"Secularism and Its Impact on Faith and Society"

January 24, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,     

Those of you who have been consistent readers of the Love One Another messages know that I have addressed secularism and its impact on our faith and society. It’s been very obvious to me for a number of years that religion has been under attack. For some time, there’s been a blatant effort on the part of our courts, the legislature and the executive office, to place themselves in opposition to the Church. And it’s not only the Catholic Church that’s come under assault, but any religion that doesn’t support a secular agenda.

When the government cries, “be tolerant” they forget that that command should go both ways. Some government leaders have said that religion is fine as long as it’s privatized, meaning that it has little or no effect in the public forum. Some may call me a “conspiracy theorist” and accuse me of overreacting. Of course, no right-minded lover of the Constitution would ever think that the state would infringe on the practice of the faith. However, once again, last week a decision by the Obama Administration’s Health and Human Services put the Catholic Church at odds with a mandate that would force the Catholic Church and Catholic institutions to provide birth control, sterilizations and abortions. This action violates the teachings of the Catholic Church. That edict clearly violates the right of conscience.

One would think that any Catholic who serves under this administration would explain that as Catholics we have a moral obligation not to participate in evil. To his credit, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan as head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops spoke out clearly against this intrusion on the rights of the faith and the constitutional violation promoted by the Health and Human Services Department. In typical Archbishop Dolan fashion, he stated that President Obama, in effect, is saying that we have a year to figure out how to violate our consciences. If HHS or the president himself think that the Bishops will roll over and play dead, they are sadly mistaken.

This is the Church’s teaching. It has an impact on our faith life and how we understand how God calls us to live. I ask you, the faithful, to stand by as we examine our options in response to this latest attempt to diminish the influence of the Church in health care and our society. We must be faithful to our Catholic teachings; it is the truth and it gives us a vision to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

In His Name,

Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee

To receive Archbishop Listecki's Thought for the Week, submit your name and e-mail address here.