Posted on 11/26/2014 8:13:59 AM PST by marshmallow
In a major address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Pope Francis called for a Europe “which revolves not around the economy, but around the sacredness of the human person.”
“My visit comes more than a quarter of a century after that of Pope John Paul II,” he said. “Since then, much has changed throughout Europe and the world as a whole … Despite a larger and stronger Union, Europe seems to give the impression of being somewhat elderly and haggard.”
Offering “a message of hope in the Lord, who turns evil into good and death into life,” Pope Francis noted that at the heart of efforts toward European unity after World War II was “confidence in man, not so much as a citizen or an economic agent, but in man, in men and women as persons endowed with transcendent dignity.”
“This is an important and praiseworthy commitment, since there are still too many situations in which human beings are treated as objects whose conception, configuration and utility can be programmed, and who can then be discarded when no longer useful, due to weakness, illness or old age,” the Pope continued.
“In the end, what kind of dignity is there without the possibility of freely expressing one’s thought or professing one’s religious faith?” he added. “What dignity can there be without a clear juridical framework which limits the rule of force and enables the rule of law to prevail over the power of tyranny? … Promoting the dignity of the person means recognizing that he or she possesses inalienable rights which no one may take away arbitrarily, much less for the sake of economic interests.”
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicculture.org ...
He really has a way of endearing himself to others, doesn’t he.
“Elderly and Haggard”
Mark Steyn did an excellent job explaining why in “America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It.”
Two world wars that wiped out complete generations in Europe had a lot to do with the fatalism and below replacement birth rates throughout Europe. Not to worry, though. Muslim invaders will repopulate Europe.
“In a major address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Pope Francis called for a Europe “which revolves not around the economy, but around the sacredness of the human person.” “
This is, in fact, the very ESSENCE of their problem!!!
They are man-centered and not God-centered.
I guess the Pope is encouraging them to step on the gas and race the car off the cliff!
I think this pope sucks.
They are man-centered and not God-centered.”
I agree. The economy is a neutral concept. It sounds like the Pope wants to change the way nations operate. I wonder who the Pope has in mind to distribute the wealth of Europe to the sacred humans. The Church?? The government???
......there are still too many situations in which human beings are treated as objects whose conception, configuration and utility can be programmed, and who can then be discarded when no longer useful, due to weakness, illness or old age,” the Pope continued.
The "elderly and haggard" comment is a reference to Europe's love affair with contraception and abortion and its ageing, demographic population disaster.
Yes, A lot of this speech is very good. It’s just that he has a hint of socialism to fix the problems rather than true-from-the-heart charity as Christ demanded of his followers.
If he congratulated Europe on its present state he'd be criticized for attempting to "endear himself to others".
Probably by the same people who are criticizing him now.
So, the pope wants Europeans to ignore the economy.
Is the pope going to feed, clothe and house 400 million Europeans? Will Pope Francis foot the bill?
Europeans are either gay or have killed any children in the womb. It's a strange world without children. Children keep us all young with their enthusiasm and energy. Europe has neither.
If Europe can feed and clothe darker people around the world, they can take care of their own. Much of their decline is related to their lack of a next generation.
Why do you say that when he is saying this:
**We encounter certain rather selfish lifestyles, marked by an opulence which is no longer sustainable and frequently indifferent to the world around us, and especially to the poorest of the poor. To our dismay we see technical and economic questions dominating political debate, to the detriment of genuine concern for human beings. Men and women risk being reduced to mere cogs in a machine that treats them as items of consumption to be exploited, with the result that – as is so tragically apparent – whenever a human life no longer proves useful for that machine, it is discarded with few qualms, as in the case of the terminally ill, the elderly who are abandoned and uncared for, and children who are killed in the womb.**
Did you read the entire article?
Maybe you didn’t read the entire article — for he gives the solution:
**To give Europe hope means more than simply acknowledging the centrality of the human person; it also implies nurturing the gifts of each man and woman. It means investing in individuals and in those settings in which their talents are shaped and flourish. The first area surely is that of education, beginning with the family, the fundamental cell and most precious element of any society. The family, united, fruitful and indissoluble, possesses the elements fundamental for fostering hope in the future. Without this solid basis, the future ends up being built on sand, with dire social consequences. Then too, stressing the importance of the family not only helps to give direction and hope to new generations, but also to many of our elderly, who are often forced to live alone and are effectively abandoned because there is no longer the warmth of a family hearth able to accompany and support them.**
Pope Francis, in my opinion, sucks all around, not just because of what he said at any one time. He manages to say the right thing occasionally but for me it does not mean much. Pope Francis supports liberation theology, which to me is a big problem. Liberation Theology is the same kind of BS that Obama sat through at Rev. Wrights church for all those years. Some people may like a socialist, homo approving, commie loving Pope but I don’t. I think he is the absolute wrong type of guy for us to have as Pope now, but I could be wrong. The church in Latin America is full of politically correct commie sympathizers and he is one. He may even be what most Catholics want for a Pope now. I just don’t. Whatever.
Pope Francis lifts 29-year suspension on liberation theology icon
http://www.religionnews.com/2014/08/04/liberation-theology-miguel-descoto-pope-francis/
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