HEILIGENBLUT, Austria (LifeSiteNews) — The vicar general of the Diocese of Gurk, Austria, has celebrated an ecumenical “funeral ceremony” for a supposedly “dying” glacier together with a female Protestant pastor.
“The Pasterze, still the largest glacier in Austria, was ‘buried’ by Episcopal Vicar Engelbert Guggenberger and Protestant Pastor Margit Leuthold,” Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported.
The event was initiated by the organization “Protect our Winters,” which aims to raise awareness of “the dramatic glacier retreat” allegedly due to global warming.
During the ceremony, a coffin made of ice was “laid to rest” to symbolize the “death” of the glacier, which will recede and soon not be Austria’s largest glacier anymore, according to forecasts.
Among the “mourners” were two left-wing politicians, Lukas Hammer from the far-left Green Party, and Sara Schaar from the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ).
According to Catholic teaching and Tradition, a requiem or funeral Mass is to be celebrated only for deceased human persons, not for inanimate objects like glaciers or even other living creatures like animals or plants. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that “Requiem Masses are masses that are offered for the dead.” The article also states multiple times that a Requiem Mass is to be offered for one or more “persons.” The aim of a Catholic funeral service is to beg God for the salvation of the departed’s soul, not to wish him or her a fond farewell.
Even though Fr. Guggenberger did not offer a Holy Mass for the glacier, the ceremony gave the appearance of being a Catholic funeral, potentially confusing and scandalizing Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
In July, the Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising celebrated a similar “funeral service” at the Schneeferner glacier in Bavaria, together with a female pastor from the Protestant church.
Receding glaciers reveal evidence that contradicts climate alarmism
While the melting of glaciers is often used as proof for the narrative that we are living through an unprecedented “climate crisis,” the receding glaciers have revealed evidence to the contrary.
In 2015, the Pasterze glacier, which was “buried” during the recent “funeral ceremony,” revealed parts of a tree that is said to be 6,000 years old. Multiple other trees with an estimated age between 4,000 and 8,000 years have been found in the Alps underneath receding glaciers in recent years. These findings indicate that the glaciers must have been smaller and the weather significantly warmer in ancient times compared to today; otherwise, trees would not have been able to grow at these altitudes.
Peter Panther from the European Institute for Climate and Energy argued that there were likely several phases in the past millennia where glaciers were smaller than in the 21st century, based on the results of a 2006 study on glacier fluctuations. Renowned Swiss geologist Christian Schlüchter pointed out that the lower Grindelwald Glacier in Switzerland “retreated 170 years ago, even before the CO2 content in the atmosphere had increased.”
READ: A pro-lifer’s guide to refuting the anti-human claims of climate alarmists