Brandon Scott
Fr Pat Collins CM. Fr Pat Collins, a Vincentian priest, psychotherapist and expert in deliverance ministry, has described the controversial opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, which has been condemned by a variety of Church leaders around the globe for its depiction of The Last Supper, as not reminiscent of “the spirit of Christ of God” and being more in-line with “the spirit of the world, the evil spirit”. Fr Collins also appealed to Christians to give leadership and protest.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Fr Collins reminded Christians that they’re constantly involved in a spiritual warfare with sinister forces and that the prevailing spirit in Europe has become one that openly mocks what was once considered “sacred, holy and essential”.
“From a Christian point of view, we believe that we’re always involved in a spiritual warfare. [The opening ceremony] was not surprising as the weeds and wheat are always growing together.
“What I’ve noticed in European culture is that there is an apostasy going on and it was something that the late St John Paul II alluded to in his letter Ecclesia in Europa. He said people who had former Christian allegiances have now walked away and then the spirit of the world became one that mocked what was considered sacred, holy and essential. There are all kinds of hints of that in modern culture.”
Fr Collins admitted that the opening ceremony did not surprise him but that didn’t mean that Christians should remain passive when their beliefs are being blatantly ridiculed.
“The spirit behind it of course is not the spirit of Christ of God – it’s the spirit of the world which is ultimately the evil spirit. We shouldn’t be too surprised but we should resist it.
“We Christians should give leadership and protest, particularly when it comes to the Eucharist and say ‘How dare you? Would you do this with Islam or Judaism? Why do you feel free to do it with Christianity?”’
Fr Collins believes that the secular world sees Christians as being targets because of their unwillingness to freely accept the attitudes of the secular world and that it’s vital Christians not stop praying against it.
“They see us Christians as an admonishment because we’re questioning the ethical assumptions of secular culture,” he said. “They make a mockery of the central tenets of our Faith. We should speak the truth in love and pray against it because there are forces at work behind the scenes manipulating people and we’re in a spiritual war.”