Money bad, Invisible Friends good says Pope

THE Vatican’s head honcho has seized upon the world’s deepening financial crisis to declare:

Now with the collapse of big banks we see that money disappears, is nothing and all these things that appear real are in fact of secondary importance.

The Pope has problems: Atheists are multiplying and his handbag's on fire!

People who think that only things that are visible, “such as success, career, money” should keep that in mind, said Pope Benedict when he opened a meeting of 253 bishops at the Vatican.

Benedict, whose own power and wealth is build on cash fleeced mainly from the poor over the centuries, added:

The only solid reality is the word of God.

At the start of a month-long synod of Roman Catholic bishops from around the world , the Pope lamented the fact that modern culture was so devoid of faith that some people were declaring God “dead” and entire nations were losing their identity.

The 81-year-old pontiff said that God was being pushed out of people’s lives under the “harmful and destructive influence” of today’s society.

He expressed particular concern about a growing indifference to religion in Europe.

Today, nations once rich in faith and vocations are losing their own identity under the harmful and destructive influence of a certain modern culture. There are those who, after deciding that ‘God is dead’, declare themselves to be ‘god’ and the artisan of their own destiny, the absolute master of the world.

When men proclaim themselves to be absolute masters of themselves and sole masters of creation, can they truly build a society where freedom, justice and peace reign?” he asked.

In recent decades, the Catholic Church’s influence has seen a decline in developed countries, although it is growing in the Third World.

Both the Church of Scotland and Scottish Catholic Church have seen a drop in worshippers in recent years – the Church of Scotland has seen numbers fall nearly 60 per cent since 1960, and between 1994 and 2003, Mass attendances fell from 250,000 to 194,728. Earlier this year the Vatican also reported a dramatic fall in the number of Roman Catholic monks and nuns.

The Scotsman reported that Ronnie Convery, spokesman for the Scottish Catholic Church, said Pope Benedict’s comments reflected the concerns religious leaders had been aware of for some time.

What we are seeing is that our culture has changed, subtly but significantly. Many people today, even though they wouldn’t declare themselves atheist, behave as though God doesn’t exist.

Meanwhile, the Pope found time to kick off a marathon Bible reading, expected to last a week.

A number of Muslims and Jews are take part, but Rome’s chief rabbi, Riccardo di Segni, pulled out of the event last month, saying it had become “too Catholic” for him.