Pope: Policies Which Undermine the Family Threaten The Future of Humanity

There is a movement in the West which I have labeled the homosexual equivalency movement. Their strongest opponent is now the Catholic Church. Thank God for the courage of this Pope. It should inspire all of us. The truth about marriage is not simply a "religious" construct.  The Natural Law reveals - and the cross cultural history of civilization affirms - that marriage is between a man and a woman, open to children and intended for life.

P>VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - After Christmas each year the Pope addresses members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See. This year, on January 9, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the state of the world, touching upon many topics in a wide ranging and insightful analysis.

One of the topics receiving much of the press coverage concerned comments he made on marriage and the family. They were presented within the context of his discussion of the vital necessity of the education of the young. These comments are not new. However, they again demonstrate his courageous leadership in the defense of the unchangeable nature of marriage and the family:

"Education is a crucial theme for every generation, for it determines the healthy development of each person and the future of all society. It thus represents a task of primary importance in this difficult and demanding time. In addition to a clear goal, that of leading young people to a full knowledge of reality and thus of truth, education needs settings. Among these, pride of place goes to the family, based on the marriage of a man and a woman. This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society.
 
"Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself. The family unit is fundamental for the educational process and for the development both of individuals and States; hence there is a need for policies which promote the family and aid social cohesion and dialogue. It is in the family that we become open to the world and to life and, as I pointed out during my visit to Croatia, "openness to life is a sign of openness to the future".

In his apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Charity, Pope Benedict summarized the duty of the Catholic faithful when confronted with this assault on authentic marriage:  "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."

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Catholic Church wrote in 2003, "The Church's teaching on marriage and on the complementarity of the sexes reiterates a truth that is evident to right reason and recognized as such by all the major cultures of the world. Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings. It was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose.

"No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman, who by mutual personal gift, proper and exclusive to themselves, tend toward the communion of their persons. In this way, they mutually perfect each other, in order to cooperate with God in the procreation and upbringing of new human lives."

There is a movement in the West which I have labeled the homosexual equivalency movement. Their strongest opponent is now the Catholic Church. Thank God for the courage of this Pope. It should inspire all of us.

The leaders of the homosexual equivalency movement not only insist that homosexual sexual practices are morally equivalent to the sexual expression of marital love between a man and a woman - they insist that every State make homosexual relationships legally equivalent to marriage.

They are dedicated to building a society where the positive law of the Nation forces us all to call to be a marriage what can never be a marriage - or face the police power of the State and sanctions.

The truth about marriage is not simply a "religious" construct.  The Natural Law reveals - and the cross cultural history of civilization affirms - that marriage is between a man and a woman, open to children and intended for life.

Marriage is the foundation for the family which is the privileged place for the formation of virtue and character in children, our future citizens. The family is the first society, first economy, first school, first civilizing and mediating institution and first government.

When sexual behavior between two men or two women is viewed as providing the legal and moral foundation of a "right" to marry - and those who oppose this homosexual equivalency movement are characterized as being against the "freedom" to marry and "equal rights" - the revolutionary plan should be obvious to any honest observer.

The Church has strongly condemned discrimination against all persons, including those who self identify as homosexual. However, to limit marriage to heterosexual couples is not discriminatory now, nor has it ever been. Homosexual couples cannot bring into existence what marriage intends by its very definition.

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