Denver Catholic

4 I OPINION JULY 16, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS Msgr. Jorge de Los Santos, administrator, Ascension Parish in Montbello, Colo., effective July 7, 2014. This is in addition to his duties as pastor, Holy Rosary Parish, Denver, Colo., and spiritual director of Hispanic Ministries of the Archdiocese of Denver. Rev. Javier Nieva, D.C.J.M., pastor, St. Mary Catholic Parish, Littleton, Colo., effective July 15, 2014 until his ministry in the archdiocese is completed. THE CATHOLIC DIFFERENCE GEORGE WEIGEL As the world marked the silver anniversary of the Polish elections of June 1989, which eventually brought to power the fi rst non-communist Polish prime minister since the Second World War, a conference met at the Vatican to consider "The Church in the Moment of Change in 1980-1989 in East Cen- tral Europe." (The habit of devising succinct, punchy titles is not overly-developed in Rome.) There were moving testimo- nies, by former Solidarity leader Lech Wał�sa and from Ukrai- nians who are living a similar drama today. And then there was an address by the former cardinal secretary of state (and current dean of the College of Cardinals), Angelo Sodano. The burden of Cardinal Sodano's remarks was that John Paul II's achievements in central and eastern Europe in the 1980s had been "prepared" by the Vatican's Ostpolitik in the 1970s, as conducted by Pope Paul VI, his chief diplomatic agent, Arch- bishop Agostino Casaroli, and Casaroli's principal deputy, Msgr. Achille Silvestrini (both of whom became cardinals). Cardinal Sodano laid particular emphasis on Paul VI's 1977 meeting with Polish communist party leader Edward Gierek and the Casaroli/ Silvestrini conversations with Polish politburo member Stefan Olszowski. All of this, Sodano concluded, was like John the Bap- tist preparing the way for the Lord. Outside certain Italian circles, it would be diffi cult to fi nd a knowledgeable historian who believes that any of that analy- sis is sustainable. The Ostpolitik of Paul VI (who worried that he was not con- ducting a "policy of glory") was based on the premise that the Cold War division of Europe would be a feature of the interna- tional landscape for decades, if not centuries; that the Church had to "save what could be saved" while making whatever deals it could with communist governments; and that Cath- olic criticism of the human rights violations of communist regimes should be muted. The results of this strategy included the effective destruction of the Church in Hungary, whose leadership became a subsidiary of the Hungarian communist party; the thorough penetration of the Vatican by Warsaw Pact intelligence agencies (to the benefi t of communist negotia- tors); and the undercutting of Catholic leaders in Poland and in what was then Czechoslovakia. John Paul II's approach to east central Europe was based on different premises: that the post-war division of Europe was immoral and historically artifi cial; that communist violations of basic human rights had to be named for what they were; and that the "captive nations" could eventually fi nd tools of resistance that communism could not match, if they re- claimed the religious, moral, and cultural truth about them- selves and lived those truths without fear. John Paul shrewdly let the Casaroli/Silvestrini diplomacy continue. But behind that clever façade—"See, nothing has changed!"—the Polish pope led a morally-driven campaign of resistance to commu- nism that was vindicated in the Revolution of 1989: a complex historical event, to be sure, but one for which the Vatican Ostpolitik of the 1970s can credibly claim no credit. The refusal of Italian curial diplomats like Cardinal Sodano to recognize the truth of the Ostpolitik's sad effects on the security and integrity of the Holy See itself is especially unfortunate. The deep penetration of the Vatican by Soviet-bloc intelligence agencies has been documented in numerous scholarly stud- ies, many of which are cited in the second volume of my John Paul II biography, "The End and the Beginning" (which has been available in a fi ne Italian translation for two years). When intelligent men like Cardinal Sodano—who is not alone among his countrymen in defending the Ostpolitk—fail to reckon with the ample documentary evidence of what was in fact going on in the 1970s, between the Vatican and communist governments in east central Europe, one has to assume that something other than concern for the historical record is afoot. What is going on, I suggest, is an untoward national hubris married to the defense of an outdated model of the Church's role in world affairs: a model that worked reasonably well at the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna but that came close to caus- ing disaster in the 1970s. An eminent distortion of history 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 I read recently about a "re- mote control contraceptive chip" and wondered: where does it go after that, when is enough enough? Sex is a beautiful, amazing thing. And the Catholic Church is an amazing proponent of it, within marriage, when it's honored for what it is, which is a beautiful act of creation given to us by Jesus Christ and God our Father. Charity begins when we stop objectifying our spouses. It be- gins when we stop forcing one another to contracept. It's in not sleeping with your spouse- to-be. This has to go both ways. Men and women have to take responsibility. That's where charity begins. When we do that, then we will start to be charitable in a way that matters with the people we love the most. And when you're charitable with the people you love the most, guess what hap- pens? Then you're charitable to other people, whom you may not love quite as much or know quite as much. But then you'll start to understand charity and then you'll start to share it. All these things are being ripped away from us in soci- ety as the family breaks down before our eyes, in large part because of the contraceptive, narcissistic, commercializa- tion of sex. And who pays the price? Women in poverty. In remarks to the Knights of Columbus, to young peo- ple at Theology on Tap and on EWTN, I've discussed aspects of this sad scenario. First we ask women to contracept. If that contraception fails, we ask them to abort. And if they decide not to abort, then what happens? At Catholic Chari- ties, we have a bird's eye view of this. They may be ostracized and suffer domestic abuse from their partners, who don't want them to keep the child. If they live with their parents, who don't want them to keep the child, then they're kicked out of the house, which leaves them homeless. So now they're pregnant and they're homeless and they have no one who loves them to care for them. That is a human tragedy. And it won't be solved by remote control. Larry Smith is the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Denver Archdiocese. Visit online at www.ccdenver.org or call 303-742-0828 to learn more, volunteer or make a donation. Contraception deception MORE ONLINE This column was adapted from Smith's recent appearance at Theology on Tap. See the video at www.ccdenver.org/ calltocharity. JULY 16, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER All these things are being LARRY SMITH CALL TO CHARITY Papal presence graces downtown shelter A banner, made from a photo of Pope Francis greeting a child, was installed July 1 to an out- side wall of Samaritan House, a homeless shelter in down- town Denver run by Catholic Charities. "This beautiful image illus- trates the Holy Father's vision of love and charity in Jesus Christ," said Wendy Oldenbrook, direc- tor of marketing and communi- cations at Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Denver. "We seek to live out this vision every day at Catholic Charities in ser- vice to the poor." The photograph is licensed by Catholic Charities from epa european pressphoto agency b.v. Samaritan House is locat- ed at 2301 Lawrence St., in the heart of downtown. Last year, 226 of the shelter's residents found employment, and more than half of residents moved to stable housing. For more about Samaritan House and the ser- vices they provide, visit www. ccdenver.org/samaritanhouse. PHOTO PROVIDED A BANNER featuring Pope Francis greeting a child is installed outside Samaritan House homeless shelter in Denver.

• Cover