CASTEL GANDOLFO - Pope John
Paul II has used his last Sunday address of 1997 to speak of the threat
to the family.
From a villa in the countryside
south of Rome, the pope said: There exist too many attacks on the
family, a structure which is fundamental to a free and civil society."
Celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family and looking well-rested after
a cumbersome holiday schedule, the pontiff addressed 1,000 pilgrims from
a site that is usually used as a retreat from the powerful Roman summer.
"I think of the persistent
threat that puts in danger and exploits the life of many nuclear families
- poverty, unemployment, homelessness and the mentality that opposes the
gift of life," the pope said. HE also spoke about abortion, euthanasia
and individualism, factors he often cites as isolating the family and condemning
to solitude the weak, such as the elderly.
The Vatican has long been
at loggerheads with foreign governments over some of these issues. In 1996,
the Holy Father criticized U.S. President Bill Clinto for vetoing a bill
that would have banned late-term partial-birth" abortions.
- via Pro-Life E News
Canada
