![[home]](/comm/images/usccb_logo.gif){kind=logo}
USCCB News Release
09-171
August 14, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pope’s Strong Witness to Marriage and the Family Is an Example for All
WASHINGTON—“Marriage and the family are institutions that must be promoted and defended from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature, since whatever is injurious to them is injurious to society itself.” This is just one of many of Pope Benedict’s decisive statements on the unique good of marriage and the family, recently gathered into a new volume of USCCB Publishing’s “Pope Benedict XVI – Spiritual Thoughts Series,” this time on the “Family.”
The timely publication of this new volume collects in one place the Pope’s strong teaching and witness to the unique value and truth of marriage and the family. The pope addresses the range of teaching on marriage and strategically zeroes in on the unique nature of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, chairman of the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, voiced thanks for the pope’s support for families. “Our Holy Father has modeled for us a consistent defense of the family founded on marriage as the permanent and exclusive union of one man and one woman. His witness is a call and encouragement for all of us to stand for the truth and beauty of marriage and family and the intrinsic dignity of every person.”
Gratitude for the pope was also evident from the Knights of Columbus, who twice cited Pope Benedict in their resolution of August 5 to support bishops’ conferences around the world in the protection and promotion of the true nature of marriage between one man and one woman (available at http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/convention_2009/resolutions/marriage.html).
Commenting on the Knight’s resolution, Archbishop Kurtz said, “We are deeply grateful for the generous support of the Knights in standing for the sanctity of all human life and of marriage and the family. This resolution is an affirmation of the significant work that the Knights have undertaken in this country and abroad. Under the leadership of Carl Anderson, the Knights continue to serve the Church and the world in a much needed way, following the Holy Father’s example.”
To obtain copies of "Family" (publication number 7-075; $6.95 per copy) from USCCB Publishing, visit www.usccbpublishing.org or call 800-235-8722.
--- Keywords: marriage, pope, Pope Benedict XVI, Spiritual Thoughts Series, USCCB Publishing, family, traditional marriage