Bishop Cordileone Makes the Case

Oakland Bishop Salvatore Cordileone appeared on Fox News on March 10. The full video of the segment is embedded below.





Especially this far into the now-months-long health care debate, Bishop Cordileone's interview underscores once again the constancy of the Catholic Church and the U.S. Bishops on this issue.

The bishops have said from the beginning of this debate that they've favored health care reform for decades, and they've said that their support includes a few basic principles -- that health care reform be genuine reform that is truly accessible and affordable, covering everyone, including the unborn, the elderly, the immigrant and the poor. Therefore, they've stated, health care reform shouldn't promote the taking of anyone's life (i.e. the unborn) and shouldn't force anyone to act against his or her conscience (i.e. by forcing someone to pay for abortions).

In all the twists and turns of the health care legislative process, this message hasn't wavered.

Another area where the bishops haven't wavered is their commitment to the agreement made by all sides in the health care debate that health care reform was too important in its own right to turn into a vehicle for the abortion debate. To paraphrase President Obama, this would be about health care reform, not abortion reform, meaning whatever health care bill passed, it should preserve the current and longstanding federal policies on abortion and abortiong funding. In this case, that would be the Hyde Amendment, which has been a part of every appropriations bill since the 1970s and prohibits federal funds from going to abortion or to health insurance plans that cover abortion.

This is what Bishop Cordileone and the rest of the U.S. Bishops are talking about when they speak of health care reform needing to reflect the status quo.

Going off of this, the bishops find the Senate bill, which is being used as the basis for a final health care bill, problematic because it opens up several new avenues of federal abortion funding. The bishops opposed the Senate bill when it was first passed on Christmas Eve for these reasons and still insist that these changes be made to the final health care bill.

An important aspect of this debate is also highlighted by the Fox News/Cordileone video. Prior to the bishop's segment, two representatives are shown speaking. The second one implies that health care reform is being derailed by people who want abortion to be illegalized and are blocking the vote.

The sad reality is that it's the supporters of federal funding of abortion who have derailed health care and who will ultimately be responsible should the legislation fail.

Again, the U.S. Bishops have stated from the beginning that they want health care reform, and they've offered unwavering criteria for morally acceptable reform from the beginning. Similarly, pro-life Democrats like Bart Stupak and others have stated that they too want to see health care reform, but would need legislation that did not violate the status quo on federal abortion funding.

The House met this modest requirement by adopting the Stupak Amendment to its bill. The Senate went out of its way to reject an amendment that would have done the same. Then, after building into the Senate bill the very provisions that would likely doom it, proponents of federal abortion funding are either exhibiting tremendous nerve or a poor command of the facts to say that they are the ones preserving the status quo and that the other side is somehow taking advantage of health care reform to promote an agenda. Or as a recent USCCB resource states it, "Genuine health care reform is being blocked by those who insist on reversing widely supported policies against federal funding of abortion and plans which include abortion, not by those working simply to preserve these longstanding protections."

When Newsweek Plays Bishops

A March 4 piece in Newsweek, When Bishops Play Politics: a New Generation Gets Righteous, by Lisa Miller, doesn't have too much to recommend it.

The article follows a predictable narrative, saying that the U.S. Catholic Bishops are meddling in the politics of health care reform. The article suggests that, because of their opposition to abortion funding, health care legislation in its entirety might fail.

This is problematic on several levels.

First there's the presumption that the bishops, who are after all private citizens, somehow shouldn't speak freely on civil matters, as if the First Amendment didn't extend to them. It's part of a pattern of thought recently described by USCCB President Cardinal Francis George as seeking to relegate religious values to the place of private devotion, with no place as a voice for good in the public square.

The article couples its criticism of the bishops' speaking out with the assertion that their voices don't represent anyone significant because 1. clergy sexual abuse et al has stripped them of their moral authority and 2. polls allege that a majority of U.S. Catholics don't even agree with the bishops on abortion.

As it attempts to undermine the bishops rather than engage them, the article ignores polls that show that the bishops are actually more in touch with the U.S. public on the issue of abortion funding in health care reform. As the bishops' Director of Media Relations, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, commented on the Web version of the story:

Polls show bishops are in touch with U.S. citizens. Few people want to pay for someone else's abortion. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey last November indicated 61 percent of the public opposes using public money for abortions; a Quinnipiac University poll in December found 72 percent of Americans oppose paying for abortions with their tax dollars under the health care bill in Congress.

The Hyde Amendment enacted in 1976 bans federal money from going for abortion or programs that provide them. The bishops want the same restriction in the health care reform legislation.

The article closes with the emotional appeal of how bad it will be for Americans who don't have health insurance if health care reform fails, casting the blame on the bishops and other pro-life figures who've decided to stand their ground.

Nevermind that the bishops have advocated for health care reform since the days of President Truman. It shows tremendous hubris on the part of people who insist that health care reform "isn't about abortion" while they demand expansion of abortion funding. It's as if it never occurred to them that this whole confrontation could be avoided, that health care reform could be saved, if they wouldn't insist on pushing the envelope on this one issue.

And it's not like it's any eleventh-hour surprise that the bishops oppose abortion funding in health care. Between the Church's teaching on abortion and the fact that the bishops have had a consistent message since this Congress first took up health care reform, the bishops have been trying to communicate their vision of health care reform that protects everyone -- including the unborn, the elderly, the immigrant, the poor -- all along.

George and the Latter-Day Saints: One Approach to Dialogue

When Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, addressed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including two of its top officials, at Utah's Brigham Young University on February 23, he became the first cardinal to address that student body. But that wasn't the only cutting edge aspect of the event. His call for more cooperation between Catholics and Latter-day Saints was not a dialogue in the traditional sense of relationships between Catholics and other religious bodies. It relied heavily on culture.

Around the time of the Second Vatican Council, breakthroughs in ecumenical and interreligious relationships came as a result of extensive dialogue and self-examination by the parties participating in the dialogue.

For instance, when centuries of cultural anti-Semitism boiled over in the horrors of the Holocaust, the Catholic Church did some self-examination as to how Christian anti-Judaism may have helped create the conditions that allowed the Holocaust to occur. Exploring our relationship with Judaism more closely ultimately led to the groundbreaking Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate, which rejected the idea that the Jewish people are somehow responsible for the death of Jesus and that God has rejected them. Today, when the Catholic Church engages the Jewish people, it does so from a paradigm that recognizes them as "our older brother in faith" and "the first people to hear the Word of God."

Another example is dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans, which saw over 40 years of work come to fruition in 1999, when the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. The document, in effect, cleared up over four centuries of division on the issue of how people are justified before God. Cardinal George himself does a fine job of explaining this ecumenical breakthrough here:



But the content of Cardinal George's address to Brigham Young University didn't reflect a theological dialogue or other internal matters. It instead focused on two issues in U.S. culture -- abortion and same-sex marriage. Cardinal George made the case that Catholics and Latter-day Saints can stand united on these issues because, whether through funding of abortion through health care reform or mandates to recognize same-sex marriage, both issues threaten religious liberty.

Cardinal George isn't the first high-ranking Catholic to take this approach -- Pope Benedict XVI has been a pioneer, reaching out to the Russian Orthodox Church (whose relations with the Vatican have tended toward the frosty at times) and insisting that Catholics and Orthodox should work together to combat secularism in Europe. Russian Orthodox Church leaders have been receptive.

In another instance, when Pope Benedict visited Jordan, a predominantly Muslim country, in 2009, he condemned religious extremism and violence in the name of religion. With radical Islam threatening the lives of countless people, Christian, Muslim or otherwise, around the world, this was a particularly powerful topic to bring to the table.

It's probably no accident that Pope Benedict has taken this approach. Going back to his days as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he expressed skepticism that a purely interreligious dialogue was even possible, that an element of intercultural dialogue would always be present in the mix. Fittingly then, his major dialogue endeavors as pope have had a cultural emphasis.

It also works on a practical level. The conventional wisdom is that the best way to unify people is to give them a common challenge, some injustice to correct. Whether its secularism, violence or threats to religious liberty, the same principle applies.

Even before Pope Benedict was showing the way, the U.S. Church took this approach on certain issues. For instance, great strides in Catholic-Evangelical relations have come through collaboration within the Pro-Life movement. Now Cardinal George is acknowledging that such collaboration should extend to Latter-day Saints and go beyond abortion to all issues that might hinder the free expression of religion in the U.S.

As recent developments with Catholic Charities of Washington DC have shown, this approach of standing with other people of faith to address the culture with a unified voice may prove timely indeed.

Realizing the Sacred

The National Gallery of Art in DC this weekend opens a very interesting exhibit of Spanish religious painting and sculpture from the 1600-1700s. Under the title “The Sacred Made Real” the exhibit includes a series of delicate, dramatically telling and brutally real pieces from the Spanish master painters and sculptutors of the time: Velázquez, Zurbarán, Ribera, Ribalta, De Mena, Montañés and others.

Many of these works of art, created to move the soul and to elicit a deep connection to the divine, had never before left the walls of the churches, convents and chapels that usually house them. It is a marvel in and of itself that they are here—London and Washington being the lone engagements for the exhibit before returning them to the faithful who still so revere them—let alone, that they are exhibited outside of their natural habitat: the houses of prayer.

I must acknowledge that to eyes such as mine, so accustomed to seeing these images in the context of the baroque setting of the Catholic Churches of the time, some of these paintings and polychrome sculptures seemed almost naked and out of context. The exhibit, however, provided a rare opportunity to appreciate each image and the sacred message they represent with new depth.

The ambiance the organizers have created— half museum, half church —helps the curious eye appreciate the artistic value of the pieces while at the same time relishing a respectful atmosphere for meditation that might elicit a quiet prayer in more than one soul.

Kudos to Xavier Bray, curator of the exhibit, and assistant curator of 17th and 18th-century Spanish and Italian paintings at the National Gallery in London, who in his first solo exhibit has assembled a remarkable collection of works representing the masters of Spanish realism and hyperrealism in the Spain of the Counter-Reformation.

At a time when Spain and most of Europe seem to be turning away from its Christian roots, this exhibit seems to ironically take pride in that heritage and represents the nation’s rich cultural and spiritual wealth. More so, it is presented on the occasion of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Spain.

A word of warning: sensible souls unaccustomed to raw representations in religious art of human suffering or spiritual ecstasy (see the face of Saint Francis painting by Zurbarán) are in for a shock … or a treat! And who knows, they might even, all of a sudden, realize the divine.

Newest Numbers

Yesterday's double appointment saw new bishops named in the vacant dioceses of Scranton, Pa. and Ogdensburg, NY. Scranton had been waiting on a new bishops since the August 31, 2009 resignation of Bishop Joseph Martino (and auxiliary Bishop John Dougherty). Ogdensburg has been in wait mode since April 21, 2009, when Bishop Robert Cunningham was appointed bishop of Syracuse.

One notable aspect of yesterday's appointment was that both new bishops were, in effect, already overseeing the day-to-day operations of their respective dioceses as administrators. (Bishop-elect Terry LaValley of Ogdensburg was a full administrator while Bishop-elect Joseph Bambera of Scranton was the delegate of Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali, the actual administrator, but that's beside the point.)

Also notable about the appointment is that it reduces the number of vacant U.S. dioceses to three:

• Springfield, Illinois -- since the June 3, 2009 appointment of Archbishop George Lucas to Omaha
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania -- since the November 14, 2009 appointment of Bishop Kevin Rhoades to Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana
• La Crosse, Wisconsin -- since the November 14, 2009 appointment of Archbishop Jerome Listecki to Milwaukee

As Rocco Palmo and others have noted in Church circles, this is a historic low. Also low are the bishops serving past their retirement age, which still stands at four:

• Bishop William Higi of Lafayette, Indiana -- age 76
• Archbishop Alexander Brunett of Seattle -- age 76
• Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Washington -- age 75, soon to be 76
• Archbishop Eusebius Beltran of Oklahoma City -- age 75

There will be no new additions to this list until April, when two more U.S. bishops turn 75.

Hat tip to David Cheney.

Lenten Disciplines: One Reporter's Journey

A few Lents back, I was still working as a reporter at the diocesan level. One of the challenges of diocesan reporting is to continually find new angles to stories that come up on a pretty cyclical basis, and Lent is no exception. That year, I decided to talk to a handful of everyday Catholics and get their personal take on what the season of Lent -- and its disciplines -- mean for them and how it plays out in their daily lives.

My hope was that I wouldn't just have a series of articles cataloguing what half a dozen people had given up that year -- chocolate, TV, foul language, interrupting. But what I ended up getting from my interview subjects was far better than I'd hoped for; it was an impressively diverse cluster of reflections that are still providing spiritual encouragement years after the fact.

There was Joyce, a parish RCIA instructor whose job was to guide people into the Church year after year, culminating in Lent and Easter. Against this backdrop, she encouraged candidates and catechumens not to look at the Lenten discipline of fasting as simply giving something up, but of discarding something about oneself that causes separation from God.

On some level, this is just a minor change in perspective. "I'm giving up excessive Internet browsing because it makes me fat and lazy" vs. "I'm giving up excessive Internet browsing because it detracts from time that could be spent in prayer, etc." Both acknowledge a form of gluttony. One is more focused on how the relationship with God fits into it.

Another take on this perspective is that an ungodly part of a person dies during Lent so that the person may be resurrected anew.

Of course, along with death and resurrection as recurring Lenten themes come sacrifice and suffering. These elements came to the fore when I interviewed Justin, a recent college graduate who'd majored in religious studies.

Justin's thinking on Lent was closely tied to his admiration of the writings of Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI. He cited an essay that describes the love of Christ as a love that went all the way because it refused to return violence and instead poured itself out completely. In the sacrifices of Lent, we learn to show God a love that weathers sacrifice. And again, we die and rise again. In short, Lent is learning to love like Christ.

By this point, Lent sounds like a great opportunity to completely reinvent oneself ... "I'm going to take all those petty, indulgent, sinful things about me, and I'm going to purify myself by casting them off! Sure it will hurt, but the suffering unites me with Christ and allows me to love more perfectly!"

And that lasts about two days.

When I spoke to Father Joe, a local pastor, he raised the point that Lent is also about coming to terms with one's own weakness and dependence on God. So often Catholics head into Lent with great intentions of penance and self improvement, but they get discouraged by their inability to adhere to their own commitments.

Father Joe said he urges patience with oneself as part of the Lenten discipline. Just as the very act of fasting weakens us and reminds us of our need for nourishment, the challenges of Lent remind us that only by the grace of God can we do anything.

The frustrations of Lent came to light in an interview with Charity, a high school senior and aspiring photographer. She catalogued her own Lenten complications of years past, such as woefully underestimating her addiction to coffee or the question of what a vegetarian is supposed to do on a Lenten Friday. In spite of these troubles, the themes of Lent still loomed in her life. Several of her friends had met early deaths, and this suffering had prompted her to make her own deaths and rebirths.

Charity's approach to Lent itself was novel. She took it upon herself to reach out to her fellow students, the marginalized and friendless. They would look back on high school and remember that at least one person was nice to them, she insisted.

At first, this seemed to fall outside the realm of typical Lenten disciplines. She wasn't exactly fasting from something. But then I realized that Charity had somehow managed to leapfrog to a different level of Lenten observance. After all, if the sacrifice of Lenten disciplines are supposed to unite us with Christ and help us love more fully, then it follows that we would act on that love by reaching out to other people with charity.

What I Learned About Haiti Today

Staff at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had the opportunity today to spend their lunch hour learning more about the human situation on the ground in Haiti and the work the Catholic Church is doing there following the devastating January 12 earthquake.

Msgr. David Malloy, General Secretary of the USCCB, Father Andrew Small, OMI, Director of the National Collection for the Church in Latin America, and Natalie Lummert, Associate Director for Children's Services for the USCCB's Migration and Refugee Services (MRS), all spoke to staff on the conditions currently facing the country, the Church and the people of Haiti.

Msgr. Malloy, who traveled to Haiti with Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, spoke of the excellent work of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) -- the humanitarian relief organization of the U.S. bishops -- in Haiti. Archbishop Dolan, who chairs the CRS board, represented the U.S. bishops at the funeral of Haitian Archbishop Joseph Miot and surveyed the work of CRS firsthand.

Helping to rebuild churches, seminaries and Catholic schools in Haiti will be partly the work of the National Collection for the Church in Latin America, and Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, who chairs the collection's subcommittee, also traveled to Haiti for Archbishop Miot's funeral. He was accompanied by the USCCB's Father Andrew Small, who spoke to fellow USCCB staff about how it's even difficult to calculate the extent of the devastation in Haiti because completely accurate counts of schools, parish enrollment, etc. weren't kept even before the earthquake.

Father Small also shared some images of the devastation via Web videos shot as he and Bishop Wenski traveled through Haiti. He noted that conditions in Haiti (poverty, corruption, etc.) were so bad before the earthquake that the eventual goal isn't to rebuild Haiti exactly as it was, but to find a way to rebuild it so that it works.

Natalie Lummert of MRS addressed issues facing children in Haiti, particularly human trafficking, which she noted had been an issue prior to the earthquake, but was now even worse. She shared details about the MRS program for unaccompanied refugee minor program, which has been geared largely toward Haitians. She also mentioned that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recently granted to Haiti by the Obama Administration is something the U.S. bishops have urged for years.

Other troubling details to emerge regarding Haiti included that gang activity is rampant in some areas, with Haitians being robbed of the food they receive from rescue workers. Additional aftershock tremors are expected for months, maybe even years, meaning the rebuilding process itself could be undone in a matter of minutes.

USCCB staff asked questions about issues including the relationship between Haiti and its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, how hurricane damage from the last decade has further complicated matters for Haitians, and whether or not Haitian seminarians might be able to study in the United States.

It was an informative lunch hour that on one hand made clear just how daunting and tangled so many of the challenges facing Haiti actually are. But it made equally clear the deep concern, and continual dedicated work of the Catholic Church to meet those challenges.