World Youth Day 2005 – Germany’s pious party |
The 20th "World Youth Day" sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church has brought an estimated 800,000 pilgrims to Germany for the six day religious festival beginning August 16, making it the largest religious convention ever held in the country. The visitors from 197 countries are gathered mainly in Cologne, but the nearby cities of Düsseldorf and Bonn – about 30 kilometers north and south of Cologne respectively – are also hosting large groups of visitors. World Youth Day was officially opened on Tuesday, August 16, when more than 200,000 pilgrims took part in three simultaneous worship services in Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf – 50,000 assembled in Cologne's "Rhein Energie" stadium, and approximately 100,000 assembled at the Bonn University courtyard. In his sermon, Cologne's cardinal Joachim Meisner told the faithful that "World Youth Day should show that faith has an important place in our society." His colleague Karl Lehmann from Mainz, chairman of the German bishops' conference, added that the Roman Catholic Church has to be a true worldwide church. "We may not withdraw into niches. We have to give a comprehensive public witness." For the city of Bonn, the approximately 100,000 visitors are a welcome shot in the arm for a region still recovering from the economic loss suffered when the seat of Germany's federal government was transferred to Berlin five years ago. Billboards, newspaper and radio ads have been soliciting extra housing from private citizens for the thousands of pilgrims needing overnight lodging. The city of Bonn itself provided 29,000 bed spaces in public buildings, and private citizens offered to house another 7,200 visitors. Since Tuesday several hundred Bonn citizens are wearing buttons saying "Ask me", designating them as a source of information about the city. Having 100,000 visitors is an organizational challenge for a city of about 250,000 residents. Special traffic and parking arrangements had to be made for the 600 buses transporting visitors to the central assembly area of the Bonn University courtyard, and 13,000 portable toilets were placed at the main assembly areas in the city. An estimated seven million meals will be served during the six day convention, and Bonn's restaurants are offering a special "pilgrim's plate" which is not supposed to cost more than 5 €. 9,800 priests, 759 bishops – among them 60 cardinals – are in attendance at World Youth Day 2005. The many priests help to keep the lines short during mass when lines form and pilgrims proceed to take communion. In Bonn, announcements proclaim that only those who are Roman Catholic should take the communion wafer, a sore point in the attempt to improve relations between the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches in Germany. Pope Benedict XVI appears to be genuinely interested in reaching out to non-Catholics: "The strict defender of the faith or the intellectual theology professor did not come here – Benedict XVI came to Germany as a pilgrim, he came to the river on a pilgrimage, as a fisher of men on the Rhine. The fact that the Bavarian pope extended greetings to the unbaptized, to unbelievers and to members of other churches is an important signal on his first foreign trip. The new pope has made the ecumenical movement and missionary work the focal point of his papacy" ("Müncher Merkur", August 19, 2005). The impact of World Youth Day on the thousands of young Catholics in attendance is hard to assess. In their comments on the convention, German news media use phrases like "pious party", and a Lutheran clergyman remarked that a party atmosphere similar to a pop concert seemed to be an apt description for the mental attitude of thousands in attendance. At a time when surveys show that a surprising number of young Europeans hold religious convictions but are not interested in strict church allegiance, many young Catholics want to be loyal to their church as an institution but disagree with its teachings in key areas. One pilgrim in Cologne remarked that her church's teachings were like a smorgasbord – she picks the ones she likes and ignores the rest. The Belgian newspaper "De Morgen" echoed the same sentiments: "One can ask whether all the young people are also fans of the new pope. Expressed more vividly: How many of the young girls and women who will cheer him [the pope] during the communion service will have taken the pill before they swallow the communion wafer?" (August 17, 2005). In an interview with German radio station "Westdeutscher Rundfunk", Germany's cardinal Karl Lehmann suggested that his church may need to rethink its position on questions of sexual ethics. According to Lehmann, the Roman Catholic Church runs the risk of being ignored in an important realm of human behavior. However, Lehmann did not imply that the church should change its teachings on birth control, abortion or homosexuality. Instead, Lehmann believes that the church's position needs to be presented in a more plausible manner. World Youth Day is an opportunity for politicians to appeal to Pope Benedict XVI to act as an agent of change. Among them is Heiner Geißler, a former member of the Bundestag who also held a cabinet post in Helmut Kohl's cabinet: "It would be disastrous if this pope were not to free his own church from the shackles that he helped put in place: the fixation of Catholic moral teaching on things sexual – against homosexuality, against communion for the remarried divorced, against female priesthood and for celibacy, against the pill and condoms" ("Aachener Zeitung", August 19, 2005). On the other hand, there are Catholics who see the church's staunch conservatism on these and other issues as a bastion of belief that will ensure its survival in a world where relativism reigns and where the rejection of absolute moral standards is widespread. It is interesting that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, well-known for his conservative views, was elected pope apparently by a very large majority of the College of Cardinals. Pope Benedict XVI has made a positive impression on the young people gathered in Cologne. "The enthusiasm of the young people who received him in Cologne was no canned applause. It was authentic, moving and infectious. In an age that seems to be so given over to materialism – especially in a country that fears for its prosperity despite its wealth – this enthusiasm is nothing less than a miracle" ("Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", August 19, 2005). The miracle, then, is that the new pope could be so well received in a country where the number of Catholics is diminishing year by year. The German news magazine "Der Spiegel" sees the "miracle" as a passing phase: "The last World Youth Day pilgrim will hardly have left and the posters in Cologne will be swapped out. The election campaign is starting, and the name 'Benedict XVI' won't be heard so often." The young faithful might see their pope as some kind of pop star, but they don't listen to him very closely. According to Heiner Geißler, "during the [last] World Youth Day in Rome, the squares were full of condoms in the morning." Will Cologne be any different? Most likely not. Relativism will continue to influence Christianity unless – or until – a religious leader arises with real miracle-working powers. Oddly enough, in Revelation 13 we find a prophecy about a religious leader with implications for the end time. In this chapter a beast is described that masquerades "like a lamb," but in reality speaks "like a dragon" (verse 11). This "beast" of Revelation 13 performs miracles (verses 13 and 14) and is obviously a religious power, since it has the appearance of a lamb and even works miracles, although in reality, it speaks like its actual source, Satan the devil! How will people react to a religious leader whose appeal is not based only or even at all on charisma, but instead on real miracles? In an age where people's true spiritual needs are denied by materialism and godless evolutionary thought, don't be surprised if real religious fervor – even in Europe – is unleashed by supernatural powers. • Paul Kieffer, August 19, 2005 |
