bishop morlino

Catholics Called to Defend Marriage, Family

By HENRIETTA GOMES
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of 7/26/07) bishop morlino

FRONT ROYAL — It is not only a right, but a responsibility for Catholics to share Church teachings in the public square, said Madison Bishop Robert Morlino to an audience of 350 at a conference on marriage and family held at Christendom College in Front Royal last Saturday.
In an age where secularism is increasingly saturating popular culture and politics, it is necessary for the authentic Catholic voice to be heard, he said.
“We have to defend marriage against those in our government who want to force the religion of secularism on us,” Bishop Morlino said. He said the foundation of secularism is the abandonment of objective truth, and objective truth is not only known by revelation, but also by reason.
In the name of separation of Church and state, many politicians want to “force that secularism on us,” he said. In order to combat the ideology one must use the “weapon” of natural law. Aside from being disingenuous and contradictory because it allows one to make up their own truths as they find convenient, secularism, Bishop Morlino said, lacks the sense of sacredness of life.
The bishop urged his audience to speak out in public forums and “claim our right to exercise our citizenship as Catholic people. Our voices should not be silenced.”
Although “we cannot legislate our faith,” Bishop Morlino reminded his audience that Catholics have a right and responsibility to demand that elected officials be responsible and respect the dignity of every human person.
Last year Bishop Morlino came under fire for vocally supporting a referendum to ban same-sex marriage. The definition of marriage flows from the nature of the human person, he said. Reason alone shows that marriage is a one-flesh union between a man and a woman. People are not required “to be religious in order to understand that,” he said.
The bishop encouraged his audience to have the energy and courage to speak out “no matter how tough it gets.” He said, “in the end there is victory. People who know there is victory at the end can never end up losers.”
Other conference speakers included Franciscan Friar of the Renewal Father Benedict Groeschel, Mary Stanford, and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. The conference also included Mass celebrated by retired Bishop Thomas Welsh of Allentown and founding bishop of the Diocese of Arlington.
“Conjugal love has to be caught up in the divine love of Christ,” said Timothy O’Donnell, president of Christendom, during his presentation earlier in the day. Natural love will not keep spouses together, he said, speaking of the importance of the supernatural love of Christ.
Quoting one of Pope Benedict XVI’s addresses at the World Meeting of Families in Spain last year, O’Donnell said, “couples must frequently receive the sacraments in order to sustain married love.”
Noting the importance of families as domestic churches, he urged those present to pray together. O’Donnell publicly thanked his own parents, who were present at the conference, for their example and for instilling the faith in him. He briefly recounted his days growing up and waking up early to pray the rosary with his family before school.
He lamented the fact that there is “more devotion to “24,” “Lost,” and “American Idol” than there is to the family rosary.”
He stressed the role of fathers who practice the faith. “Husbands must reveal the face of Christ,” he said, noting the likelihood of children practicing the Catholic faith as adults grows astronomically in families where fathers practice the faith.
In essence, O’Donnell said, the restoration of the social and ecclesial order depends on the domestic church and the stability of families because marriage on earth symbolizes the marriage between Christ and the Church.
Attending the conference with her husband and six children in tow to “learn more about our vocation of marriage,” Meg Arnold, a parishioner of St. Andrew the Apostle in Clifton, found the speakers to be “inspirational.”
Making the long drive from Pittsburgh for the conference was worth it for 72 year-old Birgitta Sanders who attended the event with her husband. Sanders, who is from Sweden, called coming into the Church five years ago “the best decision of her life.” She attended the conference for the third year in a row because they spiritually recharge her, she said.
After the daylong conference, Kay Kale, a parishioner of Our Lady of Hope Church in Potomac Falls, felt empowered to “take up the battle of defending our beliefs and our faith against secularism.” Kale attended the conference with her husband and said the speakers gave her insight and inspirational advice. Kale said she looked forward to taking what she learned to “go out and be a defender.”

Henrietta Gomes can be reached at hgomes@catholicherald.com.