The following comes from a Nov. 12 story on Catholic News Agency.
With marriage in crisis in the modern world, the faithful have a duty to work for its restoration, promoting the ‘culture of encounter’ called for by the Holy Father, said a leading U.S. bishop.
“Pope Francis said recently, ‘There is a crisis in the family because it’s beat[en] up from all sides and left very wounded!’ We must help to pick it up, like the Good Samaritan, and care for it,” San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone explained.
The archbishop chairs the subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He addressed his fellow bishops at their annual fall meeting in Baltimore on Nov 10.
Marriage is a key part of Pope Francis’ call for a “culture of encounter,” he explained, and Catholics can participate in several ways.
One way to advance a “culture of encounter” through marriage is reaching out to the “most vulnerable” – in this case, the poor, emphasizing “the connection between strengthening marriage and combating poverty,” the archbishop said.
He pointed to an address given by Professor W. Bradford Wilcox to the bishops at their June general assembly in New Orleans.
The University of Virginia professor, who heads the National Marriage Project at the university, spoke about the connection between the strength of marriages and family poverty. “If you care about poverty, if you care about income inequality; if you care about opportunity in America, you should care about marriage,” he told the bishops.
Another way to participate in the “culture of encounter” through marriage is “walking with others toward Christ,” Archbishop Cordileone said.
He explained that “good messaging and sound bites, while important, can only go so far in a culture deeply affected and wounded by the sexual revolution.” Catholics must personally accompany those who struggle, for example, with same-sex attraction.
“We must encourage and walk with others in living out this call [to chastity], which is a great ‘yes!’” the archbishop insisted.
Finally, he said, the faithful must bear witness to the truth amid a society of broken families.
Married couples must give witness through the strength of their marriages, he explained, and those with same-sex attraction can bear witness by living in accordance with Catholic teaching.
He pointed to the film Desire of the Everlasting Hills, produced by the group Courage, which ministers to persons with same-sex attractions and their families. The film features the conversion stories of three persons who relied upon Christ to abandon homosexual lifestyles.
Archbishop Cordileone ended his address looking forward to three major events in the coming year: next week’s interreligious Vatican conference on the complementarity of man and woman in marriage; next September’s World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which Pope Francis is expected to attend; and the Ordinary Synod on the Family, which will take place at the Vatican next October.
To read the original story, click here.
So true…….poverty break a marriage, especially when the man decides to starve his children by taking off…. 1 in 4 children in USA are fatherless……
What do his children eat ?
Jenny, I wish it were so simple. If we didn’t have a government welfare system that has literally forced the father from his family, black people would have eventually been able to leave the ghettos and make a better life. The democratic party has systematically programed them to be dependent on welfare which has taken away their initiative and self-confidence. They can’t get welfare with a father in the home! It’s a vicious cycle that will never end until fathers can stay in the home and the family receives a supplementary income to what he can earn. Everything that can be done to restore the family to lower income homes should be done without fail. Cut back on foreign aid (especially to countries that hate our guts) and kick out the UN from NYC and use to money to rebuild our towns and our families…eliminate no-fault divorce, raise the bar for who can practice law, eliminate the 9th. Circuit Ct. of Appeals, restore power to Congress and repeal illegal laws like Roe vs Wade, made by the Supreme Court…only Congress is given that authority! Everything should be aimed at rebuilding our culture through the family…the ills of divorce, child abuse etc. would be reduced and children would be the focus of ALL future laws, taxes etc. I wish Mr. Zero, potato-head-in-chief would spend more time golfing and let Congress lead.
The US government pays to help the financially poor.
We all must promote the reading of Sacred Scripture, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church at home to help the spiritually poor, and make certain that the government is not the god of the people.
Yeah. Clap. Clap. Clap. Let’s hear it for Arbp Cordelione. Why cannot more Church leaders speak the truth as he does? Is he the only one utilizing that always available gift of fortitude? It is there for the asking for all. Please! Let the voice of dear Arbp Cordelione not be the only one crying out in the wilderness. Second what he preaches to all with whom you come in contact.
Tee bohnar –
I guess you do not live in ‘The City’ as I do. This man does nothing! Fortitude! Look up the meaning of that word. “Crying out in the wilderness”! SF is a mess as is Oakland. I suggest you review his actions over the last few years. You will be surprised.
At least you do not have the Reserection, cross dresserentertainment fund raiser anymore.
Bill why don’t you volunteer to do something within the SFO Diocese, since you clearly think more needs to be done ?
And make your opinions known, to the Diocese office.
Are you helping to promote the reading of Holy Scripture, and the CCC ?
Bill, are you one of those who are attacking the Faithful Bishops in the USA ?
Bishops who adhere to the Bible and CCC – this is how you will know them.
“Call to Action” is also systematically attacking faithful Bishops.
Bill, you gave zero examples of what the Abp is not doing or doing that is wrong.
Therefore your attack is suspect.
The Archbishop has a HUGE SHIP TO TURN AROUND……
Pray for him!!!
The real poverty in our society is the loss of God in our lives by an agnostic and overly lax society that has led us to the deprivation of sanctifying grace, which provides us with the zeal to know and live holy lives the way Christ taught us. So many millions of catholics have lost the Roman Catholic faith becoming either unbelievers or couldn’t care less sinners. The church has been on a downhill slide since the middle1960s, with the slope of the hill getting steeper and steeper downward, with no relief in-sight. For awhile BXVIth seemed to make some inroads back to tradition, but that has been pretty much curtailed. The Synod reflects what is going on in the modern magesterium. A real successor of the Chair of St. Peter, wouldn’t have even entertained the proposals but instead point to and abide by Roman Catholic teaching, which was compassionate to sinners and a loving but firm in discipline Mother to us all. Trouble was, like spoiled children, we didn’t want to obey her, rather change her and not ourselves. Oh we did just that and look what she is now to show for it. . . . So many millions of catholics have lost the Roman Catholic faith becoming either unbelievers or couldn’t care less sinners. The church has been on a downhill slide since the middle1960s, with the slope of the hill getting steeper and steeper downward, with no relief in-sight. Sinful living hurting to God is everywhere and few listen to Our Lady of Fatima’s warnings as true today as they were to the world in 1917, in fact far worse. Her warnings of the Great Apostacy are upon us, just smell the coffee.