To be impressed by the blatant cynicism of the Catholic Church?

[SpottyAardvark]

The Pope is about to canonise Carlo Acutis, a British born Italian boy from a wealthy, well-connected family who died of leukaemia in 2006 aged 15.

The Church has endowed him with ‘saintly’ qualities for promoting Catholicism online to young people during his lifetime, and has attributed several ‘miracles’ to him since his death. It has exhumed his body, put it on public display in a church in Assisi and is marketing this spectacle as a place of pilgrimage targeting young people. Naturally, they are also selling vast quantities of tat branded with his image to generate €millions in revenue. Of course they are…🙄

AIBU to think this is obviously an incredibly cynical stunt to try to promote Catholicism to impressionable kids, fleece them & make huge profits in the process?

Do you know anything about him that you haven’t read in the daily mail 🙄🙄🙄🙄

He was a remarkable young man who continues to inspire many people.

Carlo Acutis lived his life for his strong faith in Christ. His mother was not particularly devout (grew up in a secular family), yet Carlo went to Mass frequently of his own accord, and because of his faith his mother converted. He had a love of computer games yet chose to limit his time on them to an hour a week. There’s so much more. He’s fascinating and a great role model to the young.

Miracles are only attributed when no other possible explanation for an occurrence can be reached. The church doesn’t take them lightly or accept purported miracles on the say-so of those who wish them to be true.

There is a “quiet revival” in young people attending church. I can think of worse current influences on “impressionable kids”.

Well they've certainly fast tracked him haven't they!

I'm sure he was a lovely young man and it's tragic that he died so young - but to be made a Saint so extraordinarily quickly??

I'd be interested to read what miracles have been attributed to him and what scrutiny was used.

London connection. Image attached (will be there in a few seconds).

Do you know anything about him that you haven’t read in the daily mail

Never heard of him until today. Sounds like he was a decent kid. But I’m not commenting on him.

I’m commenting on the Catholic Church, about which I do know plenty having grown up in a Catholic household & attended catholic schools. I know how it exploits the naivety & gullibility of its followers and uses the vast quantities of money it extorts from them to protect its interests & cover up the harm it does. And now it is using Acutis to exploit the young.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yg5me8dvlo

‘Get off your computer and go out and do some good in the world’ isn’t the worst message for any faith to be promoting, is it? Or for people with no religious faith, for that matter.

The canonisation was due to happen earlier in the year but was postponed when Pope Francis died.