Africans must tap into the strengths of their cultural and religious values to promote reconciliation on the continent and to resist the “spiritual toxic waste” spread by the West, Pope Benedict XVI said.
Presiding over the opening Mass for the special Synod of Bishops for Africa being held from October 4 to 25, the Pope said the vocation of the Catholic Church on the continent is to work for peace and to promote the holiness that will lead to justice, strong families and care for the weakest members of African societies.
Bishops hail Irish ‘yes’
In a statement, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (Comece) praised the “clear and decisive outcome” of the Irish referendum vote to accept the Lisbon Treaty. Comece looked forward to “the possibility of concluding the ratification process of the treaty by the end of this year”.
Comece attributed the Irish approval at least in part to “guarantees” that had been given to protect “the right to life, the protection of family, and the right of parents to educate their children”. Comece voiced hopes for an “open, transparent, and regular” dialogue between religious leaders and EU institutions.
Archbishop attacks cardinal
The arch-conservative Archbishop of Denver, Charles Chaput, has attacked Cardinal Georges, the Swiss Dominican who served as the theologian of the Pontifical household from 1990 to 2005. The Cardinal’s sin, in the eyes of Chaput, is that he had welcomed President Barack Obama’s remarks at the University of Notre Dame on May 17.
Writing in Il Foglio, Chaput said that “regrettably and unintentionally, Cardinal Cottier’s articulate essay undervalues the gravity of what happened at Notre Dame. It also overvalues the consonance of President Obama’s thinking with Catholic teaching.”
In the run-up to the US presidential elections Chaput had attacked Catholics who were supporting Obama. The current US ambassador to Malta was repeatedly in the firing line of Mgr Chaput.
Bishops urge mass protest
Spain’s bishops are urging Spanish Catholics to protest against legislation that would allow girls as young as 16 to terminate pregnancies without parental consent. “This law is a step backward, as far as defending the right to life of those who are to be born is concerned. It means a greater abandonment of pregnant mothers and irreparable damage to the common good,” the Spanish bishops said.
“The lay faithful are rightly responding to the challenge posed, with great moral and social transcendence, by using their right to a peaceful demonstration in order to express their opposition,” the bishops said.
The statement was issued amid preparations for a massive protest on Saturday in Madrid against the planned liberalising of abortion laws; the changes were initiated by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)