Cardinal Cordes: Modernity has destroyed awareness of sin in the world

Lourdes, France, Dec 10, 2007 / 13:29 pm

Presiding at celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions of Lourdes, the president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, Cardinal Paul Joseph Cordes, lamented that modernity has destroyed the reality of bad morality and the awareness of sin, with myths packaged as psycho-pathological considerations and biological explanations.

Speaking about the value of reconciliation, the cardinal explained, “The insatiable aspiration of humanity for peace and reconciliation is often frustrated in Darfur, Kosovo, Iraq, as well as in the home, in sports and among neighbors.  Aggressiveness persists, despite all calls to reconciliation,” he said.

“Those who deliberately reach out to their brothers and sisters, who live in a correct way and who foster forgiveness, are undoubtedly working for peace,” but “the root of the discord between men is discord with God.  Only when man gives himself to God is peace born in the world.  Only the man who has made peace with God can make peace reign around him,” he said.

Cardinal Cordes emphasized, therefore, the importance of the sacrament of Reconciliation.  “My aversion, my hatred, should be acknowledged and confessed.  Reconciliation with God is not fictitious; it’s not a simulation or a trivialization of evil.  It allows man to have an idea of the importance of the forgiveness of God,” he said.