Vatican Condemns Halloween
October 31, 2011 4 Comments
As dangerous and anti-Christian:
The Vatican attempted to put a brake on the growing popularity of Halloween yesterday, branding it anti-Christian and dangerous. The condemnation follows criticism from Catholic bishops who this week urged parents not to let their children dress up as ghosts and goblins.
The Vatican spoke out on the eve of tonight’s ritual which falls before the significant Catholic holy day of All Saints.
Halloween is largely a secular celebration which has its origins in an ancient festival marking the start of the ‘darker half of the year’.
But in an article entitled The Dangerous Messages of Halloween, the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano quoted liturgical expert Joan Maria Canals as saying: ‘Halloween has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian.’
Father Canals urged parents ‘to be aware of this and try to direct the meaning of the feast towards wholesomeness and beauty rather than terror, fear and death’…The Catholic Church in Italy has taken a dim view of Halloween celebrations for years.
Aldo Bonaiuto, head of the Catholic Church’s anti-occult and sect unit, warned parents of the dangers to children and said the event ‘promotes the culture of death’.
He added: ‘Halloween pushes new generations towards a mentality of esoteric magic and it attacks sacred and spiritual values through a devious initiation to the art and images of the occult. At best, it gives a big helping hand to consumerism and materialism.’
About Fr Stephen Smuts
I don’t see the Pope quoted anywhere as denouncing Halloween. L’Osservatore Romano does not speak with the authority of the Pope. I think that you should take this article down or change the title, as it is misleading.
Thanks. I noticed that, but it was the headline in the Daily Mail (which I quoted).
See also http://blog.echurchwebsites.org.uk/2009/10/30/halloween-dangerous-pope-slams-antichristian-festival-vatican-today-slammed-halloween-antichristian-dangerous-links-occult/ from last year.
To add to Fr. Sorensen’s comment, this blog post is misleading. The article is from 2009.
I’m glad the Pope did not condemn Halloween. It is not Christian but neither is the Muslim Religion and I don’t see anyone in the church condemn that. Children dress up as ghosts and pirates and ask for candy to celebrate Halloween but they don’t strap explosives to themselves and murder women and children. We need a sense of proportion here.