| To Politicians |
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| Thursday, 04 May 2006 16:34 | |||
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In an address to European Christian politicians recently (30 March) in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted a series of clear principles by which leaders and representatives in the political arena can find their way in the midst of confusion and error. These principles, the Holy Father reaffirmed, are not negotiable. One, obviously, is the safeguarding of human life in all its stages, "from the first moment of conception until natural death." A second, the Pope added, is "recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the family – and its defense from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union which in reality harm it and contribute to its destabilization, obscuring its particular character and its irreplaceable social role." Thirdly, there is a need to protect the rights of parents to educate their children. These principles are "inscribed in human nature" and hence they apply to all humanity, Benedict added. As such they are not just "confessional" in nature, but they are addressed to all persons. To trample on them or to ignore them constitutes an affront against the truth of human personhood.
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