After a summer’s interlude, the Prairie Catholic is back in business. What a joy it is for me to be able to share my thoughts with you through this column in our Diocesan paper.

In July, Archbishop John Roach, former Archbishop of St. Paul-Minneapolis died. I first met the Archbishop in Rome where I was working for the Vatican Secretariat of State and he was President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was an engaging man, easy to talk with, a sparkle in his eye and a great sense of humor. He had a passion for the poor and the needy. He radiated a love for the Church which he served well. He was ordained a bishop in the same ceremony with our own Bishop Lucker. I encourage you to keep both of these Church leaders in your prayers.

Also, this summer, an advertisement ran in several national publications on behalf of an investment company. The ad was a clever three lines:

One belief

One team

One focus

I was struck by the depth of logic that these simple phrases communicated. A group or organization cannot have a unified focus unless they work as a team and they cannot be a team unless they share the same belief.

This logic applies as well to the Church and, therefore, a Diocese, which exists to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ. In order to have a unified focus, in order to be a team, there must be one belief that is held in common and esteem by all.

Dissent within a democratic social order can be an acceptable means of voicing personal opinions. This country was founded on dissent from England as tea leaves floating in Boston Harbor bear witness. The drafters of the Constitution desired to create a government in which each citizen had all necessary freedoms: to speech, to religious practice, to vote, to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

We run into problems, however, when dissent is applied to a religious creed that is divinely revealed. What we believe as Catholics, for example, is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Moreover, Jesus intended to found a Church presided over by St. Peter and the apostles. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, the fullness of Christ’s teaching subsists or is found within the Catholic Church. Other Christian denominations indeed may teach the truth that Jesus taught, but only the Catholic Church teaches that truth in its fullness.

The other problem that dissent experiences within this context is the fact that since the truth is revealed by Christ, only he can change it. Even the Church, herself, is not free to change the precepts she receives from Christ, from Moses and the prophets, from the Natural Moral Law. There is no human court of appeals here. The final Arbitrator is Jesus Christ who sent his apostles forth to: "Make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you." (Mt 28:19-20)

The evangelizing task of the Church is clear: she is to pass on, with conviction and clarity, what she has received, not adding or taking away from the message already given. This applies to every baptized person in the Church and even more so to the ordained and those in consecrated vows.

The responsibility for teaching the truth of Christ in the area of faith and morals is given today to the bishops as successors of the apostles. They teach in communion with the Pope not only in matters that have been infallibly defined, but also those truths that explain, support and safeguard the deposit of faith. It is incorrect and totally misleading to propose that Catholics only have to believe those teachings which have been declared "ex cathedra" or infallible. If that were true, a Catholic would not have to believe in the Blessed Trinity or in the Incarnation or several other core truths. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council on this point is expressed in Lumen Gentium, paragraph 25, which states: "In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent of soul."

In this regard, the role of personal conscience is one of discovering the truth as to what is right or wrong as well as submitting to the truth once it is found. Conscience is not free to invent the truth of what is right or wrong. If that were acceptable, mass murderers could kill with impunity, appealing to a clear conscience. Conscience must be formed by the truth, especially as God has revealed it. Believing that God only reveals what we want to believe is, in effect, idol worship.

Some will argue that the Second Vatican Council called for redefining the Church in her relationship to the world. They would see that process as including the redefinition of central tenets of the faith. Yet, it is safe to say that the Council called for renewal, not revolution. Renewal seeks to return to the original sources in order to examine how the present reality compares with the original. Renewal may well lead to change, but change that is in continuity with the past.

The belief that we share as Catholics has been divinely revealed. It shapes our attitudes, values and actions. Without a common belief — one belief — that is passionately adhered to, the Church here in New Ulm or anywhere else could never be a unified team with a unified focus. She would fail to be what Jesus calls her to be. And the results would be tragic.

I pray fervently that God will inspire in each of us the desire to have one focus, as one team, rooted in one belief. May God allow us to reach that potential to which he has called us!

(September 2003)

Falta Mucho por Recorrer

Por el Obispo John C. Nienstedt

Este verano, se publicó un anuncio en varias publicaciones nacionales en favor de una compañia de inversion. El anuncio contaba con tres frases inteligentes:

Una creencia

Un equipo

Un enfoque

Me impresionó la gran lógica que estas frases tan simples transmitían. Para que haya un enfoque unificado un grupo u organización tiene que trabajar en equipo y compartir la misma creencia.

Esta lógica se aplica en la Iglesia también y por consiguiente, en la diócesis que existe para cumplir la misión de Jesucristo. Para lograr un enfoque unificado y lograr ser un equipo, debe de haber una creencia comun y respetado por todos.

Dentro de una orden social democrática, la disensión puede ser un método aceptable para expresar opiniones personales. Este país fue fundado con la disensión de Inglaterra y como evidencia fueron las hojas de té flotando en el Puerto de Boston. Los autores de la constitución desearon crear un gobierno en la cual cada ciudadano tenga la libertad de expresión, religión, el derecho a votar, y a la vida, a la libertad y a la búsqueda de la felicidad."

No obstante, cuando la disconformidad o la disensión es aplicado al credo religioso que es divinamente revelado vendría el problema. Lo que creémos como católicos por ejemplo se basa en las enseñanzas de Jesucristo. Por otra parte, Jesús, intentó fundar una Iglesia precidida por San Pedro y los Apostoles. El Segundo Concilio del Vaticano nos enseña que la plenitud de las enseñanzas de Cristo subsiste dentro del contexto de la Iglesia Católica. De hecho, otras denominaciones cristianas pueden enseñar la verdad que Dios enseñaba, pero la Iglesia Católica solo enseña esa verdad en su plenitud.

El otro problema en que la disensión se puede experimentar dentro de este contexto es el hecho que la verdad ha sido revelada por Cristo, y sólo él lo puede cambiar. Incluso, ni la iglesia, tiene la libertad de cambiar los preceptos que recibe de Cristo, de Moises, de los profetas, y de la ley natural moral. Aqui no hay tribunal de apelación. El moderador final es Jesucristo, quien envió a sus apostoles para que: "Vayan, pues, a las gentes de todas las naciones, y háganlas mis discípulos; bautícenlas en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo, y enséñenles a obedecer todo lo que les he mandado a ustedes." (San Mateo 28:19-20)

Hoy en día la responsabilidad para enseñar la verdad de Cristo en el área de la fe y la moralidad se les ha encomendado a los obispos como sucesores de los apostoles. Ellos enseñan en comunión con el Papa, no solo de temas que han sido infalibles definidos, pero también de esas verdades que explican, apoyan y resguardan el de encomendar la fe. Es incorrecto y totalmente engañoso proponer que los católicos solo tienen que creer en esas enseñanzas que han sido declarados "ex cathedra" o infalible. Si eso fuera verdad, los católicos no tendrían que creer en la Santa Trinidad, la encarnación u otras verdades. Las enseñanzas del Segundo Concilio del Vaticano sobre estos puntos se puede encontrar en el Lumen Gentium, párrafo 25, que indica: "Cuando se refiere a la fe y a la moralidad, los obispos son los que predican al pueblo en el nombre de Cristo y los creyentes, por ende tienen la obligación de aceptar su enseñanza y adherirse a ella con un asentimiento religioso del alma.

La creencia que compartimos como católicos han sido revelados divinamente. Esa fe toma forma en nuestras actitudes, valores y acciones. Sin ninguna creencia comun -una creencia— que ha sido adherido fervientemente, la iglesia de New Ulm o a cualquier otro lugar, nunca podría ser un equipo unificado con un enfoque unificado. Entonces, la iglesia podría fracazar lo que Jesus quiere que sea, y por consiguiente, los resultados serían trágicos.

Ruego fervientemente que Dios inspire a cada uno de nosotros el deseo de tener un enfoque, un equipo, arraigados en una creencia. ¡Que Dios nos permita alcanzar ese potencial en la cual él nos ha llamado!