Children Must Be Guided Early On With God's Law, Says Pope

From Catholic News Service:

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Young children must be guided from a very early age with moral law so that they will have direction as they weather life's storms and resist its temptations, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"God's law must be impressed on the soul from the beginning 'like on a piece of wax,'" the pope said, citing the teachings of St. John Chrysostom at his Sept. 19 weekly general audience.

Early infancy "is in fact the age that is the most important" because it marks the time when "the great directives that point to the right course to (take in) life" really take hold in a person, he said.

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He said St. John Chrysostom urged people to provide children early on with the "spiritual weapons" they would need to protect themselves later during adolescence and the teen years from "the violent winds" of lust and other strong desires.

Aided by the virtue of temperance and a solid Christian formation, "well-prepared married couples thus block off the road to divorce," he said.

Everything in life will unfold "with joy and (parents) can teach their children the virtues," the pope said.

With the birth of a child, "the three become just one flesh" as the child is the bridge that connects the two parents creating "a tiny church" -- a domestic church, he said, quoting St. John Chrysostom.

St. John Chrysostom also reminded the lay faithful that they are responsible for the salvation of others, the pope said.

St. John Chrysostom said that as social beings people are not meant to just be interested in themselves, said the pope. Through baptism, every Christian becomes "king, priest, and prophet" who is responsible for bringing the truth of Christ to the world, the pope said.

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My Comments:
If the above headline had been written by certain non-governmental organizations affiliated with the U.N. or by certain Supreme Court Justices:

"Pope Endorses Child Abuse"