Friday, February 7, 2014

Pope Francis on Marriage, Dictatorship of Relativism

Speaking of good news (and good Jesuits), our Holy Father Pope Francis recently hosted a group of Bishops from Poland. Catholic World News reports on the visit (excerpts):

"The Pope said reports from the Polish bishops had included many positive reflections on the life of the Church in that country. But there was also 'a certain decline in various aspects of Christian life,' he said. One major cause of that decline, the Pope continued, is 'the idea of freedom without limits, hostile tolerance or indeed distrust of the truth, or resistance to the Church's legitimate opposition to dominant relativism.' He encouraged the bishops to combat that tendency vigorously.

His Holiness sounds as if he is channeling our good Pope-Emeritus Benedict on the "dictatorship of relativism" but of course he's not channeling anybody, just giving eternal Church teaching.

"Turning next to marriage and family life, the Pontiff observed with regret that 'nowadays marriage tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will.' That attitude has infected Christians, he said, and resulted in a decline of marital unity. He urged the bishops to oppose this tendency, too, particularly by better preparation of young people entering marriage. At the same time he asked them to make extra efforts to provide pastoral care for those who are separated or divorced, 'so that they are not excluded from God’s mercy.'”

Same-sex "marriage" is not the only variety of counterfeit marriage going around. Marriage conceived as a  "form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will" is certainly not restricted to, nor did it originate with, same-sex attracted persons. It was that attitude among sexually normal people which made same-sex "marriage" thinkable.

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