Bishops Take A Stand
CRISIS Magazine - e-Letter
May 7, 2004
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Dear Friend,
With John Kerry and so many other pro-abortion "Catholic"
politicians in the news these days, it's easy for us to get
discouraged with our Church's leaders when we don't see them
responding to the challenge these politicians represent.
That's why it's so important for us to acknowledge those priests and
bishops who DO stand up to defend the Faith. They need to hear how
much we appreciate their witness to the Truth. And if they were
assured of our public support, perhaps some of our more timid leaders
would follow suit and stand up as well.
But even more than that, we laity need encouragement, too. All too
often we let ourselves get bogged down in the bad news that surrounds
us -- and I know there's plenty of it -- instead of stopping for a
minute to acknowledge the many positive developments that go
unnoticed.
So to that end, let me take the opportunity today to bring you some
very encouraging words from a few bishops who have recently stood up
to defend the Church's teaching on life issues... and the Catholic
voter's responsibility to act accordingly.
I think you'll enjoy the good news...
First, Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark released a wonderful
pastoral statement on Wednesday titled "A Time for Honesty." In it,
the archbishop does a fantastic job of explaining the Church's
uncompromising support of life and what that means for the laity. He
takes great care to emphasize our responsibility to form our
consciences in light of the Truth and to be in full communion with
the Church and Her teachings before presenting ourselves to receive
the Eucharist.
But I'll let Archbishop Myers speak for himself...
"There is no right more fundamental than the right to be born and
reared with all the dignity the human person deserves. On this grave
issue, public officials cannot hold themselves excused from their
duties, especially if they claim to be Catholic. Every faithful
Catholic must be not only 'personally opposed' to abortion, but also
must live that opposition in his or her actions."
"Catholics who publicly dissent from the Church's teaching on the
right to life of all unborn children should recognize that they have
freely chosen by their own actions to separate themselves from what
the Church believes and teaches."
"To receive communion when one has, through public or private
action, separated oneself from unity with Christ and His Church, is
objectively dishonest. ...Because the Eucharist is the source and
summit of our faith, the most sacred action of our Church, to misuse
the Eucharistic symbol by reducing it to one's private 'feeling' of
communion with Christ and His Church while objectively not being in
such union is gravely disordered."
And here's the section that has pro-abortion "Catholic" politicians
in a panic...
"As voters, Catholics are under an obligation to avoid implicating
themselves in abortion, which is one of the gravest of injustices.
Certainly, there are other injustices, which must be addressed, but
the unjust killing of the innocent is foremost among them."
I don't think anyone could have said it better!
I've always been impressed by Archbishop Myers' strong leadership,
and this pastoral letter makes me grateful for his clear voice of
reason in our Church. I encourage you to read the rest of the letter
for yourself. You can find it here:
http://www.rcan.org/archbish/jjm_letters/ATimeforHonesty.htm.
As you can tell, we at CRISIS are big fans of the Archbishop. In
fact, he has an article in our current issue on the war between our
Church and our culture. If you haven't read it yet, you'll definitely
want to take a look.
But Archbishop Myers isn't the only prelate who has recently
defended Church teaching on this point. Just last Sunday, Bishop
Samuel J. Aquila of Fargo, North Dakota gave a stirring homily on
these same issues. Again, it's best just to let him do the talking:
"The Council Fathers [of Vatican II] went on to teach, 'Therefore,
let there be no false opposition between professional and social
activities on the one part, and religious life on the other. The
Christian who neglects his temporal duties, neglects his duties
towards his neighbor and even God, and jeopardizes his eternal
salvation' (Gaudium et Spes, 43). My sisters and brothers,
'pro-choice' Catholics, 'Catholics for a free choice,' must listen to
those words, for they are the truth rooted in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ has taught us that we are to be the salt of the
earth and the light of the world. We are to proclaim His Gospel, the
Gospel of Life, to the world."
"As Jesus Christ posed the question to Peter, so, too, does He pose
the question to each one of us, 'Do you love Me?' If we respond with
yes, then we must live that out no matter what the cost. We cannot
separate our professional life from our faith life. We must always
put the law of God above the law of man, especially as it concerns
the dignity of the human person and the life of the unborn."
Even Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, who has been criticized lately,
just wrote a letter to journalist Robert Novak, encouraging him to
clarify the Cardinal's words in a recent Catholic News Service
interview. The quote in that interview, which received a lot of
publicity, made it sound as if the Cardinal thought the pro-life
issue was merely one of many issues that Catholics should be worried
about.
But in his letter to Novak, he clarifies his position, saying, "The
defense of human life, especially the life of the unborn child, comes
first because 'without life you cannot have any other human values.'
This position in favor of life and of the obligation to defend it is
essential according to the constant teaching of the Church, and has
always been my own constant teaching." He went on to explain that
while we can't neglect other important social justice issues, human
life "is the first principle on which all other rights depend."
I'm glad the Cardinal took the chance to clarify his position.
I hope this e-letter picked up your spirits a bit. It's nice to have
some good news now and again.
One final thing: I'm going to send you a very important e-letter
early next week. It'll address an issue in the Catholic world that
has been at the root of a fiery debate recently. You may already know
what I'm talking about...
But if not, I'll explain fully next week. (I love cliffhangers.)
Until then,
Deal
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What he saw will surprise you.
Click here to learn more:
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