Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pope Benedict xvi is endeavoring to reconquer Europe by locking down church-state relationships on the Continent. The year 2008 strengthened Vatican control over both Italy and France.
Last January, the pope ousted the secularist prime minister of Italy, Romano Prodi, by orchestrating a vote of no confidence against him in the Italian Senate.
Then, last September, Benedict traveled to Paris and got French President Nicolas Sarkozy to agree that Catholicism needs to play a larger role in both French government and French society, which are historically secular. Will Spain be the next domino to fall in the pope’s crusade against secularism? The current Spanish prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has been a thorn in the Vatican’s side for years. He opposes the Catholic Church on almost every issue. He has pushed for more liberal abortion laws, legalized homosexual “marriage” and easier divorce, and demanded that the Vatican cease meddling in state affairs.
Most recently, Zapatero’s secularist government has upheld a court ruling ordering the Spanish city of Valladolid to remove all crucifixes from a local school. Pope Benedict and the Vatican hierarchy have not taken these developments lying down. Rather, they have initiated a war against the Spanish government in an attempt to force it to toe the church’s line. On December 28, hundreds of thousands of people flocked to an open-air mass in Madrid designed to protest the Spanish government’s stance on issues such as family values.
Pope Benedict himself addressed this crowd via video link from Rome.
This mass was only the latest of several such Catholic-backed anti-government rallies. Nearly 80 percent of Spaniards regard themselves as Catholic, but less than 30 percent of these practice their religion outside of social events like weddings and funerals. In order to help revitalize those complacent Catholics who are not actively seeking guidance from Rome, the pope has announced ahead of time the themes for the next three Vatican-sponsored World Youth Days.
According to the Catholic News Service, this will enable young Catholics to better prepare for the next international gathering, which will be held Aug. 16-21, 2011, in Madrid (the 2009 and 2010 wyds will be held on the diocesan level). Considering that Zapatero barely won his last election, Benedict’s efforts to undermine his government could well pay off in the next Spanish election—if not before. Spain’s pro-Catholic opposition may soon come to power and cause the entire nation to bow to Rome in the same manner that Italy bowed to Rome last January.
Pope Benedict’s attempts to champion the institution of family against Zapatero’s morally-vacuous government may at first seem noble, but we must remember that every dark and sinister force that has arisen in Europe over the last 1,500 years has been empowered and legitimized in some way by the Roman Catholic Church.
Pope Leo III augmented his control over Europe and signed the death warrant of thousands by crowning Charlemagne as holy Roman emperor.
Pope Urban II brought nearly all the kings of Europe under his dominion and signed the death warrant for millions by starting the Crusades.
Pope Pius xXII legitimized the Third Reich in the eyes of millions of Catholics by signing a concordant with Hitler and standing idly by while 6 million Jews were massacred.
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(Source: TT)