When Bishop Barron was appointed to the presidential commission on religious liberty, I wondered if we would finally see Catholic leaders share the concerns those of us in the Church have been voicing. Religious liberty is what allows people of faith to speak out against atrocities that go against the teachings of Christ. Bishop Barron was silent.
For years, the church leaders have been training the faithful to listen to them. They have told us they know best, claiming a better understanding of Catholicism than most of the faithful. That may be true when it comes to the history of the liturgy, but every Catholic who has grown up among the people recognizes gross disrespect for humanity when they see it.
What we want is for our Church leaders to acknowledge the pain we are feeling. We want them to act as Jesus did and go after the one lost sheep because that one sheep is of utmost importance to God.
As we witness God’s own children being deported out of our country and into extraordinary inhumane conditions, it is worth asking why the voices of our shepherds remain silent.
Now is exactly the time to go after the one.
Not only to care for that beloved soul, but also to show the 99 that this work of love is exactly the work God asks us to do in this world.
I’ve been calling my congress people for the past 100 days, making the issues I care most about known. And what I care about most is a government that treats all people with the dignity they deserve — the dignity granted to them by God.
We show that dignity in a myriad of ways in America. One way is allowing all people due process. We promise them that we will not imprison them based on accusations alone. Our current administration has decided that some people are not worthy of God’s love, sending them to certain pain and death based on tattoos and speculation.
Another way America honors people is to marvel in the diversity of God’s creation. It’s right there in the Declaration of Independence: that all men are created equal. We promise to listen and learn from those who are different than us, knowing that God created us for community. We need one another to survive and to thrive. The current president has eschewed our founding father’s declaration, using derisive language against any and all who disagree with him, his apparent goal to sow division and hate.
Maybe I wouldn’t mind so much if the current administration did not claim Christianity as its driving force. But they do, and the hypocrisy is deafening.
It doesn’t feel like too much to ask of my Priest, Bishop, and the USCCB to be vocal in this difficult time. They have years of Church Teaching to fall back on that give witness to the wisdom and necessity of treating people with love. So I will now be adding them to my contact list. All I want is for our Church leaders to remind the Catholic faithful of what it means to live like Jesus.
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash
god forever tries 