Christian faith and lies don’t mix, warns Argentinean archbishop

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sep 10, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Archbishop Domingo Castagna of Corrientes called on the faithful this week to eradicate lying from their hearts and to accept the Gospel, because “to live in lies and claim to be a Christian is a contradiction.”

During his weekly reflection, the bishop explained that ceasing to lie is “an immediate consequence of accepting the words of the Gospel.”  The grace of Christ, he said, “changes lives and puts man back on the path of the truth.”

He recalled that Jesus “taught his disciples to confront evil with good” and to “return blessings for painful persecutions—even martyrdom—which might befall them throughout history.” 

In this sense, he explained, a distorted reading of history is what has led to the “creation of black legends (about the Church) which were accepted without responsible and serious examination.”

There exists “a conspiracy against the truth” by “the great transgressors of essential principles and values,” the archbishop explained.  From there “the programmed attack on the traditional family and its substitution with other anti-natural forms” have been born.

Therefore, he reminded the faithful of the call to holiness, as “the saints, whether they are canonized or not, are clear and unique answers of the Church of Christ to the merciless pressure caused by that part of the world that is still untouched by the Redemption.”

“This is the time to be prophets,” he added.  “The word of Jesus Christ must be both actively and passively presented in those places that are culturally most obstinate in receiving it.”