Quotes and news
‘No future for humans if no future for family’
Pope Benedict described the family as humanity’s “principle patrimony”, adding that there is no future for humanity without a future for the family. The Pope was speaking during the 7th World Meeting of Families organised last weekend in Milan.
“It is within the family that we experience for the first time that the human person is not created to live enclosed within himself, but in relationships with others; and it is in the family that the light of peace is first set aflame in our hearts so that it might illumine our world,” he said.
He spoke about the balance there should be between work and family, saying that family time should be defended from the threat of “overbearance” of work commitments. “Sunday,” he said, “is the Lord’s day and man’s day, a day when everyone should be able to be free, free for family and free for God. In defending Sunday, we defend man’s freedom.”
Superior defends sister-theologian
Sr Patricia McDermott, president of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, defended Sr Margaret Farley whose book on sexual morality – Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics – was declared by the Vatican to be contrary to Catholic teaching.
The Sister of Mercy and emeritus professor of Christian Ethics at Yale Divinity School published her book in 2006.
Sr McDermott described Sr Farley as “a highly respected and valued member” of the congregation and expressed her “profound regret” at the decision of the Vatican.
The Vatican’s statement said Sr Farley argued in her book that masturbation “usually does not raise any moral questions at all”. She also suggested that homosexual acts “can be justified according to the same sexual ethic as heterosexual relationships”, while homosexual civil unions “can also be important in transforming the hatred, rejection, and stigmatisation of gays and lesbians”. Sr Farley proposed that in certain circumstances re-marriage should not be prohibited.
In response, Sr Farley said her book “was not intended to be an expression of current official Catholic teaching” but as a way of offering “contemporary interpretations of traditional meanings for the human body, gender and sexuality”.
Strategy to eliminate Catholic presence
Bishop Franjo Komarica, who is the chairman of the Bishops’ Conference for Bosnia and Herzegovina, said there is a “well-formulated strategy” to eliminate the Catholic presence in the Balkan nation and that some politicians are saying that Catholics have “no business being in Bosnia”. The bishop was speaking to the Catholic agency, Aid to the Church in Need.
He said many Catholics wanted to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina but they were not receiving help from the government as it their right.
The Catholic population of the largely Muslim and Eastern Orthodox nation has fallen by 400,000 since the 1992-95 Bosnian War.
The Pope’s prayer intentions for June
The Vatican has released the prayer intentions of Pope Benedict for June. The Pope’s general intention is: “That believers may recognise in the Eucharist the living presence of the Risen One who accompanies them in daily life.”
His missionary intention is: “That Christians in Europe may rediscover their true identity and participate with greater enthusiasm in the proclamation of the Gospel.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)