New Year Message from Bishop Patrick

The Church is living through troubled times, but it is perhaps reassuring to know that there hasn’t been a time in the history of the Church that has been untroubled! We mustn’t become despondent or angry, but rather, allow the Holy Spirit to deepen within us the virtues of faith, hope and charity, as Pope Benedict XVI invites through his wonderful teaching.

Looking at the persecutions and heresies that the Church has endured, we see the people of God emerging from such suffering renewed with a deeper love and knowledge of Jesus Christ and the dignity and destiny of the human person. To me, this is a sign of the abiding presence of our Risen Lord, the source of our hope. (Matthew 28: 20).

At present the Catholic Church is enjoying a wonderful deepening of the doctrine and appreciation of the sacrament of marriage. I see this as part of a wider development of the Church’s defence of the dignity and destiny of the human person against attack on a variety of fronts, such as assisted suicide, same-sex unions, and experiments on embryonic human beings. What we are discovering is that respect for the sanctity of marriage is foundational to human life.

In his Pastoral Letter for the Feast of the Holy Family, Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds has recently pointed out the hopelessness and despair that dominates our society, where there should be a sense of hope that comes from the realisation that we are all treasured by the Father. We find this same sense of hopelessness and despair about the capacity of men and women to form life-long, fulfilling marriages. It is up to us to witness to the truth that – made in the image of God – women and men are capable of amazing feats of self-giving love and commitment to life.

The break-down of monogamous marriage and the absence of responsible and loving fathers or mothers is the root cause of a range of social problems harming British society, such as teenage pregnancy, knife and gun crime, rising rates of abortion, and the cycle of deprivation that traps so many in poverty.

Without secure, dependable, loving relationships between men and women, children don’t thrive, individuals with a frustrated vocation to marriage become alienated and mentally-ill, and communities become violent and dysfunctional, seen in the rise of alcoholism and drug abuse. Marriage offers society its only realistic hope out of these harmful dysfunctions.

Tragically, the suffering resulting from the credit crunch will be exacerbated by the decline of strong, extended families held together and protected by the commitment and love of wives and husbands. Many people are going to struggle with financial hardship and stress on their own, while before, during other economic depressions, families provided support.

As Pope Benedict XVI points out poverty threatens the peace of the family, and consequently, the peace of society and nations. (World Day of Peace Message 2009) Therefore, in view of the lack of support for marriage from the government and media, the Church, in collaboration with others of good will, must be responsive to the strains that the credit crunch will put on marriage and family life.

Active parishes are basic grass roots communities that can help provide solidarity and mutual support during times of unemployment, increased poverty and racial tensions. As St Francis tells us – in imitation of Christ – where there is despair in life, let us bring hope.

Finally, faced with the failure of successive governments to promote the benefits of marriage, it is up to the Church to step into the breach and promote the goods of marriage to society. One practical step I recommend is that parishes and schools should work closely together to show young people, in a realistic and positive way, the joys and rewards of life-long, permanent, monogamous marriage between men and women.

+Patrick O’Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster