Pope Francis slams ‘paganism of indifference’

Assisi, Italy, Sep 20, 2016 / 10:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In efforts for peace, indifference is the greatest sickness of our time, Pope Francis said at an interreligious summit in Assisi on Tuesday.

“It is a virus that paralyzes, rendering us lethargic and insensitive, a disease that eats away at the very heart of religious fervor, giving rise to a new and deeply sad paganism: the paganism of indifference.”

“We cannot remain indifferent,” he said. “Today the world has a profound thirst for peace.”

The Pope spoke Sept. 20 during an international interreligious gathering marking the 30th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convoked by St. John Paul II in 1986.

The event, held in different locations, has been organized every year by the Sant’Egidio community. The last day of prayer led by a Pope, however, was held by Benedict XVI in 2011, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first historic meeting in Assisi.

At this year’s gathering in Assisi, Pope Francis focused on humanity’s thirst for peace and the toxic nature of self-interest and apathy in the face of violence around the world.

“Prayer and the desire to work together are directed towards a true peace that is not illusory: not the calm of one who avoids difficulties and turns away, if his personal interests are not at risk,” he said.

Peace “is not the cynicism of one who washes his hands of any problem that is not his,” Francis continued. “It is not the virtual approach of one who judges everything and everyone using a computer keyboard, without opening his eyes to the needs of his brothers and sisters.”

Above all, peace is a gift of God, Pope Francis said, explaining that it is only with his help that our works can bear fruit.

He acknowledged the distances many people traveled to be at the summit in Assisi, but stressed that working together for peace is not merely a physical movement, but most of all a spiritual movement – a spiritual response – of becoming more open to God and to our fellow brothers and sisters.

“In Lesbos, my dear brother, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and I saw the sorrow of war in the eyes of the refugees, the anguish of peoples thirsting for peace.”

“I am thinking of the families, whose lives have been shattered; of the children who have known only violence in their lives; of the elderly, forced to leave their homeland.”

Francis also spoke out against war and arms trading, which he said are the reason for much of the poverty around the world.

“We do not want these tragedies to be forgotten. Rather together we want to give voice to all those who suffer, to all those who have no voice and are not heard. They know well, often better than the powerful, that there is no tomorrow in war, and that the violence of weapons destroys the joy of life.”

Speaking out against religious fundamentalism, the Pope said, “peace alone, and not war, is holy!”

“We never tire of repeating that the name of God cannot be used to justify violence,” he said. “Peace, a thread of hope that unites earth to heaven, a word so simple and difficult at the same time.”

Peace means forgiveness, openness to dialogue, cooperation, and education, Pope Francis said, noting how leaders from all branches of Christianity were in attendance, all united in their prayer for peace.

“Prayer and concrete acts of cooperation help us to break free from the logic of conflict and to reject the rebellious attitudes of those who know only how to protest and be angry,” he said.

Our path toward peace “leads us to immersing ourselves in situations and giving first place to those who suffer,” the Pope stated.

“To taking on conflicts and healing them from within; to following ways of goodness with consistency, rejecting the shortcuts offered by evil; to patiently engaging processes of peace, in good will and with God’s help.”

By Hannah Brockhaus

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Taken from: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/in-assisi-pope-francis-slams-paganism-of-indifference-48548/

Vote on marriage equality reveals the haters of the Left

Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun

September 19, 2016 12:00am

….

MALCOLM Turnbull’s plan for a public vote on same-sex marriage has indeed unleashed the haters — but they’re the thugs of the Left.

Worse, the Prime Minister may now give in to this pack and force on the public the same-sex marriage change they have not voted for.

Warning: a new fascism — a soft totalitarianism — is on foot, marching this time under the banner of same-sex marriage.

The latest example? It’s the mob that forced the cancellation of a meeting of Christians this week at the Mercure Sydney International Airport.

More than 100 people were expected to attend — Anglicans, Catholics and members of the Marriage Alliance and Australian Christian Lobby.

But then the haters got busy. Their calls to the hotel and posts on its Facebook page were so alarming that the owner told The Australian that staff were “rattled” and scared for their safety, and for their guests.

Who helped to whip up this hatred?

SameSame.com.au, a gay news website, had alerted readers to the event, which it said was hosted by the “notorious” ACL.

It quoted activist Pauline Pantsdown — actually university media lecturer Simon Hunt — who in a post urged followers to “stand up to the dangerous, predatory” ACL and get the event cancelled.

“No one won their rights peacefully,” advised one poster on SameSame, rejecting suggestions that Christians be left to talk in peace.
Panicked, Mercure and the church groups then cancelled the function, with ACL managing director Lyle Shelton blaming “threats of violence”.
Hunt seemed unashamed. Instead, he justified this harassment of the ACL and fellow Christians by accusing them of “cluster bomb attacks” that made them a “danger” to gays, lesbians, transsexuals and their children.

But stop. That is the classic defence of the totalitarian Left, excusing its own viciousness by claiming its enemies are even worse.

In other words, it is not the principle that counts, but the side.

While Hunt, himself, issued or condoned no threats, his excuse-making is the morality of the tribalist, which means a confrontation is ultimately decided not by reason but by force. Isn’t that the history of the brown shirts? Red shirts? And now the green shirts?

I wish we could just dismiss this totalitarianism as just the work of a few fringe-dwellers of the Left.

But it’s no coincidence that Shelton, in particular, was singled out here — because mainstream same-sex marriage activists have made him the particular target of their hate-speech.

BLOG WITH ANDREW BOLT

He’s been demonised and dehumanised so relentlessly, it’s no surprise that fringe activists would think he deserves extreme reprisals.

Greens MP Adam Bandt, for instance, last week denounced Shelton as a “bigot”.

Bernard Keane, of Crikey, vilified him as a “creep” and “nauseating piece of filth” who was “obsessed with sex”. ABC commentator Paul Bongiorno called people like him “Neanderthals”.

Fairfax columnist John Birmingham, while not mentioning Shelton by name, accused opponents of same-sex marriage as “a sweating pig circus of morons and bigots”, and Labor leader Bill Shorten claimed they could hound young gays to suicide.

This ruthless attack on the character of people like Shelton — and attacks now on even their freedom to meet — is a warning of what will come once same-sex marriage becomes law.

Already a Greens candidate has dragged a Catholic archbishop to the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commission for defending traditional marriage.

What next? Will priests be punished for refusing to conduct gay marriage ceremonies? Will defending traditional marriage be made illegal?

Indeed, Channel 7 and Channel 9 have already refused to run a commercial defending traditional marriage, and now Labor and the Greens even insist the public must not be asked to voice its own opinion, either.

Both parties, along with Nick Xenophon’s, are fiercely opposed to the Turnbull Government’s plan to ask Australians in a plebiscite whether to allow same-sex marriage.

This means the plebiscite will not only be blocked by the Senate but will die to the cheers of most journalists, despite it being an election promise made by the government and supported in polls by most Australians.

Here we have the seeds of a soft tyranny — a soft fascism. Big Media, Big Politics, Big Government and Big Activism in a conspiracy to deny Australian citizens the right to decide themselves this critical issue.

And see how these neo-fascists put their case: not with sweet reason, but with threats and the law, backed with lies, false promises and parliamentary tricks.media_camera

Is this how this country is to be run? Well, yes — particularly if Turnbull now gives in to temptation.

Turnbull is a big supporter of same-sex marriage. He is also very proud, some say arrogant, and would hate being mocked as a puppet of his party’s conservatives.

He will want to assert himself against those conservatives — against people like Tony Abbott — and to be a hero again of the Left.

Now, here is his big chance.

Yes, he did promise to stick with Abbott’s plan to let the public, not the politicians, decide whether to allow same-sex marriage.

But note carefully: he now refuses to say what he’ll do once the Senate blocks that plebiscite.

Why does Turnbull keep refusing to say the choice is clear — that it’s a public vote on same-sex marriage or it’s nothing? No same-sex marriage for at least the next three years?

Surely, that would add to the pressure on Labor to give in?

Conservative MPs are finally waking up to the threat: Turnbull is clearly leaving himself room to cut a deal with Labor to have a vote on same-sex marriage.

In fact, Turnbull, cocky after cutting a compromise deal on his superannuation changes, on Friday let slip that he could now compromise on same-sex marriage changes, too. “We may have to negotiate on all of these matters,” he told 3AW.

And he could do this and triumph.

Here’s how. First, Turnbull would tell his Cabinet after his plebiscite is defeated that the Liberals must deliver this important social “reform” of same-sex marriage or risk looking weak.

Cabinet could then narrowly vote for same-sex marriage — a decision that will bind all the ministers.

With those votes locked in, Turnbull could then win a vote of his party room as well, and then a vote of parliament.

All this will be cheered ecstatically by the media, especially the ABC. Turnbull will forever be the hero of the Left, no matter what happens next.

What happens next, of course, could be the splitting of the Liberal Party, but would Turnbull care?

If he’s defeated, he’d still quit a happy man, lionised by the Left. If he survives, he’s even happier.

And his opponents? Well, let them complain — while it’s still legal.

Let them hold a rally — if the mobs will let them.

Let them meet — if any hotel dares take their booking.

And as for you, the voters, who cares what you think?

The new class rules, and Turnbull will be their hero.

….

Taken from: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/andrew-bolt/vote-on-marriage-equality-reveals-the-haters-of-the-left/news-story/2f09b04e68c9de92887e550ffe351250

 

Pope Francis: Message on World Day of Prayer for Creation

                      

Mt. Ararat as seen from a memorial to Armenians killed by the Ottoman Turks in Yerevan, Armenia, Saturday, June 25, 2016 - AP

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has issued a Message to mark the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Taken from the Extraordinary Jubilee Year and his encyclical letter, Laudato si’, the theme of the Holy Father’ Message is: Show mercy to our common home.
Below, please find the full text
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MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE FRANCIS
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE CARE OF CREATION
1 SEPTEMBER 2016
Show Mercy to our Common Home
United with our Orthodox brothers and sisters, and with the support of other Churches and Christian communities, the Catholic Church today marks the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation”. This Day offers “individual believers and communities a fitting opportunity to reaffirm their personal vocation to be stewards of creation, to thank God for the wonderful handiwork which he has entrusted to our care, and to implore his help for the protection of creation as well as his pardon for the sins committed against the world in which we live.” ^[1]
It is most encouraging that concern for the future of our planet is shared by the Churches and Christian communities, together with other religions. Indeed, in past decades numerous efforts have been made by religious leaders and organizations to call public attention to the dangers of an irresponsible exploitation of our planet. Here I would mention Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople who, like his predecessor Patriarch Dimitrios, has long spoken out against the sin of harming creation and has drawn attention to the moral and spiritual crisis at the root of environmental problems. In response to a growing concern for the integrity of creation, the Third European Ecumenical Assembly in Sibiu in 2007 proposed celebrating a “Time for Creation” during the five weeks between 1 September (the Orthodox commemoration of God’s creation) and 4 October (the commemoration of Francis of Assisi in the Catholic Church and some other Western traditions). This initiative, supported by the World Council of Churches, has since inspired many ecumenical activities in different parts of the world. It is also encouraging that throughout the world similar initiatives promoting environmental justice, concern for the poor and responsible social commitment have been bringing together people, especially young people, from diverse religious backgrounds. Christians or not, as people of faith and goodwill, we should be united in showing mercy to the earth as our common home and cherishing the world in which we live as a place for sharing and communion.
1. The earth cries out …
With this Message, I renew my dialogue with “every person living on this planet” (Laudato Si’, 3) about the sufferings of the poor and the devastation of the environment. God gave us a bountiful garden, but we have turned it into a polluted wasteland of “debris, desolation and filth” (ibid., 161). We must not be indifferent or resigned to the loss of biodiversity and the destruction of ecosystems, often caused by our irresponsible and selfish behaviour. “Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right” (ibid., 33).
Global warming continues, due in part to human activity: 2015 was the warmest year on record, and 2016 will likely be warmer still. This is leading to ever more severe droughts, floods, fires and extreme weather events. Climate change is also contributing to the heart-rending refugee crisis. The world’s poor, though least responsible for climate change, are most vulnerable and already suffering its impact.
As an integral ecology emphasizes, human beings are deeply connected with all of creation. When we mistreat nature, we also mistreat human beings. At the same time, each creature has its own intrinsic value that must be respected. Let us hear “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” (Laudato Si’, 49), and do our best to ensure an appropriate and timely response.
2. … for we have sinned
God gave us the earth “to till and to keep” (Gen 2:15) in a balanced and respectful way. To till too much, to keep too little, is to sin.
My brother, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has courageously and prophetically continued to point out our sins against creation.  “For human beings… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation; for human beings to degrade the integrity of the earth by causing changes in its climate, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying its wetlands; for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life – these are sins.” Further, “to commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God.” ^[2]
In the light of what is happening to our common home, may the present Jubilee of Mercy summon the Christian faithful “to profound interior conversion” (Laudato Si’, 217), sustained particularly by the sacrament of Penance. During this Jubilee Year, let us learn to implore God’s mercy for those sins against creation that we have not hitherto acknowledged and confessed.  Let us likewise commit ourselves to taking concrete steps towards ecological conversion, which requires a clear recognition of our responsibility to ourselves, our neighbours, creation and the Creator (ibid., 10 and 229).
3. An examination of conscience and repentance
The first step in this process is always an examination of conscience, which involves “gratitude and gratuitousness, a recognition that the world is God’s loving gift, and that we are called quietly to imitate his generosity in self-sacrifice and good works… It also entails a loving awareness that we are not disconnected from the rest of creatures, but joined in a splendid universal communion. As believers, we do not look at the world from without but from within, conscious of the bonds with which the Father has linked us to all beings” (Laudato Si’, 220).
Turning to this bountiful and merciful Father who awaits the return of each of his children, we can acknowledge our sins against creation, the poor and future generations. “Inasmuch as we all generate small ecological damage,” we are called to acknowledge “our contribution, smaller or greater, to the disfigurement and destruction of creation.”^[3] This is the first step on the path of conversion.
In 2000, also a Jubilee Year, my predecessor Saint John Paul II asked Catholics to make amends for past and present religious intolerance, as well as for injustice towards Jews, women, indigenous peoples, immigrants, the poor and the unborn. In this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I invite everyone to do likewise. As individuals, we have grown comfortable with certain lifestyles shaped by a distorted culture of prosperity and a “disordered desire to consume more than what is really necessary” (Laudato Si’, 123), and we are participants in a system that “has imposed the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature.”^[4] Let us repent of the harm we are doing to our common home.
After a serious examination of conscience and moved by sincere repentance, we can confess our sins against the Creator, against creation, and against our brothers and sisters. “The Catechism of the Catholic Church presents the confessional as the place where the truth makes us free.”^[5] We know that “God is greater than our sin,”^[6] than all our sins, including those against the environment. We confess them because we are penitent and desire to change. The merciful grace of God received in the sacrament will help us to do so.
4. Changing course
Examining our consciences, repentance and confession to our Father who is rich in mercy lead to a firm purpose of amendment. This in turn must translate into concrete ways of thinking and acting that are more respectful of creation.  For example: “avoiding the use of plastic and paper, reducing water consumption, separating refuse, cooking only what can reasonably be consumed, showing care for other living beings, using public transport or car-pooling, planting trees, turning off unnecessary lights, or any number of other practices” (Laudato Si’, 211). We must not think that these efforts are too small to improve our world. They “call forth a goodness which, albeit unseen, inevitably tends to spread” and encourage “a prophetic and contemplative lifestyle, one capable of deep enjoyment free of the obsession with consumption” (ibid., 212, 222).
In the same way, the resolve to live differently should affect our various contributions to shaping the culture and society in which we live. Indeed, “care for nature is part of a lifestyle which includes the capacity for living together and communion” (Laudato Si’, 228). Economics and politics, society and culture cannot be dominated by thinking only of the short-term and immediate financial or electoral gains. Instead, they urgently need to be redirected to the common good, which includes sustainability and care for creation.
One concrete case is the “ecological debt” between the global north and south (cf. Laudato Si’, 51-2). Repaying it would require treating the environments of poorer nations with care and providing the financial resources and technical assistance needed to help them deal with climate change and promote sustainable development.
The protection of our common home requires a growing global political consensus. Along these lines, I am gratified that in September 2015 the nations of the world adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, and that, in December 2015, they approved the Paris Agreement on climate change, which set the demanding yet fundamental goal of halting the rise of the global temperature. Now governments are obliged to honour the commitments they made, while businesses must also responsibly do their part.  It is up to citizens to insist that this happen, and indeed to advocate for even more ambitious goals.
Changing course thus means “keeping the original commandment to preserve creation from all harm, both for our sake and for the sake of our fellow human beings.”^[7] A single question can keep our eyes fixed on the goal: “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” (Laudato Si’, 160).
5. A new work of mercy
“Nothing unites us to God more than an act of mercy, for it is by mercy that the Lord forgives our sins and gives us the grace to practise acts of mercy in his name.”^[8]
To paraphrase Saint James, “we can say that mercy without works is dead … In our rapidly changing and increasingly globalized world, many new forms of poverty are appearing. In response to them, we need to be creative in developing new and practical forms of charitable outreach as concrete expressions of the way of mercy.”^[9]
The Christian life involves the practice of the traditional seven corporal and seven spiritual works of mercy.^[10] “We usually think of the works of mercy individually and in relation to a specific initiative: hospitals for the sick, soup kitchens for the hungry, shelters for the homeless, schools for those to be educated, the confessional and spiritual direction for those needing counsel and forgiveness… But if we look at the works of mercy as a whole, we see that the object of mercy is human life itself and everything it embraces.”^[11]
Obviously “human life itself and everything it embraces” includes care for our common home. So let me propose a complement to the two traditional sets of seven: may the works of mercy also include care for our common home.
As a spiritual work of mercy, care for our common home calls for a “grateful contemplation of God’s world” (Laudato Si, 214) which “allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us” (ibid., 85). As a corporal work of mercy, care for our common home requires “simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness” and “makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world” (ibid., 230-31).
6. In conclusion, let us pray
Despite our sins and the daunting challenges before us, we never lose heart. “The Creator does not abandon us; he never forsakes his loving plan or repents of having created us… for he has united himself definitively to our earth, and his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward” (Laudato Si, 13; 245). In a particular way, let us pray on 1 September, and indeed throughout the year:
“O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned
and forgotten of this earth,
who are so precious in your eyes…
God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth” (ibid., 246),
God of mercy, may we receive your forgiveness
and convey your mercy throughout our common home.
Praise be to you!
Amen.

 

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[1] Letter for the Establishment of the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation” (6 August 2015).

[2] Address in Santa Barbara, California (8 November 1997).

[3] Bartholomew I, Message for the Day of Prayer for the Protection of Creation (1 September 2012).

[4] Address to the Second World Meeting of Popular Movements, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (9 July 2015).

[5] Third Meditation, Retreat during the Jubilee for Priests, Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome (2 June 2016).

[6] General Audience of 30 March 2016.

[7] Bartholomew I, Message for the Day of Prayer for the Protection of Creation, 1.9.1997.

[8] First Meditation, Retreat during the Jubilee for Priests, Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome (2 June 2016).

[9] General Audience of 30 June 2016.

[10] The corporal works of mercy are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, burying the dead.  The spiritual works of mercy are counselling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing sinners, consoling the afflicted, forgiving offenses, bearing patiently those who do us ill, praying for the living and the dead.

[11] Third Meditation, Retreat for the Jubilee for Priests, Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome (2 June 2016).


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Taken from: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/09/01/pope_francis_message_on_world_day_of_prayer_for_creation/1255035