Posted on 05/24/2006 6:47:17 AM PDT by NYer
Some Canadians' noses are out of joint after Pope Benedict had the audacity to criticize our nation in front of the world.
The pontiff's beef?
Our low birthrate, which Benedict attributes to the absence of religion in our lives.
His words have been met so far with little more than a chorus of grumbles and cries to "mind your own business."
The Pope blames our woes on our "secular" status, which simply means Canada's population is turning away from organized religion.
How far? Just look at the reaction to Prime Minister Stephen Harper closing a speech with the words: "God bless Canada."
It's hard to believe that could offend anyone. After all, he's not beseeching any particular religion's god to bestow good fortune upon our country.
But, judging from the negative reaction these days to the words God, religion and church, you'd think he was uttering an obscenity.
According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians who practise no religion sat at about 19% in 2004, compared to 12% in 1985.
Fair enough. We live in a free country, where no one is forced to believe anything they don't wish to believe. No one could argue against that.
The drawback is that organized religion once provided a foundation for our moral standards and a model for good behaviour. As its impact on our society wanes, it is replaced by an ambiguous set of rules.
Personal gratification moves toward the top of the list. The '60s slogan "if it feels good, do it," has become the mantra for an entire society.
Many politicians, even if they hold deep religious convictions themselves, are reluctant to place themselves in the line of fire by suggesting a nation's success runs far deeper than the employment rate or income levels.
Fortunately, Pope Benedict is bound by no such constraints.
In fact, stirring things up is part of his job description.
That's what he was doing when he urged Canada's Roman Catholic bishops to preach "with passion."
Like the man he claims as his Saviour, Benedict is obviously on a mission.
He recently suggested a lack of true love was behind an increase in failed marriages and a decrease in birthrates across the developed world.
It's a message our politically correct society might not want to hear, but it is one that bears closer scrutiny.
At first glance, our diminishing birthrate appears just another manifestation of modern life, which offers us choices and benefits unknown to previous generations.
The trouble is, if our birthrate continues to diminish, or even remains steady at close to record low levels, it will begin to threaten our nation's survival.
Even immigration isn't filling the void -- despite the fact we welcome more newcomers than just about any nation.
The foundation of our society will crumble around us without enough fresh blood to replenish our population.
It's interesting so much debate is devoted to the potential impact of global warming, while this more fundamental threat goes virtually ignored.
The mainstream argument runs that everyone is free -- there's that word again -- to make their own choices about parenthood.
The larger question is why our society as a whole has come to place so little value on children when they mean so much to the continuation of our nation's viability.
It's not simply a matter of making it easier for parents to afford the cost of raising children -- even though that would be a good start.
Benedict and other religious leaders can only try to change our society's attitude that places a higher value on luxury cars, estate homes and sun destination vacations than on a noisy house full of energetic, laughing children.
If they don't succeed, the eventual economic repercussions may do the job for them.
New figures by Statistics Canada project there'll be more seniors over age 65 than children under 15 by 2015. By 2031, the number of seniors could be double the number of children.
When that happens, who'll take up the jobs needed to keep our economy going to support this mob of oldsters?
Where will the health-care providers come from needed to keep these masses of seniors healthy and happy?
Sadly, perhaps that's what it will take for our self-centred, cynical society to finally heed the true significance of Benedict's warning.
Huh?
What does sex have to do with studying sociology and demographics? Which of couse, is what he is discussing.
Following your "logic", a psychiatrist can't help someone with a particular psychosis if he hasn't suffered from it himself.
Italy has been under heavy criticism from the Vatican for many years now regarding its plummeting birthrate. I vaguely remember Pope John Paul II pointedly mentioning it during a visit to the Italian Parliament.
It's sure not Episcopalian.
Low birthrate? We have a solution, cheap Mexican immigrants. We'll just tell them to keep heading north. Free healthcare up there, right?
Wrong Pope.
I would respectfully suggest that chastising Canadians when he is not persuasive in his own backyard is counterproductuve.
That doesn't work. Witness how homosexuality is no longer considered a mental disorder.
I think they wrote about it in a book "I'm OK, You're Still Nuts".
They're not experts on invasive surgery, either - should the Vatican shut up about abortion, too?
Since procreation and marriage are things relating ultimately to God, maybe His representatives have a valid opinion? I mean, I wouldn't expect the CEO of General Electric to issue a statement on the evil of contraception.
Agree, Pope John Paul II, not Pope Benedict.
Look, anyone who us not blind can see that nothing is currently working to raise the birthrate...in places as diverse as Italy and Russia.
The underlying cause is not that the world population is suddenly more degenerate that in the past.
If that were so then the birthrate in certain Moslem countries should also be in the pits and it's not. Aren't Palestinians busy breeding suicide bombers? Are they more virtuous and loving than Italians?
1.61 is still way too low. We need it around 2.50.
Well, Jesus wasn't married, so should we reject his command to "be fruitful and multiply"?
And if you want to mock celibacy, you'll have to reject the words of Jesus and St. Paul:
Matthew 19:12"For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
1 Corinthians 7:38
So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does even better.
What would be productive? Slapping them on the back?
2 Timothy 4:2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
I honestly have no idea what point you are driving at.
God bless Canada, eh.
The birth rate is low in diverse industrialized nations because adults have come to see children as accessories and not blessings. One or two, fine. After that, they're a drag on the retirement fund or just take up too much time.
The world is increasingly self-centered. Moral relativism is the product of radical individualism, so this is not a surprise to anyone (especially the Vatican) who has been warning of the consequences for years.
I highly recommend "Veritatis Splendor", by Pope John Paul II. It was written in 1994, but the rest of the world is woefully behind the curve.
So far as Palestinians go - we can't compare the act of procreation with the manipulation/indoctrination that occurs afterwards. In a sense, if Italians are willfully saying "NO" to continuing the human species, what makes them less dangerous than a suicide bomber? Both acts - the will to destroy innocent life, and the will to prevent innocent life from existing, are evil. And abortion seems to bridge any gap between the two: There is both will to destroy innocent life, and the will to prevent innocent life from existing.
First of all, in post 26 you wrote "wrong Pope" regarding the response of someone about chastising Italy about their low birthrate. In this post you essentially admit he did. I'll take that as an admission Benedict has spoke to Europeans and specifically Italians about their low birth rates.
Now, that said, I don't understand what you are saying here. How is preaching to Catholics in other countries the EXACT SAME THING you've preached to other Catholics "counterproductive"? That makes no sense at all. What is "counterproductive" here?
Canadian leaders and media people should thank him for addressing their serious demographic problem. It seems it's the eight-hundred-pound elephant in the corner that no one wants to mention.
"Fair enough. We live in a free country, where no one is forced to believe anything they don't wish to believe. No one could argue against that."
Where has this guy been? The islamists argue loudly against that!!!
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