Fr Raniero Cantalamessa was preaching at a Good Friday service presided over by Pope Francis at St Peter's Basilica.

In such an alternative universe, faith, hope and love do not come from God but from money, the Capuchin priest warned.

Instead of believing "Everything is possible to one who has faith", as Jesus said, people believe "Everything is possible to the one who has money".

The narrative of a person doing evil for "30 pieces of silver" keeps repeating itself throughout history, Fr Cantalamessa said.

He said money is involved in all of today's social ills, including the illicit drug trade, women pushed into prostitution, children snatched for their organs, the mafia, political corruption, the sale of weapons and the ongoing financial crisis.

"Isn't it just as scandalous that some people collect salaries and pensions that are 100 times greater than those of the people who work under them?" he asked.

People should ask themselves whether they have bit of Judas inside them, since "you can also betray Jesus for other kinds of rewards", Fr Cantalamessa said.

"Whoever betrays his wife or her husband betrays Jesus," he said, and the same goes for government leaders who betray the public or anyone who betrays his or her conscience.

Such betrayals are worse because they happened after Christ's death and Resurrection; Judas didn't know Jesus was really the Son of God, while "we do".

"Jesus never abandoned Judas", but Judas abandoned all hope when he hanged himself in remorse for contributing to the death of an innocent man.

"Judas's greatest sin wasn't having betrayed Jesus, but having doubted his mercy," the preacher said.

Everyone is capable of betraying Jesus as Judas did, but no-one should make the mistake of doubting God's mercy and willingness to forgive, the preacher said.

Social justice themes also predominated at the traditional Way of the Cross meditations in Rome, attended by Pope Francis.

Connections were drawn between Christ's suffering and those of the homeless, jobless, migrants, and women.

Sources

• The Tablet (Good Friday service)
• The Tablet (Way of the Cross)
• Image: Christiano Cattolico

"Judas," Pope Benedict said, "could have left, as many of the disciples did; indeed, he would have left if he were honest. Instead he remained with Jesus. He did not remain because of faith, or because of love, but with the secret intention of taking vengeance on the Master." Continue reading

"This is a stunt ... Lady Gaga tries to continue to shock Catholics and Christians in general: she dresses as a nun ... she swallows the rosary. She has now morphed into a caricature of herself."

Calling her "irrelevant" and "another ex-Catholic whose head is turned around," Donoghue criticised Gaga for releasing the single in Holy Week, a few days before Easter.

The question is, Donoghue added, "Does she actually believe her own BS?"

"It's always edgy and always about our religion," he said.

"Go pick on the Muslims and see how they handle it."

In "Judas," Lady Gaga sings about her love for Judas, the infamous apostle who betrayed Jesus.

"Jesus is my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to...I'm just a holy fool, oh baby he's so cruel, but I'm still in love with Judas baby," sings Lady Gaga.

Gaga, who was raised a Catholic, seems to be taking cues from Madonna and Sinead O'Conner who courted controversy and publicity by using religious imagery in their performances and videos.

Like O'Conner and Madonna before her, some of Lady Gaga's antics could be considered blasphemy, but singing the praises of Judas may be her most outrageous act yet.

Sources

• Fox News
• Metro
• MSNBC Today
• AOL Music

Gaga, who leaked some of the lyrics of the single via Twitter, talks about always "falling in love with the wrong man over and over again."

"It's about constantly walking towards the light in my life, but always clutching onto the light while peering towards the devil in the back," Gaga said.

"I sing about what a holy fool I am, and that although moments in my life are so cruel and relationships can be so cruel I'm still in love with Judas. I still go back again to those evil things."

"When he comes to me, I am ready. I'll wash his feet with my hair if he needs, forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain. Even after three times he betrays me, I'll bring him down, a king with no crown."

"The song is about honouring your darkness in order to bring yourself into the light," Gaga told Google. "You have to look into what's haunting you and need to learn to forgive yourself in order to move on."

"And it's really fun to dance to".

Raised a Roman Catholic and attending an all-girl private Catholic school - her exact religion still remains a mystery.

She still however believes in God and Jesus, whatever form they take.

"I do believe that God comes in many forms and I don't believe we know what he looks like, but I see God in my fans," she told Google. "They are who I worship and I believe what you worship in your life doesn't have to be religion or an institution or a certain kind of God. It's just you must worship your faith."

Source

• Christianity Today
• Lady Gaga Tweets lyrics to "Judas"