Padre Pio's corpse: sacred or sick?

The cult of relics and the veneration of sacred remains is as old as religion itself, predating Christianity.  The Catholic Church, however, among modern religions remains idiosyncratically wedded to it  and the latest manifestation of this is the exhumation this week  in a three-hour service of the 40-year buried cadaver of the monk Padre Pio.  He was said to show 'stigmata' or marks similar to Christ's nail wounds, and became part of a major cult of miracles.  The Vatican once opposed this as hysteria, and there have been doubts thrown on the miraculous wounds, as either symptoms of mental illness or downright fraud;   but lately he has been canonized.  And so, in the southern town of Foggia, up comes the body  -   despite relatives' protests earlier this year.  They plan to display it in a glass coffin when it has been "prepared".   
    It is a difficult one for those bred up in Catholic tradition, but who nonetheless regard these venerations and displays as atavistic and somewhat creepy. 

Comments

[Rick Beekman]

Libby;
As a Former Catholic; I once was Dazzled with all These Various World Wide events. I Was Gullible I Really Believed All These Things..Because "They Said" (The RCC) It Was True. Mary Appearing Here And There...Padre Pio...Our Lady Of Gaudaloupe...The Sto. Nino (Little Christ Child). After All Who Else But The RCC Has All These "Mysteries" That The Gullible Love?
It's A Buisness..Sell Videos..Rosaries..Special "Blessed" Medals..Books..Trips To Far A Way "Mysterious" Places...What A $$$$$$$Maker!

P.T. Barnum Is Correct When He Stated; "There's A Sucker Born Every Minute".

The Bible Refutes All This Hocus Pocus.

[alan]

Definitely sick.

[Alistair]

Following one of the lniks above took me to the BBC report on the exhumation of Pio which says:

"Among his reputed powers were the prediction of future events, being seen in two places at once, and the ability to know people's sins before they had confessed them. He was also said to have emitted the scent of flowers."

Well, what is there left to say?

I recall that his relatives threatened to sue their local Catholic bishop if the body was dug up, so we'll see what happens next. There is now a picture available on some news web sites of Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio and other robed folk peering in at the exhumed body. Here at: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=90bf1e50-ac13-4329-a8b7-34f783b791fe

[Recusant]

Libby, you may have been bred in the Catholic tradition, but I think you have moved a long way away since.

[Ian]

The Popish pomp said, "Aaahhh, I see sheep, now where's my wolf's colthing?"
WORSHIP OF THE DEAD IS FORBIDDEN ACCORDING TO THE LAW!!!!

[mark]

Pity his nail wounds were in the wrong place (palm rather than wrist).

The Church decries pseudo-religions, black magic and other superstitions, and speaks out against the modern superficial cult worship of celebrities. Ah, Benedict, ever heard the word hypocrisy? This one really takes the cake!!

[Rick Beekman]

Alan;
I Am Sorry If My Comments Offended You. I Love All Catholic People....It's The Vatican And The Higher Ups I Don't Like.
I Have 34 Family Members Still In This Church I Love Them All...I Don't Share Their Beleifs Any Longer.

The Bible Is The Main Source Which Exposes These Folks Who Rule This Church. I Could Do Two Hours On That Alone Not To Mention My Three Years as A Missionary To The Philippines And How The Vatican Keeps Control On Catholic Dominated Third World Countries. A Real Eye Opener Alan.

Just Because Somebody Dresses Up In Religious Clothes..Is Educated..And Appears "Righteous" Does Not Necessarily Mean They Are.
I Would Rather Tell Someone The Truth Then Lead them to believe the RCC is a good "christian" church...

[jim]

quote from above link: "it was not possible to see Padre Pio's stigmata, which were said to have disappeared just before he died, without leaving any scars." Funny that!

You can always fool some of the people some of the time, and that's enough...

[David B. Monier-Williams]

Ian, you confuse, "Worship" with, "Venerate," the latter meaning respect or devotion to. As a Catholic I have only worshiped the Trinity, yet I've had a devotion to the Holy Mother. You really must do your homework.

The veneration of a saint is about the fact that he/she led their life as close as possible to Perfection that of Christ. Any miracle attached to that person is a sign of their sanctity and the Perfect One.

As a further sign of God's love for us some Saints bodies are not only uncorrupted but give off a pleasant fragrance.

It will interesting to see whether or not he had the stigmata.

David

[Tony Francis]

Friend Rick Beekman: You state you like all Catholics, it is the higher ups and the Vatican you don't like. Huh? I don't see the logic you are using.

[Rick Beekman]

Tony Francis;

The Reason I Dislike The Vatican And Love The Catholic People Is Because The Beloved Catholic Faithful Are Being Flim-Flamed By Their Church. This In Turn Teaches Catholics To Believe Things Which Are Not Biblically Correct Or Ever Taught By Jesus And His Apostles.

The Catolic People Are Being Victimized By A Slick Form Of Baal Worship And Most Of Their Beleifs Were "Borrowed" From Pagan Beleifs From Babylon From Rome And Greece And Egypt. I Can Do About 2 Hours Plus On Where When And How. Like Jesus; He loves The Sinner But Hates The Sin.

Let's Take Just One Prime Example To Prove My Point;
Mary Is Called "The Mother Of God". Jesus Was Conceived Of THE Holy Ghost (Matthew 1 V 18) Mary was a Chosen vessel to bear God manifested in The Flesh (I timothy 3 V 16). She was truly The Mother of The Flesh Of God But NOT The "Mother of God"

Read This About God; "Without Father Without MOTHER Without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life...." (Hebrews 7 V 3).

Does God approve of "Venerating" Humans?

1 Corinthians 1 v 29; "That No Flesh should Glory in his Presence." Every Prayer to Mary is a Rejection of God and Mary's Creator. She Cannot Hear Nor Answer Anyone's Prayers Now Or 2000 Years Ago.
Jesus Does Not Need "Helpers" To Hear Prayers Tony.
It's First Class Idolatry Plain And Simple My Friend. I Love You Enough To Warn You About What God Commands Versus RCC Doctrines.

[Alistair]

"As a further sign of God's love for us some Saints bodies are not only uncorrupted but give off a pleasant fragrance."

David, how do you know Pio's body, while alive, was "uncorrupted", and what do you mean by that exactly?

Do you really, truly believe that your God arranges for some people's bodies to give off "a pleasant fragrance"? And if so, on what grounds do you base that belief? Can you point to such a reference in the Bible, for example?

[Sfumatura]

don't argue god. stop commenting if you're atheist ... they don't believe in computers. =D

[Ted Bogaerts]

"As a further sign of God's love for us some Saints bodies are not only uncorrupted but give off a pleasant fragrance."

Apparently not the case with the good padre since they found it necessary to cover his face with a silicone mask - imagine that. As far as "exuding a fragrance of sanctity", I should think there was only one fragrance the padre was exuding at the time, and it was neither pleasant nor sanctimonious to say the least.....

[Chris Gillibrand]

Graham Greene, the novelist refused to meet Padre Pio during his lifetime, as he thought the encounter would change his life. He was right.

[Jimbo]

It's funny when people try to disprove the Catholic Church by quoting the Bible. I've read plenty of books by men who hated the Catholic Church, until they found out all of the arguments can be refuted. The arguments above are just silly if looked at from a historical perspective.
No on is worshiping Padre Pio. The devil hates the Catholic Church, and the closer we get to the end of times, the more ignorant people that have it "all figured out" will use their own interpretations of the scriptures to try to destroy the Church.
One problem with that: THERE IS NO BIBLE WITHOUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. Even Martin Luther recognized that. It was Catholic councils that put the bible together. Then 1500 years later, some protesters got their hands on it and figured that their own interpretations were better than the writings and interpretations of the early Christians. I, too, used to be against Catholicism. Then they answered to all my objections, and by reading the writings of the early Christians and the Bible, I found out that the early Christian religion where the Bible emerged was distinct from my own...it was Catholicism, and I could go back year by year and find no chinks in the historical continuity.
I know I haven't figured it all out, so I'll just stick with the original Church, because the early Christians, who followed the bishop of Rome and believed in the Eucharist, confession and so on before the Bible was canonized, had some harsh words for those who joined a schism.
If the holy spirit guides our reading of scripture, it makes no sense to have thousands of different versions. Having one Church under one head that first put together the Bible and told the world it is inspired makes sense.
God bless.

[Islam Morina]

This is one more step that the Humanity is doing against death. I hope that is not to far the day that Humanbeing will be reborn.

[P. Robert Kennedy]

The Roman Catholic church was conceived through apostasy, in the early years after Christ's death.Claiming their Papacy descends from Peter,we nonetheless gaze in dismay as people bow, and kiss the Pope's hand,while Peter in the bible would not allow any man to bow to him.(ACTS CH.10:25,26).The Catholic church is mentioned in the bible..not by name, but by description and association..as part of the world empire of false religion...Babylon The Great..The mother of the harlots..." Revelation ( Apocolypse) ch17:5. The truth is so simple.Why go for all the pagan hoo ha? Digging up a rotting corpse. Disgusting! Dug up the kids' puppy coz he could do tricks?

[Ted Bogaerts]

I don't think this is a question of religion, or Catholicism, or Christianity vs Athiesm. It's a matter of something most people should find extremely offensive, if not unthinkable (no matter what their faith or lack of faith). Padre Pio, and anything he did during his lifetime, is not in question at this point. What is in question, is the lack of respect we show in the name of faith, after his lifetime......

[Cindy]

Many Catholics don't know what has happened since Vatican II. We are in the final stages of apostasy as per the Apocalypse. I support the SSPX and the Latin Mass. St. Pio truly was a man of God and helped many people and many miracles occurred as well. St. Pio, ora pro nobis.

http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Archbishop-Lefebvre/OpenLetterToConfusedCatholics/index.htm

[Francis Pimentel-Pinto]

The veneration of relics and corpses of the saints can be traced at least to the middle of the 2nd century and was regulated by the Council of Trent(1545-1563), which directed among other things that "no Catholic is formally bound to the positive veneration of relics, but is forbidden to say that such veneration ought not to be given".The Council also directs that "in the veneration of relics...every superstition shall be removed, and filthy lucre be abolished".

[Ruby]

I am a born and bred Catholic but the older I get the more embarrassed I am by the ridiculousness of the Church. I honestly don't know what they are trying to acheive with this stunt - it's utterly offensive and offers cold comfort during this rather dark time.

If the Catholic Church wants to offer real hope and support to its global congregation it needs to face up to the serious issues of today and it's part in their perpetuation.

AIDS - using contraception means a one way trip to hell, leaving no protection for the poorest and most vulnerable people.

Homophobia - being gay may mean you're evil incarnate but priests with wayward sexual tendancies seemed acceptable enough.

Female oppression - where do I start? No contraception, no right to choose, no voice in the Church and frankly no respect.

Racism - a Pope to represent the non-European, and now largest section of Catholicism? I think not.

If the Church concerned itself with these issues rather than the attempted resurrection of a ripe saint, complete with Spitting Image style rubber mask, perhaps they might reclaim some level of respect, not only from their parishoners but from the rest of the global community.

[david]

I dont quite understand the animosity and downright hatred that some people have expressed here.A lot of it clearly comes from people who are ignorant of what padre pio represented and still represents. The arguments used to attack him are nothing new. Carbolic acid..wounds in the palms as opposed to the wrists etc. Old arguments that padre pio was all too familiar with.Im not going to answer these arguments here but i would suggest to those people who think they are being original or clever in trying to demolish the sainthood of padre pio, to find out more about him instead of posting know it all,old and offensive comments to attack him and the church.

[Ted Bogaerts]

You know, David, as I stated before, this should be less about Padre Pio and his "miracles", and more about the digusting practice of parading his lifeless body past thousands of devotees. It has almost a carnival sideshow level of hype, and certainly shows a great deal of ignorance in todays society. As far as "real" stigmata vs "fake" stigmata......well, thats another post all together....not to mention, nobody here needs to demolish the sainthood of Padre Pio, the Catholic church has done a fine job of that.........