Archbishop of Chicago talks about the high price of US citizenship

On November 18th, Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., retires from his position as Archbishop of Chicago. Widely viewed and respected as one of the more conservative of the mainstream Church's prelates, he is to be replaced by Archbishop Blase Cupich, deliberately chosen by the arch-modernist Pope Francis to lead the Windy City in the opposite direction.

In what might be seen as a parting shot, Cardinal George gave an e-mail interview to America, the national Catholic review. In the Q&A dialogue, he talked about his struggles with life-threatening cancer and the after-effects of childhood polio and a wide range of issues of the Church and the Faith, including; the role of an archbishop; the recent Synod of Bishops on the Family; the handling of sexual abuse by clerics; celibacy; and the defects of the Novus Ordo liturgy.

Here is what Cardinal George had to say about the conflict between church and state in the USA, and the criticism levelled by the secular humanists of the Church's speaking out on political issues.

I don’t believe the bishops have been more politically active in recent years, but it is true that our political activity is more adversarial as the law no longer permits the “exceptions” that used to safeguard believers whose conscience will not permit them to approve of what has become lawful.

The “price of citizenship” is high when it means one must approve as human rights the killing of the unborn, the creation of false marriages between two men or two women, the universal availability of free contraceptives, especially for women from a very young age.

My own conviction is that we must be completely clear about the Gospel and how it is to change us, and then we work respectfully with individuals and groups who cannot agree with us. I do not know that we will be permitted to have that pastoral approach in the immediate future. We will not be permitted to enter into the public conversation unless we approve of what our faith knows to be morally wrong.

I've excerpted this passage from Question No. 3, which was: Do you agree that the bishops have been more politically active in recent years and what do you consider the successes/weaknesses in their activity?. Click here to read Cardinal George's full answer. The complete interview is worth reading and thinking about...twice. And, trust me, you won't hear this kind of talk from Abp. Cupich!