To Vatican Diplomats, Francis Says No to Ideological Colonization

The pope criticized the “ideological colonization” of “the wealthier, to the detriment of the poorer”, that consists in imposing “new rights that not infrequently conflict” with those born of the “social upheaval of the 1960’s.” 

Francis then went into more detail, mentioning the repeated attacks on the right to life: “children discarded even before they are born” on the pretext that “they are ill or malformed, or as a result of the selfishness of adults”; he also mentioned “the elderly, who are often cast aside, especially when infirm and viewed as a burden”.

The Holy Father concluded by devoting “a special thought to families”. Lamenting that “especially in the West, the family is considered an obsolete institution”, and that “fleeting relationships” are preferred to the stability of a Christian couple, the pope called for “genuine policies...to support the family”. He sees this as the only possible remedy for the “demographic winter” of modern societies that “close in on themselves”.

The support he voices for families is indeed welcome. However, we cannot but regret that the Synod on the Family and the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia have opened the door to many “possibilities” that go against the good of the family, the indissolubility of marriage, and the sanctity of the sacraments of marriage and the Eucharist.