The Pontiff mentioned Australia at the top of a list of secularized countries during an impromptu question-and-answer session with priests of the Italian Diocese of Aosta in 2005.
He said a secularized society is one that is "tired of its own culture, a world that has arrived at a moment in which the need for God is no longer felt, and much less so of Christ, and in which, consequently, it seems that man might construct himself."
"In this climate of a rationalism shut-in on itself, which considers the model of the sciences as the only model of knowledge, everything else is subjective," Benedict XVI continued. "Naturally, Christian life also becomes a subjective option and, therefore, arbitrary. It is no longer the way of life."
"This happens especially in Australia," he added, "also in Europe, somewhat less so in the United States."
The Central Statistical Office of the Church announced last week that Catholicism is the largest religion in Australia, with 27.56% of the total population belonging to the Church.
Nonetheless, the office noted that while the Catholic population grew by 125,260 between 2001 and 2006, it failed to grow in proportion to the country's total population.
A national survey conducted in May 2006 revealed that the total number of people at Mass on a typical weekend was 708,600, or about 14% of the census Catholic population. That low number was already down a bit from 2001's count of 15%.
An acquaintance in Queensland, Australia passed away recently. Please keep him and his wife and kids in your prayers.
Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, may perpetual light shine upon him, may he rest in peace. Amen
There have been a few books recently, and I’ve heard some opinion that religion is responsible for all wars, that religion is anti science, basically, that religion is bad for you.
What do you think? A few thoughts to ponder:
"let’s turn the question around. How many people do you know that have overcome alcoholism or pornographic addictions, stopped cheating on their spouses, or become more concerned and dedicated parents because they discovered atheism? It simply doesn’t happen. Atheism offers no incentive to become better or less selfish."
"We don't want regular use of contraception disrupted," a spokesman for the UNFPA told reporters. The UN agency is also providing oral and injected contraceptives.
More than 2 million people in Myanmar face an urgent need for food, clothing, medication, and shelter.
via cwnews.com
Los Angeles, May. 20, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles has barred a controversial Australian bishop from speaking in his California archdiocese.
In a May 9 letter to Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, a retired auxiliary of the Sydney, Australia archdiocese, Cardinal Mahony invoked the Code of Canon Law to explain that he had decided to "deny you permission to speak in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles."
Cardinal Mahony took action just as the Australian bishops' conference issued a public statement warning of "doctrinal difficulties" in Bishop Robinson's new book, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church. The Australian bishops noted problems with Bishop Robinson's treatment of "the nature of Tradition, the inspiration of the Holy Scripture, the
infallibility of the Councils and the Pope, the authority of the Creeds, the nature of the ministerial priesthood and central elements of the Church’s moral teaching."
Bishop Robinson, who is in the US on a speaking tour to promote his book, is due to speak in Los Angeles on June 12. He is also scheduled to visit Boston, Seattle, and San Diego during his US visit. Cardinal Mahony urged the Australian bishop to cancel those appearances.
Bishop Robinson is likely to continue his speaking tour, defying the ban by Cardinal Mahony and challenging prelates in the other cities where he is scheduled to appear.
The liberal activist group Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) has issued a statement denouncing Cardinal Mahony's ban and praising Bishop Robinson for "trying to help us heal from the abuses which he saw first-hand" in Australia as head of a committee responding to the sex-abuse scandal there.
The VOTF statement acknowledges that the Australian bishops have found that Bishop' Robinson's book calls into question "the authority of the Catholic Church to teach the truth definitively." But VOTF adds: "Those who read Bishop Robinson’s book carefully may question such conclusions."
In his own response to the cautionary statement issued by the Australian bishops' conference, Bishop Robinson complained that "the bishops appear to be saying that, in seeking to respond to abuse, we may investigate all other factors contributing to abuse, but we may not ask questions concerning ways in which teachings, laws, and attitudes concerning power and sex within the church may have contributed."
Because of that attitude, he said, he had "broken with" the episcopal conference.
via CWNEWS.COM
