The Pope has described modern society as a ‘society of orphans’. He lamented of the ‘inhumane’ culture of 90-minute commutes in which parents do not have time to play with their children.
The Pope imagined the ‘hectic day’ of a parent: getting up early, getting the children to school, the long commute to and from work.
“He begins to feel a weight on him which is crushing,” Pope Francis said. “And we ask ourselves: But is this life? Then, in our hearts, arises the question: How can we do this to our children – our children – and give a sense to their lives? Because they feel the way we sometimes live our lives is inhuman, and do not know which way to go so that life is beautiful, and you are content to get up in the morning.”
Pope Francis lamented the fact that many men do not have time to play with their children, and said it leaves the child like an orphan.
“Orphans, with no memories of the family, because… their grandparents have been moved away to a nursing home,” he said. “Orphans without affection or love today because everyone is in too much of a hurry: Dad is tired, mum is tired…they are orphaned!”
1903 conclave politics revealed by Vatican
On the occasion of the first centenary from the death of Pope St Pius X, the Vatican, through L’Osservatore Romano, has printed a previously unpublished note written by Cardinal Jan Puzyna, the bishop of Kraków, in which he wrote down what had happened during the five-day conclave of 1903.
Puzyna noted that Cardinal Mariano Rampolla was the favourite, garnering 27 votes in the first round of voting. The runner up, Cardinal Girolamo Maria Gotti, got 16 votes, while only seven voted for Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto, the patriarch of Venice. The situation changed only slightly in the second ballot, which resulted in 29 votes for Rampolla, 16 for Gotti, and 10 for Sarto.
Puzyna recounted that he spoke with Cardinal Luigi Oreglia, the 85-year-old dean of the College of Cardinals and a supporter of Gotti, about the “inappropriateness of the candidacy of Rampolla”.
When Rampolla increased his vote, Puzyna informed the cardinals that the Emperor of the Austrian-Hungarian empire would veto the election of Rampolla. The result of the next ballot was 30 votes for Rampolla, 29 for Sarto, six votes for Gotti, and two votes for Oreglia.
Although Sarto said he would not accept election he was eventually elected and became Pius X.
‘Polish doctors must perform abortions’
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk insists that doctors should be obliged to perform abortions even if they conscientiously object to it.
“Regardless of what his conscience is telling him, (a doctor) must carry out the law,” he said. He was commenting on a recent case where a mother with a disabled child filed a complaint against a doctor who refused to perform an abortion. The doctor is one of about 3,000 Polish doctors who have said they will refuse to perform immoral procedures such as abortion, euthanasia and sterilisation.
Japanese indifferent to Church teaching
Japanese Catholics are largely ignorant of Church teaching on marriage and indifferent to Catholic stands. This was stated by the bishops of Japan after analysing the replies of Japanese Catholics to the questionnaire circulated by the Vatican to prepare for the Synod of Bishops.
Societal norms are more influential than Church teaching, particularly where birth control is concerned, said the bishops. The Christian position that marriage is based on natural law “is not generally understood, nor is it accepted”.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)