"We cannot know one language unless we know two, for by knowing another language we raise into distinct consciousness and clear prominence the qualities of our own -- the qualities of its vocabulary, its idiom and its rhythm." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749-1832: German poet, novelist, playwright, and statesman)
Pope Francis
Photo Courtesy: gulfnews.com/
Pope Francis is the first Catholic pope to endorse same-sex civil unions. His support of this civil union came in interview given in the documentary film 'Francesco,' which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on October 21, 2020.
Pope Francis said,"Homosexual people have the right to be in a family. They are children of God. You can't kick someone out of a family, nor make their life miserable for this. What we have to have is a civil union law; that way they are legally covered."
On March 15, 2021, Vatican's doctrinal office, with Pope Francis' approval, officially decreed that gay or same-sex unions cannot be blessed in the Catholic Church because God 'can't bless sin.' Previously, in spite of Pope's voicing of support for same-sex civil unions, this stand of the Church is under criticism and denunciation from Catholic and non-Catholic observers and gay persons.
To know the details, please read the following:
"In Germany they [the Nazis under Hitler] came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up for me."
--Martin Niemoller
German Lutheran pastor
A quotation of William Arthur Ward on 'doing more than
Today is the International Mother Language Day. This day emphasizes the use of one's mother language and culture without any interference. This leads to sustainable development.
In human history, we see how victors, to subdue the defeated peoples, forced their own language and culture on them. The story of the Bengali (Bangla) language movement of Bangladesh in 1952 is an example of how the people of Bangladesh successfully resisted the imposition of the Urdu language on them by the West Pakistani authorities. This ultimately inspired UNESCO to declare February 21 as the International Mother Language Day worldwide.
Another example is Lithuania. The Russian empire, to Russianize Lithuania, banned books written in Latin script and imposed Cyrillic script from 1864 t0 1904. To save their language and culture from the Russian onslaught, some patriotic Lithuanians resorted to smuggling books to Lithuania from different countries. To learn more, kindly read the following:
A quotation of Jessica Herrin on 'failure,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa
