Pope in Spain - uplift or distraction - CathNews-World Youth Day

Pope in Spain – uplift or distraction?

Friday, August 19th, 2011

Will the presence of the Pope in Spain be a moment of spiritual uplift or an unhelpful distraction?

That latter possibility was captured by a recent banner unfurled by indignados protestors in advance of the trip: “Fewer crucifixes and more jobs!”

A mounting debt crisis has raised fears that Italy and Spain, the third- and fourth-largest economies in the eurozone, may follow smaller nations such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal into possible bankruptcy.

At the intellectual level, Benedict has already delivered his response to the unfolding “Great Recession” in his 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate, arguing that economic recovery is dependent upon moral and spiritual renewal. Structures won’t change for the better, he argued, unless individual hearts change first.

Source

Read John Allen Jr in National Catholic Reporter
Image: American Papist

John L. Allen, Jr. is an American journalist based in Rome who specializes in news about the Catholic Church. He is senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and vaticanologist of CNN and NPR. Allen is also the author of several books about the Catholic Church.

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Tags: John Allen, Pope, Spain, World Youth Day

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