People Must Fight Spiritual Pollution, Pope Says on Pentecost
Think Green 50¢ June 7, 2009 Recycle this paper Volume 83, No. 23 www.diocesefwsb.org/TODAY Serving the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend ’ Prayerful getaways TODAY S CATHOLIC Grottos, pilgrimages in our diocese Pages 10-12 People must fight spiritual pollution, Theologian ambassador pope says on Pentecost Miguel Diaz nominated BY CINDY WOODEN Vatican ambassador VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Just as the human body is Page 3 threatened by breathing polluted air, the human soul is threatened by images and ideas that glorify violence or the exploitation of others, Pope Benedict XVI said. “The metaphor of the ‘impetuous wind’ of Pentecost makes one think of how precious it is to On the front lines breathe clean air both with the lungs — the physical — as well as with the heart — the spiritual,” the pope Speakers support life, said May 31 during Mass for the feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit, which was poured out on the dis- Women’s Care Center ciples at Pentecost and available to every follower of Pages 4, 5 Jesus for all time, is the “healthy air” of love, the pope said. In his homily during the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope focused on the use of wind or breath and of fire to describe the movement of the Holy Spirit Noon watch in the Bible. The pope said the image of wind “makes us think Forty years of dutiful service of the air, which distinguishes our planet from the Page 9 other heavenly bodies and allows us to live on it. What air is for biological life, the spirit is for spiritual life.” “And just as there exists atmospheric pollution, which poisons the environment and living beings, so there exists a pollution of the heart and of the spirit, All Diocese Team which mortifies and poisons spiritual existence,” he said.
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