a twitter account wouldn't work to speak with you,so I am writing to you personally through this blog entry.THEN I will tweet the link to you. We've been having some discussions regarding your recent media interviews and that is what prompted me to write to you. As a youngster growing up in a Catholic family I imagined the Pope as someone who lived in this far away place called the Vatican. Thanks [mostly]to the Pontificate of Our Blessed John Paul II [and maturity of course] I eventually gained a different view of the papacy.Blessed John Paul II engaged the world. It was a gift of the Holy Spirit that John Paul II went into the world with the message of the Catholic Church but at the same time it is fraught with dangers.I don't necessarily mean danger to life either.Secularist Humanism being the greatest danger.Our American culture has gone this route. We are in the battle of our lives here.The family is under attack. Catholic divorces now match the rate of divorce for non Catholics.There was a time when Catholic marriages were the strongest and the divorce rate was low.
Abortion,gay marriage,contraception,euthanasia are now considered normal,not evil. They are now becoming the LAW of our land. When you give an interview to the media,even with the best of intentions,they will take your words out of context and twist them to mean what they wish. When they do not take your words out of context and quote them verbatim such as[ the way it was written] those "issues(abortion,gay marriage etc)are going be on the back burner" the faithful do not know what to think.I know when Pope Emeritus Benedict stepped down we were in shock. There was trepidation and fear-of course there was. Nothing like this was expected.Nothing like this had happened in our lifetimes.It was the last thing we expected.So when your pontificate began and many of us did not really know you at all-we were thrilled to have the Holy Spirit present us with our new Holy Father but we still had to get to know you. Now some are confused. You and our Pope Emeritus Benedict were right.We should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. I worry that we have gone from a Pope in a far away place to a Papacy of Cult;in the new meaning of the word. However, even with that danger we have to remember this;when our Holy Father speaks we listen. The media reports every word you say and unless those words are clear and speak to the culture we live in they can be misconstrued to mean something they do not.They can also be taken at face value and while not unorthodox they seem closer to liberalism.
I do defend you(the teachings of the Church re these matters as well) and realize many of us could be mistaken. I argue that we should NOT get our teachings of the Church from the media, especially because they have a slant. On the other hand what is said to the media is not going to be ignored by the general population,especially non Catholics,lapsed Catholics and the politicians of our day. Your words are not going to be ignored by the faithful either.It can't be avoided.Many of us defend you and the Church.
The media is anti Christian in general and anti Catholic in particular and they have their own agenda.They have no problem with contraception,divorce,abortion,same sex marriage or adoption being the LAW of the land. The Obama administration passed a so called law to try and force Catholic institutions to pay for abortions,contraception.Catholic adoption agencies closed rather than obey the law to permit same sex cohabitants to adopt.I can also tell you with certainty that the next step in our country will be to force the churches to perform same sex marriages.It is going that way.SO yes cohabitation and same sex civil unions affect our culture here in America profoundly.
I know you come from South America.I can tell you that the United States is in a terrible battle and the Catholic Church is under assault. Yes,we do need to hear the gospel of love,mercy,forgiveness and charity towards the poor but here it is not enough.People hear that and take it to mean all manner of immoral behavior is acceptable and we are considered intolerant,evil and unloving if we don't.Over the years i have seldom heard a sermon(homily)regarding contraception,abortion,euthanasia and same sex marriage. The no of Catholics in the United States who have no problem with any of these things is staggering.They honestly believe there is nothing wrong with them. So those who follow Church teachings,speak the truth in love, are marginalized. We are basically told to shut up by the culture around us and love here is twisted to mean accept moral evils.
You are always in our prayers and we look forward to your first papal visit to the United States.I hope the American cardinals will help you understand American culture better as we try to understand the culture you came from better.The United States desperately needs a moral voice to speak to it- that message is hated here.We will continue to pray for you and love you very much.
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