FROM THE editor
EDITOR Maria Madise EDITORIAL BOARD Liam Gibson Matthew McCusker John Smeaton John-Henry Westen
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DESIGN & PRODUCTION EDITOR Selina Fang EDITORIAL OFFICE VOICE OF THE FAMILY Unit B, 3 Whitacre Mews, Stannary Street, SE11 4AB, London, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7820 3126 Email: editor@voiceofthefamily.com www.voiceofthefamily.com/calxmariae PUBLICATION IS SPONSORED BY:
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9 The procreative and unitive ends of the conjugal act cannot licitly be separated; the rejection of this truth lies at the root of modern attacks on life and the family. 9 Parents are the primary educators of their children and the protection of this right is essential for building a new “culture of life”.
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9 Marriage, the exclusive, life-long union of one man and one woman, is the foundation of a stable and flourishing society and is the greatest protector of children, born and unborn.
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Calx Mariae is published by Voice of the Family, an international coalition of prolife and pro-family organisations formed in support of Catholic teaching on the family. The following truths are particularly at the heart of Voice of the Family’s work:
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Calx Mariae seeks to contribute to the rebuilding of Christian civilisation by providing features and analysis in the areas of life, family and culture. Our aim in producing this magazine is to strengthen our readers in the faith and in their witness to the truth about human life and the family.
s this extraordinary year now draws to a close, how it will be remembered depends largely on us. In this special endof-year editorial, I do not wish to discuss the course of the coronavirus crisis or how its exploitation has dominated 2020. Instead, I would like to reflect on the possible divine strategy that draws good out of evil and always works for the salvation of man. The crisis this year has shaken the core desire of the secular culture: being in control. This year, we have not been able to maintain control in some of the most basic aspects of our daily life. Furthermore, we have been forcefully reminded of the threat, and some of us of the reality, of illness and death, a consequence of our fallen nature which will always be beyond our control. Many have responded with fear and despair. But the Catholic attitude is never devoid of hope. Not infrequently, God uses physical illness to restore spiritual health. In Fatima, our heavenly Mother said plainly: “Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended.” If God was much offended in 1917, the situation has certainly not improved. On the contrary, we have multiplied the offences – not necessarily as individuals but as a people. Would it not be justified for God to react? And considering the gravity of our offences, is this reaction not more merciful than we deserve? Could not this be God, in His infinite mercy, calling His people, who often appear to have abandoned the very foundations of the faith that saves them, back to Himself and the Truth which the Church teaches? This year, the enemy seems to have made significant progress on several fronts. At the time of writing, in Britain, as in several other European countries, the lockdown continues. In Westminster, the Mother of Parliaments, a vote was taken which resulted in the suppression of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the first time since the Catholic Relief Act of 1791. And yet, the abortion industry is protected as an essential service and has even extended its reach into British homes, taking the killing of the unborn to an unprecedented level. When the children who have been born go to school, they are exposed to compulsory sex “education” that destroys their innocence, corrupts their minds with the LGBT ideology and signposts them to contraception and abortion without the knowledge of their parents. While international travel is tightly restricted, travelling to Switzerland for assisted suicide is regarded as sacrosanct.
CAL X M ARIA E
