In cooperation with Bishop Geoffrey Robinson and his publisher, John Garratt Publishing, we have pleasure in presenting the end chapter meditations from his book which has created so much interest around the world. Today the reflection comes from Chapter Ten.

"The Return to an Original Sexual Ethic"

It is in their personal relationships that most people find the deepest and most rewarding sources of love in their lives.

Since love is the deepest longing of the human heart, these personal relationships are as important to us as the air we breathe and the food we eat. Without them our lives would wither and die. They are subtle and fragile, and yet touch profound depths within us.

If we deliberately or carelessly harm the relationships of a person, all of our alleged respect for that person's life, possessions and good name is pretence and deception.

Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, God is big enough to brush aside most of our direct offences, but cares passionately about what we do to other people, and in a particular way to their relationships.

"Love one another", said Jesus, that is, make sure that your relationships with other persons are based on more than your own self-interest or pleasure. Make sure they are relationships that avoid all harm and do everything positive to help others to grow to become all they are capable of being.

Credit: These meditations are taken from the end of chapter reflections in Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's book, Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church — Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus, published by John Garratt Publishing. We thank Bishop Robinson and John Garratt Publishing for permission to reproduce these meditations on Catholica Australia.

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson who has degrees in Philosophy, Theology and Church Law, was Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Sydney from 1984 until his retirement in 2004. In 1994 he was elected by the Australian Bishops to the National Committee for Professional Standards, coordinating the response of the Catholic Church in Australia to revelations of sexual abuse, and from 1997 until 2003 he was co-chairman of this committee..

We welcome your thoughts in response to Bishop Robinson's reflection in our forum.

©2007 Geoffrey Robinson

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