Pope: article in FT and address to Curia


I was as surprised as anyone when I read the other day that the Holy Father had written an article for the Financial Times: A time for Christians to engage with the world. He takes as his starting point the verse "Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God," and offers a reflection that I venture to hope would be respected by the readers of the FT. Apparently the Editorial Office just asked and the Pope responded willingly "despite the unusual nature of the request."

This morning, the Holy Father gave his annual Christmas address to the Roman Curia. The key section is where he speaks about the question of gender, referring with approval to the study of the Chief Rabbi of France, Gilles Bernheim, and launching his criticism of the new philosophy of sexuality from the expression of Simone de Beauvoir "one is not born a woman, one becomes so." He defends the idea of a human nature and the teaching of Genesis "male and female he created them." (Gen 1:27) The Pope also addresses the important question of dialogue and proclamation.

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