On Pentecost Sunday, May 24, Cardinal Wuerl is issuing a new pastoral letter, Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge. That day, the text of the pastoral letter will be available on the Archdiocese of Washington’s website at adw.org, and the text will be printed in the upcoming June 4 edition of the Catholic Standard newspaper.
In the introduction, the cardinal notes, “This pastoral letter is about who we are as Catholics. We will reflect on our identity as disciples of Jesus – followers of Christ – adopted children of God.”
Chapters in the pastoral letter deal with the gift of new life through baptism, reflections on what it means to be a member of God’s family, the ways by which people can see the presence of the Church, what the choice to be a follower of Jesus entails, the impact of God’s mercy in people’s lives and in the world, and the Church’s contributions to the wider community. The cardinal notes that a key part of the pastoral letter reflects on “our freedom to be who we are as followers of Christ, and some of the challenges of our age as we try to live and share our faith.”
The cardinal notes that as baptized Catholics, “we are engaged in a new life of the Spirit, so that working in and through us, the Spirit might transform the whole world.” Catholics “are members of God’s family, his Church, “ the cardinal writes. “…The Catholic Church is the living and saving presence of Jesus Christ in the world.”
Catholics are called to manifest God’s kingdom, not only in church walls, “but out in the world, building up the common good,” the cardinal writes. “And encounter with Jesus, which we experience in God’s Word, the sacraments, and our works of charity, can transform our hearts, and inspire us to change our world.”
In the pastoral, Cardinal Wuerl notes that individual Catholics, and Catholic educational, health care and charitable institutions. “must reflect a genuine Catholic identity with visible communion with the Church, both universal and local, and fidelity to Catholic teaching.”
Noting current challenges Catholics face in living their identity, the cardinal points out how in many parts of the world, Christians are being murdered because of their faith. Cardinal Wuerl points out how in the United States, laws, policies and practices are being enacted that infringe on the freedom of individual Catholics to live their faith, and on Catholic ministries to carry out their work while remaining true to Church teaching. “Claims of discrimination should not be allowed to become the new weapon for diminishing religious freedom and outlawing institutional Catholic identity,” the cardinal writes.
Highlighting the impact of the Catholic Church’s ministries, Cardinal Wuerl notes, “Every day in the Church of Washington, lives are changed through our Catholic education, social service and health care programs as we seek to teach, to serve and to heal as Jesus did. All our works reflect Jesus’s call to be his disciples by sharing his love and hope with others. We serve others regardless of their religion or circumstances not because they are Catholic, but because we are Catholic.”
Catholics and the Church’s outreach programs, “must remain true to who we are,” Cardinal Wuerl notes. “…As cultural forces and government actions sometimes make it more difficult for us to carry out our work, we must remain true to our Catholic identity.”
The cardinal’s new pastoral letter on Catholic identity is his ninth pastoral letter since being installed as the archbishop of Washington in 2006. His other pastoral letters dealt with topics including the Church, the New Evangelization, Catholic education and Confession. Last year on Pentecost, the cardinal issued Manifesting the Kingdom, a pastoral letter on the First Synod of the Archdiocese of Washington, a consultative effort involving local Catholics who charted a course for the Church’s future outreach in the key areas of worship, education, community, service, administration and stewardship.
