“. . . it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres.”For background, read Obama Wants Catholic Vote but Dem Platform Anathema and also read Bishops Say Obama Destroying Societal Norm as well as Pope: Gay Agenda & Abortion Dooms Society
-- Pope Benedict XVI
UPDATE 10/13/12: Bishops Chasten Vice President Biden, a 'Practicing Catholic'
UPDATE 9/20/12: President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity
UPDATE 1/31/12 - ObamaCare Mandate Tells Catholics “To Hell With You” (FOX News video):
UPDATE 2/17/12: ObamaCare Stakes Ground in War on Christianity
UPDATE 3/9/12: Pope denounces Gay Agenda
-- From "Pope hits out at 'radical secularism'" by The Associated Press 1/19/12
Benedict did not explicitly mention it, but the bishops have complained their religious freedom is eroding in the face of growing acceptance of gay marriage and attempts to marginalize faith. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has recently formed a committee on protecting religious liberty and hired attorneys and a lobbyist to work on the issue.
The pope said many of the bishops have complained about attempts to deny conscientious objection with regard to cooperation in "intrinsically evil practices." U.S. church leaders have been pressing for a broader religious exception to part of President Obama's health care overhaul that mandates private insurers pay for contraception. The Obama administration has not yet made a decision on the policy and the timing is uncertain.
Benedict also expressed appreciation that bishops have been more outspoken about American Catholic politicians who don't follow church teaching on abortion and other issues.
The White House had no response to the pope's remarks.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pope warns U.S. bishops on threat of ‘radical secularism’" by Alessandro Speciale, Religion News Service, WashingtonPost.com 1/19/12
“Radical secularism” is gaining ground in American society and poses a “grave threat” to the Catholic Church’s freedom of expression in the public square, Pope Benedict XVI told a group of U.S. bishops on Thursday (Jan. 19).
Benedict said bishops must help Catholic politicians understand that it is “their personal responsibility to offer public witness to their faith,” especially regarding the respect for human life.
The pontiff warned that America’s “cherished” tradition of “religious freedom” is under threat as the nation’s moral consensus has been “eroded” by “powerful new cultural currents” that not only run counter to “Judeo-Christian tradition, but (are) increasingly hostile to Christianity as such.”
Benedict warned that the separation of church and state must not be invoked to force the church to “be silent on certain issues,” or to sideline believers in “determining the values which will shape the future of the nation”.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pope: America is 'increasingly hostile to Christianity'" by John-Henry Westen, LifeSiteNews.com 1/19/12
The Pope was emphatic in insisting that the threat posed by current trends threatens not only Christianity but “humanity itself.” He said: “To the extent that some current cultural trends contain elements that would curtail the proclamation of these truths, whether constricting it within the limits of a merely scientific rationality, or suppressing it in the name of political power or majority rule, they represent a threat not just to Christian faith, but also to humanity itself and to the deepest truth about our being and ultimate vocation, our relationship to God.”
Pope Benedict, in sounding the alarm, called not for retreat, but for the leaders of the Catholic Church to press on with preaching the truth however unpopular. “For her part, the Church in the United States is called, in season and out of season, to proclaim a Gospel which not only proposes unchanging moral truths but proposes them precisely as the key to human happiness and social prospering,” he said. “With her long tradition of respect for the right relationship between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role to play in countering cultural currents which, on the basis of an extreme individualism, seek to promote notions of freedom detached from moral truth.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Bishops Of The United States Of America on their 'Ad Limina' Visit" 1/19/12
At the heart of every culture, whether perceived or not, is a consensus about the nature of reality and the moral good, and thus about the conditions for human flourishing. In America, that consensus, as enshrined in your nation’s founding documents, was grounded in a worldview shaped not only by faith but a commitment to certain ethical principles deriving from nature and nature’s God. Today that consensus has eroded significantly in the face of powerful new cultural currents which are not only directly opposed to core moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but increasingly hostile to Christianity as such.
To read all of the Pope's address, CLICK HERE.
Also read Archbishop to Priests: Support Marriage or Be Quiet
UPDATE 3/6/12 - Catholics called to vote in November (video):
