Benedict XVI Calls Christians to Rediscover Chastity

Zenit.org ^ | March 0, 2012 | Kathleen Naab

[Salvation]

Benedict XVI Calls Christians to Rediscover Chastity

Addresses US Bishops on Issues of Marriage, Sexuality

By Kathleen Naab

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 9, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that chastity might be countercultural and challenging, but the entire Christian community should recover an appreciation for it.

The Pope said this today in an address to a group of bishops from the midwest of the United States, who are in Rome for their five-yearly ad limina visit.

The Holy Father's talk, which he presented as a continuation of reflections on "certain aspects of the evangelization of American culture," resonated in the social and political climate of the United States, in the throes of a battle over religious freedom and a government mandate to include abortifacients and sterilization in health insurance as "preventive care."

The Pontiff alluded to his speech to the last group of bishops from the US -- given the day before the health insurance mandate was announced -- and mentioned "our concern about threats to freedom of conscience, religion and worship which need to be addressed urgently, so that all men and women of faith, and the institutions they inspire, can act in accordance with their deepest moral convictions."

In today's address, the Holy Father turned specifically to the issue of "the contemporary crisis of marriage and the family, and, more generally, of the Christian vision of human sexuality."

Benedict called attention to the "powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage," and he said that the Church needs to give a "reasoned defense of marriage as a natural institution consisting of a specific communion of persons, essentially rooted in the complementarity of the sexes and oriented to procreation."

"Sexual differences cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the definition of marriage," he affirmed. "Defending the institution of marriage as a social reality is ultimately a question of justice, since it entails safeguarding the good of the entire human community and the rights of parents and children alike."

Catechesis problems

Benedict XVI acknowledged the "deficiencies in the catechesis of recent decades" in regard to the Church's teaching on marriage and family life. He called for strengthening marriage preparation programs -- echoing recommendations he has made in the past, when he has even suggested that parishes need to have support systems for married couples through the first decade of marriage.

He also pointed out the problem of cohabitation, saying couples often seem "unaware that it is gravely sinful, not to mention damaging to the stability of society."

The Pope lauded the bishops' efforts to promote marriage. And he observed: "In this great pastoral effort there is an urgent need for the entire Christian community to recover an appreciation of the virtue of chastity. The integrating and liberating function of this virtue (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2338-2343) should be emphasized by a formation of the heart, which presents the Christian understanding of sexuality as a source of genuine freedom, happiness and the fulfilment of our fundamental and innate human vocation to love. It is not merely a question of presenting arguments, but of appealing to an integrated, consistent and uplifting vision of human sexuality. The richness of this vision is more sound and appealing than the permissive ideologies exalted in some quarters; these in fact constitute a powerful and destructive form of counter-catechesis for the young.

"Young people need to encounter the Church’s teaching in its integrity, challenging and countercultural as that teaching may be; more importantly, they need to see it embodied by faithful married couples who bear convincing witness to its truth."

He called for support of young people "as they struggle to make wise choices at a difficult and confusing time in their lives" and recognized that society "increasingly tends to misunderstand and even ridicule [chastity,] this essential dimension of Christian teaching."

The Pope concluded by recalling that efforts to present the Church's teaching on sexuality "are ultimately concerned with the good of children, who have a fundamental right to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. Children are the greatest treasure and the future of every society: truly caring for them means recognizing our responsibility to teach, defend and live the moral virtues which are the key to human fulfillment."

[CynicalBear]

>>chastity might be countercultural and challenging, but the entire Christian community should recover an appreciation for it.<<

What an absolutely awful comment that has to be made about the “Christian community”. He’s totally right but what a shame that the “Christian community” has to “recover” an appreciation for it. My fear is that there will be a pathetically small portion of the “Christian community” that will respond. Narrow is the way is becoming all too real.

[Salvation]

Wonderful!

[Salvation]

And basically isn’t this all saying that girls (and boys, too) do NOT have to follow the crowd and do the sex thing that everyone thinks is so fashionable?

[Salvation]

And the gate is even narrower.

(Is that a word?) LOL!

[Mrs. Don-o]

Condoms 33 cents apiece at Wal-Mart, or free by the handful at the County Health Dept or the Student Welness Center, but (according to Alan Guttsmasher) about 1/2 of the women who get abortions were using cotnraceptives, and half were using no contraceptives at all. The sexual reproductive system, which suceeded for 100% of your ancestors and mine going back 20,000 generations, is designed to succeed.

And instead of saying "Praise God," people say "It's so unfair."

[CynicalBear]

>> (Is that a word?) LOL!<<

I understood it so it must be. It just struck me that this country has fallen so far from the morals I grew up surrounded by in a little town in Iowa. Living together without being married would have not been considered. Disasters such as a house fire brought the community together to rebuild within weeks. Government help wasn’t something anyone even thought about. If someone found themselves in hard times the farmers in the area would supply everything from milk to meat and vegetables. Oh what a different time.

[Tax-chick]

[Pope Benedict is] totally right but what a shame that the “Christian community” has to “recover” an appreciation for [chastity].

I agree. Unfortunately, it seems that the assurance that sins can be forgiven leads many to a lack of concern for sin, or even the silent agreement that "sin" is just a formal category. Certainly on FR, I often find people who identify themselves as Christians taking the position that fornication is the proper activity of certain stages of life (before marriage, between marriages, after marriage) and that the concept that this is a sin is simply out of the question.

If a good church-going Baptist gentleman ... knows his Bible, teaches Sunday School, works on the disaster-relief team ... can look back on the screwing-around of his college years with nostalgic enjoyment, it certainly doesn't seem that he considers it a sin for which he should repent. What does it tell adolescents/young adults, if the teachers in their lives (parents, school teachers, church leaders) convey the impression that sexually-active single years were the best time in their lives?

[CynicalBear]

>>who identify themselves as Christians taking the position that fornication is the proper activity of certain stages of life<<

There simply is no true born again Christian who takes that position. Attending a church or even reaching the status of “teacher” does not make one a Christian. I think a real and serious problem today is the fact that the title “Christian” is used so loosely that it’s become useless as a description. The true heart change of a born again believer would be indicated by an attitude of regret for past indiscretions. I think it’s time we begin understanding and speaking out about those fake “Christians” among us.

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

Next day BUMP! FReegards....

[ConservativeStLouisGuy]

(Speech in full...below....)

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FROM REGION VIII ON THEIR “AD LIMINA” VISIT

9 March 2012

Dear Brother Bishops,

I greet all of you with fraternal affection on the occasion of your visit ad limina Apostolorum. As you know, this year I wish to reflect with you on certain aspects of the evangelization of American culture in the light of the intellectual and ethical challenges of the present moment.

In our previous meetings I acknowledged our concern about threats to freedom of conscience, religion and worship which need to be addressed urgently, so that all men and women of faith, and the institutions they inspire, can act in accordance with their deepest moral convictions. In this talk I would like to discuss another serious issue which you raised with me during my Pastoral Visit to America, namely, the contemporary crisis of marriage and the family, and, more generally, of the Christian vision of human sexuality. It is in fact increasingly evident that a weakened appreciation of the indissolubility of the marriage covenant, and the widespread rejection of a responsible, mature sexual ethic grounded in the practice of chastity, have led to grave societal problems bearing an immense human and economic cost.

Yet, as Blessed John Paul II observed, the future of humanity passes by way of the family (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 85). Indeed, “the good that the Church and society as a whole expect from marriage and from the family founded on marriage is so great as to call for full pastoral commitment to this particular area. Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 29).

In this regard, particular mention must be made of the powerful political and cultural currents seeking to alter the legal definition of marriage. The Church’s conscientious effort to resist this pressure calls for a reasoned defense of marriage as a natural institution consisting of a specific communion of persons, essentially rooted in the complementarity of the sexes and oriented to procreation. Sexual differences cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the definition of marriage. Defending the institution of marriage as a social reality is ultimately a question of justice, since it entails safeguarding the good of the entire human community and the rights of parents and children alike.

In our conversations, some of you have pointed with concern to the growing difficulties encountered in communicating the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family in its integrity, and to a decrease in the number of young people who approach the sacrament of matrimony. Certainly we must acknowledge deficiencies in the catechesis of recent decades, which failed at times to communicate the rich heritage of Catholic teaching on marriage as a natural institution elevated by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament, the vocation of Christian spouses in society and in the Church, and the practice of marital chastity. This teaching, stated with increasing clarity by the post-conciliar magisterium and comprehensively presented in both the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, needs to be restored to its proper place in preaching and catechetical instruction.

On the practical level, marriage preparation programs must be carefully reviewed to ensure that there is greater concentration on their catechetical component and their presentation of the social and ecclesial responsibilities entailed by Christian marriage. In this context we cannot overlook the serious pastoral problem presented by the widespread practice of cohabitation, often by couples who seem unaware that it is gravely sinful, not to mention damaging to the stability of society. I encourage your efforts to develop clear pastoral and liturgical norms for the worthy celebration of matrimony which embody an unambiguous witness to the objective demands of Christian morality, while showing sensitivity and concern for young couples.

Here too I would express my appreciation of the pastoral programs which you are promoting in your Dioceses and, in particular, the clear and authoritative presentation of the Church’s teaching found in your 2009 Letter Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan. I also appreciate all that your parishes, schools and charitable agencies do daily to support families and to reach out to those in difficult marital situations, especially the divorced and separated, single parents, teenage mothers and women considering abortion, as well as children suffering the tragic effects of family breakdown.

In this great pastoral effort there is an urgent need for the entire Christian community to recover an appreciation of the virtue of chastity. The integrating and liberating function of this virtue (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2338-2343) should be emphasized by a formation of the heart, which presents the Christian understanding of sexuality as a source of genuine freedom, happiness and the fulfilment of our fundamental and innate human vocation to love. It is not merely a question of presenting arguments, but of appealing to an integrated, consistent and uplifting vision of human sexuality. The richness of this vision is more sound and appealing than the permissive ideologies exalted in some quarters; these in fact constitute a powerful and destructive form of counter-catechesis for the young.

Young people need to encounter the Church’s teaching in its integrity, challenging and countercultural as that teaching may be; more importantly, they need to see it embodied by faithful married couples who bear convincing witness to its truth. They also need to be supported as they struggle to make wise choices at a difficult and confusing time in their lives. Chastity, as the Catechism reminds us, involves an ongoing “apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (2339). In a society which increasingly tends to misunderstand and even ridicule this essential dimension of Christian teaching, young people need to be reassured that “if we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, absolutely nothing, of what makes life free, beautiful and great” (Homily, Inaugural Mass of the Pontificate, 24 April 2005).

Let me conclude by recalling that all our efforts in this area are ultimately concerned with the good of children, who have a fundamental right to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. Children are the greatest treasure and the future of every society: truly caring for them means recognizing our responsibility to teach, defend and live the moral virtues which are the key to human fulfillment. It is my hope that the Church in the United States, however chastened by the events of the past decade, will persevere in its historic mission of educating the young and thus contribute to the consolidation of that sound family life which is the surest guarantee of intergenerational solidarity and the health of society as a whole.

I now commend you and your brother Bishops, with the flock entrusted to your pastoral care, to the loving intercession of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. To all of you I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of wisdom, strength and peace in the Lord

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

-——Chastity, as the Catechism reminds us, involves an ongoing “apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (2339)-——

True freedom is the ability to choose among goods, not to choose evil.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

—— He is right, but before we tackle chastity, we will need to restore belief in Christ and the Christian religion in the west. Without that foundation, you have no basis for demands that are unpopular.-——

Not true. All people know that stealing and adultery is wrong, because the natural law is accessible to reason, and “written on the human heart.” Chastity follows logically from a proper understanding of marriage. But since it’s a secondary principle, the proper understanding of it is more prone to error.

[Tax-chick]

The true heart change of a born again believer would be indicated by an attitude of regret for past indiscretions.

True. However, much more common in society seems to be an attitude that "past indiscretions" were a lot of fun, and people regret that they had to give them up in order avoid hell. Earlier this week, I pointed out to my daughter the sin of presumption in a popular song. The viewpoint character, so to speak, assumed he would have the opportunity to repent before he died - but if you're not sorry you did it - but only sorry it's "against the rules" - it seems to me that is not repentence!

I'm not competent to decide whether anyone else is a Christian; maybe it's just a failure to think things through. It's certainly better to avoid sin out of fear than to persist in sin anyway, but the Scriptures call us to repent of sin with "fasting, weeping, and mourning."

[CynicalBear]

>>much more common in society seems to be an attitude that "past indiscretions" were a lot of fun, and people regret that they had to give them up in order avoid hell.<<

Society is not analogous to a born again saved individual. Nor does a born again saved individual “regret” having to “give up” in order to “avoid hell”. Changed actions do not indicate a changed heart but a changed heart will change actions. A true born again Christian has a changed heart which results in changed actions. Simply changing actions is not what saves.

>>I'm not competent to decide whether anyone else is a Christian; maybe it's just a failure to think things through.<<

We are called to discern however. True repentance is not just giving up the act. True repentance comes from a regretful heart.

[Tax-chick]

True repentance is not just giving up the act. True repentance comes from a regretful heart.

Very true.

[onedoug]

How about the Pope reinstating Father Guarnizo, as it seems his Bisops won’t? Then he can get on with his more lofty matters.