Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE JULY 16, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA When I visited the Little Sisters of the Poor last month, I saw elderly men and women being treated with compas- sion, respect and charity by the sisters who run Mullen Home for the Aged in Denver. I learned this week that not everyone respects the sisters when I saw that the National Organization for Women named them to its "Dirty 100" list. In their estimation, these Catholic sisters, who give their lives to God and selfl essly serve poor elderly people who cannot afford the care they need, have crossed a line. What did the sisters do to earn that label? They are refus- ing to go along with the Obama administration's contra- ception mandate and fi led a lawsuit to obtain relief from the fi nes that they face for not complying. In other words, they exercised their freedom to live out their faith, which is guaranteed by the First Amendment. In its June 30 decision about the Hobby Lobby and Cones- toga Wood Specialties cases, the U.S. Supreme Court acknowl- edged that for-profi t business owners do not forfeit their right to religious freedom when they enter the market place. In the meantime, there are dozens of nonprofi ts that are seeking similar recognition, including the Little Sisters of the Poor. But NOW is so focused on promoting the mandate that it is blind to the good done by people of faith. Instead, it is ready to smear the good name of the sisters, several Cath- olic hospitals, universities, homeless shelters, dioceses and the numerous other companies named to the "Dirty 100." It does not matter to them that people voluntarily apply to work for Hobby Lobby, the Little Sisters of the Poor, Priests for Life or the rest of the 100 organizations they list. Nor does it seem to matter that these same applicants know they are asking to work at a place run by people of faith. The tunnel vision of NOW and its supporters leads them to say that people who hold these beliefs should be shunned. They must not be tolerated; they are "dirty." The root of the problem lies in their misunderstanding of what freedom is. True freedom is the ability to do what is good (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1733). But these activists, like many Americans, think freedom means the ability to do what one wants. These two ideas about what freedom is inform our soci- ety's perception of "rights." The fi rst defi nition of freedom leads to a concrete set of rights that require the pursuit of the good. But the second defi nition means anything can be a right, including birth control, assisted suicide, same-sex unions, abortifacients and the list goes on. This misunderstanding of freedom has brought our cul- ture to the point where the Obama administration, NOW, Planned Parenthood and others argue that contraceptives and sterilization somehow trump religious freedom. Their end goal is not the freedom to do what is good, but the abil- ity to choose, regardless of the morality of that choice. Here in Colorado, opposition to the Hobby Lobby ruling is being led by one of our state's two senators, Mark Udall. He has joined with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to co-spon- sor a bill in the U.S. Senate to ban employers from refusing Blind guides and the 'Dirty 100' For more informa on and to register: www.HikeforHospice.org Join us for the 9th annual Hike for Hospice to benefit Porter Hospice and St. Anthony Hospice Sunday, September 14, 2014 Check in between 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m Olinger Mount Lindo, off Hwy. 285 South, Morrison, CO For more informa on and to register: www.HikeforHospice.org Sunday, September 14, 2014 Check in between 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m Olinger Mount Lindo, off Hwy. 285 South, Morrison, CO Join us for the 9th annual Hike for Hospice to benefit Porter Hospice and St. Anthony Hospice Sunday, September 14, 2014 For more informa on and to register: www.HikeforHospice.org Sunday, September 14, 2014 Check in between 7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m Olinger Mount Lindo, off Hwy. 285 South, Morrison, CO Join us for the 9th annual Hike for Hospice to benefit The Catholic Register Proudly Supports NEW EVANGELIZATION BY ROXANNE KING Denver native Kevin Knight, 47, founded the Catholic web- site NewAdvent.org in 1995. His site, which offers every- thing from news stories to the Catholic Encyclopedia, was ranked No. 1 on the Top 300 Christian Blogs for Ministry by ChurchRelevance.com this spring. He recently spoke to the Denver Catholic Register about his supersite. Q: How did you fi nd out NewAdvent.org was ranked fi rst on the Top 300 Chris- tian Blogs for Ministry by ChurchRelevance.com and what was your reaction? A: I started getting email from both longtime readers and new visitors, telling me that New Advent had appeared at the top of ChurchRelevance.com's ranking. I was honored because the list included a wide range of blogs (both Catholic and Prot- estant), and I was a fan of so many of them. It was nice just to be on the list with them. Q: Why did you found NewAdvent.org and when? A: I founded New Advent on May 1, 1995—the anniversa- ry of my confi rmation. After World Youth Day 1993 in Den- ver, I spent more than a year trying to convince some of my favorite Catholic organizations to start websites. The problem was, none of them knew what a website was. So New Advent was originally just a proof of concept that quickly took on a life of its own. Q: What is your mission with the site and how do you fi nd the stories and opinion pieces you post? A: New Advent's mission is to spread the Gospel with a clear and confi dent voice. Be- tween the Catholic Encyclo- pedia, Summa Theologiae and Church Fathers, I want visitors to get a sense of the Church's depth and vastness. And on the homepage, I try to choose a mix of stories that, taken together, refl ects the mind of Christ on the news of the day. Q: Do you operate the site by yourself or do you have help? If you operate it by yourself, how do you manage that? A: I don't have paid staff, but I do rely on a huge network of contributors and correspon- dents to help with editorial tasks. Q: What did you do before you began New Advent? A: I was on my way to a career in meteorology and working at the National Center for Atmo- spheric Research. Since it was a research facility, they were way ahead of the curve on technol- ogy and among the fi rst in the world to get on the Web, so it was actually the perfect prepa- ration for what I'm doing now. Q: You recently started a new job with the Denver Archdio- cese. What is that and why did you take that on? A: I'm working in the Offi ce of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries. Mass media and Denver Catholic layman's supersite named No. 1 Christian ministry blog PHOTO BY ROXANNE KING/DCR KEVIN Knight, founder of the Catholic supersite NewAdvent.org, in his archdiocesan offi ce at the John Paul II Center in south Denver. See Knight, Page 10 See Aquila, Page 3

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