Beware of ideological colonialisation

Addressing members of the World Union of Catholic Teachers (WUCT) at the Vatican on the occasion of its general assembly in Rome, Pope Francis said:

“There is no humanism without Christianity, and no Christianity without humanism. Beware of ideological colonisation. It is one thing to follow the culture of the moment, to speak the language of the moment, but it is another to allow yourself to be colonised ideologically. Ideological colonisation is destroying human personality, and it can be disastrous when it is applied in education.”

Complex and challenging times

At the end of their annual assembly the Catholic bishops in Mexico expressed concern at the growing poverty, environmental destruction, insecurity and violence, drug trafficking and addiction, extortion and kidnapping, femicides, and the thousands of disappeared, that the people are facing. There are also threats to democracy, religious freedom and freedom of expression, and finally political polarisation.

They added: “The defence of our electoral institutions is the responsibility and duty of all citizens. That is why we say together with millions of voices: let’s not endanger the stability and democratic governance of the country.”

A variant, not an aberration

In an interview with Deutsche-Welle, Bishop Helmut Dieser of Aachen said: “Same-sex feelings and love are not an aberration, but a variant of human sexuality. Homosexuality is – as science shows – not a glitch, not an illness, not an expression of any kind of deficit, and it’s not a consequence of original sin, either,” the bishop said, adding that current Church teaching does not do justice to certain realities when it comes to sexuality: “The thinking is too simple.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)