Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE FEBRUARY 26, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA Ash Wednesday is one week away, and this Lent Pope Francis is urging us to help free our brothers and sisters from an enemy that is even worse than poverty—destitution. "Destitution," he says in his Message for Lent, "is not the same as poverty: destitution is poverty without faith, without support, without hope." I have learned much about poverty from Blessed Mother Teresa. There is one story that comes to mind when I think of the difference between poverty and destitution. Father Leo Maasburg recalls the encounter in his book "Mother Teresa of Calcutta: A Personal Portrait." One day, an elegantly dressed man showed up at Nirmal Hri- day, the House for the Dying that Mother Teresa established in Calcutta. He asked to speak with Mother Teresa and was told that she was in back of the house scrubbing toilets. When he found her, Mother Teresa looked at him and handed him a toilet bowl brush, giving him instructions on how to properly do the work. About 20 minutes later, the man returned to Mother Teresa and said, "I have fi nished. May I speak with you now?" She replied, "of course," and the man then explained that he was the director of the airline and had come to personally deliver Mother Teresa's tickets. The airline boss later recalled, "Those were the most im- portant 20 minutes of my life—cleaning toilets." They were so important to him because he had never experienced so much joy as he did on that day. Here was a man who had material wealth, but was spiritually destitute until he had the joy of offering loving, humble service. In his message for Lent, Pope Francis speaks about what an impoverished life without God, without faith, hope or love looks like. Before he examines this unsatisfying life, though, the Holy Father explains that Jesus became poor by taking on our humanity and our sins, so as to "comfort us, to save us, to free us from our misery." Because of Christ's descent into poverty, the pope notes that, "It has been said that the only real regret lies in not being a saint (L. Bloy); we could also say that there is only one real kind of poverty: not living as children of God and brothers and sisters of Christ." And yet, tragically, so many people today have lost or turned away from their true identity and ended up in material, moral or spiritual destitution. Pope Francis explains that material destitution "is what is normally called poverty, and affects those living in conditions opposed to human dignity." Moral destitution, on the other hand, involves "slavery to vice and sin," while spiritual destitu- tion occurs when "we think we don't need God … because we believe we can make do on our own." These three forms of destitution can easily cause each other, although it is important to note that not every person suffering from material destitution caused their circumstances. The lack of humane living conditions, for example, can weak- en a person's resolve to resist temptations to sin, or convince them that God won't save them. Pope Francis observes that the experience of moral destitution that comes from being enslaved to alcohol, drugs, gambling or pornography "also causes fi nan- cial ruin," and it is "invariably linked to the spiritual destitution which we experience we when turn away from God and reject his love." The solution to these situations that distance us from God and the dignity he bestows on us is the Gospel. This Lent, I ask each of you to embrace the rich mercy and forgiveness that Christ offers, especially through the sacrament of reconciliation. But we must not stop there, because those who live in ma- terial, moral and spiritual destitution need to hear "the Gospel message of the merciful love of God our Father, who is ready to embrace everyone in Christ." In Lent we must not only encoun- ter and follow Jesus, but also become like Jesus so that we may share his "wealth." Pope Francis explains, "So what is this poverty by which Christ frees us and enriches us? It is his way of loving us, his way Not having God is the worst poverty DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-722-4687 OR CIRCULATION@ARCHDEN.ORG Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic Register (USPS 557-020) is published weekly except the last week of December and the fi rst week of January, and in June, July and August when it goes bi-weekly. The Register is printed by Signature Offset in Denver. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. Subscriptions: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic Register, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or e-mail circulation@archden.org. Editorial: 303-715-3215 or editor@archden.org Advertising: 303-715-3253 or dcrads@archden.org Circulation: 303-715-3211 or circulation@archden.org Online: www.DenverCatholicRegister.org General Manager Karna Swanson Editor Roxanne King Business Manager Michael O'Neill Catholic panelists to examine Obamacare BY JULIE FILBY An upcoming panel discus- sion set for March 19 will bring together four prominent Cath- olics to analyze the Patient Pro- tection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly referred to as "Obamacare," through the eyes of the Church. Panelists presenting at "Dis- secting Obamacare," co-spon- sored by the Denver guild of the Catholic Medical Association and Holy Ghost Church Respect Life Ministry, will include: Col- orado Attorney General John Suthers, president and CEO of Hercules Industries William Newland, and professor of mor- al theology at the Augustine In- stitute Michel Therrien, S.T.L., S.T.D. The panel will be moderat- ed by attorney Peggy Hoyt-Hoch, a specialist in employment law, founding board member of the St. Thomas More Society of Col- orado and a secular Franciscan. The goal of the discussion, according to organizers, is to help Catholics—those provid- ing health insurance as well as those seeking it—to under- stand their moral obligation when it comes to the feder- al health care overhaul. The Church, longtime supporters of universal health care as- sistance, oppose the Depart- ment of Health and Human Services provision of the act as it mandates coverage of con- traception, sterilization and potential life-terminating drugs in violation of Catholic beliefs. "(Obamacare) affects every Catholic," said Michelle Stan- ford, M.D., president of the Catholic Medical Association, "including physicians as busi- ness owners, employees, those seeking out insurance and those seeking care." Each panelist will give a 15-minute presentation before the fl oor is opened to questions. Suthers, attorney general of Col- orado since 2005, will address the legal challenges to the ACA including the attorneys gener- al challenge last year and cur- rent religious freedom issues. Suthers was among 12 attorneys general that sent a letter to HHS secretary Kathleen Sebelius last March asking the department to expand the mandate's very nar- row religious exemptions. "We fear that the HHS man- date is the fi rst of many regula- tions under the Affordable Care Act that will confl ict with legal protections for religious liberty and the right of conscience," the letter concluded. "We respect- fully submit that (the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) re- quires you to adopt the broadest possible religious exceptions to the HHS mandate." Newland will share the story of how his family entered into a le- gal battle to keep the federal gov- ernment from forcing their fam- ily-owned business, Hercules Industries, from violating their religious beliefs when provid- ing employee mandated health insurance. Therrien, a moral theologian, will address the principles of the Catholic moral teaching in the ACA itself and matters of conscience. "In a nutshell, I want to look at the plan in the light of the Church's moral principles and Catholic social teaching," he told the Register. He also plans to speak on sys- tematic structural issues related to the ACA, a topic he said that doesn't get much conversation. "I would like to raise aware- ness that there are many prob- lems with this law on a struc- tural level," he continued. "Be- sides the morally compromised position we are in with respect to conscience and cooperation with evil." The event will begin with a rosary at 5:45 p.m. at Holy Ghost Church at 1900 Califor- nia St. followed by 6:15 p.m. Mass celebrated by Archbishop Samuel Aquila. The panel will begin at 7:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and free parking will be available in the lot at 19th and Welton streets. A light dinner will be served. RSVP via email to den- vercathmed@gmail.com by March 14. For more on the Catholic Medical Association, visit www.denvercma.org. 'DISSECTING OBAMACARE' What: panel discussion Panelists: Attorney General John Suthers, Hercules Industries CEO William Newland and moral theologian Michel Therrien Moderator: Employment law attorney Peggy Hoyt-Hoch When: March 19 Time: 5:45 p.m. rosary, 6:15 p.m. Mass celebrated by Archbishop Samuel Aquila, 7:15 p.m. panel Where: Holy Ghost Church, 1900 California St., Denver RSVP: Email denvercathmed@gmail.com by March 14 See Aquila, Page 8

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