Cardinal underlines central role of motherhood to society.
By Anthony Barich
Respect for motherhood, “the central fact of life”, is essential to the Christian understanding of life, Cardinal George Pell told the second annual Mass for Pregnant Women at St Mary’s Cathedral on August 9.
He said that Catholics’ old, perhaps overly simplistic understanding of procreation as the only important rationale for marriage has been “stood on his head” by the radically secular theory in which marriage, sexual activity and the procreation of children have been separated.
“In this alternative theory sexual activity does not have to be ‘making love’, with love set aside cynically, while adults are seen to be autonomous, which means everyone can decide his own standards of right and wrong,” the cardinal said.
The Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae on natural family planning developed a broader understanding of marriage as the mutual development of spouses as an equally important reason for marriage, Cardinal Pell said.
These remain the mainstay of the Catholic theology of marriage today, he said.
“Generation is an eternal mystery, whereby the father and especially the mother share in God’s creative power. It is the woman who pays directly for this shared generation,” he said.
“No matter how the child was conceived, no matter how many problems remain, her child is precious because she knows that it is loved by God and she rejoices as she sees the hope of eternal life shine within her child. “Every child is a gift, ultimately a gift from God, a mystery which inspires awe, even in outsiders, so that the blessings are reckoned to outweigh the burdens by far.
“Children, love making and marriage are an eternal triangle; a sustaining ideal which sometime comes unstuck, but it remains an ideal whatever the particular different circumstances.
“Mary, the mother of Jesus, experienced more than her share of difficulties in her life with Joseph as she brought up Jesus. May she pray for and protect all the mothers here today with their beautiful children.”
He thanked God that Australia’s annual births have slowly increased so that last year’s 296,610 figure was the country’s record for births, helping the birthrate of 1.94 creep closer to the required rate of 2.1.
While young people are sympathetic to the concept of preserving the planet for the future, the prelate said that humans are “the crown and summit of creation, masters but also guardians and servants of our world”.
Therefore, each generation’s obligation to provide children for the future is a “sacred duty” which most adults readily accept but an increasing minority is unaware of these “fundamental perspectives which shape the Christian way of living”.
He said that accepting “the bread of life” – Christ’s teaching of the Church – gives parents strength in times of trial, and is symbolised by Old Testament prophet Elijah who fled to the desert to save his life and was strengthened twice miraculously by bread and water.
“This incident has a symbolic meaning for us, exemplified in the many instances where adults have said to me that they don’t know how they could have coped in their difficulties without their Christian faith,” Cardinal Pell said.