THE Pope told Roman Catholics in England and Wales yesterday they must avoid “deviations and defections” and stick to heterosexual marriage.

As the Anglican Church continued its convulsions over homosexuality, the Pope reiterated his opposition to gay sex and demanded “strict adherence to the discipline of the universal Church”. He said that “equating marriage with other forms of cohabitation obscures the sacredness of marriage and violates its precious value in God’s plan for humanity”. The Pope was speaking at the Vatican to the Catholic bishops of England and Wales at the end of their two- week ad limina meeting. The visits take place every five years.

He deplored “widespread religious indifference” in Britain and urged bishops to confront “the pervasive advance of secularism” and “exaggerated individualism”. These faults, he said, were fostering the “ugly spectres of racial intolerance and war” as well as “social disintegration”.

The visit coincided with the beatification of Mother Teresa and the creation of 31 cardinals, including the Most Rev Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

The Pope told the 35 bishops that although they came from a country “steeped in a rich Christian heritage” they faced widespread religious indifference and “a decline in priestly vocations and religious life” as well as “the grave difficulties experienced by parents in their attempts to catechise their own children”.

Many people, “especially the young”, were left feeling “bewildered, disorientated and at times even without hope”. This made it all the more vital for the bishops to “dispel the darkness” and “embrace their fundamental mission to be authentic and authoritative heralds of the Word”.

In reply Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster who led the delegation and took part in Tuesday’s consistory welcoming the new cardinals, said the bishops’ talks in the Vatican had been “cordial and constructive, a true expression of the collegial nature of the ministry in which we share”.

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