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Pope's final World Youth Day mass draws large crowds in Rio Pope's final World Youth Day mass draws large crowds in Rio
(about 2 months later)
Hundreds of thousands of young people slept under chilly skies on Copacabana beach before Pope Francis's final mass for World Youth Day.Hundreds of thousands of young people slept under chilly skies on Copacabana beach before Pope Francis's final mass for World Youth Day.
The mayor of Rio de Janeiro estimated that three million people would turn up for Sunday's mass, and hours before the service began nearly the entire 2.5-mile crescent of beach overflowed with pilgrims.The mayor of Rio de Janeiro estimated that three million people would turn up for Sunday's mass, and hours before the service began nearly the entire 2.5-mile crescent of beach overflowed with pilgrims.
The all-night beach party had a festive air, with pilgrims wrapped in flags and sleeping bags to ward off the cold. They danced, prayed and sang – and stood in long lines in front of the armadas of portable bathrooms along the beachfront.The all-night beach party had a festive air, with pilgrims wrapped in flags and sleeping bags to ward off the cold. They danced, prayed and sang – and stood in long lines in front of the armadas of portable bathrooms along the beachfront.
"We were dying of cold but it was worth it," said Lucrecia Grillera, an 18-year-old from Cordoba, Argentina, where Francis lived for a time before becoming pope. "It was a tiring day, but it was a great experience.""We were dying of cold but it was worth it," said Lucrecia Grillera, an 18-year-old from Cordoba, Argentina, where Francis lived for a time before becoming pope. "It was a tiring day, but it was a great experience."
Francis headed into the final hours of his first international trip riding a remarkable wave of popularity. By the time his open-sided car reached the stage for the vigil service on Saturday night, the back seat was piled high with football jerseys, flags and flowers tossed to him by the crowds lining the route.Francis headed into the final hours of his first international trip riding a remarkable wave of popularity. By the time his open-sided car reached the stage for the vigil service on Saturday night, the back seat was piled high with football jerseys, flags and flowers tossed to him by the crowds lining the route.
The vigil drew a reported three million people, higher than the one million for the last World Youth Day vigil, in Madrid in 2011.The vigil drew a reported three million people, higher than the one million for the last World Youth Day vigil, in Madrid in 2011.
Some had tears in their eyes as they listened to Francis's call for them not to be "part-time Christians" and to build up their church like his namesake, St Francis of Assisi, was called to do. "Jesus offers us something bigger than the World Cup!" Francis said, drawing cheers.Some had tears in their eyes as they listened to Francis's call for them not to be "part-time Christians" and to build up their church like his namesake, St Francis of Assisi, was called to do. "Jesus offers us something bigger than the World Cup!" Francis said, drawing cheers.
After Sunday's Mass, Francis will meet the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, and some of the 60,000 volunteers who organised the youth festival. He leaves for Rome on Sunday night.After Sunday's Mass, Francis will meet the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, and some of the 60,000 volunteers who organised the youth festival. He leaves for Rome on Sunday night.
Saturday night's vigil capped a busy day for the pope in which he drove home a message he has emphasised throughout the week in speeches, homilies and off-the-cuff remarks: the need for Catholics – lay and religious – to shake up the status quo, get out of their stuffy sacristies and reach the faithful on the margins of society or risk losing them to rival churches.Saturday night's vigil capped a busy day for the pope in which he drove home a message he has emphasised throughout the week in speeches, homilies and off-the-cuff remarks: the need for Catholics – lay and religious – to shake up the status quo, get out of their stuffy sacristies and reach the faithful on the margins of society or risk losing them to rival churches.
In the longest and most important speech yet of his four-month pontificate, Francis took a direct swipe at the "intellectual" message of the church that so characterised the pontificate of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. Speaking to Brazil's bishops, he said ordinary Catholics did not understand such lofty ideas and needed to hear the simpler message of love, forgiveness and mercy that was at the core of the Catholic faith.In the longest and most important speech yet of his four-month pontificate, Francis took a direct swipe at the "intellectual" message of the church that so characterised the pontificate of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. Speaking to Brazil's bishops, he said ordinary Catholics did not understand such lofty ideas and needed to hear the simpler message of love, forgiveness and mercy that was at the core of the Catholic faith.
"At times we lose people because they don't understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people," he said. "Without the grammar of simplicity, the church loses the very conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep waters of his mystery.""At times we lose people because they don't understand what we are saying, because we have forgotten the language of simplicity and import an intellectualism foreign to our people," he said. "Without the grammar of simplicity, the church loses the very conditions which make it possible to fish for God in the deep waters of his mystery."
In a speech outlining the kind of church he wants, Francis asked bishops to reflect on why hundreds of thousands of Catholics had left the church for Protestant and Pentecostal congregations that have grown exponentially in recent decades in Brazil, particularly in its slums.In a speech outlining the kind of church he wants, Francis asked bishops to reflect on why hundreds of thousands of Catholics had left the church for Protestant and Pentecostal congregations that have grown exponentially in recent decades in Brazil, particularly in its slums.
According to census data, the number of Catholics in Brazil dipped from 125 million in 2000 to 123 million in 2010, with the church's share of the total population dropping from 74% to 65%. During the same period, the number of evangelical Protestants and Pentecostals rose from 26 million to 42 million, and from 15% to 22% of the population.According to census data, the number of Catholics in Brazil dipped from 125 million in 2000 to 123 million in 2010, with the church's share of the total population dropping from 74% to 65%. During the same period, the number of evangelical Protestants and Pentecostals rose from 26 million to 42 million, and from 15% to 22% of the population.
Francis offered a blunt list of explanations for the exodus. "Perhaps the church appeared too weak, perhaps too distant from their needs, perhaps too poor to respond to their concerns, perhaps too cold, perhaps too caught up with itself, perhaps a prisoner of its own rigid formulas," he said. "Perhaps the world seems to have made the church a relic of the past, unfit for new questions. Perhaps the church could speak to people in their infancy but not to those come of age."Francis offered a blunt list of explanations for the exodus. "Perhaps the church appeared too weak, perhaps too distant from their needs, perhaps too poor to respond to their concerns, perhaps too cold, perhaps too caught up with itself, perhaps a prisoner of its own rigid formulas," he said. "Perhaps the world seems to have made the church a relic of the past, unfit for new questions. Perhaps the church could speak to people in their infancy but not to those come of age."
Francis asked whether the church today could still "warm the hearts" of its faithful with priests who take time to listen to their problems and remain close to them. "We need a church capable of rediscovering the maternal womb of mercy," he said. "Without mercy, we have little chance nowadays of becoming part of a world of wounded persons in need of understanding, forgiveness and love."Francis asked whether the church today could still "warm the hearts" of its faithful with priests who take time to listen to their problems and remain close to them. "We need a church capable of rediscovering the maternal womb of mercy," he said. "Without mercy, we have little chance nowadays of becoming part of a world of wounded persons in need of understanding, forgiveness and love."
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