Over and over again…[Benedict] has made it clear that the marriage and family debate is central — not peripheral — to understanding the human person, and defending our human dignity.
For example, when receiving the credentials of the new U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican, Harvard Law Professor Mary Ann Glendon, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his appreciation for America’s recognition of the important of a dialogue of faith and faiths in the public square and linked this to respect not only for religious freedom but for marriage as the union of husband and wife:
I cannot fail to note with gratitude the importance which the United States has attributed to interreligious and intercultural dialogue as a positive force for peacemaking. . . The American people’s historic appreciation of the role of religion in shaping public discourse and in shedding light on the inherent moral dimension of social issues-a role at times contested in the name of a straitened understanding of political life and public discourse-is reflected in the efforts of so many of your fellow-citizens and government leaders to ensure legal protection for God’s gift of life from conception to natural death, and the safeguarding of the institution of marriage, acknowledged as a stable union between a man and a woman, and that of the family.
Pope Benedict devoted about half of his message for the January 1 World Day of Peace to the significance of marriage in developing a culture of peace:
Consequently, whoever, even unknowingly, circumvents the institution of the family undermines peace in the entire community, national and international, since he weakens what is in effect the primary agency of peace. This point merits special reflection: everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life, everything that obstructs its right to be primarily responsible for the education of its children, constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace.
Marriage essential to world peace? This may strike American ears as an oddity…
knowing this about the popes vision of marriage – could someone explain his idea behind this assistance for the clergy?:
Pope Backs Search for Spiritual Moms for Priests
http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-22380
Jackson –
Could you please explain your question? Prayer for priests would seem to be a separate issue from marraige.
And a young man trained in Christian spiratuality by his mother would be a great thing. The prayers for St. Augustine by his mother comes to mind.
I have reread it a number of times, I think I finally get it – thanks