Bishop Thomas Wenski Says Defend Life and Marriage: There Can Be No other Legitimate Catholic Position

By Deacon Keith Fournier
10/20/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

As Catholics, we best contribute to our democratic process by voting as faith filled and faithful citizens

The Church -clergy and laity- while agreeing to disagree on other matters of prudential judgment cannot but oppose the evils of abortion, euthanasia, fetal stem cell research, human cloning and so called same sex "marriage." In these areas, there can be no other legitimate Catholic position.

Most Reverend Thomas Wenski Archbishop of Miami

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MIAMI, FL (Catholic Online) - I have written about Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, Florida before. He is one of my heroes. In 2010 an Archdiocese which is home to 900,000 Catholics and one of the most beautiful Cities in the Nation, Miami, Florida welcomed home a native born son to serve as its Fourth Archbishop. They received a great gift.

This American of Polish stock looks like he could have come from the same home town as the Blessed John Paul II. His first assignment was to a Hispanic parish. He spent a substantial amount of his ministry in the early years building and leading a dynamic Haitian apostolate, the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center in Miami.

A vibrant witness to the true meaning of Catholic Social Teaching's call to a love of preference for the poor, the Center Fr. Wenski helped to build embodied it. The center provided social, educational, legal and life assistance to Haitian immigrants. In fact, his love for the people of Haiti led him to that suffering Nation right after January's quake. He is an ardent champion of immigrants and a supporter of true immigration reform.

In 1997 he was consecrated as a successor to the Apostles and served as an auxiliary Bishop of Miami. Then, in 2004 he was called to serve the Diocese of Orlando. There he led the Diocese in an extensive period of strengthening its mission and identity. He did an extraordinary job.

In 2009 I had the privilege of meeting Bishop Wenski and serving as his Deacon at Holy Mass. I will never forget meeting him. It took place at that beautiful Church dedicated to Our Lady, planted, by design, smack dab in the middle of the tourist sites to serve as a missionary outpost and spiritual pilgrimage site.

When Bishop Wenski came to greet us, I immediately liked him. He has smiling eyes and a down to earth, humble, inviting demeanor. Of course, as many of my readers know, my champion in life is the soon to be Blessed John Paul II. When I met Bishop Wenski I immediately thought of the late Pope.

He invited me to serve as his deacon at the Sacred Liturgy. It was one of the many honors of the years I have been ordained. His presence at the altar, love of the Lord and living faith had a deep impact upon me and all who were present at Mass.

This is a Bishop truly in love with Jesus and clearly comfortable in his apostolic office. Throughout the weekend, he stayed with the participants at the conference and made everyone feel comfortable, exuding the demeanor of a spiritual father. This is a strong leader in an age desperately in need of true strength.

His courageous policy positions are well known. He embraces Catholic Social Doctrine in its fullness, as it is rightly understood. A friend of the immigrant and the poor he is also of necessity a strong defender of every human person from conception to natural death and at every age and stage.

That includes children in the first home of the whole human race, those whom Mother Teresa rightly called the "poorest of the poor". He does not back down from controversy as evidenced when he offered a Mass of Reparation after the University of Notre Dame conferred an honorary Doctor of Law degree on President Obama.

He helped lead important efforts such as the delivery of 75 tons of food to Cuba after a devastating hurricane. He is still affirmed for his personal visit to Haiti after the devastating earthquake. He is well known for his love for the people of Haiti. He is not liberal, or conservative, he is Catholic - to the bone.

Last year, on Saturday March 26, 2011, he penned an editorial as "Thomas Wenski" in the Sun Sentinel newspaper entitled "Traditional marriage predates all of us" His defense of the truth about marriage were crystal clear. He did not rely on his clerical title to commend his clear defense of authentic marriage.

He knows that the truth about marriage - and the family and society founded upon it - is strong enough for its own defense. It is written in the Natural law and knowable by all men and women through the exercise of right reason. It simply takes men and women of courage to articulate it.

In an age when too many are eager to denigrate our Bishops, I regularly try to call attention to the many courageous men like Archbishop Thomas Wenski whoserve the Church. They need our prayer, and deserve our respect.

Now, weeks before one of the most important elections in US history, this wonderful Archbishop has again shown courage - and proper pastoral concern for the faithful and for the Nation. He issued a letter which was published in every parish bulletin ...

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1 - 10 of 10 Comments

Theresa H
7 months ago
Cody, we never have the "right" to do what is "intrinsically evil" = what is always and everywhere wrong. Abortion and the homosexual life-style are intrinsic evils. The tendency to homosexuality, for example, is not itself sinful, but following through in thoughts and acts are. I know people who say: "God made me this way;" not so, we all inherit the Original Sin of Adam and Eve; God did not "make us that way." Although the Original Sin is removed via the Sacrament of Baptism, everyone (except Jesus and Mary) is born with weaknesses/ tendencies to sin--albeit some people have stronger weaknesses for some kinds of sin, others for other kinds of sin. This is why Job says: "The life of man on earth is a warfare." But all is not lost--if we pray, pray for the "grace" needed to overcome tendencies to sin, and we should never give up when we fall. St. Paul says that God's grace "is power made perfect in infirmity." But the only way that can happen is if/when fall we turn to God for strength to overcome--and go to confession.
John
7 months ago
Bishop needs a reality check, most catholics focus on poverty. See link below.
http://news.yahoo.com/catholics-want-more-focus-poverty-abortion-survey-171515912.html
JoAnn
7 months ago
Cody Laws: Your philosophy is precisely one of the reasons God destroyed Sodom and Gommorah. Read your Bible. God said homosexuality is an abomination. It's easy for people to rationalize when they are either in a sinful relationship or looking the other way. No one hates anyone for anything. But the sin is hated and we are to do God's work and teach them with love Jesus' teachings. Abortion kills a human being no matter how the woman got pregnant. You are saying it's all right to kill a baby. It's their choice. What if I say it's my choice to kill you? Would that be all right? Would you not want someone to stop me? It is impossible to be pro-life while claiming you are pro-choice. God is pro-life. He gave us free will to love Him and keep His commandments or turn away from Him and lead a sinful life. He loves us no matter what, but He will not tolerate killing His children. He does not condemn us, we condemn ourselves by our free choice. I pray that you will come into the light and do as God wants. Jesus told us to go out into the world and make disciples of all people. He did not tell us to go and do whatever we want. The 10 commandments are just that. Commandments NOT suggestions. God bless.
Cody Laws
7 months ago
I am deeply saddened to see the unhappiness that the Church again and again endorses.

If Jesus came down today I find it hard to believe that he would care if homosexuals would want to marry, it's there choice, even if you think they are going to hell. God gave us this great gift of free will, the ability to make our own decisions.

We need to live and let live, love everyone, respect everyone, and give equality and justice to everyone.

And on abortion, I think people don't give the issue proper thought before they make up their minds. I'm Anti-Abortion but Pro-choice and I think that while abortion is morally wrong and unjust, there are some very valid reasons to get an abortion and it never my place to tell someone else what they can or cannot do to something living inside of them.

Again live and let live.

On euthanasia I again see where the Church is coming from, but if I was on my deathbed in extreme pain or discomfort I believe I have the right to make that decision for myself.

And as I read the previous comments I just become so sad with the hate that is spread, people make it sound like liberals and people are trying to destroy the Church or something, when are we going to realize that through our actions we are destroying the lives of homosexuals, women in terrible situations, and people's God given right to make their own choices.
Theresa H
7 months ago
It looks to me like our Bishops are speaking up these days in their dioceses--all over the country. Yes, it should have come a bit sooner, considering that some/many(?) people have already voted. Here in FL, the Bishops have provided us with a comparison of what the President and Romney each have to say on the major issues. If one was not already aware, reading them side by side, one cannot but see the difference on matters that are of major concern--mostly serious moral matters, not just "prudential" judgments. if we think we cannot take either candidate at their word(s), then all the more do we have to look at ourselves and the choices we made in the primaries four years ago--And we'll have to choose the lesser of two evils. In any case, It seems pretty obvious to me that we have a better chance of turning toward the light of Christ in the Founding Values of our Nation--rooted in the Natural Law--with Romney. Even though he is a Mormon, we are, nonetheless, on the same page with the Natural Law!
vance
7 months ago
It's too bad that the Bishop in my diocese isn't like Bishop Wenski. One might think my Bishop is cheering for Obama to win.
Esther Marie Ventura Ferencz
8 months ago
Thanks so GREATLY Archbishop Weinski for this 'common sense', yet so profoundly ignored and disobedient voting . Done by large numbers of Catholics no less! Such a disgrace. A word seemingly NO LONGER in our vocabulary.
Paul-Emile Leray
8 months ago
Thank you for sharing this. It is encouraging. I wish more Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops would publically throw their theological and philosophical weight around. While I am not Spanish, a Spanish Jesuit once told me something to this effect: if you worry too much about dogs barking you will never be able to make it to the grocery store to get your food. Let the dogs bark, in other words. Let them bark. These men are some of the brightest guys around, we ought to feel blessed when they shake things up a little. Secular society is often NUTS. What Catholicism has to offer to political economy, public policy, society and culture at large, can not be overstated. Very encouraging.
Paul-Emile Leray
abey
8 months ago
To the word Abortion today, is but to the Ancient Human sacrifices & as it is well known that the basis of Abortion is to population controls, through which we understand that ancient Human sacrifices were also on the same Basis to Population control, but making it Legitimate calling it to be religious worship or Idolatry, whereas to Abortion the law is used for its Legitimacy. Such is the case with the other evils inc. the so called unproductive to destructive same sex marriage, to know these are wrong for all this contradicts the words of God to Man "Be fruitful & Multiply". The Catholic stand against these evils 'Lights" the truth.
Robert
8 months ago
Amen! Now I pray he can convince the other bishops to understand this!

If the liberal priests want social justice they need to understand the it starts with "life" and "true marriage".

I pray for the catholics who have to listen to social justice homilies week in and week out while liberal politicians, theologians, and clergy destroy our Church and our country.

God Bless the clergy who stand up and speek up about faith, morals, and Catholic teachings.

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