Word of the Priest

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

"Since rights and the resulting duties follow naturally from human interaction, it is easy to forget that they are the fruit of a commonly held sense of justice built primarily upon solidarity among the members of society, and hence valid at all times and for all peoples. This intuition was expressed as early as the fifth century by Augustine of Hippo, one of the masters of our intellectual heritage. He taught that the saying: Do not do to others what you would not want done to you "cannot in any way vary according to the different understandings that have arisen in the world" (De doctrina Christiana, III, 14). Human rights, then, must be respected as an expression of justice, and not merely because they are enforceable through the will of the legislators."
This is what Pope Benedict XVI said in his Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on 18 April 2008. He thus defended the universality of human rights at a moment when ethical relativism threatens to undermine any common basis of moral principles. Most people in most nations, I think, still share this conviction that we should not do to others what we would not want done to us.
President Obama in his famous "Cairo speech" in June 2009 expressed a similar conviction: "There's one rule that lies at the heart of every religion - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This truth transcends nations and peoples - a belief that isn't new; that isn't black or white or brown, that isn't Christian, or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization, and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people, and it's what brought me here today."
Christians call this the "Golden Rule", recommended by Jesus with these words: "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets." (Mt 7, 12)
Let us remember and follow this "Golden Rule" during our summer vacation.

Yours in Christ Jesus,

Father Herbert Gillessen

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The Natural Moral Law

"For there is a true law: right reason (recta ratio). It is in conformity with nature (naturae congruens), is diffused among all men, and is immutable and eternal; its orders summon to duty; its prohibitions turn away from offense… To replace it with a contrary law is a sacrilege; failure to apply even one of its provisions is forbidden; no one can abrogate it entirely."

Cicero (106 - 43 BC)
De re publica, III, 22, 33

"The precepts of natural law are not perceived by everyone clearly and immediately. In the present situation sinful man needs grace and revelation so moral and religious truths may be known by everyone with facility, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error. The natural law provides revealed law and grace with a foundation prepared by God and in accordance with the work of the Spirit."

Catechism of the Catholic Church,
nr 1960

"Application of the natural law varies greatly; it can demand reflection that takes account of various conditions of life according to places, times and circumstances. Nevertheless, in the diversity of cultures, the natural law remains as a rule that binds men among themselves and imposes on them, beyond the inevitable differences, common principles."

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