“How well we know what a profitable superstition this fable of Christ has been for us”. - attributed to Pope Leo X (1513 – 21)
Watching the events of World Youth Day in Sydney, I feel excitement in seeing the joyful faces of the young people from all over the world as they celebrate an aspect of their lives; but as something of an agnostic, I cannot help but feel they these young people are being conned by an orgainisation that has great experience in conning people, including themselves. I imagine my feelings being akin to someone who disagreed with Hitler, watching the excitement of people at pre-war Nazi rallies, in that, I can see the excitement, but cannot believe in it and am therefore anathema to it.
Watching young people looking forward to seeing and rapturously hanging on every word and movement of the pope, reminded me of seeing film clips of the adoration large sections of the German people had for Hitler in the 1930s.
I am now as before a Catholic and will always remain so. – Adolf Hitler, 1941
Aren’t these young people gathering to celebrate their collective belief in the philosophies of a man long dead, not the adoration of a man who is (after all the trappings are removed) nothing more than the CEO of a religious orgainisation or corporation called the Catholic Church?
He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future – Adolf Hitler – 1935
