The recent furor over University of Louisville basketball Coach Rick Pitino's indiscretions are troubling to me. Whatever you think of him as a coach, I think it is admirable that he has come forward and admitted his mistake and apologized. I can only imagine what his family has gone through. What I am deeply troubled by is the sub-plot surrounding the abortion. Pitino is a declared devout Catholic. As you and I both know, many people that say that have also disavowed the Church's stand on life. I pray that the money Pitino gave was not used to abort the baby. I further pray that he intended the money for health care and not an abortion. I am praying about this ugly situation. A silver lining is that it is again making us think about how our decisions can bring about unintended consequences. It brings to mind Matthew 18:21-22, Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. We must forgive our brother Rick and leave the judgment to the Lord. Christians are called to be different in this world. That we find abortion to be murder runs against current thinking but does not make it less true. We must stand in the gap for Jesus on this issue.
The twelve apostles chosen by Jesus formed the bedrock of the early Church , and their Catholic identity is deeply rooted in their direct relationship with Christ and the mission He entrusted to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights this foundational role, stating that Jesus "instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy'" ( CCC 860 ). These men were not simply followers; they were handpicked by Jesus, lived intimately with Him, witnessed His miracles and teachings firsthand, and were specifically commissioned to preach the Gospel to all nations ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Their unique position as eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and their reception of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, established them as the authoritative leaders of the nascent Church, a reality echoed in the writings of early Church Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, who emphasized the apostles' authority as repre...
Comments
Post a Comment