Pope lands in Mexico, decries violence
Mar 27, 2012 14:21:40 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Mar 27, 2012 14:21:40 GMT -5
Pope lands in Mexico, decries violence
Pontiff criticizes Marxism ahead of Cuba trip
The Associated Press
Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by Vatican and Italian officials, arrives at Rome Fiumicino international airport to board a plane on his way to a six-day visit to Mexico and Cuba. Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by Vatican and Italian officials, arrives at Rome Fiumicino international airport to board a plane on his way to a six-day visit to Mexico and Cuba. (Andrew Medichini/Associated Press)
Pope Benedict XVI began a pilgrimage to the New World on Friday calling on Mexicans to conquer an "idolatry of money" Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
that feeds drug violence and urged Cuba to leave behind a Marxism that "no longer responds to reality."
Mexican President Felipe Calderon and first lady Margarita Zavala greeted the pope and escorted him along a red carpet amid a clanging of church bells and cheers from a crowd waving Vatican flags. A swelling throng gathered to cheer him along his path from the airport on his first visit to Spanish-speaking Latin America.
'We consider the exchange of ideas to be useful'—Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, responding to Pope Benedict XVI's criticism of Marxism
"Benedict, brother, you are now Mexican," people shouted from the crowd.
He descended the stairs without the cane he had used when he walked to the plane in Rome, the first time he used it in public.
Earlier on the plane, the pope said a lust for money was behind the drug violence that has claimed more than 47,000 lives in the country since a government crackdown began in 2006.
On Monday, Benedict will head for Cuba. He said it is "evident that Marxist ideology as it was conceived no longer responds to reality," and he urged Cubans to "find new models, with patience, and in a constructive way."
The comment about Marxism, in response to questions from a journalist, was as blunt as anything his predecessor, John Paul II, made during his groundbreaking 1998 trip to Cuba, though the earlier pope is widely credited with helping bring down socialism in eastern Europe.
'Church is always on the side of freedom' Oh really? And what about the bondage they put their members in?
Benedict cautioned that "this process requires patience and also decisiveness."
Asked about reports that dissidents in Cuba are still routinely harassed and arrested, including in the weeks leading up to his visit, Benedict said that the church wants "to help in the spirit of dialogue to avoid trauma and to help bring about a just and fraternal society, as we want in the whole world."
Fidencio Moreno wears a T-shirt protesting the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI, which he says is being used for political purposes, in the main square in Leon, Mexico.Fidencio Moreno wears a T-shirt protesting the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI, which he says is being used for political purposes, in the main square in Leon, Mexico. (Alexandre Meneghini/Associated Press)
"We want to collaborate in this sense, and it's obvious that the church is always on the side of freedom, freedom of conscience, freedom of religion," the pope said.
Benedict said John Paul's visit to Cuba ushered in a slow process of dialogue and cooperation between church and state on the island.
During that trip, John Paul made a clear if cautious call for then-President Fidel Castro to open up Cuban society, take steady if gradual steps toward democracy and give the church a greater voice. He also called for the release of political prisoners while giving Castro what he wanted, a condemnation of the U.S. embargo.
Asked about Benedict's statement, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the government respects all opinions. "We consider the exchange of ideas to be useful. Our people have deep convictions developed over the course of our history," he said, adding that the Cuban system "is a democratic social project ... which is constantly perfecting itself."
Violence destroying youth
In Mexico, Benedict said, violence is destroying the nation's young.
The "great responsibility of the church is to educate the conscience, teach moral responsibility and strip off the mask (from) the idolatry of money that enslaves mankind, and unmask the false promise, this lie that is behind" the drug culture, he said.
It is a message that Enrique Abundes, one of thousands lining the papal route, was waiting to hear. The 46-year-old shoe-factory worker and father of five said he believed Benedict would inspire Mexicans to keep their children away from the temptations of organized crime.
"The pope's visit to our city will call attention to the violence and, for us, to be good examples to our children," he said.
The weeklong trip to Mexico and Cuba, Benedict's first to both countries, will be a test of stamina for the pope, who turns 85 next month. At the airport on Friday in Rome, the pope used a cane, apparently for the first time in public, as he walked about 100 yards (meters) to the airliner's steps.
The pope's plane set down Friday afternoon in Guanajuato, a deeply conservative state in sun-baked central Mexico, and his route into the city of Leon was thronged with thousands of people eager to get a glimpse of the pontiff.
Church officials say as many as 300,000 people are expected for Sunday's Mass and Carlos Aguiar, president of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, said he expected the faithful to begin arriving later Friday.
Maria Jesus Caudillo, a stationery story owner in Leon, found a spot early on the Popemobile route with her four nieces and nephews.
"John Paul came to Mexico but never to Leon and never this pope," she said. "It's a miracle that in all the country, he chose to come to Leon."
www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/03/23/pope-mexico-drugs.html
Pontiff criticizes Marxism ahead of Cuba trip
The Associated Press
Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by Vatican and Italian officials, arrives at Rome Fiumicino international airport to board a plane on his way to a six-day visit to Mexico and Cuba. Pope Benedict XVI, flanked by Vatican and Italian officials, arrives at Rome Fiumicino international airport to board a plane on his way to a six-day visit to Mexico and Cuba. (Andrew Medichini/Associated Press)
Pope Benedict XVI began a pilgrimage to the New World on Friday calling on Mexicans to conquer an "idolatry of money" Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!
that feeds drug violence and urged Cuba to leave behind a Marxism that "no longer responds to reality."Mexican President Felipe Calderon and first lady Margarita Zavala greeted the pope and escorted him along a red carpet amid a clanging of church bells and cheers from a crowd waving Vatican flags. A swelling throng gathered to cheer him along his path from the airport on his first visit to Spanish-speaking Latin America.
'We consider the exchange of ideas to be useful'—Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, responding to Pope Benedict XVI's criticism of Marxism
"Benedict, brother, you are now Mexican," people shouted from the crowd.
He descended the stairs without the cane he had used when he walked to the plane in Rome, the first time he used it in public.
Earlier on the plane, the pope said a lust for money was behind the drug violence that has claimed more than 47,000 lives in the country since a government crackdown began in 2006.
On Monday, Benedict will head for Cuba. He said it is "evident that Marxist ideology as it was conceived no longer responds to reality," and he urged Cubans to "find new models, with patience, and in a constructive way."
The comment about Marxism, in response to questions from a journalist, was as blunt as anything his predecessor, John Paul II, made during his groundbreaking 1998 trip to Cuba, though the earlier pope is widely credited with helping bring down socialism in eastern Europe.
'Church is always on the side of freedom' Oh really? And what about the bondage they put their members in?
Benedict cautioned that "this process requires patience and also decisiveness."
Asked about reports that dissidents in Cuba are still routinely harassed and arrested, including in the weeks leading up to his visit, Benedict said that the church wants "to help in the spirit of dialogue to avoid trauma and to help bring about a just and fraternal society, as we want in the whole world."
Fidencio Moreno wears a T-shirt protesting the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI, which he says is being used for political purposes, in the main square in Leon, Mexico.Fidencio Moreno wears a T-shirt protesting the upcoming visit of Pope Benedict XVI, which he says is being used for political purposes, in the main square in Leon, Mexico. (Alexandre Meneghini/Associated Press)
"We want to collaborate in this sense, and it's obvious that the church is always on the side of freedom, freedom of conscience, freedom of religion," the pope said.
Benedict said John Paul's visit to Cuba ushered in a slow process of dialogue and cooperation between church and state on the island.
During that trip, John Paul made a clear if cautious call for then-President Fidel Castro to open up Cuban society, take steady if gradual steps toward democracy and give the church a greater voice. He also called for the release of political prisoners while giving Castro what he wanted, a condemnation of the U.S. embargo.
Asked about Benedict's statement, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said the government respects all opinions. "We consider the exchange of ideas to be useful. Our people have deep convictions developed over the course of our history," he said, adding that the Cuban system "is a democratic social project ... which is constantly perfecting itself."
Violence destroying youth
In Mexico, Benedict said, violence is destroying the nation's young.
The "great responsibility of the church is to educate the conscience, teach moral responsibility and strip off the mask (from) the idolatry of money that enslaves mankind, and unmask the false promise, this lie that is behind" the drug culture, he said.
It is a message that Enrique Abundes, one of thousands lining the papal route, was waiting to hear. The 46-year-old shoe-factory worker and father of five said he believed Benedict would inspire Mexicans to keep their children away from the temptations of organized crime.
"The pope's visit to our city will call attention to the violence and, for us, to be good examples to our children," he said.
The weeklong trip to Mexico and Cuba, Benedict's first to both countries, will be a test of stamina for the pope, who turns 85 next month. At the airport on Friday in Rome, the pope used a cane, apparently for the first time in public, as he walked about 100 yards (meters) to the airliner's steps.
The pope's plane set down Friday afternoon in Guanajuato, a deeply conservative state in sun-baked central Mexico, and his route into the city of Leon was thronged with thousands of people eager to get a glimpse of the pontiff.
Church officials say as many as 300,000 people are expected for Sunday's Mass and Carlos Aguiar, president of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, said he expected the faithful to begin arriving later Friday.
Maria Jesus Caudillo, a stationery story owner in Leon, found a spot early on the Popemobile route with her four nieces and nephews.
"John Paul came to Mexico but never to Leon and never this pope," she said. "It's a miracle that in all the country, he chose to come to Leon."
www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/03/23/pope-mexico-drugs.html
