“Benedict XVI’s message on the Catholic World Day of Peace makes it clear that alliances between all those who stand up for open and undogmatic reason remain indispensable”, declared Frieder Otto Wolf, President of the Humanist Association of Germany, in Berlin today. He appealed to both non-denominational and denominational people not to allow the rights of women and minorities to be pushed aside in the course of overcoming profound crises.
In the message for the beginning of the year published last Friday, the Pope speaks out against the basic constitutional right to an abortion and against the equal legal treatment of all existing forms of marriage and family. He also attempts to discredit the right to a self-determined and dignified end of life and describes the safeguarding of this right for terminally ill people as a threat to the fundamental right to life.
Frieder Otto Wolf therefore warned once again that the fundamental rights of women in mental conflicts and the human rights of minorities are being attacked in the course of the absolutely necessary overcoming of current historical crises.
“We must all remember that in crisis situations, many people have all too often been prepared to accept the messages that seem easiest to them, even at the cost of violating fundamental rights and disregarding the central interests of others,” said Wolf.
The fact that the Catholic Pope describes the dismantling of discrimination against same-sex partnerships through state law “as an insult to the truth of man” and “a grave violation of justice and peace” should disqualify him in the eyes of all liberal Christians as a thought leader for a family-friendly and peaceful society.
“Catholic fundamentalism cannot bring about peace in a world that will continue to be characterized by different cultures and world views,” Wolf stated. He called on humanistic and undogmatic people to take the issues of social cohesion and peace addressed in the Bavarian theologian’s message in Rome seriously and not to ignore them.
“In the future, it will be crucial to continue working towards solutions that can solve the many pressing problems in a sustainable way without relapsing into such religiously based fundamentalisms and that are equally convincing for religious and non-religious people.”
Further information:
Message from Benedict XVI on the celebration of the Catholic World Day of Peace
