Every time I read an article having to do with the Catholic Church, or more specifically the Pope and reaffirmation of “Christian values,” I wonder – what exactly are Christian values? Maybe someone can explain these to me as they relate to the Catholic Church.
Maybe what is meant by “Christian values” is how the Catholic Church, arguably the wealthiest enterprise on the planet, relentlessly asks for ‘donations’ from poor people across the globe? Maybe “Christian values” refers to a Pope making statements such as: “AIDS is bad, but condoms are worse.” Maybe when the Catholic Church talks about “Christian values” it is referring to its condemnation of homosexuality while harboring more homosexuals than any other organization on the planet; is hypocrisy a “Christian value”? Maybe “Christian values” has to do with covering up for the pedophile priests that have sexually abused countless children over the centuries, right up until the present day? Maybe, “Christian values” has to do with the oppression of science; the burning of “dangerous books” dealing with biology, astronomy, chemistry and evolution. Or maybe “Christian values” has to do with witch-hunts and the tortures of the Inquisition?
Again, I’m confused. I need someone to define the term “Christian values” for me. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
ZAGREB (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday that Croatia’s entry into the European Union is “logical, just and needed” as he arrived in the staunchly Catholic country for a two-day visit.
“It is logical, just and needed that (Croatia) enter the European Union,” the pope told journalists on the plane carrying him to Zagreb.
His visit to the Balkan country is aimed at reaffirming Christian values that he believes are under threat in increasingly secular societies across Europe.
The pope is set to receive a warm welcome in the 90-percent Catholic country of 4.4 million people.
“I feel joy and blessing. It’s like a father who hugs you,” Igor Tomljenovic, 45, told AFP.
The teacher said he would attend the pope’s mass at a racecourse Sunday with his wife and two children.
Croats also highlighted the political aspect of the trip.
“His visit will incite a deeper reflection of our faith, but it has also a political connotation,” said lawyer Marija Pericic, 52.
“It is a kind of recognition for Croatia, and his presence links us with the Church in the whole world,” she said.
On the eve of the visit an atheist group however held a small rally with slogans advocating the use of condoms and condemning child abuse by priests.
The pope was to deliver a speech later Saturday to young people and leading cultural figures in which he was set to give strong backing to Croatia’s moves to integrate into Europe without renouncing its strong Christian identity.
There are deep misgivings in Croatia about the effects of joining the EU, and nationalists in the Croatian Church are still angry with European countries for their caution in supporting Croatia’s bid for independence.
“Some Catholics fear that by entering a big family of European people a part of our spiritual legacy … will be lost,” Anton Tamarut, a professor at the Zagreb Catholic Faculty of Theology, told AFP ahead of the visit.
Oppressed and marginalised during the decades of communist rule after World War II, the Church regained some of its lost prominence in the 1990s when it was promoted by the nationalist regime then in power.
The Church was further strengthened during the 1991-95 war with rebel Serbs, mainly Orthodox Christians, who opposed Croatia’s independence.
The Holy See was one of the first states to recognise Croatia’s independence in 1992, a move that helped boost the papacy’s popularity in the country.
On Sunday the pope is to address a “Feast for the Family” in a hippodrome in the Croatian capital Zagreb during which he will defend family values.
He will also pray at the tomb of cardinal Alojzije Stepinac, who has been put on the path to sainthood by the Catholic Church despite accusations that he failed to speak out against Croatia’s pro-Nazi regime during World War II.
Benedict XVI, 84, was drafted into a German anti-aircraft corps at the end of the war and was briefly held as a prisoner of war in 1945.
He has not been abroad since travelling to Spain in November, and his visit to Croatia is his 19th foreign trip since becoming pope in 2005.
