Excellent pastoral by Bishop Aquila of Fargo, forwarded to me by Amy MacKinnon ("Real Catholic", see left).
Ya — you betcha!
I. We must clearly present the deposit of faith entrusted to us by Jesus Christ in Scripture and Tradition.
II. We must become more deeply convinced that we can find the truth that sets us free only in Jesus Christ.
III. We must develop a mature understanding of the meaning of conscience.
IV. We must deepen our appreciation of the inalienable dignity of human life.
V. We must deepen our understanding of what it means to live out our faith in the world.
Thank God for raising up bishops "of the orthodox faith" who "rightly divide the word of truth"!
Here are some quotes:
"My ardent desire is that all people may come to know God’s love for them as revealed in Jesus Christ, and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus so that their every word and action may flow from their knowledge and love of him."
"Many even reject the principle that we must accept what the Church believes and teaches, and think they can pick and choose what to believe."
"In fact, [Christians] sometimes adopt elements of secularist perspectives without recognizing their incompatibility with Christian faith. However, the Lord Jesus entered the world to proclaim the truth: 'For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.'"
"Catholics, both laity and clergy, must rediscover the relationship between truth and freedom. We must refuse to be seduced by secularist thought. Rather, we must judge it according to the standard of the truth revealed in the person of Jesus Christ and live out that truth in our daily lives, so that we can enjoy the freedom of the children of God."
"Catholics sometimes say they are following their conscience when they choose to do something . . . that the Church teaches to be intrinsically evil. Some members of the clergy confuse the faithful by telling them, 'Just follow your conscience.' Without proper explanation such guidance is misleading . . ."
"There is a tendency among some Catholics to equate all issues of life such that, for example, capital punishment and war are considered to have the same moral significance as abortion and euthanasia. Though all these issues are important, this tendency is misguided."
"Catholics are called to transform the world by the way they live their daily lives,
bearing consistent witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. . . . As Catholics, we are called to remain faithful to Jesus the Christ and have his heart and mind."
"Catholic politicians who vote specifically to fund abortions do not merely cooperate with a grave evil but are principal agents in a grave evil. . . . By acting in this way, they fail to be the light of Jesus Christ and they cooperate with the father of lies."
I like this guy!
St. Ignatius the Godbearer, pray for us!
Leave a comment