Another remarkable statement from the Pope – urging new perspectives on how to deal with children being brought up by gay or divorced parents:
“On an educational level, gay unions raise challenges for us today which for us are sometimes difficult to understand,” Francis said in a speech to the Catholic Union of Superiors General in November, extracts of which were published on Italian media websites on Saturday. “The number of children in schools whose parents have separated is very high,” he said, adding that family make-ups were also changing. “I remember a case in which a sad little girl confessed to her teacher: ‘my mother’s girlfriend doesn’t love me’,” he was quoted as saying. The pontiff said educational leaders should ask themselves “how can we proclaim Christ to a generation that is changing?”
“We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them,” the 77-year-old added.
A “vaccine against faith”: the legacy of too many Catholic upbringings in the past (but mercifully not my own).
This weekend, we launched into the new year with our usual eclectic mix: why walking is good for thinking; are TED talks “middlebrow megachurch infotainment“?; is anti-evolution claptrap forcing Millennial evangelicals to lose their faith altogether?; the man with two dicks; dolphins who get high; and the origins of the funny pages.
The most popular post of the weekend? Time For A TED Takedown? Runner-up? Converting to belief in evolution.
See you in the morning.
(Photo: A contestant launches a Christmas tree in the distance discipline of the Christmas Tree Throwing World Championships on January 5, 2013 in Weidenthal, Germany. The less-than-serious annual event is now in its eighth year and features competitions in distance throwing, height throwing and flinging of Christmas trees. By Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images.)
The Dish 