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MIND HOW YOU GO!
BISHOPS LAUNCH TEACHING DOCUMENT
"You never get an idea of what is wrong unless you know what is true and what is life-giving."
- Cardinal Murphy O'Connor
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have just produced something so good that hardly anyone has heard of it. On May 26th our Bishops launched a major new teaching document, "CHERISHING LIFE". Writing in the Guardian newspaper that day, Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said that "CHERISHING LIFE" offered people a clear and accessible explanation of Catholic moral teaching. But this major new document has yet to cause the slightest ripples at parish level.
The Cardinal went on, "People think Catholic teaching is all about sin and guilt, in reality it is about life, love and forgiveness." "CHERISHING LIFE" has sections on health and medicine, marriage and family life, infertility, abuse, divorce, medical research, abortion, euthanasia, war and violence, the responsibilities of society, and citizens and the Church. It highlights areas of Government policy as well as social trends, which it says threaten to undermine marriage and family life. The document also advocates abstinence and chastity outside of marriage and counters what it says is a common assumption in some circles that all adults need to be sexually active. But all this is set in the context of "human fulfilment and human flourishing."
The framework of the document is structured around the words of the prophet Micah: "Act justly, Love tenderly, Walk humbly with your God." This is a marked change from the language of "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not." Those who prefer their morality to be a simple matter of Black & White may find this disappointing but it is precisely this language and this setting that makes the new document applicable to all people of good will, not simply those of our faith. "Cherishing Life" is available from the CTS, and there is also a very well thought out Study Guide, which should make the new document exactly as the Cardinal said, "accessible to all." (See comment.)
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