Pope Warns Against Devaluing Family

Focus On The Family ^ | Dec. 21, 2004 | Keith Peters

[Lindykim]

Pope Warns Against Devaluing Family by Keith Peters, Washington, D.C., correspondent

Pontiff says Christians must counter the culture's attacks on the building block of society. Pope John Paul II says legislative and ideological attacks on the family are getting stronger and more radicalâ€"and he's urging Christians to do something about it.

Calling the family the essential fabric of human co-existence, the pope said issues characterized as civil and scientific progress can be defeats for marriage and for the dignity of human life. What makes this a strong statement, according to Tom McArdle of the Catholic League, is the connection John Paul is making between homosexual marriage and other attacks on the family.

"He mentions abortion in this statement and he mentions extramarital sexual relations," McArdle noted, adding that the comments seemed aimed at the United States, "where federal judges are increasingly going off the rails in taking the U.S. Constitution and using it to promote social radicalism." The pope also said that whoever destroys the family inflicts a profound wound on society.

The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus said the pope is not reacting against homosexual agitation but is instead calling on Christians to present an important understanding of "the relationship between human sexuality, the bond of marriage and openness to new life, all of which are absolutely constitutive, fundamental for the health of society."

John Paul also said all men of good will who believe in the values of family and life cannot give into the pressures of a culture that threatens the very foundations of respect for life and the promotion of the family.

FOR MORE INFORMATION In Matthew 5, Jesus taught a simple parable comparing His believers to salt and light. What does this lesson mean to millions of Christians now? In "Why You Can't Stay Silent: A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture," Focus on the Family Vice President Tom Minnery shares a compelling case from a biblical perspective on why Christians must actively address social issues within the culture.

[Lindykim]

ping

[SolutionsOnly]

The pope is only 20 years late on this one...

[EagleUSA]

The pope is only 20 years late on this one...
======
That is for sure. Maybe the Pope is finally getting what the Libs are all about. Family VALUES (the V-word again) are very nasty things to the Libs...and MORALS or VALUES or ETHICS...for that matter.

Yes, the Pope is going to lose votes from our devout commies...

[NYer]

What makes this a strong statement, according to Tom McArdle of the Catholic League, is the connection John Paul is making between homosexual marriage and other attacks on the family.

Vatican Document On Homosexual Unions

“Homosexual unions are totally lacking in the biological and anthropological elements of marriage and family which would be the basis, on the level of reason, for granting them legal recognition. Such unions are not able to contribute in a proper way to the procreation and survival of the human race. The possibility of using recently discovered methods of artificial reproduction, beyond involving a grave lack of respect for human dignity,(15) does nothing to alter this inadequacy.”
CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING PROPOSALS TO GIVE LEGAL RECOGNITION TO UNIONS BETWEEN HOMOSEXUAL PERSONS

Catholic Ping - please freepmail me if you want on/off this list

[NYer]

The pope is only 20 years late on this one...

On the contrary. The pope is the only one who has been consistently outspoken on the value of marriage. In fact, this has been the only message of the Catholic Church, for the past 2000 years.

[SolutionsOnly]

The Pope should have been way more vocal much earlier. He's stood by as a spectator as Europe has devolved into spiritual bankruptcy, so I'd say that the Catholic Church's message has been somewhat less than effective.

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

When he clamps down on all of the phony "annulments" the U.S. bishops are handing out like "get out of jail free" cards, then I'll believe he's serious about upholding the family.

[NYer]

I'd say that the Catholic Church's message has been somewhat less than effective.

I would beg to disagree with you. The message is consistent. It's "not" the message secularists want to hear. Sadly, human nature being what it is, we pick and choose what we will 'accept'.

[Lindykim]

The Bishops to which you're referred are in active rebellion against the right teachings of Gods' church. In effect, they are like Americas' secular humanist 'activist' judges who've abandoned a right understanding and/or interpretation of our Rule of Law and Constitution, and in place of that, have substituted personal interpretations based on how they 'feel' about an issue.


Blaming the Pope for the actions of renegade Bishops is like blaming John Ashcroft for the actions of renegade justices in the USSC, Fla's Supreme Court, 9th circuit court, etc.

[SolutionsOnly]

I tend to agree that many people choose wrongly, but where we differ is that you prefer Peter's model, while I prefer Paul's. The Evangelical Christian message in the United States holds the same 'family values' as does the Catholic Church. They also have been consistent. Yet one flourishes, while another struggles. There must be an explanation for it.

[livius]

The answer is that the Catholic Church has been around a lot longer than Evangelical churches, and has always been a high-profile target. The Devil's thinking is this: Corrupt an Evangelical church and you've corrupted one small group; corrupt the Catholic Church, and you've damaged a large part of humanity.

This is not to say, of course, that Evangelical churches aren't under attack, too. They certainly are. But there's a difference of scale, worldwide public presence, etc.

[NYer]

Yet one flourishes, while another struggles. There must be an explanation for it.

The Evangelical Church is declining ;-D? As for the Catholic Church, the growth has been steady and solid. What started as a trickle with Scott Hahn in the 1980s is now a steady stream of hundreds of conversions. The largest influx comes from Evangelical and other denominational ministers, who were once anti-Catholic Protestants.

The exodus from the Catholic Church represents those who, like John Kerry, choose not to follow its teachings. Or, they pick and choose what they 'want' to believe. The others who leave, sadly, were poorly catechized.

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

"Blaming the Pope for the actions of renegade Bishops is like blaming John Ashcroft for the actions of renegade justices in the USSC, Fla's Supreme Court, 9th circuit court, etc."

No, Ashcroft was not in charge of the federal courts. Blaming the pope for the actions of the bishops is like blaming Ashcroft for the actions of the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago. He has direct authority over them, and they serve at his pleasure. The pope appoints bishops, and can remove or otherwise discipline bishops in accordance with Canon Law. If there are bishops "in active rebellion against the right teachings of Gods' church", the blame is rightfully placed with the pope.

[SolutionsOnly]

Well, this debate has been ongoing since Antioch. Some people like rigid organizational hierarchies, others prefer My impressions of the US Roman Catholic Church's troubles relates to the number of church closings - a Google search produces more results than the church leadership must be comfortable with.

What's of primary importance is how seriously people take their Christian faith. I grew up Catholic and was put-off by how many 'John Kerry' type pseudo-Catholics there are. On the other hand, 'Evangelicals' are a bit of a free-for-all - the churches range from outstanding to atrocious, so one must be very careful to find a a good one. It's not too difficult to find questionable characters out there if you look for them. But that's true anywhere there are humans. What I have found impressive about the 'born-again' Christians is that a higher percentage of the congregations actually try to live the Word of God, read the Bible daily, etc. Perhaps it's because they've made an active decision to do so, therefore the 'John Kerry' types are rare.

It's the 'liberal', 'feel-good' Protestant Churches that have institutionally lost their way (PCUSA, Anglican, Episcopal). No doubt disaffected 'traditionalist' members will be drawn towards the Roman Catholic church, while those who have grown disenchanted with ecclesiastic hierarchies and politics will gravitate towards evangelical churches. And unfortunately, some will drop out altogether.

[wardaddy]

the Pope is right sometimes.

[showme_the_Glory]

Who was he warning?

[Lindykim]

My analogy was less than perfect, and you obviously disagreed with it, which in the larger scheme of things, is not of overiding importance. At least not to me. It's because I sensed antipathy in your response and guessed it was towards the Pope and all things Roman Catholic that I responded as I did.


The the underlying purpose of the analogy and its implicit message are, to me, the items of importance. And they are this: The Pope is a great leader. He's impressively erudite. And despite the fact that he's so very obviously nearing death, he continues to determinedly work for God and for the good of mankind. When he passes on, all Christians will lose a great leader. And I say these things regardless of the fact that I'm NOT Catholic.


You see, I don't allow doctrinal arguments to blind me to seeing and appreciating the erudition of great thinkers nor to prevent me respecting their leadership or from supporting conservative Christian (as opposed to liberalized progressive Christian) causes.......regardless of their denomination, so long as it is traditional conservative Christian..


Tragically, some of the ugliest, most hateful fighting and name-calling takes place in Christian dgs. Over what? Doctrine. These Christians allow doctrinal issues to stand between them at a time when all Christians should be united against the common enemy.
When I posted a petition in support of Judge Roy Moore (whose denomination I'm not) in a conservative Catholic dg, they all but booed and hissed. And when I posted a petition for a Catholic cause in a conservative Protestant dg, they sneered at it.


If we cannot put these contentious doctrinal issues aside and unite as one powerful army, then we will deserve to be defeated.


And that is the underlying meaning and purpose for which I proffered my analogy.

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

If I believe that the only way to salvation is via the Catholic Church, or LDS, or Lutheranism, I am obliged to evangelize, advocate, and convert. The pope is supposed to be at the forefront of the Church, shepherding the Faithful and leading the charge for evangelizing and advocating Catholic beliefs, and converting as many as he can. In my opinion, he could be doing a much better job of it, and should concentrate less on being a political leader.

I agree with you that name-calling and hateful speech is not a good way to accomplish that. I don't think I was engaged in that in my criticism of what I consider to be papal malfeasance in failing to uphold Catholic beliefs. If I offended you, it was certainly not intentional.

[Lindykim]

No apology necessary. Perhaps because I've become accustomed to the drawn daggers in Christian dgs I was reading into your response what wasn't there. Plus because we can't "hear" or see facial expressions in cyber-space, it's much too easy to misread one anothers' true intentions.