I often worry about the continual calls, sadly
often by Catholics, for the Church to reconsider its teachings on a variety of
subjects, like pre-marital sex, abortion, euthanasia, ordination of women, gay marriage, homosexuality, divorce and
contraception, to mention just a few. All the arguments, which I hear in
support of these topics, always seem to approach the matter as though these are
just man made rules that are being enforced by an archaic man made institution,
which is ruled by male chauvinist dictators.
I was therefore so pleased when I was listening
to the Presidents Address, by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, at the opening of the “United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops”, to hear these words from him:
“The Church we passionately love is hardly some cumbersome, outmoded
club of sticklers, with a medieval bureaucracy, silly human rules on fancy
letterhead, one more movement rife with squabbles, opinions, and disagreement.
The Church is Jesus -- teaching, healing, saving, serving, inviting;
Jesus often "bruised, derided, cursed, defiled."
The Church is a communio, a supernatural family. Most of us, praise
God, are born into it, as we are into our human families. So, the Church is in
our spiritual DNA. The Church is our home, our family.
In the Power and the Glory, when the young girl asks him why he just
doesn’t renounce his Catholic faith, the un-named “Whisky Priest” replies:
“That’s impossible! There’s no way! It’s out of my power.” Graham Greene
narrates: “The child listened intently. She then said, ‘Oh, I see, like a
birthmark’.”
To use a Catholic word, Bingo!
Our Church is like a birthmark. Founded by Christ, the Church had
her beginning at Pentecost, but her origin is from the Trinity.”[1]
We should be constantly reminded that the
Church is supernatural. She was founded by God and so the Church cannot simply
change its teaching in the face of our modern challenges. That is just
impossible. It would be contrary to her nature.
Archbishop Timothy Dolan poses to be a great figure. A giant of a man!
ReplyDeleteHis use of the word: "Bingo!", says it all. With Jesus Christ as head of the Church; with the Pope as Jesus' Vicar on earth; with the magisterium alaways united with the Pope, we can all jump out of our seats and shout: "Bingo!".
The Church is the same yresterday, today, and tomorrow. Her Teachings are always true!
Archbishop Dolan is simply "tops".