abp Ranjith will replace him.

    But a Sec of a Congregation can actually have a lot of power, sometimes more than the prefect, especially if said Sec is the pope’s man.

  21. Fiona says:

    RB Brown, if that truly is the case, and we know how good and faithful a man Abp Amato is, then why, for example, was Cardinal Lavada allowed to ratify Abp Murphy-O’Connor’s request for a Mass to be established for committed homosexuals in London?

    Not surprisingly, this Mass has rapidly become the conduit for all sorts of related wickedness. It can only get worse. It is also becoming a platform for many dissident priests,(the deeply confused Father Timothy Radcliffe O.P. most recently used this podium to further his aims and administer sacriligious communions.), as well as becoming a focus of the ’cause for Abp Oscar Romero’, that prized Trojan Horse of proud English buggers and sodomites, which they no doubt hope will help to carry them into the mainstream of acceptability within the Church in this country. Unchecked, thanks to these two Cardinals, it
    probably will, as the Filochowski/CAFOD web is so well positioned throughout diocesan HQs, schools, parishes and orders such as the pro-homosexual Carmellites who number.

    I have little doubt that the appointment of the unfortunate Abp Lavada was diabolical in origin. Please pray that all those who rebel in any way against the Pope and the Church’s Faith
    are removed from power. The Pope, such a giant of holiness, and his allies within the curia, are performing so well against these constraints, but they need so much prayer. Please remember them when you receive Our Lord in holy Communion.

    Fiona

  22. RBrown says:

    RB Brown, if that truly is the case, and we know how good and faithful a man Abp Amato is, then why, for example, was Cardinal Lavada allowed to ratify Abp Murphy-O’Connor’s request for a Mass to be established for committed homosexuals in London?

    NB: I said “can have a lot of power”. It depends on who is the Prefect and who is the Sec.

    Cardinal Levada is an old friend of BXVI and was personally appointed by him. But I know nothing about the London request for mass for homosexuals.

  23. RBrown says:

    The only reference I can find that Levada Ok’d it was this from the Telegraph:

    A leading gay Catholic campaigner claims that the Cardinal had to obtain the backing of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, the most powerful of the Vatican’s departments, before taking his sensitive decision.

  24. swmichigancatholic says:

    Michael, there are a lot of semnarians in Rome and hours of business in Rome are different than here–early mornings, long lunches, late evenings, etc. And yes, there are always a lot of pilgrims, short & long term, in Rome. It’s rather different in some respects from your average American city.

    The only American city I can liken it to is Washington DC where you will see many people in the streets all day, many of them jogging or engaging in other activities which let you know they are local but not behind a desk. This mixed in with lots and lots of visitors.

Comments are closed.