Cardinal Ratzinger Warns of Europe's ‘Decadence’

DEUTSCHE PRESSE-AGENTUR, Nov. 19 — Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has condemned Europe's “decadent” new order that has made it “almost indecent to speak about God.”

In a Nov. 19 interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica, the 77-year-old Bavarian prelate charged that Europe is now dominated by a “secularism [that] is no longer that element of neutrality which opens up space for freedom for all.” Instead, he said, “It is beginning to change into an ideology which, through politics, is being imposed.”

Referring to the rejection of Rocco Buttiglione as a European Union commissioner because of his Catholic morality, the cardinal declared, “A society in which God is totally absent self-destructs. We have seen this happen during the totalitarian regimes of the past century.”

Cardinal Ratzinger said the transformation of Europe by birth control and mass immigration had resulted in a period in which “churches were emptying,” but added he was certain Christianity would recover, even if that recovery would likely occur first on “other continents.”

Pope Assails Communist Restrictions on Religion

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Nov. 22 — Pope John Paul II has spoken out against religious oppression in Asia, demonstrating his concern for “those who suffer especially (because they) are not free to profess their faith.”

The Holy Father's Nov. 19 speech to a council of Asian bishops did not mention any specific countries, but it is believed he had in mind China and Vietnam, where governments control episcopal appointments and have forced underground Catholics loyal to the papacy. Although this has resulted in the Church being reduced to “a little flock,” the Pope stressed that “the effectiveness of evangelization does not depend on numbers,” proven by Christ himself, who began his conversion of the world with only 12 followers.

Although Le Dung, a Vietnamese government spokesman, insisted, “Religious believers, including Christians, are free to practice their beliefs,” the State Department, in a September report, cited Vietnam and China as “countries of particular concern” because of “particularly severe violations of religious freedom.”

Vatican Brings Stones to Life

THE GUARDIAN, Nov. 22 — A revolutionary approach taken by the Vatican to the restoration of ancient sculpture has captivated critics. “Colors of White,” an exhibition at the Vatican museums that runs through Jan. 31, attempts to replicate how 15 stone carvings first appeared — not white, as commonly known today, but painted, as their creators made them.

For instance, “There is an Athena who looks more like a Central American goddess than a Greek one, and a Trojan archer wearing multicolored matching top and leggings that could easily have been designed by Missoni,” the Guardian wrote about the exhibition.

The reconstructions are based on painstaking historical and scientific investigations. Reviewers have professed themselves amazed. Il Messagero wrote that the pieces were “disorientating, shocking, but often, splendid,” while Corriere della Sera said, “Suddenly, a world we had been used to regarding as austere and reflective has been turned on its head to become as jolly as a circus.”