Pope urges U.S. bishops to counter acceptance of abortion, gay unions

Published: 2004-06-04

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II urged U.S. bishops to counter "erroneous yet pervasive thinking" that has paved the way for acceptance of social evils like abortion, pornography and homosexual unions. The pope said that over the last 40 years in the United States, human rights have become detached from the search for truth and have sometimes turned into "self-centered demands." The pope made his critique in a talk June 4 to a group of bishops from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming who were making their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican, which bishops are required to make every five years. The theme of the pope's speech was "evangelization of culture," which he said touched upon the fundamental dynamic of the church's activity, enabling people of every culture to be transformed by the power of the Gospel. But he said this essential task is challenged today by a loss of transcendent values and goals. He cited a "growing reluctance to acknowledge that all men and women receive their essential and common dignity from God and with it the capacity to move toward truth and goodness."

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