At The Time Of Galileo The Church

It Is Theologically And Anthropologically Important For Woman To Be At The Center Of Christianity. Through Mary, And The Other Holy Women, The Feminine Element Stands At The Heart Of The Christian Religion.

It Is Imperative That The Entire Christian Community In The United States Come To Realize The Grave Threats To The Church's Public Moral Witness Presented By A Militant Atheism Which Finds Increasing Expression In The Political And Cultural Spheres. The Seriousness Of These Threats Needs To Be Clearly Appreciated At Every Level Of Ecclesial Life.

Knowing Is Not Simply A Material Act, Since The Object That Is Known Always Conceals Something Beyond The Empirical Datum. All Our Knowledge, Even The Most Simple, Is Always A Minor Miracle, Since It Can Never Be Fully Explained By The Material Instruments That We Apply To It. In Every Truth There Is Something More Than We Would Have Expected, In The Love That We Receive There Is Always An Element That Surprises Us.

Respecting The Environment Does Not Mean Considering Material Or Animal Nature More Important Than Man. Rather, It Means Not Selfishly Considering Nature To Be At The Complete Disposal Of Our Own Interests, For Future Generations Also Have The Right To Reap Its Benefits And To Exhibit Towards Nature The Same Responsible Freedom That We Claim For Ourselves. Nor Must We Overlook The Poor, Who Are Excluded In Many Cases From The Goods Of Creation Destined For All.

We Are Not Some Casual And Meaningless Product Of Evolution. Each Of Us Is The Result Of A Thought Of God.