A right to hear clearly the Church's teaching...
Blogged by James Preece on 13th December 2011
Pope Benedict writes...
Immersed in this culture, believers are daily beset by the objections, the troubling questions and the cynicism of a society which seems to have lost its roots, by a world in which the love of God has grown cold in so many hearts. Evangelization thus appears not simply a task to be undertaken ad extra; we ourselves are the first to need re-evangelization. As with all spiritual crises, whether of individuals or communities, we know that the ultimate answer can only be born of a searching, critical and ongoing self-assessment and conversion in the light of Christ’s truth. Only through such interior renewal will we be able to discern and meet the spiritual needs of our age with the ageless truth of the Gospel.
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A weakened sense of the meaning and importance of Christian worship can only lead to a weakened sense of the specific and essential vocation of the laity to imbue the temporal order with the spirit of the Gospel.
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Young people have a right to hear clearly the Church’s teaching and, most importantly, to be inspired by the coherence and beauty of the Christian message, so that they in turn can instill in their peers a deep love of Christ and his Church.
[link]
It's okay though, because he was talking to Americans so we can ignore him.
Reader Comments
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Jakob Knab said...
“Young people have a right to hear clearly the Church’s teaching and, most importantly, to be inspired by the coherence and beauty of the Christian message, so that they in turn can instill in their peers a deep love of Christ and his Church.” (Pope Benedict)
“It is no accident that despite the fact that until recently we were affluent beyond the dreams of previous generations, we were not measurably happier. We turned children into mini-consumers, giving them mobile phones instead of our time. The result, in Britain, is a generation of children more unhappy, more prone to depression, stress, eating disorders, and drug and alcohol abuse than they were fifty years ago. The consumer society turns out to be a highly efficient system for the creation and distribution of unhappiness.
It goes deeper still. We know – it has been measured in many experiments – that children with strong impulse control grow to be better adjusted, more dependable, achieve higher grades in school and college and have more success in their careers than others. Success depends on the ability to delay gratification, which is precisely what a consumerist culture undermines. At every stage, the emphasis is on the instant gratification of instinct. In the words of the pop group Queen, “I want it all and I want it now.” A whole culture is being infantilised.“ (Rabbi Sacks)
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epsilon said...
And the educational system is grooming them for this. For the second Christmas in a row, I have a disciplinary looming over me for calling insolent behaviour by its name. 14-15 year old "high ability" "students" can then make false accusations of being sworn at because "insolent" is not a word they recognise so they assume it really means they were called "b'£$%^S" and "£$%^&*(s" - works a treat to report "abuse", avoid detention and a great excuse to continue to selectively misbehave, especially towards a "myth believer".
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New Friend said...
Epsilon
Your story has echoes of many others I have heard and there is no doubt at all that there is a great deal wrong with the attitudes shown by many of today's young people. The causes are complex and the solution difficult. My own opinion is that we need to re-install a sense of national pride and identity. My experience has been that most kids are OK at heart, but peer pressure and the current culture, encourages them to be as they are.
Counter to what I suspect many Catholics believe I am quite certain that more religion is not the answer. Indeed in your case it would seem that less religion would help. How on earth do they know that you are, in their terminology, a myth believer? Whilst at school performing your duties surely your faith should be completely absent, even if you are teaching RE? Faith is a personal matter, and not something to be brought into the classroom, unless it endows you with a sense of right and wrong and of compassion. If you openly parade your faith then you invite this type of response. The same applies to all personal beliefs and lifestyle choices. They must be left in the house when you go to work.
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Mike Carroll said...
The absolute irony and hypocrisy of your comment (and other comments) is staggering beyond belief. You really are not very intelligent are you.
'Oh you are not allowed to have beliefs and opinions but, I am'.
This seems to happen to you every time you open your mouth.
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New Friend said...
Mike
At no time have I ever suggested that you are not allowed to have beliefs or opinions. I fail to see how you reach such a conclusion and see it as part of the persecution complex which so many Catholics appear to suffer from.
Of course you can hold them. My points are all about where, how and to whom you present them. For me such beliefs are a private matter, which can be shared with other believers, but not with any others, unless they invite you to do so. They have no place on the public square, except in places where such activity is encouraged and people have the choice of listening, or not. It is all about personal freedoms, everyone's, not just yours.
That is my opinion. You have another. That is why, in a democracy, we must both defer to the majority opinion, which I am perfectly prepared to do. Are you? It seems that right now the balance of opinion is shifting towards my view, which is why things are happening the way they are.
As to my intelligence, you are entitled to your opinion, but I could put you in touch with many who don't share it. Modesty prohibits me from saying too much but if I am unintelligent then I wonder how successful I might have been if I wasn't? I am now retired, after a long, and pretty successful, business career. I own 6 houses, and am a millionaire. Got something right didn't I?
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Mike Carroll said...
I've got two words for you -
1. David
2. Cameron.
The new champion of Christianity in this country.
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New Friend said...
I read what he said. He was clearly out of his comfort zone and it sounded contrived and banal. Sometimes it is better to keep your mouth shut, and risk looking foolish, than to open it and remove all doubt.
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Mockery of the Sacraments said...
I think DC was in a bit of a no-win situation there. He can't play the "We don't do God" angle because he has sought to differentiate himself from Labour on that point. So he has to make some kind of vague endorsement of Christian principles.
I also think it was a bone thrown to the Tory party membership. They tend to be getting on a bit & are a more socially conservative than the population at large.
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epsilon said...
No, I don't teach RE (except maybe on rare cover) but if a child asks me do I believe in God I usually tell them the answer. If I think they're just task avoiding and not really interested I might say - I'll talk to you later about it after you have done your work...
I do agree they generally have a desire towards good, but many are very messed up emotionally. I also know that it's not OK to lower standards of expectation in behaviour whether they are messed up or not. We are doing children no favours by pussyfooting around their learned self-centred attitudes propagated in every sphere of life, the consequences of which are unhappiness, disruption, pain, etc.
To truly separate ourselves form our personal beliefs, we would have to be suprahuman!
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New Friend said...
epsilon
I think you guys are superhuman! I also think you are probably the most important, and currently undervalued, members of society. I don't really disagree with anything you have said, so congratulations, that might be a first here!
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epsilon said...
Supra - meaning 'above and beyond'
Super - meaning 'great'
I said/meant 'supra'!
IMHO educators of course have an important role, but are most of them driven by high morals or high mortgages? Think!!
Educators brainwashed by the secular agenda ARE part of the problem, so no we are not undervalued, we have become valueless:(
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New Friend said...
I understood what you meant. I was attempting a "play on words", as a compliment. Clearly it failed. I completely agree that most educators are ordinary humans with ordinary objectives.
The point I was trying to make was that the teachers of future generations are, in my opinion, one of the very most important members of society. We need to elivate the role to one that is highly regarded by everyone else and something that others aspire to do. I see the need for people in many walks of life to be seconded into schools for a period and to be proud of being given the recognition and opportunity. Without a teaching qualification they would need the assistance of the professionals, but can bring much needed knowledge, and experience, to the table.
There is no "secular agenda". Secularism is not a movement, with an agenda. There aren't party conventions discussing policies or leaders handing down instructions. It is an awakening by individuals of their rejection of the involvement of religion in public life. It is not a rejection of religion, just a desire to separate it, nothing more or less. So I see absolutely no brainwashing but only progress towards a fair and balanced society in which everyone has an equal stake. I see no reason why anyone should either fear or object to that. I cannot see how it has the slightest impact on the role of educators. As I firmly believe that no religion has any place in any school why would I? I have no objection at all to a teacher having a belief, so long as it a private one. I don't replicate the attitude found in Catholic schools in the USA who sack teachers if they act, in their private lives, against Catholic principals, even if they are not themselves Catholics. Non Catholic teachers who co-habit get sacked!
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New Friend said...
You correctly identify a serious malaise but the cure will not be found in any suggestion that young people have the "right" to hear the Church's teaching. This is complete nonsense. Who grants them this "right"? Would they want to claim it, if it was offered? What is really meant is that you feel YOU have the right to evangelise to those you feel need it. That is very different.
The real cure to the malaise has to be found, in my opinion, in a reawakening of national pride and a spirit of adventure and achievement. We need to provide purpose and prospects to all our your people. Those who seek faith will find it readily enough but we don't want it spoon fed down unwilling mouths. Catholics hate being the subject of proselytisation but see nothing wrong with evangelising others with their own faith.
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Mark Dobson said...
Disappointing to hear you describe it as "complete nonsense"; writing off what you don't believe as nonsense is intellectually lazy.
From our point of view it's all quite logical (whereas I've never quite understood how human rights are intelligible without a personal God myself):
Human rights arise from the nature of God himself, as the source of all being, in relation with his creatures, which in the case of humans have a specific dignity and worth since they are created "in His image".
You might say, on a supernatural scheme, that we have the right to life, to eternal life in point of fact. And God, through his Word, is the source of life. God gives us his Word through the Church, through the teaching of the Church; so we have the right (the need) to hear that teaching.
While I expect you to disagree heartily, I hope you will at least reconsider the slur of it being "nonsense".
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New Friend said...
Mark
The claim makes no sense to me, hence my description. Your own words tend to confirm why. Your description that, for you, human rights arise from "God" make no sense to someone, like me, to whom such a concept is unintelligible.
I don't argue with the right of believers to "hear the teaching". That though was not claimed. The statement said that "young people" have such a right, implying that includes everyone of them. Sorry, but it makes no sense. Rights have to be granted, by people authorised to do so, to people who want them. Neither applies. What is truly meant is that you believe you have the right to tell them. Thats the reality.
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Trev said...
BBC seems to be hearing the UK Church's message loud and clear.
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New Friend said...
If that was loud and clear I would hate to hear it when it was quiet and unclear. Unless, of course, you were being sarcastic!
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