As American policymakers
debated military intervention in Syria, Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl joined
Pope Francis and Catholics around the world in calling for peace and a
just solution to the violence that has wracked the country and other
parts of the world. "Today we pray for those who are a part of our human
family and who endure terrible acts of violence. We also invoke God's
blessings on those who strive to contain violence around the world,"
Cardinal Wuerl said during a special Mass September 7 at the Basilica of the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. "We ask God to give all
of us the strength to walk in the light of God's love and that we might
be true agents of human solidarity, justice and true peace." The Mass
was one of dozens of liturgies and prayer services across the U.S. in
response to Pope Francis' call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace
in Syria, the Middle East and throughout the world. "As an expression
of solidarity with all the victims who suffer, especially the children,
particularly in Syria but throughout the Middle East, we raise our
voices in supplication for peace and reconciliation," Cardinal Wuerl
said during his homily.
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...