'CATHOLIC WOODSTOCK' NOTHING BUT MOCKERY

The fact that most major news outlets are labeling Pope John Paul II's youth gathering in Rome a "love-in" and "Catholic Woodstock" should be a wake-up call to church leaders who are trying to restock dying congregations since the radical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Your Aug. 22 editorial "Pope John's Band" misses the point. The majority of the youthful pilgrims aren't flocking to Rome to partake in the Catholic Church's sacraments. If this were the case, local parishes wouldn't have empty pews. Rather, the Rome youth gathering resembled a rock concert, complete with sloppy dress and a total lack of respect for the Vicar of Christ. No teenager just a few decades ago would have jumped up on a stage and hugged Pope Saint Pius X.

Will more Catholics believe in transubstantiation a fundamental church teaching that only half of American Catholics believe because of the current pope's embrace of the latest Vatican party? Will there be any more priests, nuns or brothers because of the gathering? Just like the recent performance by Bob Dylan for the pope, the latest event is yet another step toward a complete mockery of the Roman Catholic Church.

Kenneth J. Wolfe Alexandria, Va.

-- Steve Jackson (SteveJ100@hotmail.com), August 26, 2000

Answers

BALDERDASH!!! A false depiction of what occurred!

The only thing more asinine than Kenneth Wolfe (who is actually so naive as to trust "major news outlets") is Steve Jackson, every cell of whose brain and heart must be gangrenous, so poisonous are all his useless posts. (Neither Wolfe nor Jackson was in Rome.)

Mon Dieu, forgive Steve, the hater of your Church.

aaa

-- aaa (a@a.a), August 26, 2000.

Reading the letter addresses by Mr. Wolfe to the WSJ you would think that the Catholic Church in the United States is living its last moments. Does Mr. Wolfe have some knowledge about how the Catholic faith is alive and well in many many countries? Remember the young people attending the "Catholic Woodstock" came from all parts of the world, not just from the U.S. Does the way you dress have anything to do with your values in life? I remember that some English functionary called Mahathma Gahndi "a half naked monkey" at that time. Who remembers who the well dressed Brit was? Besides his insults what good did he do for the people of India? That goes to show that before God it is not the way are dressed bodily that counts, it is how well dressed you are spiritually.

Enrique

-- Enrique Ortiz (eaortiz@yahoo.com), August 27, 2000.

One of the things I love so much about the Catholic Church is that it doesn't matter what a person wears to mass. So poor people can attend without feeling ashamed if they don't have the "right" clothes. I, out of principle, NEVER dress up for church (well ONE Christmas Eve I did, but only not to scandalize an otherwise sweet older lady- it was my christmas present to her).

good grief.

and why SHOULDN'T Bob Dylan sing for the Pope?.

what exactly IS the problem here?

There were good things about the original Woodstock too.... not everything, but some. Great music.

And certainly I hope I could hug the Pope. My mother-in-law did. She got lipstick all over him too. He still loved her. God bless him.

loosen up , already.

love, Jane

-- Jane Ulrich (carlos.eire@yale.edu), August 27, 2000.

Jane: "There were good things about the original Woodstock too.... not everything, but some. Great music."
Me: Thumbs up, friend. My favorite was probably CSNY's "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." (I promise to send you something interesting about the Festival soon.)
JFG
PS: On what was worn in Rome ... At this time of the year, the place is too hot and muggy for people from many parts of the world. Some kids had to be taken away in ambulances. Special water-spraying equipment was used to sprinkle the crowds, so that they would not get sick. No one in his right mind could have expected the young people to wear anything other than light clothing. If some wore too little, I'm sure that it was out of ignorance -- i.e., that their parents and their culture had left them not knowing any better. The young deserved no condemnation for this. They were there to learn how to get closer to God, not to sin intentionally.

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), August 27, 2000.

"So poor people can attend without feeling ashamed if they don't have the "right" clothes."

I don't even know what that means. I just bought a silk dress at a garage sale, it put me back a whopping $1.50 -- less than a Big Mac, I believe. Any woman who doesn't wear a dress to Mass simply doesn't WANT to wear a dress. It has nothing whatever to do with being poor, not in the U.S. anyway.

Americans just dress like slobs all the time, whether they believe Jesus is present or not. ;->

-- wears silk (but@isn't.rich), August 30, 2000.

Well OK granted. I don't WANT to wear a dress.

You got a problem with this?

Jane

-- jane ulrich (carlos.eire@yale.edu), August 30, 2000.

No, no problem at all. Just wanted to point out that money is NOT the issue when it comes to dressing either up or down (at least not in this country).

-- silk dress (for@notmuch.money), August 30, 2000.

Good. I'm glad that you have a car to get to that garage sale. Not everyone does. I like garage sales too. But you have to have the time and the transportion to get to them.

Good deal, that silk dress. I get a real kick out of these good deals. I'm glad you got it.

Jane

-- jane ulrich (carlos.eire@yale.edu), August 30, 2000.

Jmj

Hi, Jane and Silkie,
From time to time I have read people's opinions on this subject.
I have come to realize that there are two schools of thought -- and that one can't quite predict which school a person will belong to. I mean that people who are wealthy and people who are dirt-poor can belong to either school. I don't know if a person joins one or the other because of the influence of his/her parents, a little voice inside, or what.

1. There are people who believe that we should dress very well to attend Mass. These people speak of wearing one's "Sunday best." They say that people of other religions and non-Catholic Christians all dress well, and we should also. The reason, they say, is that we are going to the house of almighty God, to the dwelling of Royalty. We would dress well if we were invited to dinner at the White House or at Buckingham Palace (to see the Queen of a relative few), they say, so it stands to reason that we should dress well to meet the King of all and his Queen Mother. Just as the church building is clean, orderly, and decorated with beautiful things, so should our bodies be.

2. There are people who believe that we need not own clothing of various kinds, but should just try to keep all our attire simple, neat, not flashy, not expensive, and interchangeable -- so that anything could be worn on any day of the week, including to attend Mass. These people are concerned that fanciness could lead to putting on airs or hoping to draw admiring glances and compliments. They think that their money should be spent for better causes than their adornment. They may not really be interested in celebrities or being invited to the White House [especially with its current tenants] or the Palace. They read the Gospels and don't notice a mention of anyone dressing up to sit for hours within a few feet of the Son of God. They don't mind being dusty pilgrims in plain garments, no better than a first-century fisherman like St. Andrew or a "waitress" like St. Martha.

After an awful lot of years of watching and listening to these people, I can't seem to conclude that any of them are wrong. I think that God likes both kinds of folks and wants us all to be comfortable and think about other things, like how Christ's sacrifice of Calvary is being mystically presented anew on the altar. We don't know what St. Mary Magdalene was wearing as she knelt there weeping on Good Friday ... or kneeling there enraptured on Easter morning.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), August 31, 2000.

Well I was SURE that Mary Magdalene was wearing a hawaian shirt and leopard print sandals that morning. Was I misinformed?

OK John, I'll relax.

It'll be hard, tho, because it's one of my favorite things to get all hot and bothered about. I guess I ought to pick something more important.

I'll work on it.

jane

-- jane Ulrich (carlos.eire@yale.edu), August 31, 2000.

Actually, Jane, I'm in the second group, along with you! (Could you tell?) I wasn't being critical of you or Silkie, just being a fence-straddler on this one [ultra-rare for me!].
I realized that I greatly enjoy seeing the other people in church, no matter what they have on -- except, I suppose, if it's gaudy Bermuda shorts that expose hairy legs!
John PS: You were misinformed about Mary Magdalen. Not even the Polynesians from Tahiti and Bora Bora had made it up to Hawaii by then. She actually wore a Jerusalem jersey, Persian pedal-pushers, and Galilee galoshes.

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), August 31, 2000.

Jackson's thread

-- @@@@ (@@@@.com), June 29, 2002.