If in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of a desire to be 'devout' and to perform my 'religious duties', then my relationship with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely 'proper', but loveless.
Pope Benedict XviRead
One sees in Latin America, and also elsewhere, among many Catholics a certain schizophrenia between individual and public morality.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the conflict between personal beliefs and societal ethics observed in Latin America and beyond.
Pope Benedict XVI points out a psychological and moral conflict that some Catholics experience, where their individual moral values conflict with the accepted public morals of society. This observation suggests a deeper issue of how personal conscience and societal expectations can often diverge, leading to a state of confusion or 'schizophrenia' in moral understanding.
Themes
MoralityIndividualPublicCatholicismSchizophrenia
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about ethical dilemmas in public policy.
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If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One that loves you.
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I am consoled by the fact that the Lord knows how to work and how to act, even with insufficient tools.
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Faith is above all a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, and to experience [His] closeness, [His] friendship, [His] Love; only in this way does one learn to know [Him] ever more, and to love and follow [Him] ever more. May this happen to each one of us.
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Do not be afraid of seeming different and being criticized for what might seem to be losing or out of fashion; your peers but adults too, especially those who seem more distant from the mindset and values of the Gospel, are crying out to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity revealed by Jesus Christ.
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