New York, New York, New York. Archbishop Dolan was stalwart in his teaching, and so were his fellow Bishops; but at least for the time being, to no avail. As we have witnessed in New York, difficulties are afoot for families, as various attacks are levied on marriage including, though certainly not limited to, the efforts to radically redefine marriage in our country.
The interviews and official statements of the Bishops of New York both prior to and following the radical legislative action stressed two key points. The first is that what marriage is cannot change. Marriage is a life-long faithful and exclusive union between one man and one woman ordered toward union of spouses and toward the begetting and formation of children. Second, Catholics are called to love all persons, and respect the personal dignity of all, including those who have homosexual tendencies. The Church's teaching, proclaimed well and with compassion, is not homophobic, nor unjustly discriminatory.
But here is the key to these two points of emphasis: The Church's teaching and our proclamation about the truth of marriage and sexuality is, in fact, an expression of love and an attempt to protect the personal dignity of all persons, including those who are homosexual. In short, proclamation of the Church's teaching, and love and respect toward persons who are homosexual are intimately related to one another. Both are necessary. While I do not have the space to delve into this more deeply at the moment, it seems to me that the recent events in New York serve as a clarion call as to why the mission of HLI America is so important.
We have named HLI America's new blog the "Truth and Charity Forum" because we need both Truth and Love if we hope to proclaim the Gospel of Life and defend the family from the many challenges of our day. In his encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth), Pope Benedict writes, "To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity. Charity, in fact, 'rejoices in the truth.'" (1)
And that is precisely the goal of the Forum. This is to be a place for men and women of good faith to come together and to articulate the truth with conviction and humility. This will be a place where we defend and rejoice in the truth, while at the same time, proclaiming the truth with love In our respectful dialogue, our readers and writers may not always agree on the particulars, and then especially, we seek to love neighbor as self. But love, as is so easy to forget, is no mere sentiment; rather, it involves the whole person - feelings, will, and intellect. In the end, we must recall that "love" without truth is not love; truth that is not proclaimed in love will not be received as true. "Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality" and without love truth degenerates into vitriol. (3)
But in the end, and truth be told, the Forum was not originally so named because of any of the above. The inspiration, if we can call it that, comes from the Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope.) Gaudium et Spes 24 reads "Indeed, the Lord Jesus, when He prayed to the Father, "that all may be one. . . as we are one" (John 17:21-22) opened up vistas closed to human reason, for He implied a certain likeness between the union of the divine Persons, and the unity of God's sons in truth and charity. This likeness reveals that man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself."
This beautiful passage, as emphasized by Professor Michael Waldstein of Ave Maria, is the center of all that Vatican II wished to teach. Every human being is truly good, having been made in the image and likeness of God. And every person only becomes "self-realized" through selfless acts of love. Only in love can we all become one. True unity as sons and daughters with a common Father in Heaven, can only be accomplished "in truth and charity." So, as we launch this Forum, and as we discuss the things that impact our lives so deeply, let us commit to truth and charity recalling that, in the end, our goal is full union with God the Father, which, through the aid of His Grace will be accomplished by being united to Him in and through love.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Arland K. Nichols
National Director, HLI America
PS - All are invited to visit our newly updated site at www.hliamerica.org!
HLI World Watch: Understanding the Worldwide Pro-Life and Pro-Family Movement
