In his opening address at the 2021 spring meeting of the U.S. bishops on Wednesday, conference president Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles made a passionate call for unity.
Archbishop Gomez reminded fellow bishops that “only a Church that is united can heal the brokenness and challenge the injustices that we see more clearly now.”
“We have been living through some extraordinary times,” the archbishop said. “We’ve seen a pandemic shut down our civilization, including the Church, for more than a year. We’ve lived through riots in our major cities, rising social divisions and unrest, and maybe the most polarized election our country has ever seen.”
He also said that “the Church’s mission will be shaped for years to come by the troubles of these recent months.”
“I was noticing, even before the pandemic, how often Pope Francis talks about the importance of unity — not only among peoples, but also unity within the Church,” Archbishop Gomez said, as he quoted Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti in its call for unity among the human family.
Gomez observed that it is “not realistic to expect the Church to stay immune from the pressures of division. Those pressures are all around us. The Church is divine, she is the Body of Christ. But we are all human in the Church, after all. And we are living in a secular society where politics is becoming the substitute religion for a lot of people.”
“So, we need to guard against the temptation to think about the Church in simply political terms,” he said.
He then quoted Pope Francis’ recent homily for Pentecost Sunday: “Today, if we listen to the Spirit, we will not be concerned with conservatives and progressives, traditionalists and innovators, right and left. … The Paraclete impels us to unity … the harmony of diversity. He makes us see ourselves as parts of the same body, brothers and sisters of one another….”
The above comes from a Jun. 16 story on the site of the Catholic News Agency.
That’s rich coming from the leader of the diocese whose Religious Education Congress is overtly democrat political and dissident.
For once I’d love to see a California bishop write like a man, speak like a man, and lead like a man.
For heaven’s sake, it’s like they’re sedated or something.
Nugenix Total-T.
Juan, you are correct. We need some alpha males in church leadership — you know, the ones who speak loudly and also carry a big stick.
Yes! I haven’t seen very many “alpha males”– as you describe– since about 1970. We ladies have always talked, since that time, of how we miss those men everywhere in society– and in good leadership in all professions, too. “Hippie feminizing of men” — and sick feminist “hatred of men”– is what happened.
That’s why we have so many unhappy women. Males are feminized early on and girls are no longer encouraged to be women. Have you noticed that TV commercials no longer show little girls playing with dolls — now they are shown running around with a dirty cape on, dirt on their face, their fist in the air pretending to conquer the world. Meanwhile, the dad is worried about which detergent to use. And nobody thinks there is anything wrong here? Don’t tell me about moms having to work. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve heard it all.
Over 1/6 of single parent homes are headed by fathers.
I come from a traditional 2 parent home and we played “Super Girl” over 50 years ago.
And she is not conquering the world, she is saving the world.
Let people live.
Doing the laundry really isn’t feminine. It is running two big machines. And in my experience, that is all the men do.
Folding, hanging, putting away seems to still be women’s work.
What is an alpha male? Speak loudly and carry a big stick sounds like an abusive person.
First they must remove the rainbow colored glasses which cloud their vision.
A bishop who has been nothing but political in opposing Trump and border security decries politics as the new religion? Hypocrite much?
Gomez and his liberal brother bishops are causing and perpetuating division in the Church. Their mission is to save souls, not collect government money for democrat policy implementation. Bishops, return to Christ, flee from politicians.
correction:
“Politics is the substitute religion.”
has been, for a very long time
Bucking for cardinal.
HYMIE— After being passed over 3 or 4 times for Cardinal [altho the archbishop of the largest US diocese], isn’t it clear to him it’s never going to happen?
Pope Francis’s remarks about unity in the Church are spot on.
The phenomenon that is of concern to me is the murders and murder/suicide in families, even with parents killing their own children.
As suicides rise, also concerning, murder/suicides rise also.
The Catholic Church used to have a very strong teaching on suicide and murder
The Catholic Church needs to teach God’s mercy but that his mercy is in allowing for repentance of sin and His forgiveness of those sins,
Jesus did not eat with sinners to affirm them in their sins but to call them to repentance, forgiveness, love, life and love.
Maybe we need a more concerted effort on the part of the Church in the USA to remind people of the 10 Commandments and that life is short and eternity is long and that there are very serious consequences for sin- suffering that never ends.
It is fine to teach about the dignity and sacredness of every human being but when you get mad enough to kill knowing that there is a God and He is watching you and He will avenge the blood of your victims might be more of a deterrent.
Where have you been? It’s all automatic forgiveness now, all the time, no matter what. And everyone goes to heaven, besides, so nothing matters. Universal salvation, baby!
That is not the case at all. What your wrote is scandalous. It is important to tell the truth. You could cost someone their salvation.
Bishop Barron says the same thing.
“Cost someone their Salvation?” Oh, really? You think the public is that dumb? Don’t pay any attention to public opinions of the news. Ridiculous!
Archbishop Gomez, at least as reported hear, is spot on, IMO.