Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE FEBRUARY 5, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA It is hard to believe that Pope Francis is on the cover of Rolling Stone's February edition, but there he is. Anyone who has read Rolling Stone knows that it is steeped in a worldview that is unfriendly to the Church's teachings, which makes the Holy Father's appearance all the more surprising. Because of that worldview and the one-sided analysis of the piece, I cannot recommend the cover story on Pope Francis as an example of serious journalism. The media is creating what one journalist called a "Fantasy" Francis and is far from the truth of who the Holy Father is and what he believes. But I do believe that his appearance underscores the power of building "a culture of encounter" and bringing "tenderness" to our interactions—two principles that he embodies and pro- motes in his recently released message for World Communi- cations Day. These two ways of being Christian in our ever-changing world are a part of the new evangelization. In his first message for World Communications Day, Pope Francis focuses on the importance of a having a truly Christian presence in the digital world. At the heart of his message is a call to turn our online inter- actions with people into "true encounters" that build relation- ships and bring "tenderness" to the often-sterile digital land- scape. If Christians are able to turn their digital meetings into real encounters where the "other" becomes our neighbor, Pope Francis says, then the Gospel can reach the ends of the earth. The Holy Father illustrates his point by applying the parable of the Good Samaritan to the digital sphere. "Those who com- municate, in effect, become neighbors. The Good Samaritan not only draws near to the man he finds half dead on the side of the road; he takes responsibility for him. Jesus shifts our under- standing: it is not just about seeing the other as someone like myself, but of the ability to make myself like the other." In other words, truly encountering people online is not just about learning to identify with others, it goes even further and accepts difficulty for the sake of the other and leads them to Christ. Because the digital world is not physical, these acts of mercy can take the form of being willing to engage in dialogue and "believe that the 'other' has something worthwhile to say." The pope notes that this "does not mean renouncing our own ideas and traditions, but the claim that they alone are valid or abso- lute." It is meeting the person where he or she is and through the encounter lead them to Jesus Christ. But being willing to listen and believe that others have some- thing worth saying is only half of Pope Francis' challenge. I believe that the reason Pope Francis landed on the cover of Rolling Stone is that behind his eagerness to encounter others is a tender heart, a desire to lovingly tend the wounds of the people he meets. One has to look no further than his weekly Wednesday gener- al audiences, when Pope Francis spends close to an hour after his remarks greeting the sick and needy. He has also tasked his almoner with personally tending to those in difficult circum- stances, from the old woman whose wallet was stolen to the young parents whose daughter was dying. People do not miss this. They notice that the Holy Father loves those who are hurting, and they know by extension that if they had a chance to meet him, he would love them and ten- derly care for their wounds. In his tenderness he communi- cates compassion for the other person. This gift of tenderness must be a part of how we communi- cate online, on the phone and in person. The pope describes it as a need for "communications that bring warmth and stir hearts" like the Good Samaritan, "who tended to the wounds of the injured man by pouring oil and wine over them, (may that) be our inspiration." I pray that every person in the Archdiocese of Denver tru- ly encounters the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and experienc- es God's healing love and tenderness. Then, we will be able to transform how we communicate and bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Digital world needs a human, tender touch Campus religious freedom bill dies in committee BY JULIE FILBY A bill designed to protect the religious liberty of student groups on college campuses died in the House Education Committee Jan. 27 on a par- ty-line vote of 7-6. The legisla- tion, House Bill 1048, aimed to protect the rights of religious groups to choose leaders who share their core beliefs or stan- dards of conduct. "It's common sense and basic religious liberty, not discrimi- nation, for a religious group to want its leaders to agree with its religious beliefs," explained Jenny Kraska, executive director of the Colorado Catholic Con- ference, the public policy arm of the Church in Colorado, who supported the bill. "Religious liberty means that a religious group can define its beliefs and leadership criteria without gov- ernmental interference." Proponents, during hours of testimony, argued that religious groups are being targeted. "There are religious student groups on campuses that are not being treated fairly," according to bill sponsor state Rep. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, a parish- ioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Northglenn, in his opening comments at the hearing. "It's only natural that a religious group would want its leaders to agree with their firmly held religious beliefs. "I think we can all agree that a Democratic student group should not be forced to accept a Republican as their group's lead- er," he added, demonstrating that other student groups may require leaders to share their po- litical, cultural and social beliefs. Similar legislation has been enacted in other states with broad bipartisan support and "I'm proud to say this bill has already received bipartisan sup- port," Priola said, acknowledg- ing Senate sponsor, Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton. "Many states have passed sim- ilar laws … (including) Arizona, Idaho, Ohio, Tennessee and Vir- ginia," explained David Hacker, senior legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), who was among the slate of experts testifying. "Each of these states passed their bills in response to problems that were experienced by students on campus, and Col- orado is no different." Last year the ADF was called upon to assist a pro-life group on the campus of the Universi- ty of Colorado at Boulder, Real Choices, when they were ousted from their campus office space by the administration because one of its leaders, who didn't agree with its Christian beliefs, filed a suit. The university even- tually backed down after threat of legal action. Also testifying in support of the bill were representa- tives from Catholic groups at CU-Boulder including the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Thought, Fellowship of Catholic University Students; and Matt Boettger, director of formation at the Aquinas Institute, direc- tor of campus ministry and president of Religious Campus Organizations that represents some 35 religious and spiritual student groups on campus. "Without religious freedom, campus ministry will cease to exist. This will not only have great consequences for students seeking religious community but the university as a whole," he said, noting that it can impact student retention. Universities were created by the Church to be places of learn- ing, debate and discussion, Prio- la said. "Religious groups help to en- sure diversity on college cam- puses and provide a supported place for religious students who are away from home," he said. Following the vote, Priola said he will continue to work to pro- tect the religious liberty of stu- dent groups. "I was very disappointed in the outcome of the vote on HB- 1048," he said. "I believe there is a strong bias against religion by many members of the commit- tee and in the Legislature." He believes proponents won the debate "hands down." "The opposition," he said, which included American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado ex- ecutive director Nathan Wood- liff-Stanley and homosexual students who argued the bill was discriminatory by rejecting them as leaders and forcing them to embrace faith statements they find offensive, "had to resort to arguing against the straw man of membership in an organization, which wasn't a part of the bill. I firmly intend to bring the bill back next session." Julie Filby: 303-715-3123; julie. filby@archden.org; www.twitter. com/DCRegisterJulie Should an atheist lead a Catholic Bible study? PHOTO BY JULIE FILBY/DCR CATHOLICS testifying in support of House Bill 1048 Jan. 27 include, from left: Scott Powell and Matt Boettger, both from the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Thought in Boulder; bill sponsor state Rep. Kevin Priola; and Beth Santo, missionary with Fellowship of Catholic University Students. Catholic press loses one of its own

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