Thanks, everyone, for the responses thus far. I appreciate the range of responses from Eastern to Western thought and from various perspectives.
Dear Mystic,
Thank you for very much for your reply, I will answer to the best of my ability
I would like to quote your source again, Vouthon, with your permission
Of course!
Is there anything in Catholic Church doctrine or essays that expand on the bolded part? Perhaps you also might be able to embellish on what the grave damage is, and what is the marking for life? That statement confuses me.
The Catechism is here referring to the
psychological damage that can result from rape and which can outlast even the physical harm done to the victim, making it impossible or difficult for them to lead a normal, happy life while the memory of their trauma remains with them.
The church is trying to explain that rape is not simply an evil
physical act, it damages - sometimes for life - the psychological state and happiness of the victim. Rape can destroy lives without needing to murder the victims.
On other documents, I'd have to do some digging but the
Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (no. 36) produced by the United States Catholic Bishops Conference, addresses rape (there are similar documents for other countries):
"...Compassionate and understanding care should be given to a person who is the victim of sexual assault. Health care providers should cooperate with law enforcement officials and offer the person psychological and spiritual support as well as accurate medical information. A female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from the sexual assault..."
The particular part that you noted "mark for life" is to do with the psychological effect.
This is why it is intrinsically evil and never capable of being justified under any circumstances.
It sounds as if this is in accordance to secular law, as well. It's considered a violent crime and a felony.
As it should I would think. :yes:
With your permission, I'd like to quote Pope Benedict again from your first response:
Sure thing.
I would disagree with cultural Christianity as refraining from the public sphere, but I believe the spirit of the religion itself does urge it's followers to refrain from political influence explicitly. I do, however, separate culture from religion. So on one level I can see where Pope Benedict is coming from. However, I also see historically that cultural indoctrination through some imperialistic measures have heavily influenced and Christianized many judicial systems.
Could you expand on the Pope's statement?
Jesus quite firmly taught that there were two spheres of authority: "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and render to God what is God's". In the ancient world the Roman Emperor was the
Pontifex Maximus of the Roman religion. Christianity held that only clerics could be religious authorities, not the Emperor.
"...There are two powers, august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the sacred authority of the priests and the royal power..."
- Letter of Pope Gelasius to Emperor Anastasius I (494)
There have been times in history when the church has been
too powerful in society, forgetting that its sphere of influence is strictly limited to matters of conscience and not political authority which lies in the hands of "Caesar". At other times, as in Soviet Russia and revolutionary France, the church found the secular sphere encroaching too much upon it.
The pope is saying that Christianity must limit itself to forming consciences, rather than exercising any direct impact on law-making or politics.
Law is to be made by secular authorities, with separation between church and state. The church has no right to interfere, except when its own rights (ie to have Catholic schools, to hold church services and so forth) are challenged by the government.
Pope Benedict XVI believed very strongly in the two spheres doctrine (called "the two swords" in the Middle Ages).
From the pope's Encyclical "Caritas" 2009:
"...The just ordering of society and the State is a central responsibility of politics. . . . The State may not impose religion, yet it must guarantee religious freedom and harmony between the followers of different religions...The two spheres are distinct...This is where Catholic social doctrine has its place: it has no intention of giving the Church power over the State...Even less is it an attempt to impose on those who do not share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Its aim is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just. The Church's social teaching argues on the basis of reason and natural law, namely, on the basis of what is in accord with the nature of every human being. It recognizes that it is not the Church's responsibility to make this teaching prevail in political life. Rather, the Church wishes to help form consciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest. Building a just social and civil order, wherein each person receives what is his or her due, is an essential task which every generation must take up anew. As a political task, this cannot be the Church's immediate responsibility...The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply..."
- Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 2009
Are there Catholic charities for rape survivors or awareness campaigns about rape that you are aware of?
There is a "rape crisis service" that I have heard of for the US (various ones in other countries). Its mentioned on the Mississippi Diocese in the US:
Catholic Charities Jackson Mississippi Diocese
