Pope Hopes To Inspire Youth

World Youth Day is over and Pope Benedict is clearly no pop star a la John Paul II, but he was still able to attract massive crowds (and fringe cult Opus Dei was especially prominent, according to the LA Times). The Church likes to pretend JPII really lit a fire among young people, but that just isn't true. JPII oversaw a dramatic DECLINE in young people feeling called to enter religious orders. In other words, no new priests. JPII was simply a disaster for inspiring growth in the West because the Church lied and misled its flock, abused boys, and increasingly insisted to be a good Catholic you had to close your mind to common sense. Pope Benedict isn't going to change that at all and the Church is going to continue to suffer.