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HagiaSophia
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From John Allen’s column today:
"…In a clear sign that Benedict intends to be primarily an evangelist, not a diplomat, in his approach to political questions, he takes a swipe at those Christians who argued that an explicit reference to God wasn’t really necessary in the European constitution, since Article 52 of that document guaranteed the institutional rights of the churches. But that strategy, he writes, means that the churches would be allowed to find space in the realm of political compromise, but not at the basis of European culture. In other words, it would sacrifice truth for pragmatic gain.
Though he does not say so explicitly, Pope Benedict is well aware that some advocates of the view that Article 52 was enough were found in the Vatican’s own Secretariat of State.
The pope warns that secular European culture, divorced from its Christian roots, is becoming an increasingly hostile environment for the church.
“Before long it won’t be possible to affirm that homosexuality, as the Catholic church teaches, constitutes an objective disorder in the structuring of human existence,” he writes. “And the fact that the church is convinced that it does not have the right to bestow priestly ordination on women is considered, by some, to be irreconcilable with the spirit of the European constitution.”
Finally, Benedict reiterates his reservations about Turkey’s candidacy to enter the European Union.
“The entrance of Turkey into this community … would also imply that God has nothing to do with public life and with the basis of the state,” he writes.
To date, there are no plans for an English translation.
nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/
"…In a clear sign that Benedict intends to be primarily an evangelist, not a diplomat, in his approach to political questions, he takes a swipe at those Christians who argued that an explicit reference to God wasn’t really necessary in the European constitution, since Article 52 of that document guaranteed the institutional rights of the churches. But that strategy, he writes, means that the churches would be allowed to find space in the realm of political compromise, but not at the basis of European culture. In other words, it would sacrifice truth for pragmatic gain.
Though he does not say so explicitly, Pope Benedict is well aware that some advocates of the view that Article 52 was enough were found in the Vatican’s own Secretariat of State.
The pope warns that secular European culture, divorced from its Christian roots, is becoming an increasingly hostile environment for the church.
“Before long it won’t be possible to affirm that homosexuality, as the Catholic church teaches, constitutes an objective disorder in the structuring of human existence,” he writes. “And the fact that the church is convinced that it does not have the right to bestow priestly ordination on women is considered, by some, to be irreconcilable with the spirit of the European constitution.”
Finally, Benedict reiterates his reservations about Turkey’s candidacy to enter the European Union.
“The entrance of Turkey into this community … would also imply that God has nothing to do with public life and with the basis of the state,” he writes.
To date, there are no plans for an English translation.
nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/
