Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: April 17, 2016
I got back from a brief vacation a week ago to discover that here at the Cathedral everything ran smoothly during my absence! While it’s nice to be needed, it’s even nicer when our Parish staff keeps the place humming without me! So let me take this opportunity to thank our Director of Administration, Mrs. Sheila Juneau, along with our receptionist Miss Donna Ferriell, pastoral assistant Mr. Chris Redden, maintenance personnel Mr. Willie Rhines and Mrs. Carla Kennedy, and part-time helpers Mrs. JoAnn Landry and Mrs. Melanie Montenaro. Y’all proved again how to do a great job!
The next thing I noticed is that the waterproofing and repainting of the Cathedral’s exterior is almost finished! The personnel of Associated Waterproofing, Inc., are not scared to ascend to the heights of the steeple and roofline of our venerable church building, and have been doing a wonderful job making everything look great again. They have my appreciation as well as my awe! Thank you, too, for your generosity, in helping us complete this big job and other maintenance projects. In fact, if your tax return comes back soon, you’ll still be able to help with the last payments! (Hint, hint!)
Last week’s big news in the Church was the publication of Pope Francis’ long-awaited Apostolic Exhortation on the Family, entitled Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love). It’s a long document, which I am slowly working my way through. But the “money quote” in it – that pretty much summarizes the Holy Father’s guidance to the Church – is his reminder that it “can no longer simply be said that all those in any ‘irregular’ situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace.” In this way he continues to push the Church towards a more sensitive and personalized style of pastoral outreach.
While no doctrines or laws of the Church are changed, the Pope repeatedly highlights that these must always be in service of the individual believer. He clearly doesn’t want us to forget that for families only lifelong and exclusive heterosexual marriage remains the “Christian ideal,” yet his shift of tone and emphasis that many “mitigating factors and situations” affect the faith-lives of Catholics is, I suspect for most people, a very welcome bit of news. So too is his reminder “that in an objective situation of sin…a person can be living in God’s grace, can love and can also grow in the life of grace and charity, while receiving the Church’s help to this end …[and that] “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments.”
Although it’s not something that the secular press has been quick to point out, the Pope affirmed the role of women, especially as mothers, noting that much remains to be done in promoting women’s rights. He also called for “respectful pastoral guidance…that those who manifest a homosexual orientation can receive the assistance they need to understand and fully carry out God’s will in their lives.” These are striking comments, and examples of his priorities. He also gives practical and nuanced observations that are applicable to many real-life situations. In essence, Pope Francis is highlighting that within Church teaching there is what one commentator called “enough pastoral wiggle room” to minister effectively to people no matter what their situation. Rather than excluding those who don’t keep all of the rules perfectly, we are to include them and minister to them with compassion, mercy and understanding.
There is another real strength of the document. Most of the Holy Father’s writing is dominated by inspiring reflections on family life, including an extended meditation on 1 Corinthians 13 – St. Paul’s famous poem about love, often read at weddings – as well as a long section on the nurture of children. Already some have suggested that the Pope’s meditations – his dreams of family life – ought to be adapted as some kind of guidebook for marriage preparation or ongoing ministry to couples.
While I don’t consider myself an expert in questions of moral theology – that’s not my specialty! – it does already seem to me that Pope Francis has done a good job at striking a balance. He’s emphasized what Catholics must believe and should do, while recognizing that not everyone does these perfectly well, and that still the Lord and His Church includes us, forgives us, points us in the right direction, encourages us and helps us. That’s a big challenge for the universal Church and for our own little bitty Cathedral Parish…but it’s a welcome one!
In the Risen Lord,
Fr. Paul
