Last Sunday was the first World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. Pope Francis has recognized that this time is marked by a pandemic and by the suffering of our older generations in every part of the world. The fact that many elderly people have had to die alone and then not be able to have a funeral has been a source of deep pain in the Church. It has certainly been a source of deep pain here in the parish. This was one of the crosses of our time that came to mind during the Way of the Cross led by Pope Francis on Good Friday this year. During that solemn time of prayer one person reported the following: “People jumped out of the ambulance dressed like astronauts, wearing protective suits, gloves, masks, and face shield. They took away my grandfather who had been having difficulty breathing. That was the last time that I saw my grandfather. He died a few days later in hospital. I think of how lonely he must have felt. I couldn’t be near him physically to say goodbye and comfort him.”
I was at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas from July 14-18 for a conference. One of the things to which I look forward to on such an occasion is meeting other people attending the conference as they are often from all over the country. I was not disappointed in this regard. While I was there I met a priest from the Diocese of Tulsa and the Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas. With both of them I had a conversation about the recently beatified Blessed Stanley Rother who had been a priest from Oklahoma and volunteered to be a missionary in Guatemala. Blessed Stanley was murdered because he did not want to abandon the indigenous people in his parish. His parishioners were being tortured and murdered by soldiers and paramilitary squads. When Stanley spoke out against this, he learned that he had been put on a list of people to be tortured and murdered. He was killed on July 28, 1981.
I am continuing the presentation of General Principles that are covered by the Catholic Bishops of the United States in their 1996 statement on “Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care.” I’ll discuss two of these General Principles today.
Often priests of the Archdiocese of Washington are asked to undertake other responsibilities in addition to their parish duties. Three years ago I was asked to become the Chaplain to the Courage Apostolate for the Archdiocese of Washington. Courage offers support for Catholic men and women who experience same-sex attraction and desire to live chaste lives following the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. In the course of my work in the Courage, I have found a document issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2006 to be of enormous help in understanding the issues involved with this pastoral situation. Today I am going to present the introduction to this document and one of the general principles to bear in mind when considering this issue.
Today we celebrate Independence Day, the anniversary of our country’s founding. We should appreciate our freedom to worship as we desire, while we aspire to build a more perfect union, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare. It is important for us to see where we need to keep working and persevere in that task. Let’s talk about something that has been talked about in the papers and on social media.