“We humbly acknowledge our shortcomings, especially with regards to particular groups in society such as the LGBT community who have felt a very real sense of rejection through the Church,” says Cardinal John Dew.
And he says the church has also probably fallen short in fully meeting the needs of recent migrant communities.
Dew said this when he was commenting on new research by the Wilberforce Foundation which showed a sharp decline in the percentage of New Zealanders who identify as Christian.
Dew is the Archbishop of Wellington and vice-president of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC).
“The findings from this survey speak to Pope Francis’ latest exhortation, in which he says ‘we are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves,’” Dew said.
“As the members of the NZCBC, we are aware of our leadership role and the role of faith in the public forum.
“We welcome the opportunity to listen more intently, talk more compassionately and understand more deeply how we can walk with New Zealanders in contributing to the wellbeing of all in our society.”
During the Synod in Rome in 2015, Dew talked about the need for “new language” to explain church teaching on sexuality.
He spoke of compassion and inclusion.
“When we have documents which talk about intrinsically disordered or being evil, it’s not going to help people.
“We’ve got to find a way to express what the teaching actually says, but not putting it in ways that people feel they’re being branded and being told that they’re bad or evil.”
Source
- Supplied: Amanda Gregan: Communications Advisor – NZ Catholic Bishops Te Huinga o ngā Pīhopa Katorika o Aotearoa
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- nzcatholic.org.nz
- nzherald.co.nz
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- Cardinal Dew - Church language and sexuality
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News category: New Zealand.
