WORD OF LIFE

August 1, 2008

Bishop Hermann: 'I thought you should know'
Obedience is still a virtue

by Bishop Robert Hermann, Archdiocesan Administrator


Some 35 years ago we brought in a brilliant Baptist theologian to give a two-day retreat for 15 nondenominational ministers and four Catholic priests. This scholar and professor knew much of the Greek version of St. John’s Gospel by heart. One of the topics he chose to address was Christian unity.

Reflecting on Christ’s prayer in Chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel, "that all may be one," he said: "I believe that if this prayer for unity is going to be realized it will be realized through the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has retained the charism of unity. Protestantism will never experience unity until it deals with the very principle which is endemic to Protestantism, and that is, ‘If you disagree, separate.’ The Catholic Church is like a wise mother. Whenever a new charism arises within it, it creates a religious order and keeps it in the Church."

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, in No. 144, that the word "obey" comes from the Latin "obaudire," to hear or to listen to. Therefore the obedience of faith means "to submit freely to the Word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself." Christ also told us that the truth will set you free. People who obey out of faith are joyful people. Christ has led the way. He was obedient unto death. Because of the joy set before him he willingly endured the cross. He submitted to the Father’s will.

What dissenters to Catholic teaching do not realize is that their disobedience causes them to be angry at themselves for being angry at the Church. They mistakenly believe that they will be happy if the Church obeys their demands. They think that the problem is on the outside of themselves, rather than within themselves.

Scripture tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice.

What they also do not realize is that they do not lose their peace over someone else’s sin but only over their own.

Because they are flattered that some others believe in the same cause as they do, they mistakenly believe that they are forming a community. There is nothing more ephemeral than the unity of dissenters. Dissent begets dissent. That is why Christianity is splintered.

As I take a look at my own life, some of the things that I would have preferred to do as a priest would not have worked out. On the other hand, everything that my superiors asked me to do has brought me incredible satisfaction, peace, joy and fulfillment. It is more fun "to listen to the Word" than to rebel against it. It is more freeing to embrace the teachings of the Church and let those teachings transform me than it is to ask the Church to change those teachings so that my will be done. At this stage I do not intend to change the formula.

http://www.stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=15764

 SUMMARY FORM OF ARCHBISHOP BURKE’S 2004 PASTORAL LETTER

These questions and answers concerning Archbishop Raymond Burke’s 2004 pastoral letter, “On Our Civic Responsibility for the Common Good,” are used in sessions educating Catholics of the archdiocese about voting.

1. Is the archbishop endorsing a particular candidate?

No. The archbishop is presenting traditional Christian teaching to help voters make an informed decision in the coming election. His responsibility as a bishop clearly requires him to speak out on critical moral issues.

2. Doesn’t the pastoral letter on voting threaten the traditional American separation of church and state?

No. As American citizens Catholics have a civic responsibility to promote the common good. The first priority of the common good is the protection of human life, which makes sense of all our other rights.

3. Can Catholics simply avoid voting?

To ensure the common good, Catholics have a responsibility to vote for a worthy candidate. Our civic responsibility for the common good is great, especially in a society which fails to afford legal protection to the weakest and most defenseless.

4. What do pro-life issues have to do with politics? Isn’t this legislating morality?

Scripture teaches us that we are our “brother’s keeper.” Like the good Samaritan in the Gospel, we must come to the aid of our defenseless brothers and sisters in the womb, innocent victims of human engineering, persons who have grown weak in advanced years, and all people and institutions that are threatened by violations of the moral law.

The government already “legislates morality” when it addresses issues such as health-care, employment, immigration, race relations, poverty, the rights of citizens, to name only a few. Ongoing initiatives to educate people about the dignity of human life are of vital importance. The power of prayer for the intention that all will embrace the truth about human life cannot be underestimated.

5. Aren’t capital punishment and war also pro-life issues?

Capital punishment and war are certainly pro-life issues. Although they are rarely justified, they are, though, not intrinsically evil as is abortion. In some circumstances self-defense and defense of the nation are not only rights but responsibilities.

One cannot, however, justify voting for a candidate who promotes intrinsically evil acts, such as abortion, that erode the very foundation of the common good by appealing to that same candidate’s opposition to war or capital punishment.

6. Can a Catholic vote for a candidate who favors abortion?

It is never right to vote for a candidate in order to promote immoral practices. This would be “formal cooperation” in evil. There can never be justification for directly and deliberately taking innocent human life: abortion, destruction of human embryos, euthanasia, human cloning. For the sake of the common good we must safeguard the good of human life, and the good of marriage and family life.

7. If all the candidates favor abortion, but in different circumstances, how should a Catholic decide about voting?

In some circumstances it is morally permissible for a Catholic to vote for a candidate who supports some immoral practices while opposing other immoral practices. This is called “material cooperation.” However, there is no element of the common good that could justify voting for a candidate who also endorses the deliberate killing, without restriction or reservation of any kind, of the innocent.

8. Can a Catholic vote for a candidate who would allow abortion in limited circumstances?

If a candidate supports abortion in a limited number of cases, but is opposed to it otherwise, Catholics may vote for this candidate. This is not a question of choosing a lesser evil but of limiting the evil.

9. How can there be a connection between the reception of Holy Communion and a Catholic politician’s public policy actions?

One of the earliest examples of the connection between Holy Communion and public behavior is from St. Paul (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). St. Justin the Martyr (early 100s A.D.) lists three conditions for receiving Holy Communion, the third of which is to live in accord with Church teachings. People can receive Communion worthily if they are in fact in communion with Christ and His way of life.

10. How do social justice issues like poverty, housing and education relate to pro-life issues?

The sum total of all social conditions — social justice issues — depends on the protection of human life. Without this fundamental protection it makes no sense to consider other social conditions. The inalienable right to life of every innocent individual is a constitutive element of civil society and its legislation.

11. Has the archbishop changed his thinking about voting and elections from earlier statements attributed to him?

No. The principles outlined in this pastoral letter are entirely consistent with what the archbishop has previously stated. Previously he had occasion to speak only in a limited or particular context. The pastoral letter is a comprehensive and thorough treatment of our civic responsibility for the common good.

12. Did the archbishop write this pastoral letter because of the June 2004 letter of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) on this subject to the U.S. bishops?

The pastoral letter was written to present the Church’s teaching regarding our civic responsibility to promote the common good, especially by exercising our right and fulfilling our duty to vote. It is meant to assist Catholics, and all people of good will in the metropolitan community, to choose those representatives who will best serve the good of all. The letter draws principally from the teaching of Sacred Scripture, the documents of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.