'And in the Church there are climbers...There are many of them! But if you like climbing go to the mountains and climb them: it is healthier! Do not come to Church to climb!'
Pope Francis
And so, as we suspected may happen one day, the war on ivy begins! Deo gratias!
It had to happen. After all there's something 'creepily' traditionalist about climbers. All those old buildings with their venerable - make that pastry-shop - foundations. What is to be done! ban climbers, in fact, ban trees, they're too tall, and oppressive. make short things tall and tall things short, good things bad and bad things good. construct a new church where everythings backwards, and a well-formed conscience is nonsense.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of that old Kermit the Frog joke. Kermit says, 'Piggy, before I met you I used to be troubled by evil thoughts. Now that I've met you, I enjoy them.'
Replace, 'Piggy', with 'Frankie', and we're good to go.
No, he isn´t talking about ivy he finally condemns the German dioceses which installed a “climbing garden” (Klettergarten) for the youth in their churches!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/duisburg/spektakulaer-klettergarten-in-der-kirche-bid-1.875943
http://www.st-nikolaus-essen.kirche-vor-ort.de/11023.html
http://www.jugendkirchen.org/aktuelles/jugendkirche-tabgha-oberhausen-veranstaltet-offenes-klettern.html
Not in the sacred churches themselves, surely?? Churches ought to be used only for the sacred liturgy of the Church, or prayer.
DeleteMartina why would he condemn a rock climbing wall for the youth? That's stupid. Both my sons are into that and if that would've kept them near church it would have been worth it. I contributed money to buy a ping pong table for the church youth room when my sons were in high school. What's the difference? A climbing wall isn't that different unless the wall is in the sanctuary and kids are climbing during Mass. Or if liturgical climbing is replacing the already questionable liturgical dance as part of the Mass or if the priest sits on top of the wall and you have to climb to get your Communion. And in either of those hypothetical cases, I can't imagine that notorious Pope Francis, who allowed tango dancing on the altar during the Communion meditation and who allowed Pinnochio to participate in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, would have a problem.
ReplyDeleteHope those parents whose children climb all over the pews during Mass take note.
ReplyDelete