Bishop Bradley sends video greetings while waiting with thousands in St. Peter's Square for the Holy Father's Wednesday General Audience.
Here's a
link to the news article about today's General Audience.
Following is the text from Pope Francis' remarks from Vatican News Service:
Vatican
City, 15 April 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family
by dedicating this morning's general audience to the difference and
complementarity between man and woman, recalling first of all that the Book of
Genesis insists that both are the image and semblance of God. “Not only man as
such, not only woman as such, but rather man and woman, as a couple, are the
image of God. The difference between them is not a question of contrast or
subordination, but instead of communion and generation, always in the image and
semblance of God”.
“Experience
teaches us that for the human being to know him- or herself well and to grow
harmoniously, there is a need for reciprocity between man and woman”, said the
Pope to the thirty thousand faithful present in St. Peter's Square. “When this
does not happen, we see the consequences. We are made to listen to each other
and to help each other. We can say that, without mutual enrichment in this
relationship – in terms of thought and action, in personal relationships and in
work, and also in faith – the two cannot even fully understand what it means to
be a man and a woman”.
“Modern
and contemporary culture has opened up new spaces, new freedoms and new depths
for the enrichment and understanding of this difference. But it has also
introduced many doubts and much scepticism. I wonder, for example, if so-called
gender theory is not an expression of frustration and resignation, that aims to
cancel out sexual difference as it is no longer able to face it. Yes, we run
the risk of taking step backwards. Indeed, the removal of difference is the
problem, not the solution. To solve their problems in relating to each other,
men and women must instead speak more, listen more, know each other better,
value each other more. They must treat each other with respect and cooperate in
friendship. With these human bases, supported by God's grace, it is possible to
plan a lifelong matrimonial and family union. The marriage and family bond is a
serious matter for all, not only for believers. I would like to encourage
intellectuals not to ignore this theme, as if it were secondary to our efforts
to promote a freer and more just society”.
“God
has entrusted the earth to the alliance between man and woman; its failure
makes our emotional life arid and obscures the heaven of hope. The signs are
already worrying, and we can see them. I would like to indicate due points,
among many, that I believe must concern us with greater urgency”.
“Undoubtedly
we must do far more in favour of women, if we want to strengthen to the
reciprocity between men and women. Indeed, it is necessary for a woman not only
to be listened to, but also for her voice to carry real weight, recognised
authority, in society and in the Church. The way in which Jesus Himself
regarded women, in a context that was far less favourable than our own, casts a
powerful light illuminating a road that takes us far, on which we have
travelled only a short distance. It is a road we must travel with more
creativity and boldness”.
He
added, “a second point relates to the theme of man and woman created in God's
image. I wonder if the crisis of collective trust in God, that is so harmful to
us, that causes us to ail with resignation to incredulity and cynicism, is not
also connected to the crisis in the alliance between man and woman. In effect,
the biblical account, with the great symbolic fresco of earthly paradise and
original sin, tells us precisely that communion with God is reflected in the
communion of the human couple, and the loss of trust in the heavenly Father
generates division and conflict between man and woman”.
“This leads to the great responsibility of the
Church, of all believers, and above all of Christian families, to rediscover
the beauty of the Creator's plan that inscribes the image of God also in the
alliance between man and woman. The earth is filled with harmony and trust when
the alliance between man and woman is lived well. And if men and women seek
this together between them and with God, without doubt they will find it. Jesus
explicitly encourages us to bear witness to this beauty, which is the image of
God”, concluded the Pontiff.
