Catholic News

The Church teaches that human life is sacred from the first moment of conception, and Pope Saint John Paul II warned that Catholics in public office or in the media can cause “confusion and even scandal” when they advance positions contrary to Church teaching.

In matters such as marriage, human sexuality and the dignity of the human person, it is not uncommon to encounter selective adherence: “I believe in the Church, but not in that teaching.” Such a position points not simply to disagreement, but to a reluctance to allow the Gospel to fully shape one’s life.

Lent is ordered toward repentance, conversion and a more profound participation in Christ’s Paschal Mystery (CCC 540; 1095). It is a season in which the Church accompanies the Lord into the desert—not to escape the world, but to be strengthened for mission within it.