In Christ and the Church families, the poor & vulnerable find hope

Two paragraphs from a speech by Benedict XVI in Angola:

 

Friends, I wish to say that my visit to Cameroon and to Angola has stirred within me that profound human delight at being among families. Indeed I think that those who come from other continents can learn afresh from Africa that “the family is the foundation on which the social edifice is built” (Ecclesia in Africa, 80). Yet the strains upon families, as we all know, are many indeed: anxiety and ignominy caused by poverty, unemployment, disease and displacement, to mention but a few. Particularly disturbing is the crushing yoke of discrimination that women and girls so often endure, not to mention the unspeakable practice of sexual violence and exploitation which causes such humiliation and trauma. I must also mention a further area of grave concern: the policies of those who, claiming to improve the “social edifice”, threaten its very foundations. How bitter the irony of those who promote abortion as a form of “maternal” healthcare! How disconcerting the claim that the termination of life is a matter of reproductive health (cf. Maputo Protocol, art. 14)!

The Church, in accordance with the will of her divine founder, you will always find standing alongside the poorest of this continent. I wish to assure each of you that for her part, through diocesan initiatives, through the innumerable educational, healthcare and social works of Religious Orders, and through the development programmes of Caritas and other agencies, the Church will continue to do all she can to support families – including those suffering the harrowing effects of HIV/Aids – and to uphold the equal dignity of women and men, realized in harmonious complementarity. The Christian spiritual journey is one of daily conversion. To this the Church invites all leaders so that the path opened for all humanity will be one of truth, integrity, respect and compassion.

 

Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the Civil Authorities and Diplomatic Corps of Angola

20 March 2009.

 

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At Mass today Pope Benedict spoke of the need to know and to share the faith, that is, to evangelize. The truth of Jesus Christ needs to be known and lived, especially by Christians. The work of evangelization today remains as important as it was when Catholics first arrived in this part of Africa 500 years ago. He said in part:

 

“Today it is up to you, brothers and sisters, following in the footsteps of those heroic and holy heralds of God, to offer the risen Christ to your fellow citizens. So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment they end up even condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers.”

 

Pope Benedict was critical of the idea of seeking to convert people to the offense of believers of other faiths. “Someone may object: ‘Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours,'” he said. “We do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them and thus grant them the opportunity of finding their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of finding life,” he added. For Pope Benedict the faith is never imposed on anyone; the beauty of the faith is proposed.

 

21 March 2009