"... if there is no pre-ordained duality of man and woman in creation, then neither is the family any longer a reality established by creation"

Benedict Defends Traditional Family 

in Christmas Address to Roman Curia

by Pope Benedict XVI

Once again we find ourselves at the end of a year that has seen all kinds of difficult situations, important questions and challenges, but also signs of hope, both in the Church and in the world. I shall mention just a few key elements regarding the life of the Church and my Petrine ministry.

• First of all, there were the journeys to Mexico and Cuba—unforgettable encounters with the power of faith, so deeply rooted in human hearts, and with the joie de vivre that issues from faith. .....
• And then there was Cuba ....
• As further key moments in the course of the year, I should like to single out the great Meeting of Families in Milan and the visit to Lebanon ...
• The last major event of the year was the Synod on the New Evangelization, which also served as a collective inauguration of the Year of Faith, in which we commemorate the opening of the Second Vatican Council fifty years ago, seeking to understand it anew and appropriate it anew in the changed circumstances of today. ...

All these occasions spoke to fundamental themes of this moment in history: the family (Milan), serving peace in the world and dialogue among religions (Lebanon) and proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ in our day to those who have yet to encounter him and to the many who know him only externally and hence do not actually recognize him. Among these broad themes, I should like to focus particularly on the theme of the family and the nature of dialogue, and then to add a brief observation on the question of the new evangelization.

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