The 2016 United States elections are a time of tension and reflection for many Americans. For Catholic bishops, it's not so different.
“It's always a joy to be a bishop, it’s always a challenge to be a bishop,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York told CNA.
“I think in an election year, the challenges might outweigh the joys.”
He said bishops have the same duties and concerns as other Americans.
“We're American citizens, we’re responsible, we’re loyal, we’re thoughtful. We study the issues, we try our best to be engaged in the process,” he said.
“We're also pastors, so we try to remind our people of those basic biblical values, those classical Catholic values that have guided us through the ages, particularly as articulated by John Paul II: the dignity of the human person, the sacredness of human life, solidarity.
“Those are three things that we keep hammering away on. And we trust that our people under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will make the right decision.”
Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore also reflected on the state of the country.
“It’s always a grace and a challenge to be a bishop, and it’s an especially bracing challenge during an election year,” he told CNA.
In such a time, he said, bishops need “to teach, and teach clearly … that which is most important.”
All the moral issues that face the U.S. are important and deserving of respect, he maintained.
“There are some that are truly life or death,” he said, referring to issues of human dignity and its “obliteration.”
For Archbishop Lori, bishops must provide guidance: “We certainly have to lay out the issues clearly and in their proper order.”
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...