The Church must not be silent on issues that impact common good

May 31, 2007

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

As this month of May comes to a close, we celebrate today the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We recall the wonderful example of Mary in visiting her relative, Elizabeth. She carried the Lord Jesus with her and shared that joy with one in need. Once again Mary's example is one we should follow. Having just celebrated the birth of the Church and the Feast of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost this past Sunday, we depend upon the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us share the good news of the gospel of Christ with others.

The busy season of celebrating Confirmations and graduations has come to an end. I thoroughly enjoy being with our young people on these occasions. The joy and enthusiasm they bring to life is a sign of the vitality of our Church. Confirmed with the grace of the Holy Spirit, our youth continue their growth in the faith. I ask you to join me in praying for them that they continue to be open to the will of God in their lives. They will become our future husbands and wives, priests and religious, mothers and fathers, leaders in the Church.

IOWA CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

Last week I joined the other bishops of Iowa at the American Martyr's Retreat Center in Cedar Falls. We gather twice a year to discuss various issues of interest to the whole state, especially legislative issues. Together, we bishops have hired Mr. Thomas Chapman to represent our interests at the capitol in Des Moines. This is Tom's first year with us. He replaces Sara Eide who served us so well in the past few years.

The work of spreading the Gospel of Jesus necessarily involves interaction with government. One of the issues we discussed was an update of our policy for church involvement in political affairs. The introduction to this policy quotes a passage from our Holy Father's encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" (God is Love): "The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the state. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the church, yet promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply."

The Church tries to form leaders and people who know and love the Truth, and who can use that commitment to work for justice through the political system. This explains why the Church cannot remain silent on issues that touch the common good. As Church, we must speak out on issues such as the dignity and sanctity of all life, the horror of abortion and destruction of the embryonic stem cells, immigration, the death penalty and the definition of marriage, among many other issues.

The biggest disappointment of this session of the Iowa Congress was the repeal of the ban on human cloning. Now, tens of millions of taxpayers' dollars will be wasted in Iowa on fruitless, immoral embryonic stem cell research, until we succeed in demanding that this money only support non-lethal, morally licit, and useful kinds of stem cell research.

Of course, not all political results are bad. We are very grateful for the Educational Opportunities Act. Our fine Catholic schools are now able to receive financial assistance to help more students attend.

I applaud the work of the Iowa Catholic Conference, to state clearly for our government the Church's position on so many important issues. Please visit their web site at www.iowacatholicconference.org to see the many things they are involved in. Speaking of websites, if you have not yet seen our new web pages, please also check it out at www.scdiocese.org.

PARISH VISITS

This past week, I traveled to Sts. Peters and Paul parish in West Bend. It was a bitter-sweet visit. I celebrated the Mass as we said farewell to Sts. Peter and Paul School, which closed this year. Enrollment was just not large enough to sustain the school. I thank the parents, students, faculty and staff who worked so hard to keep the school operative. I also thank them for understanding the reality of the situation and graciously accepting what had to be done. Special thanks to Father Edmund Tiedeman and the school principal, Jean Hyslop, for their leadership.

What a joy to visit St. Columbkille Parish in Varina this past Sunday to celebrate their 125th anniversary. I thank Father Tom Hart and all the past and present parishioners for letting the Holy Spirit touch their hearts and set them on fire for the love of the Catholic faith. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.

60 YEARS

As some of you know, I celebrated my 60th birthday on May 28th, Memorial Day. I can't believe that 60 years have passed so quickly. I am reminded of a story about a famous comedian who lived a long life. During an interview at a party, the first question asked was, "To what do you attribute your longevity?" Without missing a beat, the comic replies, "Breathing." I thank God for the gift of life and letting me breathe for 60 years. I also thank Him for letting me have the breath of faith for my spiritual life all these years. It is my joy to spend these years as your Bishop. Thank you for all your prayers, support and love.

Your brother in Christ,

Most Reverend R. Walker Nickless
Bishop of Sioux City