Archbishop Seán Brady was among 34 Presidents of Bishops Conferences who entrusted Europe to Our Lady at Fatima last weekend.The Plenary Assembly of the Presidents of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE) gathered in the shrine of Our Lady, from 3rd to 7th October 2007 for their annual Plenary Assembly to consider themes on marriage and family, ecumenism and the European Union.
At the culmination of the meeting on Saturday night, Cardinal Erdö, CCEE President, and the Presidents of the Bishops' Conferences read a prayer entrusting Europe and its inhabitants to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Earlier the bishops looked at marriage and the family, considered from a legal, institutional, social and pastoral point of view in all European countries.
A scenario which is both worrying and rich in contrast emerged.
On the one hand, surveys clearly show that marriage and family are priority ideals for European youth; on the other hand, in practice, marriage both religious and civil, are decreasing, and separation, divorce and single-parent families as well as children born out of wedlock are on the increase.
The traditional form of family is undergoing a crisis.
“Today, families live in an environment which is marked by individualism and secularisation. Many people today consider marriage as a simple contract between two persons. The increasing number of legislative instances undermining traditional Christian reality of marriage and family life are cause for concern. Should Europe lose the concept of family, it will lose its future,” said the bishops.
The Church today also faces new challenges linked to the increase of mixed marriages between Christians of different Christian confessions and between persons of different religions.
The phenomenon of migrations is also separating members of the same family and becoming one of the main causes for separation and divorce.
However the bishops could also see positive trends.
“There is evidence of innumerable families living out their own vocation with coherence and joy. More and more young couples are eager to get together and to commit to living their marriage in full and having more children. There are also signs of rebirth and attention to the family on the part of the political world. There is a new conscience of the basic quality of the family especially for what concerns the demographic question, the contribution of the family to social cohesion and education of children,” they said in their final statement.
The bishops said it was the duty of the Church and of all Christians to mobilise to promote the family, and for marriage as the “primary and fundamental unit of society.”
The most significant response to this situation is in the discovery of the richness and human depth of marriage between one man and one woman.
Prayer of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe entrusting the Church to Our Lady:
Mary, our blessed Mother,watch over the Church in Europe
which we entrust to your maternal love.
May we be open to the Good News,living peacefully in unity and harmony.
Give us the grace to welcome the stranger in need,and to be generous to the poor, the homeless and those without work.
May we proclaim with joy the Gospel of hope.
Mary, blessed among all women,you embraced the will of the Father.
To your heart we dedicate our familiesand our young people,those who are growing old,and the frail in mind and body and those who are sick.
We ask you to console all those who suffer, are wounded and broken.
Open every heart to Jesus your Son.
Mary, ever Virgin,to you we commend the Church in Europe.
May we be transformed by the Holy Spirit,to become witnesses to the holiness of life, stewards of God's creation, ambassadors for peace and reconciliation and faithful servants of Jesus Christ who consecrated himself to the Father, giving his life to take away our sin and opening the way to eternal life.
Mary, Mother of the Church,pray for Europe, pray for us.
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Sotto Voce
1 comments:
Their Lady of Fatma: Hey girls did you have a good day in work today? Guess what happened to me? I got all of Europe entrusted to me?
Their Lady of Knocks: What? Who gave it to YOU!
Their Lady of Mud’ngorey: Yeah who the hell gave it to you BITCH?
Their Lady of Fatma: It was a whole gang of the old guys.
Their Lady of Knocks: Could you narrow that down for Jaysus sake mauvourneen, at this stage just about all they have left is old decrepit bags of wrinkles lookin’ like some farmers retreat in Connemara. The catholic church needs to be feckin’ steam pressed, it does, so it does.
Their Lady of Zapopan: Yeah, time was we used to get lots of virile young dudes. I used to nearly wet me self when they’d be kissin’ me feet and all that good stuff. I was even tempted to move a few times but that Ballinaspittal cow signed an exclusive on that one.
Their Lady of Constipation: It used to be lovely. They’d dedicate their swords to us and ride off full of bluster and go choppin’ non-belivers heads off shouting “In the name of the QUEEN OF PEACE! I used to crap meself!
Their Lady of Lourdes (glaring at their lady of Fatma): Mon Dieu! Listen flat chest you should have called franchise HQ before accepting anything like that. I have ze seniority over you, you leeteel pussy.
Their Black Madonna of Missouri: I bet she got it because she’s white. Them bishops man, dey was always racist bastards.
Their Lady of the Miraculous Medals: This just proves what I was saying last week: manufacturing is increasingly losing out to the service madonnas.
Their Lady of Dzhublyk: Это только идет показать: если вы не можете переговорить английские в shrine бизнесе вы получаете обогнаны.
Their Lady of the Garden Enclosed: What did she say: I can’t hear bugger all behind these bloody bushes.
Their Lady of the Wind: Dunno, it whistled right by me!
Their Lady of Guadeloupe: Dijo estos días, tú tienes que hablar inglés si tú quieres estar en la empresa del santuario.
Their Lady of Bechouat : Could we stick to English?
Their Lady of Bekaa : I think we need to call an official meeting.
Their Lady of Cardigan: I think that Fatma cow getting Europe breaks our franchise agreement. Anyone need a jumper?
Their Lady of Combermere: I should be given Canada.
Their Lady of Ipswich: One would think that a super idea and quite fair!
Their Lady of Kazan: Always we are getting the left behinds.
Their Lady of Kursk: I’m stuck with a bunch of sailors. One of them pissed in my grotto the other day!
Their Lady of La Vang: I think bias in the advertising department has skewed public opinion. I don’t even have a decent airport.
Their Lady of Lebanon: I had one but the bloody Jews bombed the shit out of it. I haven’t even been repainted. My numbers are way down.
Their Lady of Mantara: Mine have not recovered since they brought in education for the masses.
Their Lady of Nourieh: Their doing education at the Mass now?
Their Lady Of Knocks: Masses, MAASSES, it means the great unwashed, the herd, the flock, the lemmings who make up our customer base.
Their Lady of the Snows: Immm freezing, are you all warm?
Their Lady of Cardigan: I could knit something for you if you’d like. I could do it so you didn’t look so flat chested.
Their Lady of Lourdes: You can’t do that Cardi. Flat chested is part of the look, its on page 4 of the franchise agreement. We’re supposed to be sexless versions of women. Bleedin’ celibates! If normal people dreamed us up we’d look like real women instead of ironing boards. You can’t show any flesh except hands and mush.
Their Lady of the Wind: Bush! We can show bush now! When the hell did that come in? That might up numbers and a few other things besides.
Their Lady of the Garden Enclosed: Did someone call for a bush?
Their Lady of Knocks: Wash yer mouth out yeh filthy hussie. We’re not supposed to even have a bush. Remember the Grotto Motto: Dirty sex, sex is dirty, dirty is sexy.
Their Lady of Međugorje: I’m doing a roaring trade. May Michael O’Leary keep us and bless us.
Their Lady of Knock: That’s well for you me girlie. I have to pick up the paper and hear Ratz talking about HQ going green and then put up with the idiots from my patch flyiin’ off to see you. They’re only shootin’ up their oul whatchamacallems, carbon hoofprints, because they haven’t got a feckin’ brain between them. Bejaysus sure aren’t the fools supposed to think we’re all one and the same. Tis the breakin’ of me heart it is to be seein’ all the income go the new Europe when for so long I was on the sows back. Ahhhh shure ‘tis the way of de world, the way of the world..
Their Lady of Lourdes: I think we should sue McDonalds for copying our idea of franchising a formula.
Hear Hear!
Finn McCool
Is "having faith" another way of saying "I'm missing the big picture?"
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