Africa News
Pope holds million-strong mass at finale of Africa tour
Mar 22, 2009, 16:16 GMT
A woman prays during the arriving of Pope Benedict XVI for a mass performed at the Cimangol in Luanda, Angola, 22 March 2009. EPA/JOAO RELVAS .
Luanda - Pope Benedict XVI rounded off a week-long trip to Africa with an outdoor mass attended by 1 million worshippers near the Angolan capital Luanda on Sunday.
The pontiff called on the crowd to 'build a better future' for their country and for Africa, and leave behind them the tribal feuding and civil wars that have bedevilled the continent.
But Benedict began by praying for the two young women killed in a crush at an open-air speech in a stadium he gave on Saturday, and said he was 'very upset' by the deaths. Forty others were injured in the stampede.
Referring to Angola's long civil war after independence from Portugal, the Pope said: 'This experience is all too familiar to Africa as a whole - the destructive power of civil strife, the descent into a maelstrom of hatred and revenge, the squandering of the efforts of generations of good people,' he said.
'Future generations must build a continent on reconciliation, peace and justice,' he added.
Sunday's mass was the culmination of the pontiff's first trip to Africa, which also saw him visit Cameroon before three days in Angola.
Benedict urged the mass not allow materialism to dominate their lives. 'Greed corrupts the heart, enslaving people,' he said, calling on future generations to create a fairer and more cohesive society.
He warned that 'selfish thinking' led to false utopias, drug abuse, sexual immorality, the weakening of marriage and the killing of innocent lives by abortion.
Benedict told younger Africans in the audience: 'You are the future - the hope of the promise of a better tomorrow.'
As well as Angolans, representatives from various tribes and ethnic groups from all over southern Africa were in the congregation.
The pope also praised the work of missionaries, who first brought Christianity to Angola 500 years ago.
In his farewell Angelus prayer Benedict prayed for an end to conflict in both Angola and in the 'neighbouring region of the Great Lakes.'
Before leaving Angola, the pope was due to meet Catholic groups committed to the advancement of women.
On Monday he is due to return to Rome.
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Older Talkback
page: 1
Stupidity reigns.
that BANNED the use of Condoms in the counrty that has the biggest AIDS problem in the World.
No wonder, the Church is so completely out-of-date.
Listen Pope,this is the 21st Century, not the 19th Century.
Not to worry about the influence of the pope any more.The vast majority in Europe is outraged by the stance of the church anyway;their influence has been waning for decades now ,churches and seminaries are empty ,the only influence the catholic church has is through their charities and politically affiliated organization .Most people acknowledge that the pope's opinion on all matters pertaining to the domain of family affairs ,the relations between men and women is not exactly a field in which the catholic church has any expertise at all.The history of the church is riddled with examples of hostile words towards women in particular.
The voice of a woman is never heard inside the catholic church,they have no place in it's organisation or hierarchy except as to be the obedient partner of the man.A fossil institution void of any connection to reality is trying to regain some of it's former influence but fails to connect to reality .educated people do not fall prey to superstition of religion so easily .Let's find out of anybody has any convincing material about a deity which created the universe anyway:then they would have to demonstrate that this deity is exactly their deity,that this deity created the universe for men,that he created humanity for it's own pleasure, the humanity as it is now is the final goal of that deity ,or deities,etc,etc.So many questions,not one has been addressed conclusively ,except this :religious thoughts are perfectly integrated in the process of evolution as described by Darwin and inside of our brain there are parts that are concerned with religion specifically as it is a handy tool in the survival of the fittest.
page: 1
lanceMar 22nd, 2009 - 19:57:57
www.catholicsexabuse.com/file/criminales.pdf
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