Certainly, it is difficult to make the demands of the Gospel understandable to secularized people. But this pastoral difficulty must not lead to compromises with the truth.
Evil too, will always be part of the mystery of the Church. And when we see what men, what the clergy have done in the Church, then that is nothing short of proof that he [Christ] founded and upholds the Church. If she were dependent on men, she would long since have perished.
Assuredly, the word of truth can be painful and uncomfortable. But it is the way to holiness, to peace, and to inner freedom. A pastoral approach which truly wants to help the people concerned must always be grounded in the truth. In the end, only the truth can be pastoral.
Celibacy is always, shall we say, an affront to what man normally thinks. It is something that can be done, and is only credible, if there is a God and if celibacy is my doorway into the kingdom of God.
To live without faith, without a patrimony to defend, without a steady struggle for truth – that is not living, but existing.
Let us remember that cynicism is a sin. When we see someone who seems virtuous we had better give them the benefit of the doubt until or unless we find out more about them, and we are not obliged to seek dirt on them without good cause.
Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.
September 7 - 20, 2014
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar