Being a Good Parent as Valuable as Martyrdom or Life in a Monastery

Audrys Juozas Cardinal Backis

Function: Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania

Title: Cardinal Priest of Natività di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo a Via Gallia

Birthdate: Feb 01, 1937	Country: Lithuania

Elevated: Feb 21, 2001	More information: www.catholic-hierarchy.org

Send a text about this cardinal »

View all articles about this cardinal »

Being a Good Parent as Valuable as Martyrdom or Life in a Monastery
Oct 18, 2004
Matrimony and the family: way of holiness. Symposium organized by the Liepkiemis Cultural Center in Vilnius, Lithuania on October 7, 2001.

(The Baltic Times, 11 October 2001) Being a good parent in today's world is just as sure a way to sanctity as martyrdom or life in a monastery, and just as valuable for the Church and the world, Cardinal Archbishop Audrys Juozas Backis told an Oct. 7 conference in Vilnius.

The event, entitled Marriage and the Family - A Path to Sanctity, commemorated the centenary of the birth of Blessed Josemaría Escrivá, founder of the Catholic institution Opus Dei.

“Blessed Josemaría Escrivá was a true prophet, one of those God sends in every age to wake up the Church and society,” Backis said.

He said Escrivá's teachings on holiness in ordinary life were urgently needed now that the family, society's fundamental institution, was in a deep crisis.

“He saw that sanctity doesn't require becoming a monk or a cleric, but that everyone is called to be holy in their work, family life and social activity,” Backis said.

“Family issues are one of Lithuania's biggest problems,” the Cardinal noted: “And the need is precisely to show that it is possible to live married life in accord with God's plan and the needs of the human person.”

18 READERS ONLINE

INDEX

back to the first page

printer-friendly

CARDINALS

in alphabetical order

ARTICLES