Pope Benedict XVI on Saints and Sinners

Brazilian Catholics thronged to see Pope Benedict XVI in Sao Paulo on Friday as he officially added native-born 18th-century Friar Antonio Galvao to the canon of saints.  While he was at it, the pope emphasized the importance of just saying no to drugs and premarital sex.

BBC:

During the Mass, the 80-year-old pontiff encouraged his listeners to follow the example of the new saint by helping the needy “in an age so full of hedonism.”

He lauded Friar Galvao as a model of rectitude and humility, and went on to criticise the elements of the media that ridiculed the sanctity of marriage and virginity before marriage.

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AP Photo / Silvia Izquierdo

The Catholic Church in Brazil is hoping the pope’s visit will help reinvigorate the local church, which has lost millions of faithful in recent years to evangelical churches.