Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Cardinal Wuerl on trying to silence the Church

Donald Cardinal Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington, DC, has a blog post regarding new challenges to the Church posed by those who would silence the Church.  He writes:
The Church presents a splendid vision for life. Yet, we also struggle to live it. The tension between what we know we should do and what we actually do is something referred to as the “human condition.” Nonetheless, we are called to strive to reach our potential, to manifest our faith in our actions. This is particularly true for those who minister in the name of the Church and teach and provide charitable and social services on behalf of the Church.

But today there is a new challenge. Some who reject the Church’s teaching – who choose to live by another set of values – not only find the voice of Christian values annoying, they would like to see it silenced or at least muted. Thus we have a whole new upside down version of words like “discrimination,” “freedom” and “human rights,” and laws to enforce the new meaning.

 He points specifically to recent legislation in DC that would:
deprive the Church of its right to ensure that those whom it entrusts to carry out its mission are faithful to its teachings on human life and sexuality.

This action by the government of DC is more egregious than the campaign in the Bay Area against the archbishop of San Francisco because it involves the laws governing the District of Columbia acting against the Church.  It is similar to the move last year or the year before to outlaw circumcision in the Bay Area, essentially outlawing Judaism.

Both situations are very troubling in America.  All Americans, not just Catholics, should be deeply concerned for this turn of events.

Cardinal Wuerl closes by saying:
But there is even more. This Lent we all need to ask ourselves if we are prepared to stand up for our beliefs and to speak up on behalf of our schools, parishes and charities.

Yes, Lent is always a time of renewed conviction and deepened faith. This Lent is also a time when we have to deepen our courage not just to hold to what we believe but to be able to speak up on behalf of that faith.

You'll want to read his entire post.


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