Archbishop Wenski processes out of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe following the Farewell Mass

Earlier this evening, the people of the Diocese of Orlando bid farewell to their chief shepherd, Archbishop-Designate Thomas G. Wenski. As you may recall, Pope Benedict XVI appointed the Most Rev. Thomas Wenski as the fourth Archbishop of Miami on April 20, 2010. The Mass of Farewell was celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Archbishop Wenski told those in attendance that the Mass was a “Last Supper” of sorts.

During the homily, the Archbishop-Designate spoke about the most memorable events of the Diocese in the seven years of his episcopacy. Included in that list were the first-ever diocesan synod (“Starting Afresh From Christ”), the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Diocese and the beginning of the first diocesan capital campaign (“Alive in Christ”). Remarking on these achievements for the Diocese, Wenski stated: “If this local church has grown stronger in its faith, more confident in its hope and more ardent in its charity — and I believe it has — it has done so only because we have done it together, in a collegial way and in a collaborative way.”

Archbishop-Designate Wenski then went on to ask the people of the Diocese of Orlando for forgiveness for anything he did during his tenure that offended anyone and for anything that he failed to do during his time as Bishop of Orlando. He stated: “I am still a work in progress.”

At the closing of his homily, the Most Rev. Thomas G. Wenski asked the people of the Diocese for continued prayers as he undertakes his new responsibilities in the Archdiocese of Miami. He has consistently said that Miami has its own problems. This fact has  been witnessed over the last several years with scandals involving priests and the closing of parishes because of financial instability.

Before the final blessing, Sr. Elizabeth Worley, Diocesan Chancellor for Administration, offered some words of thanks to the Archbishop-Designate and presented him with his Orlando coat of arms. The coat of arms would have been attached to the new cathedra in the newly renovated Cathedral of St. James, which will be dedicated by Archbishop Wenski on November 20, 2010. After receiving his coat of arms, Archbishop Wenski thanked the people for their support. He also explained that the Diocese may be vacant for some three to six months. He remarked that any longer than six months may give the Diocese of Orlando a false sense that they do not need a Bishop.

Following these final remarks, Bishop Norbert Dorsey gave Archbishop-Designate Wenski a blessing. The date was a special day for Bishop Dorsey; on May 25, 1990, Bishop Dorsey was installed as the third Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando.

At the end of the Mass, as “Bishop Wenski” processed out of the Basilica Shrine, the people in attendance offered applause to their Shepherd, wishing him congratulations and heartfelt gratitude.

PHOTO SOURCE: Orlando Sentinel

Friday, April 9, 2010

Thursday after Mass in Leogann where once a parish church stood we traveled across the mountains to Jacmel on Haiti’s Southeast coast. The city is known for its art and was a popular tourist destination for Haitians from Port-au-Prince.

The city’s cathedral was built in the 1840’s and part of the cultural patrimony of the nation did not collapse. However it sustained sufficient damage to render it unusable.

Other parishes in the Jacmel area were completely demolished. At the school run by Christian brothers since the 1880’s makeshift classrooms set up in the school courtyard now serve four different schools through a multiple shift schedule.

Returning to Port-au-Prince late afternoon we visited the grave of Archbishop Miyot which is next door to the provisional seminary erected in tents on land owned by the Haitian Bishops Conference.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Wednesday’s trip to Gressier on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince also included visits to Petit Goave, Grand Goave and Leogann. All towns have lost their parish churches as well as their outlying chapels (which serve the rural areas of the parishes). All but one have also lost rectories with priests now living in pup tents outside the ruins of their parishes. Schools have likewise been affected. Sessions are to resume next week for the first time since the earthquake. Classes will take place under tarps or in other make do structures

Despite the almost total destruction of infrastructure, the work of the Church continues. Priests celebrate Mass in front of the ruins of their parish churches. Dispensaries are operated under trees or from tents.

In the encampments like the one I celebrated Mass in last night people are living in Spartan conditions but still respond enthusiastically in song and prayer. Catholic Relief Services is a supportive presence – providing latrines in some areas and emergency food aid in others.

Today after an early Mass in Leogann to be celebrated on the spot where the church once stood we travel to Jacmel on Haiti’s Southeast coast. The cathedral and several of its parishes were similarly affected by the earthquake.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Tuesday we began with the celebration of Mass with the Missionaries of Charity at their convent. Then we visited the slum area of Site Soley and the works in education and health care of the Daughters of Charity. Later we visited a clinic staffed by doctors from Cuba. Accompanying me are three structural engineers so the rest of the day was occupied looking at damaged church buildings to see what may be reparable and studying what type of new construction is needed to enable the Church to continue to provide pastoral, educational and health services.

On Monday we visited Sacred Heart parish and St Francis de Sales; on Tuesday the Cathedral, St. Therese and St. Louis parishes. Next to St .Therese we visited an encampment of several thousand people where we met with a congressional delegation from the United States

Today we head out to Gressier near the epicenter of earthquake and on return to the capital I will celebrate Mass at Club Petionville, one of largest camps of people left homeless after the earthquake.

Evenings have been taken up with some “formal” dinners with church dignitaries and other officials.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York wrote the following:

I was overjoyed to learn of the appointment of Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles. He will be a great blessing to the Catholic faithful of our nation’s largest archdiocese, and to the entire Los Angeles community, as well as to my good friend, Cardinal Roger Mahony, who has served the Los Angeles Archdiocese so faithfully for 25 years.

I have known Archbishop Gomez for more than a decade. I cherish his friendship and admire his zeal. I look forward to working together even more closely in the years to come, and assure him of my prayers as he prepares to undertake this new phase of service to Christ and his church.

SOURCE: The Gospel in the Digital Age

PHOTO SOURCE: Global Catholic Radio Conference

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver, who ordained Archbishop Gomez as an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver, made the following congratulatory remarks upon receiving the news of Gomez’s appointment to L.A.:

Archbishop Gomez first served as a bishop in Denver, and people here remember him with great affection. He played a very big role in making our Hispanic ministry one of the best in the country, but his impact and friendships went well beyond the Hispanic community. He has a great gift for bringing people together from very different backgrounds. He has one of the best minds in the Church in the United States and a great capacity for work, but he combines those qualities with a personal warmth and respect for other people that make him a very effective leader.

The Holy Father has made the perfect choice to lead the Archdiocese of Los Angeles after Cardinal Mahony retires. Archbishop Gomez will serve the Catholic people of Los Angeles with character, courage and good will. It’s a privilege to know him as a brother bishop and also as a friend.

SOURCE: Archdiocese of Denver

Bishop Kevin Farrrell of Dallas wrote:

The Holy Father has made a wise and timely decision in his appointment of Archbishop José Gomez of San Antonio to be co-adjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles and the successor of Cardinal Roger Mahony upon his retirement.

Archbishop Gomez is the first Latino to be named to a major archdiocese. Los Angeles is the largest archdiocese in the United States and is 80% Latino. A native of Monterrey, Mexico and an immigrant himself, he has served in the United States for many years as a priest, auxiliary bishop, and Archbishop of San Antonio.

Cardinal Mahony reaches 75 in February, the age at which he must submit his resignation. The early appointment of a co-adjutor insures a smooth transition of authority. The appointment is also recognition by Pope Benedict XVI of the changing demographics in the Southwest.

At 58, God willing, Archbishop Gomez will lead the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for many years.

We rejoice for him and for the people of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

SOURCE: Bishop Kevin Farrell

And, finally, one of the most important responses of all, the statement from Roger Cardinal Mahony, Cardinal Archbishop of Los Angeles:

When our Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, informed me that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, had appointed Archbishop José Gomez to serve as the Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles, I was so grateful to God for this gift of a Hispanic Archbishop.

I welcome Archbishop Gomez to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with enthusiasm and personal excitement. The Auxiliary Bishops and I are looking forward to working closely with him over the coming months until he becomes the Archbishop early in 2011.

During the process to select a new Archbishop, I urged that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles deserved to have a Hispanic as the next Archbishop. Los Angeles is the largest Hispanic Diocese or Archdiocese in the United States.

The first four Bishops of the Los Angeles territory were Hispanic Bishops, to be followed by five Bishops/Archbishops of Irish descent, and myself of German and Italian background.

I have known Archbishop Gomez since he became Auxiliary Bishop of Denver in 2001, and subsequently, the Archbishop of San Antonio in 2004. Over the years he has been a most effective leader working with priests serving the Spanish-speaking communities across the country, and his leadership in proclaiming the dignity and rights of our immigrant peoples has helped motivate many people to advocate for our immigrants.

Some may conclude that since Archbishop Gomez was ordained a priest of Opus Dei he must be “conservative.” In fact, these labels of “conservative” and “liberal” are really unhelpful in the life of the Church. We are all called to a deep relationship with Jesus Christ, and I can attest that both of us share a common commitment to Christ and to the Church, and that both of us are interested in promoting the teachings of the Church fully as well as bringing the words and example of Christ to today’s society and world. I consider ourselves to share an equal commitment to the continued growth of the Church here in Los Angeles.

Archbishop Gomez also shares with me a determined effort to make our Church safe for all people, but especially, for children and young people. I look forward to working closely with him to make certain that all our Safeguard the Children programs are fully implemented across the Archdiocese.

Our Archdiocesan Synod concluded in 2003 by establishing six Pastoral Initiatives, the first being a renewed sense of evangelization among our Catholic community. Archbishop Gomez recently wrote two important articles on this topic. The first was entitled Evangelization, Education and the Hispanic Catholic Future in 2009. The second was entitled You Will Be My Witnesses: Pastoral Letter on Evangelization issued in 2010. Both of these pastoral letters will apply well to the Local Church of Los Angeles, and place us on course for a more dynamic outreach to all peoples in the name of Jesus Christ.

During this Year for Priests, Archbishop Gomez published last fall a book entitled Men of Brave Heart: The Virtue of Courage in the Priestly Life.

Archbishop Gomez is the Chair-elect of the Committee on Migrants and Refugee Services of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and will take the leadership in moving the Church’s efforts forward to bring about a more comprehensive immigration reform in our Congress. I eagerly look forward to working directly with him on this important priority of the Church in our country.

There is an interesting link and bond between the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Archdiocese of San Antonio. In 1934, Father Robert E. Lucey of Los Angeles was consecrated as the Bishop of Amarillo, Texas. In 1940, Bishop Lucey became the Archbishop of San Antonio where he worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor and Hispanics. In 1953, a year before the Supreme Court ruling on desegregation in the public schools, Archbishop Lucey integrated all of the Catholic schools in his jurisdiction. He became the executive chairman of the Bishops’ Committee for the Spanish Speaking, and helped to focus the Church’s attention upon all of those immigrants across our country who needed the Church’s voice on their behalf.

To you, Archbishop Gomez, I not only extend the most warm and cordial bienvenida, but I also ask you to experience and appreciate the wonderful, dynamic Local Church of Los Angeles. As the Archdiocese of Los Angeles continues to grow over the coming year, it is our mutual challenge to deepen the faith life of all our Catholics and to assist them in witnessing their faith to all of their brothers and sisters.

I again welcome you with my eager enthusiasm as I complete my service as the Archbishop of Los Angeles in 2011, and you assume that role for the coming years.

SOURCE: Cardinal Roger Mahony Blogs L.A.

PHOTO SOURCE: AP

I hope you’ll forgive me if my comments are brief. This is the kind of moment that for me, words cannot fully describe my feelings.

I’m very grateful to the Holy Father for giving me this opportunity to serve the Church with a mentor and leader like Cardinal Roger Mahony. I’m grateful to the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, for supporting the Holy Father’s confidence in me. I will try with all my strength to earn that trust.

I’m especially grateful — very deeply grateful — to Cardinal Mahony himself and to my brother bishops, priests and deacons here in Los Angeles, for the warmth and good will they’ve shown me since learning of my appointment.

After I received the news of my appointment, I went to the Chapel to spend some time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. I asked for the grace to be generous and to give myself totally to God’s call. But I also asked for the strength to accept this new task, which is undoubtedly overwhelming. My only consolation is the fact that God is calling me and He is merciful and will help me to be faithful and to serve His people in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

I’ll never forget that as I finished my phone conversation with Archbishop Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, the first thing I saw was a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the hallway and, as it has happened in every moment of my ministry, I felt Her love and protection. To Mary of Guadalupe, I would like to entrust my new ministry in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

I’m sad to be leaving San Antonio. I was born in Mexico, my sisters still live there, and I’m very proud of the Mexican love for life and family and faith that first turned my heart toward God. But my mother grew up in San Antonio and I first served as a priest in Texas. That’s where I became an American citizen, and I’m very proud of that, as well.

The people of San Antonio have a special goodness and grace that will always keep them close to me in my heart. In their patience and generosity, they taught me how to be a bishop. I will never forget them, and I will never stop thanking God for the privilege of having served them.

But the life of a priest or bishop is not his own. The only real home we have is in the love of our people. And that love is the same everywhere people believe in Jesus Christ and come together as a faithful Catholic community. So I know that God will give me the grace to serve this local Church well, as Cardinal Mahony has done for so many fruitful years. The warmth of the people here gives life to the words we so often hear: we aren’t really strangers here, but only friends who haven’t met.

When I was collecting my thoughts for today, I wrote down that the Archdiocese of Los Angeles is one of the great Catholic communities in the United States. But it’s really much more than that. It’s one of the great Catholic communities in the world. Los Angeles, like no other city in the world, has the global face of the Catholic Church.

That fact invites us to do two things: first, to thank God for our diversity and the energy it creates; and second, to commit ourselves more deeply to the things that unite us – a zeal for Jesus Christ; confidence in the Gospel; reverence for the Eucharist; service to the poor; defense of the unborn child, the immigrant and the disabled; and a love for the Church as our mother and teacher.

These are the things that have purified and renewed the Church in every generation. And being with all of you now as part of Cardinal Mahony’s ministry is the greatest gift I’ve received in my life next to the priesthood itself.

To Cardinal Mahony I promise my fraternal love and fidelity, and all the energy of my days. To my brother bishops, priests and deacons, I promise to listen well and learn well. And I promise to love and support you as a brother. Please pray for me that I serve the Church and her people in a manner that honors God, honors them and honors the witness of Cardinal Mahony and his predecessors.

To the people and religious of the archdiocese, thank you for welcoming me into your hearts, and please never let me out of your prayers. A bishop can live with the criticism of the world. As every bishop very quickly discovers, it goes with the job description all the way back to the original twelve Apostles. But no bishop can live without the love and prayers of his people. So please, never forget Cardinal Mahony, my brother bishops or myself in your prayers.

Thank you for your kindness today. God bless all of us and renew us in Jesus Christ.

SOURCE: Archdiocese of Los Angeles

PHOTO SOURCE: LIFE | Getty

Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop José H. Gomez of San Antonio, 58, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles.

The appointment was made public in Washington, April 6, by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States. As coadjutor bishop, Archbishop Gomez is in line to succeed the current diocesan archbishop, Cardinal Roger Mahony, 74, upon his retirement.

José Horacio Gomez was born in Monterrey, Mexico, December 26, 1951. He attended the National University of Mexico where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. In college he joined Opus Dei, an institution founded by Saint Josemaria Escrivá to help people turn their work and daily activities into occasions for growing closer to God, serving other and improving society. Opus Dei became a personal prelature in 1982. Archbishop Gomez studied theology in Rome and at the University of Navarre in Spain, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in theology and a doctorate in moral theology. He was ordained a priest of Opus Dei, August 15, 1978, in Torreciudad, Spain.

After ordination he pursued pastoral work with college and high school students in Spain and Mexico. In 1987, he was sent to what was then the Diocese of Galveston-Houston to minister for Opus Dei in several capacities in Texas. He became a U.S. citizen in 1995.

As a priest, Father Gomez held positions with several U.S. Catholic organizations. Between 1995-1999, he was president of the National Association of Hispanic Priests (ANSH) and its executive director, 1999-2001. He was treasurer of the National Catholic Council of Hispanic Ministry, 1998-2001.

In 1999, he became the Vicar of Opus Dei for the State of Texas. Pope John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of Denver, January 23, 2001. On December 29, 2004 the pope appointed him Archbishop of San Antonio.

As a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Archbishop Gomez was first chairman of the Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church, and now chairs the Committee on National Collections’ Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America and the Task Force on the Spanish-language Bible. He is chair-elect of the Committee on Migration and a member of the Committee on Doctrine.

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony was appointed Archbishop of Los Angeles July 15, 1985. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals, June 28, 1991. Prior to this appointment he served as Auxiliary Bishop of Fresno, California, 1975-1980, and Bishop of Stockton, California, 1980-1985.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese, the largest Roman Catholic diocese in the United States, includes 8,762 square miles. It has a population of 11,606,889 with 4,176,296, or 36 percent, of them Catholic.

SOURCE: USCCB

PHOTO SOURCE: Texas Catholic Conference

According to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles‘ website, Archbishop Jose Gomez of the Archdiocese of San Antonio will be named Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles this morning at 10:00 a.m. PT (that’s 1:00 p.m. ET). Below is the official announcement from the Archdiocese.

Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of San Antonio, Texas, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Los Angeles. The appointment was announced today, April 6, in Washington, D.C., by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

As Coadjutor, Archbishop Gomez, 58, will automatically become head of the three-county Archdiocese of Los Angeles upon Cardinal Roger Mahony’s retirement at age 75 on February, 27, 2011. A Mass of Reception for Archbishop Gomez is scheduled for May 26.

Cardinal Roger Mahony will introduce Archbishop Gomez today, Tuesday, April 6 at a 10 a.m. press conference inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Officially credentialed members of the media are invited to attend the press conference.

“I welcome Archbishop Gomez to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with enthusiasm and personal excitement,” said Cardinal Mahony. “The Auxiliary Bishops and I are looking forward to working closely with him over the coming months until he becomes the Archbishop early in 2011.”

Born in Monterrey, Mexico, and spending his early priesthood in Texas, Archbishop Gomez will become the first Hispanic Archbishop of Los Angeles. When he succeeds Cardinal Mahony in 2011, Archbishop Gomez will head the largest Catholic Archdiocese in the United States, with more than five million members, 70 percent of them Hispanic.

‘I’m very grateful to the Holy Father for giving me this opportunity to serve the Church with a mentor and leader like Cardinal Roger Mahony,” Archbishop Gomez said. “I’m grateful to the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, for supporting the Holy Father’s confidence in me. I will try with all my strength to earn that trust.”

For more information, please visit

coadjutor.la-archdiocese.org

More to come on this one…stay tuned.

PHOTO SOURCE: Archdiocese of San Antonio

SOURCE: Archdiocese of Los Angeles

]]> http://www.thomaspringle.com/2010/04/historic-day-for-the-us-church/feed/ 2 http://www.thomaspringle.com/2010/03/the-liberal-media-attacking-the-church/ http://www.thomaspringle.com/2010/03/the-liberal-media-attacking-the-church/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:52:33 +0000 Tom Pringle http://www.thomaspringle.com/?p=703 This afternoon, I turned on the television to a story on CNN regarding the recent news of the sexual abuse scandals and the concept of priestly celibacy. The person being interviewed said that the requirement for celibacy should be lifted because it would end the issue of sexual abuse by clergy and the number of homosexual priests that are in active ministry. The last claim is totally unfounded–there were no sources for the numbers they were reporting. So I decided that I would go on to Rick Sanchez’s blog (CNN anchor at the time) and leave a comment describing what celibacy is, in the view of someone discerning the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

Here is the full extent of my comments:

As someone discerning the priesthood of Jesus Christ, I view celibacy not as a sacrifice; rather, I view celibacy as a gift. Celibacy is a way to make the Kingdom of God present here on earth. If you read Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, you will see that those who choose celibacy for the kingdom share the same vocations to love as those who marry, but manifest this same vocation in a different manner. Furthermore, celibacy is not a rejection of sexuality, but a living out of the deepest meaning of sexuality–union with Christ and his Church (Ephesians 5:31-32).

Celibacy is not the reason for the abuse scandals that have occurred in the Catholic Church over the years. If it was, why do cases of pedophilia and other sexual acts of misconduct occur in churches where celibacy is not a requirement for pastoral ministry?

Over the last few decades, major changes have been made to the application process of becoming a seminarian to discern the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Now, ALL candidates must take an intense psychological evaluation. After an extensive interview process, then members of the diocesan vocations committee decide on either accepting or denying the candidate.

In order for a young man to first discern a call to the priesthood, he must first discern a call to celibacy. If celibacy is something that the Lord is OFFERING as a GIFT and the young man is WILLING to ACCEPT, (notice my words here) then the priesthood may be for him. That is the bottom line.

After I made the comment, my remarks appeared on the CNN blog in question with a message that read: “Awaiting moderation.” When I returned to the blog, comments made after mine had been added while mine was no where in sight. This only reveals to me the length the liberal news media will go to keep the story regarding the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church one-sided. I am becoming more and more aware that the purpose of the attacks on the Catholic Church is to solely “discredit the public moral witness of the Church, that “inconvenient voice” of truth in our time.”

I also made this same comment (as anonymous) on another blog that attempted to raise the question of repealing the requirement for celibacy. Only that time, my comment was accepted and the conversation abruptly ceased. Hmmm…interesting isn’t it??

PHOTO SOURCE: The Florida Catholic

PHOTO SOURCE: Vultus Christi

Shortly after President Obama signed the legislation into law on Wednesday, I made the following statement on my Twitter page because I was completely dumbfounded that Americans had stooped to this level of immaturity: “People have been sending death threats to those in Congress who voted for the HCR bill?!?!? Needs to stop!!!” When did we begin viewing our fellow Americans, our brothers and sisters in Christ, as enemies. Well, I was not the only one experiencing that disappointment in my fellow Americans.

Today, Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, Director of Media Relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued the following statement on the USCCB Media blog:

The heat in the aftermath of passage of health care reform reveals the depth of feeling among those for and against the landmark bill that affects all Americans. Such heat, however, cannot justify the verbal and physical violence that has ensued.

If we needed health care because of the crisis affecting the sick, especially the weakest among us, we need even more a move toward civility, if not for our own betterment then at least for the betterment of our children.

Politics has become a kind of blood sport. News junkies over the weekend heard reports of crowds shouting racist remarks and individuals spitting at African American lawmakers, including John Lewis, who suffered violence years ago when he marched for Civil Rights. Surely he – and all of us – has a right to expect that that chapter of despicable, racist violence long over.

We’ve seen reports of homes and offices of lawmakers vandalized and heard of death threats. Anonymous messages are being left on voicemails – I even got one from a nun, for goodness sake. If that isn’t proof that we’ve gone astray I don’t know what is.

The wonderfully unedited Web may share some blame as it gives free reign to those who say whatever suits their strategic purpose, truthful or not. Their presentations – usually anonymous – underscore a significant failing of the Web, lack of editors and accountability.

We’ve seen columnists write with vitriol as they demonize those with whom they disagree. There’s a viciousness which goes beyond what can be called acerbic writing.

We need to address this climate.

The intolerance and incivility did not begin with legislation passed Sunday night. It is not unrelated to the divisions that exist in our country and, sadly, even in our church.

It starts with how we view others – as enemies rather than as fellow travelers on the journey of life. It includes whether or not we’re willing to give another the benefit of the doubt, accepting that their intentions are good, even if their goals differ from ours.

It involves accepting the fact that each of us is a child of God and precious to Him and our brother or sister.

It involves how we speak and terms for one another.

Last Tuesday, March 23, Cardinal Francis George, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted the bishops’ disappointment that the health reform legislation did not include all they sought, especially adequate protection of rights of conscience and guarantees that federal funds would not go for abortion services. But he also noted that politicians on both sides of the aisle had worked nobly for the protection of life and decried those who would vilify them. Even in disappointment, the bishops were civil and generous. There position is worth emulating.

In 1959, Pope John XXIII, in his first encyclical, “On Truth, Unity and Peace,” in a Spirit of Charity, quoted a maxim attributed to St. Augustine, “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials diversity, in all things charity.”

In all things charity surely is the message we all need today. It’s not a bad start to Holy Week.

SOURCE: USCCB Media Blog

PHOTO SOURCE: Los Angeles Times

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from Catholics across the U.S. in response to the needs of earthquake survivors in Haiti. So far, the special collection from U.S. dioceses raised over $55 million for emergency help, and other contributions have brought in an additional $50 million. The USCCB Subcommittee for the Church in Latin America is partnering with CRS in the response. CRS is focusing now on rebuilding efforts—such as moving people from makeshift camps to temporary housing as the rainy station draws near—while the Bishops’ Advisory Group for Haiti of the Church in Latin America Committee will help rebuild the Church’s fabric and infrastructure in the Caribbean nation. This video shows how CRS put those donations to action in the days immediately following the quake.

For the latest updates on CRS’ relief efforts for survivors of the earthquake in Haiti, please visit CRS’ Haiti emergency landing page.

For information on how to make donations to help rebuild the Church in Haiti and updates go to the Haiti page of the National Collections office of the U.S. Bishops.

For the article with CRS video, please visit the USCCB Media Blog.

SOURCE: USCCB Media Blog

PHOTO SOURCE: Los Angeles Times

For nearly a century, the Catholic bishops of the United States have called for reform of our health care system so that all may have access to the care that recognizes and affirms their human dignity. Christian discipleship means, “working to ensure that all people have access to what makes them fully human and fosters their human dignity” (United States Catechism for Adults, page 454). Included among those elements is the provision of necessary and appropriate health care.

For too long, this question has gone unaddressed in our country. Often, while many had access to excellent medical treatment, millions of others including expectant mothers, struggling families or those with serious medical or physical problems were left unable to afford the care they needed. As Catholic bishops, we have expressed our support for efforts to address this national and societal shortcoming. We have spoken for the poorest and most defenseless among us. Many elements of the health care reform measure signed into law by the President address these concerns and so help to fulfill the duty that we have to each other for the common good. We are bishops, and therefore pastors and teachers. In that role, we applaud the effort to expand health care to all.

Nevertheless, for whatever good this law achieves or intends, we as Catholic bishops have opposed its passage because there is compelling evidence that it would expand the role of the federal government in funding and facilitating abortion and plans that cover abortion. The statute appropriates billions of dollars in new funding without explicitly prohibiting the use of these funds for abortion, and it provides federal subsidies for health plans covering elective abortions. Its failure to preserve the legal status quo that has regulated the government’s relation to abortion, as did the original bill adopted by the House of Representatives last November, could undermine what has been the law of our land for decades and threatens the consensus of the majority of Americans: that federal funds not be used for abortions or plans that cover abortions. Stranger still, the statute forces all those who choose federally subsidized plans that cover abortion to pay for other peoples’ abortions with their own funds. If this new law is intended to prevent people from being complicit in the abortions of others, it is at war with itself.

We share fully the admirable intention of President Obama expressed in his pending Executive Order, where he states, “it is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services.” However, the fact that an Executive Order is necessary to clarify the legislation points to deficiencies in the statute itself. We do not understand how an Executive Order, no matter how well intentioned, can substitute for statutory provisions.

The statute is also profoundly flawed because it has failed to include necessary language to provide essential conscience protections (both within and beyond the abortion context). As well, many immigrant workers and their families could be left worse off since they will not be allowed to purchase health coverage in the new exchanges to be created, even if they use their own money.

Many in Congress and the Administration, as well as individuals and groups in the Catholic community, have repeatedly insisted that there is no federal funding for abortion in this statute and that strong conscience protection has been assured. Analyses that are being published separately show this not to be the case, which is why we oppose it in its current form. We and many others will follow the government’s implementation of health care reform and will work to ensure that Congress and the Administration live up to the claims that have contributed to its passage. We believe, finally, that new legislation to address its deficiencies will almost certainly be required.

As bishops, we wish to recognize the principled actions of the pro-life Members of Congress from both parties, in the House and the Senate, who have worked courageously to create legislation that respects the principles outlined above. They have often been vilified and have worked against great odds.

As bishops of the Catholic Church, we speak in the name of the Church and for the Catholic faith itself. The Catholic faith is not a partisan agenda, and we take this opportunity to recommit ourselves to working for health care which truly and fully safeguards the life, dignity, conscience and health of all, from the child in the womb to those in their last days on earth.

SOURCE: USCCB

PHOTO SOURCE: Reflections of a Theology Geek

For more on the position of the USCCB, please visit:

• Bishops to House of Representatives: Fix Flaws or Vote No on Health Reform Bill
  
• Health Care for Life and for All
• Include Immigrants on Health Care Reform
• US Bishops Provide Resources Explaining Flaws in Senate Health Care Bill
• Bipartisan Action to Advance Health Care Reform that Protects Human Life and Dignity
  

PHOTO SOURCE: Tom Pringle

Please pray for Archbishop William Borders who is critically ill and is resting at home under Hospice care. His staff states that he is ‘very alert.’ Bishop Borders was appointed the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Orlando.

SOURCE: Diocese of Orlando

PHOTO SOURCE: Archdiocese of Baltimore

The 40 days of Lent which evokes the time that Jesus spent fasting in the desert is a time of conversion and reconciliation. Yet, even as we have passed the mid-point in our Lenten observances, the word “reconciliation” has taken on a new and infelicitous connotation in our secular world. Reconciliation as a “legislative process intended to allow consideration of a contentious budget bill without the threat of a filibuster” seems now to be the preferred tactic of the Democratic leadership in Congress to secure passage of what has come to be known as Obamacare. While such reconciliation might bring together the House and Senate health care reform proposals, it will not bring together the nation – for, however, the two bills may be reconciled, serious flaws remain.

Almost everyone regardless of political ideology agrees that there is a need to fix “health care” in our nation: our present system serves too few people and at too high a cost. The U.S. Bishops have consistently advocated for health care reform for more than 40 years. We believe that health care is a basic human right – and we continue to support adequate and affordable health care for all. Health care coverage should not be denied to those in need because of their condition, age, where they come from or when they arrive here.

However, no health care legislation is better than bad health care legislation. And, we fear that the “reconciliation” process will give us bad legislation. Any genuine health care reform must protect human life and dignity from conception to natural death and not threaten it. Those pushing “reconciliation” in order to get health care passed now have opened the door to an expansion of abortion coverage by refusing to incorporate language that would honor conscience protections presently afforded individuals and institutions by the Church, Hyde and Weldon Amendments. Using taxpayers’ money to pay for other people’s abortions would make all citizens complicit in what many regard as a morally heinous act. The so called “pro choice” advocates now argue that Roe v. Wade did not merely declare a “right” to have the government not interfere with a woman’s privacy; they assert the “right” to have the government positively assist in a woman’s having an abortion. Whatever you might call it, a procedure that results in the death of a living human being – whether at the beginning or end of life – is not health care.

The lack of conscience protections in proposed health care legislation – like recent attempts at “redefining” the traditional understanding of marriage – undermines the religious freedom that has been part of the history of this country for more than two centuries. Religious freedom is at the foundation of all of our other freedoms. Cardinal George said in a recent speech: “The founding Fathers understood when they amended the Constitution that the separation of church and state springs from a concept of limited government and favors a public role for churches and other religious bodies in promoting the civic virtues that are vitally necessary in a well functioning democracy.”

The deep moral flaws in the Congressional majority’s health care reform proposal must be corrected through amendments that protect conscience before any attempt to push it through by “reconciliation”. For the continued flourishing of our society, Congress must not dismantle a social order that respects religious freedom and recognizes that government should never stand between the consciences and the religious practice of its citizens and Almighty God. If congressional “reconciliation” gives us expanded abortion coverage and eliminates conscience protection, the results will not be a healthier nation but one more divided and less reconciled than it had been before this debate began.

SOURCE: Diocese of Orlando

PHOTO SOURCE: St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have long and consistently advocated for the reform of the American health care system. Their experience in health care and in Catholic parishes has acquainted them with the anguish of mothers who are unable to afford prenatal care, of families unable to ensure quality care for their children, and of those who cannot obtain insurance because of preexisting conditions.

Throughout the discussion on health care over the last year, the bishops have advocated a bipartisan approach to solving our national health care needs. They have urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion. These are the provisions of the long standing Hyde amendment, passed annually in every federal bill appropriating funds for health care; and surveys show that this legislation reflects the will of the majority of our fellow citizens. The American people and the Catholic bishops have been promised that, in any final bill, no federal funds would be used for abortion and that the legal status quo would be respected.

However, the bishops were left disappointed and puzzled to learn that the basis for any vote on health care will be the Senate bill passed on Christmas Eve. Notwithstanding the denials and explanations of its supporters, and unlike the bill approved by the House of Representatives in November, the Senate bill deliberately excludes the language of the Hyde amendment. It expands federal funding and the role of the federal government in the provision of abortion procedures. In so doing, it forces all of us to become involved in an act that profoundly violates the conscience of many, the deliberate destruction of unwanted members of the human family still waiting to be born.

What do the bishops find so deeply disturbing about the Senate bill? The points at issue can be summarized briefly. The status quo in federal abortion policy, as reflected in the Hyde Amendment, excludes abortion from all health insurance plans receiving federal subsidies. In the Senate bill, there is the provision that only one of the proposed multi-state plans will not cover elective abortions – all other plans (including other multi-state plans) can do so, and receive federal tax credits. This means that individuals or families in complex medical circumstances will likely be forced to choose and contribute to an insurance plan that funds abortions in order to meet their particular health needs.

Further, the Senate bill authorizes and appropriates billions of dollars in new funding outside the scope of the appropriations bills covered by the Hyde amendment and similar provisions. As the bill is written, the new funds it appropriates over the next five years, for Community Health Centers for example (Sec. 10503), will be available by statute for elective abortions, even though the present regulations do conform to the Hyde amendment. Regulations, however, can be changed at will, unless they are governed by statute.

Additionally, no provision in the Senate bill incorporates the longstanding and widely supported protection for conscience regarding abortion as found in the Hyde/Weldon amendment. Moreover, neither the House nor Senate bill contains meaningful conscience protection outside the abortion context. Any final bill, to be fair to all, must retain the accommodation of the full range of religious and moral objections in the provision of health insurance and services that are contained in current law, for both individuals and institutions.

This analysis of the flaws in the legislation is not completely shared by the leaders of the Catholic Health Association. They believe, moreover, that the defects that they do recognize can be corrected after the passage of the final bill. The bishops, however, judge that the flaws are so fundamental that they vitiate the good that the bill intends to promote. Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke.

What is tragic about this turn of events is that it needn’t have happened. The status quo that has served our national consensus and respected the consciences of all with regard to abortion is the Hyde amendment. The House courageously included an amendment applying the Hyde policy to its Health Care bill passed in November. Its absence in the Senate bill and the resulting impasse are not an accident. Those in the Senate who wanted to purge the Hyde amendment from this national legislation are obstructing the reform of health care.

This is not quibbling over technicalities. The deliberate omission in the Senate Bill of the necessary language that could have taken this moral question off the table and out of play leaves us still looking for a way to meet the President’s and our concern to provide health care for those millions whose primary care physician is now an emergency room doctor. As Pope Benedict told Ambassador to the Holy See Miguel H. Diaz when he presented his credentials as the United States government’s representative to the Holy See, there is “an indissoluble bond between an ethic of life and every other aspect of social ethics.”

Two basic principles, therefore, continue to shape the concerns of the Catholic bishops: health care means taking care of the health needs of all, across the human life span; and the expansion of health care should not involve the expansion of abortion funding and of polices forcing everyone to pay for abortions. Because these principles have not been respected, despite the good that the bill under consideration intends or might achieve, the Catholic bishops regretfully hold that it must be opposed unless and until these serious moral problems are addressed.

SOURCE: Whispers in the Loggia

PHOTO SOURCE: USCCB Media Blog

To Read Cardinal George’s letter, please visit: http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-043.shtml