Pope Benedict XVI on Friday met with bishops from Region VIII [Minnesota, North Dakota
and South Dakota] of the United States. During his remarks he discussed the contemporary
crisis of marriage and the family, and, more generally, the Christian vision of human
sexuality.
The Holy Father said it is “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.”
In
his remarks, he spoke about the "powerful political and cultural currents” which are
seeking change the definition of marriage into one which does not acknowledge the
complementarity of the sexes.
“Sexual differences cannot be dismissed as irrelevant
to the definition of marriage,” he told the bishops. “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.”
Pope Benedict XVI also emphasized the importance of marriage
preparation, and lamented the deficiencies in the catechesis of recent decades on
the Church teaching on marriage.
“In this context we cannot overlook the serious
pastoral problem presented by the widespread practice of cohabitation,” he added.
“Often by couples who seem unaware that it is gravely sinful, not to mention damaging
to the stability of society.”
He concluded by urging the entire Christian community
to recover an appreciation of the virtue of chastity.
“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,” Pope Benedict said. “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 fulfilment.”
Below
please find the full text of the Holy Father’s remarks. Click forfull audio:
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,
andthe 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.