The second post is the section of the Holy Father's annual Christmas speech to the Roman Curia. The overarching theme of his remarks was pneumatology, or, how the Holy Spirit is at work in the world and how the Church is to give expression to the truth. In this portion of his speech, which has proven to be very controversial, he calls for an "ecology of man, understood in the correct sense," and makes mention of Humanae Vitae, which readers of these pages know was promulgated forty years ago this year. His Holiness recommends reading, or re-reading, this encyclical, the intention of which "was to defend love against sexuality as a consumer entity, the future as opposed to the exclusive pretext of the present, and the nature of man against its manipulation."
What is at stake? "It is a question here of faith in the Creator and of listening to the language of creation, the devaluation of which leads to the self-destruction of man and therefore to the destruction of the same work of God. That which is often expressed and understood by the term 'gender', results finally in the self-emancipation of man from creation and from the Creator." His point here is that we cannot properly care for creation if we do not properly care for ourselves, for our humanity. This is captured well in the title given to the retreat for CL's International Assembly of Responsibles: Faith: The Ultimate Expression of an Affection for Oneself.
I also considered entitling this post The condition of our liberty, not its contradiction.
With a few hours of Advent left and half of Hanukkah yet to go, here is a great Hannuakkah/Christmas song, reminding us that Jesus was, indeed, a Jew:
