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Posted October 22, 2013
Grace and renewalTaken from the conference sponsored by Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown UniversityCardinal Wuerl noted that he was in Rome when the new pope was elected. "By what he does and by how he does it, by what he says and how he says it, Pope Francis is offering a whole new moment of grace, of outreach and renewal," Wuerl said. "I think [Pope Francis] is the model for the civility and service that a polarized and paralyzed Washington could learn from and follow." He also said he thought Carr and the new initiative will "provide an affirmative, consistent and faithful voice, articulating the navigation of the gospel to the issues of our day here in the nation's capital." Kim Daniels of the U.S. Bishops' Conference Daniels said that the new pope is "calling Catholics to move past the tired liberal-conservative divide that has too often pitted us against each other," that has "too often stopped us from working together for the common good." "I think the messages Pope Francis is calling us to work for are to be for the poor, of the poor ... to be with the voices of the vulnerable wherever we find them," she said. The common good From left, David Brooks, PBS NewsHour political analyst; Alexia Kelley, FADICA; John Carr, head of the new Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life; Kim Daniels, U.S. Catholic Bishops' Conference; and Mark Shields, PBS NewsHour political analyst discuss Pope Francis' papacy. David Brooks, who is Jewish, said that Pope Francis is "introducing a spiritual counterculture that transcends the Catholic Church and transcends out to Christianity and also to Judaism and the world at large." His PBS colleague Mark Shields said what struck him most about the new pope was that the new pontiff asked people to think about the common good. "Are the strong among us more just, are they more humane, are they more engaged?" Shields said. "Are the weak among us more secure, more confident and more valued? To me that is a message that we desperately need in this country and in this world." Wuerl said the pope's call for a pursuit of greater justice is evident in his words and actions since he was elected this past March. "What we have come to know and love in these rapidly passing six months is not a new gospel – it's the same heritage passed on for 20 centuries," he said. "But what we are seeing and hearing is a new way of doing the gospel." Education and Outreach The Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life includes both educational and outreach activities, designed to: Promote knowledge and dialogue about Catholic Social Teaching as it relates to pressing economic, social and political issues in the United States and the world. Prepare students, community leaders and public officials for affirmative engagement in public life and advance a principled and consistent vision of Catholic lay leadership in politics and society. Engage religious leaders and public officials outside the Catholic tradition in efforts to promote civil dialogue and collaboration for the common good. |