In an address to Polish bishops, Pope Francis said: “Nowadays, marriage tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will. Unfortunately, this vision also influences the mentality of Christians, promoting a tendency towards divorce or separation.
“Pastors are called upon to ask themselves how they can help those who experience this situation, so that they are not excluded from God’s mercy, from the fraternal love of other Christians and the care of the Church for their salvation; on how to help them not to abandon their faith and to enable them to raise their children in the fullness of Christian experience.
“[There is a need for] discernment, and a search for underlying reasons and methods for facing new challenges, such as the idea of freedom without limits, hostile tolerance or indeed distrust of the truth, or resistance to the Church’s legitimate opposition to dominant relativism.”
‘Reject a simplistic feminist approach’
Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Vatican’s envoy to a UN session on sustainable development, condemned the inequalities found in society, particularly those threatening women and girls. Among these threats he mentioned sex-selective abortion, infanticide, abandonment, unschooling, female genital mutilation, forced marriage and trafficking.
Mgr Chullikatt warned against the belief that these inequalities can be solved by the negation of the procreative capacities of women. He also added that world leaders must not “conflate equality with sameness”. He appealed to the UN to reject the “simplistic” idea that contraception, access to abortion, and escape from marriage would provide women with equal opportunities.
Support peace not war
Bishop Kricor-Okosdinos Coussa of Iskanderiya, Egypt, described the Islamist rebel movements in Syria as terrorists who destroy countries, destroy heritages, put hatred in people’s hearts and encourage sectarian conflict. The bishop, who has lived for 50 years in Syria, said that instead of giving money for destruction and killing of people, governments should give it to build hospitals and schools and to create businesses so our economies can flourish .
‘Pope is stirring things’
US Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien said: “Hold on to your seats. Pope Francis wants to stir things up and allow people to raise questions. I don’t think we’re going to see a change in doctrine, but we will see a change in tone, and we might see some disciplinary modifications.”
While conceding that he doesn’t know what will come out of the Synod on the Family set for October, he said he believed it will be significant. He opined that there could be changes in annulment procedures, as most bishops are very concerned that they [should] have more say in annulments in a responsible way.
Catholic newpaper criticises persecution
The Southern Cross, a weekly promoted by the bishops of South Africa, has taken an editorial position against laws being adopted in several African countries that can lead to discrimination against homosexuals. It said legislation proposed in Nigeria and Uganda and similar proposals in Cameroon and Tanzania can lead to the persecution of people due to their sexual orientation.
The editorial coincided with a statement issued by Nigeria’s bishops approving a new law that outlaws same-sex marriages and public display of same-sex affection. Those who go to gay clubs in Nigeria now face 10 years in jail, and same-sex couples could face up to 14 years in prison.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)