The incoming leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference voiced a
commitment to reaching out in love to defend human life and dignity
wherever it is threatened in the modern culture.
“We’re responding to where the need is,” said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz
of Louisville, Ky., the president-elect of the U.S. Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
At a Nov. 12 press conference during the U.S. bishops’ annual fall
gathering in Baltimore, he emphasized that the bishops must respond to
“what is going on in our culture,” and where the needs and energies of
the Church are at a given moment in time.
The archbishop responded to an earlier message delivered on behalf of
the Pope by papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, which he
characterized as “primarily a call to be pastoral.”
Pope Francis is challenging the U.S. Church, Archbishop Kurtz said, to
“warm hearts and heal wounds,” while serving the needs of the preborn,
elderly, migrants and others who are “voiceless and vulnerable,”
particularly in the American “culture of indifference.”
The incoming bishops’ president stressed that he “would be reluctant to
fit us into a category,” or any political or ideological camp, adding
that issues of immigration, defense of marriage, a robust religious
freedom, and protection of human life are all part of the Church’s
response to threats against human dignity in society.
The archbishop stated that the American Catholics “are very much in solidarity with Pope Francis,” on addressing poverty.
He noted that the bishops’ conference “has been a steady stream of
funding programs that are lifting people up from poverty,” as well as
“finding ways to change structures that hold them back.”
Of particular focus, the Archbishop Kurtz said, is effort to “look at
the disintegration of the family” and find ways to help strengthen
marriage and family life in an effort to alleviate poverty. He noted
that “one out of every five children are in poverty,” nationwide, and
there are several studies linking poverty to a decline in “the solidity
of the family.”
Upcoming synods on pastoral care and the family, scheduled for 2014 and
2015, will allow for a “robust consultation” on these topics, he
explained.
The archbishop also addressed the Church’s efforts to defend religious
freedom, saying that this is an essential part of the bishops’ “effort
to support the dignity of the human person.”
“We know that faith enriches public life,” he explained. “Our effort is
to have a robust expression of religious freedom in a way that
acknowledges how important that is not only to the believer, but to and
the good of our nation.”
He said that every effort “ to speak on behalf of the voiceless and
vulnerable puts us in a position to potentially” open the door to a
“good and healthy relationship” with the Obama Administration and other
branches and levels of government.
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, vice president-elect of
the bishops’ conference, added that the Church “will never stand down
from our defense of human person, particularly at the beginning and end
of life, and at the end of life. That’s non-negotiable.”
At the same time, the U.S. Church will continue its “persistent” focus
on fighting “the causes of poverty at the local levels,” and work to aid
immigrants, he said.
On the topic of immigration, the cardinal explained that while there are
those “on both sides of the aisle,” the ongoing question is based on “a
significant aspect of our respect for the human person.” He added that
because “the tempo and interaction on this issue has picked up,” there
will likely be a more visible emphasis on immigration within the next
several years.
“The resolve of all of our bishops is clear on the role of the
immigrant,” said Archbishop Kurtz. “It’s really a question of human
dignity.” He added that the bishops’ conference will be expanding its
efforts to educate the laity on “the reason for our interest in
immigration.”
Archbishop Kurtz highlighted this work, in addition to peace efforts in
the Holy Land and around the world, as additional ways in which the
Church works to promote and defend human dignity in its teaching and
actions.
In carrying out these activities Cardinal DiNardo pointed to the Pope’s
writings, speeches and actions during the Year of Faith, saying that
they have placed an emphasis on “the credibility of faith, the
encouragement of faith and the illumination that faith gives.”
“To my mind that’s something that the conference wants to see happening
in all places,” he said, encouraging his fellow bishops to emphasize
“good teaching, good witnessing and good pastoring.”
Archbishop Kurtz and Cardinal DiNardo were elected by the body of
bishops on Nov. 12.
Their three-year terms officially began at the
conclusion of the bishops’ meeting on Nov. 14.