Knitting a Conundrum

Bishop Samuel Aquilla has writen a 9 page document on the proper understanding of the Catholic faith called "You Will Know the Truth and the Truth Will Set You Free" (full text is pdf)

In it, he teaches:

Accepting Church teaching

The first area of concern is that many people who call themselves Catholic “even reject the principle that we must accept what the Church believes and teaches, and think they can pick and choose what to believe,” writes the bishop.

“We must never forget that certain Church teachings,” - those revealed in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition and upheld by the Magisterium – “can never change,” he said, “regardless of whether or not people accept them or are faithful to them.”

Only Jesus Christ sets us free

Noting that secular culture exposes Catholics to “a variety of ideas that are incompatible with the truths of faith,” and that “Christians are by no means immune to these influences but adopt elements of them without recognizing their incompatibility with Christian faith,” the bishop stresses that “we must become more deeply convinced that we can find the truth that sets us free only in Jesus Christ.”

These secularist influences have a produced a culture of death where abortion and euthanasia are regarded by many as a “right,” promoted by the media and publicly funded, he notes.

He notes that if we make moral decisions according to the culture of death “we form our character in a way that is incompatible with the authentic fulfillment that God so much wants us to receive,” and that we must learn how to choose correctly.

Source for the summary: Catholic News Agency

Good stuff to think about and contemplate. In a day where there is a lot of compromise and conflicting viewpoint masquerading as authentic teaching, it is good to hear a bishop proclaim the truth. I recommend it highly.