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Thursday, November 4, 2010

URGENT NEED TO EDUCATE LAITY IN CHURCH SOCIAL DOCTRINE

VATICAN CITY, 4 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Pope has sent a Message to Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to mark that body's plenary assembly which is currently benign held in Rome. The assembly is focusing on how the Encyclical "Caritas in veritate" has been received in various communities.

  "Only with charity, supported by hope and illuminated by the light of faith and reason, is it possible to achieve the goals of the integral liberation of man and universal justice", the Holy Father writes.

  Referring to the "fundamental problems affecting the destiny of peoples and of world institutions, as well as of the human family", which are examined in "Caritas in veritate", Benedict XVI points out that social and national inequalities "have by no means disappeared. ... Co-ordination among States - which is often inadequate because, rather than aiming to achieve solidarity, it aims only at a balance of power - leaves the field open to renewed inequalities, to the danger of the predominance of economic and financial groups which dictate - and intend to continue to do so - the political agenda at the expense of the universal common good".

  The Holy Father stresses the urgent need "for commitment to educating Catholic laity in Church social doctrine". Lay Catholics "must undertake to promote the correct ordering of social life, while respecting the legitimate autonomy of worldly institutions".

  "A profound understanding of the social doctrine of the Church is of fundamental importance, in harmony with all her theological heritage and strongly rooted in affirming the transcendent dignity of man, in defending human life from conception to natural death and in religious freedom. ... It is necessary to prepare lay people capable of dedicating themselves to the common good, especially in complex environments such as the world of politics".

  The Pope concludes his Message by expressing the hope that the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace may continue "to prepare fresh 'aggiornamenti' of Church social doctrine". In order to globalise this doctrine, he writes, "it may be appropriate to create centres and institutions for its study, dissemination and implementation throughout the world".

  "In collaboration with others, seek more effective ways to transmit the contents of social doctrine, not only in the traditional itineraries of Christian formation and education of all kinds and at all levels, but also in the great centres where world thought is forged - such as the organs of the lay press, universities and economic and social study centres - which in recent times have come into being in every corner of the earth".
MESS/                                    VIS 20101104 (450)

3 comments:

  1. Readers may also find this interview with Cardinal Turkson relevant:

    http://www.zenit.org/article-30819?l=english

    http://www.zenit.org/article-30831?l=english

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  2. We must fight to the death the evil of birth control. This is why everything is wrong in the world. Condoms cause more death than save lives. Everybody no matter what their religion needs to know and practice this. We must outlaw all birth control in order to be blessed.

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  3. The Catholic Church is not acceptable to the so called liberal press therefore they give only negative reporting to all church statements.They try to find any dissidents to official teaching of the church and focus on these only..The answer is as suggested by his Holiness to have centres all over the world to diffuse catholic social teaching. The laity must be well educated on the subject. so that any negative reporting or non reporting is met head- on.The fact is in the world today the old imperialist are giving way to yellow and brown imperialism of China and India,who are going into Africa and non developed countries with industrial products and buying land and firms in these countries.The church must be very alive to this new threats and find the answers to these new forms of domination.

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