Young Catholics protest techno concert tribute to Pope Francis by DJ priest

BUENOS AIRES (LifeSiteNews) — Young Catholics in Argentina have publicly criticized a large techno music event held in Buenos Aires in honor of Pope Francis.

On April 18, more than 100,000 people gathered in Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a large-scale electronic music event organized by the Portuguese priest Father Guilherme Peixoto as a tribute to Pope Francis, prompting criticism days later from a group of young Catholics who, in a public letter, rejected the format of the celebration and expressed concern over its presentation as a means of engaging younger generations.

“We want the full truth,” they wrote in their letter, adding that what attracts them to Christianity “is the complete truth,” rather than adaptations of the faith to contemporary cultural forms.

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The event took place in the historic Plaza de Mayo, adjacent to the cathedral where Jorge Mario Bergoglio served as archbishop before his election to the papacy. According to InfoVaticana, attendance exceeded 100,000 people, with some estimates reaching 120,000. The gathering combined electronic music with religious imagery, including large screens displaying images of Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II, alongside symbols such as crosses and doves.

One of the projected screens read: “Thank you, Pope Francis. Intercede for us.”

The music was led by Peixoto, a priest who has developed an international career as a DJ. Over several hours, he performed a techno set from a stage designed in the style of a music festival, incorporating excerpts from papal speeches into the musical performance.

The archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge García Cuerva, also addressed the crowd during the event. He stated that, “Although Pope Francis had not returned to Argentina as pontiff,” his presence continued to be strongly felt among the Argentine people. Civil and ecclesiastical figures were present.

Peixoto has previously explained that his intention is to communicate a message to those distant from the Church by employing forms of expression familiar to them. His visibility increased notably following his participation in the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.

In response to the latest event, a group of Argentine Catholic youths issued a public letter, published on April 26 by Argentinian outlet La Prensa, addressing García Cuerva. In the text, they described the event as a “grave scandal” and expressed dismay at what they characterized as a positive evaluation of the initiative by ecclesiastical authorities as a means of reaching the youth.

Appealing directly to the Code of Canon Law, which authorizes the faithful to admonish bishops firmly when they err or fail in their duties (cc. 212 §§2–3), the young people wrote:

As young Catholics, we address you to express our rejection of such a dishonorable spectacle as the one that took place, for it has left us deeply scandalized. As if that were not enough, the fact that our bishop considers this shameful act a “serious show” to “reach the youth” leaves us painfully perplexed.

We deeply regret that young people are underestimated in this way, that anyone would think what “reaches” us are rave‑style parties with music and an atmosphere that fosters debauchery, substance use, and disregard for public spaces. We are not drawn to priests who try to conform to the world’s standards, nor to the trivialization of our faith, for which so many men have shed and continue to shed their blood.

We would like to take this opportunity to express what truly does reach us, and what we publicly ask of our pastors:

(1) That you transmit to us the full doctrine of the Church, for the faithful have the right to receive it without omissions. We are tired of being told that Hell does not exist or is empty, that God accepts everyone just as they are, or that the Church only used to teach that;

(2) That you abandon politically correct criteria. We want you to preach clearly to us the need to live in purity. […] How is it possible that we are told that masturbation is not a sin?

(3) That you do not communicate a confused message about homosexuality […];

(4) That you explicitly teach us that outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation. It fills us with sorrow and indignation to hear priests say that all religions lead to God, defying Christ […];

(5) That you put an end to liturgical abuses. We want the Holy Mass to be celebrated solemnly, worthily, and reverently, free from applause, guitars, dancing, and/or songs from the 1970s. We are horrified by the Eucharist being distributed like a cookie and by the mistreatment of those who wish to receive Communion kneeling. […]

(6) That you teach us that to receive Christ in Holy Communion we must be in a state of grace. […]

(7) That you preach to us about the danger of the three enemies of the soul: the devil, the world, and the flesh. Do not hide from us that there is a spiritual battle on which our eternal destiny depends;

(8) That you exhort us to the works of mercy, to care for the most needy without bowing to the world’s agendas. To care for our neighbor, we do not need to flirt with ideologies or venerate Third-Worldist priests.

The letter continues: “Do you not think that, if young people do not feel drawn, it is because of what we read in Jn 10:5: ‘But they will not follow a stranger; they will flee from him because they do not know the voice of strangers’? Do you not think that, if the sheep scatter and do not enter the fold, it is because of the intrusion of thieves, robbers, mercenaries, and hirelings (cf. Jn 10:8–12) who feed themselves while leaving the flock at the mercy of wild beasts (cf. Ez 34:1–10)?”

“The unity of the flock and the search for the lost sheep can only take place in charity, and charity can only exist in truth. Unity is not a mere piling together of numbers; it is the following of the voice of the Good Shepherd.”

Concluding, the young Catholics wrote:

We beg you – and all bishops and priests who have received this message – to strive with all your strength to remedy this immense tragedy. Fulfill the mission for which you were consecrated: to preach the truth, to celebrate the sacraments with dignity, and to lead us to holiness. We want to be invited to heroism and reminded that divine grace makes the impossible possible.

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