Pope Francis wants to make the king who refused to promulgate the law on abortion blessed. The ruler in question is Baldwin of Belgium. “A courageous king because faced with a law of death, he did not sign”, explained the Pontiff during his apostolic trip to Brussels, unleashing chaos. Jorge Mario Bergoglio has assured that the sovereign’s cause for beatification will continue. Because Baldwin lived all the Christian virtues in a heroic way. On 3 April 1990, the Belgian Parliament, applying a particular interpretation of the Constitution, took note of a temporary “impossibility to reign” on the part of the monarch. Who was “suspended” from duties. Just enough time for the deputies to approve the law that decriminalized the termination of a pregnancy within twelve weeks of conception. To then return to the throne 36 hours later. «An act of courage», according to Pope Francis.
«It takes a “pants” politician to do this. It takes courage. He gave a message and he did it because he was a saint.” «Women have the right to life: to their own life, to the life of their children. Let us not forget to say this: an abortion is murder,” he insisted. «Science tells you that all the organs are already there one month after conception. And the doctors who do this are hitmen. A human life is taken.”
The statement attracted several protests from doctors and thousands of women who yesterday took part in demonstrations, from Turin to Rome, to defend law 194 of 1978 which regulates abortion in Italy. Given the uproar raised, the Pontiff underlined that “women have the right to protect life”. «Another thing are contraceptive methods. There should be no confusion,” he clarified. “I only talk about abortion now. And there’s no arguing about this.” Who knows whether Baldovino’s sensitivity is the result of the five miscarriages (spontaneous, however) of his wife and queen, Fabiola!
If the stop to pray at the tomb of the disputed king, in the Church of Our Lady of Laeken, next to the castle, the official residence of the sovereigns of Belgium, aroused many objections, the visit to the University of Louvain did not go any better. Where, answering questions from students and professors on the role of women, the Pontiff defined her as “wife, mother and sister”. While those who had drawn up the list of “doubts” would have liked to know something more about the role of women in the Catholic Church. The result was a note of protest from the university which refers precisely to Catholic values. A note in which teachers and students expressed “misunderstanding and disapproval” regarding the opinions of the Pope. Who had gone to Leuven to celebrate the six hundred years of activity of the university. «An incorrect action. It is not moral – said Jorge Mario Bergoglio – This statement was made before I spoke.” It was, in fact, released a few minutes after the Pontiff’s speech and the time to write it would have been too short.
“I always talk about the dignity of women: the Church is woman, she is the bride of Jesus. Masculinising the Church, masculinising women is not human, it is not Christian”, Francis replied to those who wanted to know when the first women priests will arrive in the Catholic Church. The Vatican has long been discussing the possibility of opening up to women deacons who, however, will not be able to celebrate mass. But in Belgium, and in Northern Europe, sensitivity on this topic is more open than in Rome. «Woman is equal to man, indeed, in the life of the Church woman is superior. The mysticism of the woman is greater than the ministry”, insisted the Pontiff. «An exaggerated feminism, which means that women are chauvinistic, doesn’t work. It’s one thing that machismo isn’t right, it’s another thing that feminism isn’t right. What is in order, however, is the Church-woman which is greater than the priestly ministry.”
#Pope #Francis #antiabortion #King #Baldwin #blessed #Tempo
2024-10-01 10:00:23
