"VATICAN CITY, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict ushered in the New Year on Tuesday by criticising policies that undermine the traditional family, saying they eroded one of the most important foundations for peace in the world.
The Pontiff, delivering a traditional New Year prayer for peace, appeared to take a swipe at efforts in several countries to grant legal recognition to gay and unwed couples -- although he did not single out any policies by name.
He said the traditional family led by a husband and wife instilled values that promote peace, and added it was an "irreplaceable" institution.
"Those who are hostile, even unknowingly, to the institution of the family ... make peace fragile for the entire national and international community," the Pope told crowds gathered in a sunny St. Peter's Square.
The German-born Benedict has made defending the traditional family a priority since being elected Pontiff in 2005 following the death of John Paul II, focusing much of his attention on Europe.Gay marriage is legal in several European countries including predominantly Catholic Spain, where hundreds of thousands of Catholics rallied on Sunday in favour of the traditional family. The Pontiff had addressed the Spanish rally via a live video-link.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday at St. Peter's Basilica, the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics urged followers to reject challenges to the family "eclipsing the truth of man".
"I wanted to shed light on the direct relationship that exists between the family and peace in the world," the Pope said.
"The family is the primary agent of peace and the negation or even the restriction of rights of the family ... threatens the very foundations of peace."
Quoting from a message he issued in December to mark the Church's World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, Benedict said the family was "the first and irreplaceable educator of peace".
He also said that if the world wanted to live in peace, it would need to recognise those universal values that all people share as part of a single, "human family". (Editing by Keith Weir)
Gay marriage is legal in several European countries including predominantly Catholic Spain, where hundreds of thousands of Catholics rallied on Sunday in favour of the traditional family. The Pontiff had addressed the Spanish rally via a live video-link.
Speaking earlier on Tuesday at St. Peter's Basilica, the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics urged followers to reject challenges to the family "eclipsing the truth of man".
"I wanted to shed light on the direct relationship that exists between the family and peace in the world," the Pope said.
"The family is the primary agent of peace and the negation or even the restriction of rights of the family ... threatens the very foundations of peace."
Quoting from a message he issued in December to mark the Church's World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, Benedict said the family was "the first and irreplaceable educator of peace".
He also said that if the world wanted to live in peace, it would need to recognise those universal values that all people share as part of a single, "human family"." (Editing by Keith Weir)
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The title of this blog post was copied from PageOneQ, and I have to say that while it may be an overreach to accuse the Pope of blatant anti-gay rhetoric, it is certainly accurate to say that his remarks are at least a back-handed slap at those among us who are genetically unprepared to live in a traditional nuclear family.
His remarks seem to legitimize efforts around the world to deny homosexuals the basic rights and respect due to all of God's children, and they raise several other issues as well.
I understand and agree with his position that the "family unit" forms the basis of society, but he's ascribing tremendous importance to an entity that exists only as a fond memory, at least in the U.S., where our economic system has destroyed the ability of families to live in the traditional way. How valuable to world peace is a family in which both parents have been forced into the workplace to make ends meet? How are parents in that situation to impart values to their children necessary to promote peaceful principles? How valuable is a traditional family when the divorce rate is over 50%? And, his Holiness ignores the fact that most families are dysfunctional, partly due to job pressures, but due more to the constant brainwashing of our citizens to be profligate consumers, which is antithetical to the empathy required for the development of anti-war attitudes. When we are pitted against one another in the race to the "good life", how can we possibly expect to show forbearance to anyone else competing for the last X Box on the shelf? Or to anyone else in the world who we perceive as a threat?
Nonetheless, I will concede that Benedict probably meant well, but his remarks were, in the end, misguided.
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