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Archbishop Blase Cupich |
In my previous posting, I commented on the excellent response of Bishop Gregory Hartmayer of Savannah to the Supreme Court decision on Same Sex Marriage. Now another Bishop has spoken out intelligently in response to both the Affordable Care Act and Same Sex Marriage decisions of the Court. Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago is in Rome to receive the
pallium—the yoke-like stole that a metropolitan archbishop wears as a sign of
unity with the successor to Saint Peter, the Bishop of the Church of Rome. (We used to say “Pope” a lot, or “Roman
Pontiff”, but the current occupant of the Chair of Peter likes the more ancient
title, the Bishop of Rome.) Being out of
the country and busy about a lot of ceremonial things, Cupich could have dodged
the bullet about the Supreme Court ruling on Same Sex Marriage but he chose to
weigh in on both last week’s Supreme Court decisions and he did a great job by
choosing not to be a gracious loser (which is better than a lot of his more vituperative
confreres did) but by putting a
Christian spin on the decisions while clearly maintaining Catholic
doctrine. What is particularly
significant about Archbishop Cupich’s response is that it comes from the exact
time of his being shown to be in direct union with the Pope (aka The Bishop of
Rome) and thus with the Universal Church.
Let’s hope that Pope Francis gives us more bishops of Cupich’s kind to
lead the Church in these times when religion (in general) and the Catholic
Church (in particular) is trying to carve out for itself a new place in the public
life of our society. Archbishop Cupich
is the sort of Bishop who can give the Church a credibility that some of his
predecessors and confreres have so wantonly squandered.
This week the
Supreme Court of the United States issued two rulings with particular meaning
for the Catholic Church.
In the first, the
Court preserved subsidies for the 6.4 million low-income Americans who depend
on them to purchase health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. We have
issues with provisions of that legislation and will continue to advocate to
preserve our religious freedom. However, we understand that for millions of
individuals and families, most of them the working poor, this decision
preserves access to health care and the promise it offers of a healthier,
longer life.
In the second
decision, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that two persons of the
same sex have a constitutional right to marry each other. In doing so, the
Court has re-defined civil marriage. The proposed reason for the ruling is the
protection of equal rights for all citizens, including those who identify
themselves as gay. The rapid social changes signaled by the Court ruling call
us to mature and serene reflections as we move forward together. In that
process, the Catholic Church will stand ready to offer a
wisdom rooted in faith and a wide range of human experience.
It is important
to note that the Catholic Church has an abiding concern for the dignity of gay
persons. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “They must
be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust
discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” (n. 2358). This respect must
be real, not rhetorical, and ever reflective of the Church’s commitment to
accompanying all people. For this reason, the Church must extend support to all
families, no matter their circumstances, recognizing that we are all relatives,
journeying through life under the careful watch of a loving God.
It is also
important to stress that the Supreme Court’s redefinition of civil marriage has
no bearing on the Catholic Sacrament of Matrimony, in which the marriage of man
and woman is a sign of the union of Christ and the Church. In
upholding our traditional concept of marriage, we are called to support those
who have entered into this sacred and loving bond with God and each other.
This will be
especially important for the members of our own Church as we walk together,
respectful not only of the political demands of equality, but above all else,
guided by the higher claims of divine revelation. Our aim in all of this will
be to hold fast to an authentic understanding of marriage which has been
written in the human heart, consolidated in history, and confirmed by the Word
of God.
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