Denver Catholic

2 OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2024 | DENVER CATHOLIC A s an American, I find great inspiration in the documents that laid the foundation for our nation and in the lives of the men and women who fought tirelessly for the freedoms we enjoy today. In the preamble of the Constitution of the United States, the authors list the main reasons why they wrote the Constitution. Among those listed are "in Order to form a more per- fect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." As a Catholic, I am struck by the phrase, "secure the Blessings of Lib- erty." Liberty is truly a blessing, but if we misunderstand liberty and divorce it from truth, justice and our general welfare, what is proposed as liberty can quickly become a curse and a scourge on our nation. I am, of course, referring to the ongoing battle over life, especially in Colorado. This year, we will vote on amendment 79 that would create a constitutional "right" to unrestricted abortion for all 40 weeks of preg- nancy, eliminate the need for parents to be notified if their child is seeking an abortion, and remove the current prohibition against public funding for abortion. I cannot overstate how damaging this bill would be for our state should it pass. I also cannot overstate the value and importance of just one human life. To demonstrate this reality, I often ask people to think about how many people would not exist today if one of their grandparents had been aborted. For myself, there would be over 45 of us who would not be here today. 1 Pope Francis, Address on 50 th Social Week of Italian Catholics, July 7, 2024. 2 Ibid. Imagine if Joseph Kennedy was aborted. How dramatically different would the 20 th century have played out? Aside from his own accomplish- ments and influence, there would have been no JFK to become the youngest president in our history. Robert Kennedy would have never served as Attorney General, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver would have never founded the Special Olympics for the disabled. That is only to speak of three of Joseph's nine children and to say nothing of their numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on. Pope Francis has encouraged us to bring our faith into our public life and speak for those without a voice. He said, "As Catholics, on this hori- zon, we cannot be satisfied with a marginal or private faith… We have something to say, but not to defend privileges. No. We need to be a voice, a voice that denounces and proposes in a society that is often mute and where too many have no voice." 1 The unborn have no voice in the fight for their rights and their lives. The ability to bring our values into the public square and advocate for the truth and dignity of human life is one of the blessings of liberty that our constitution speaks of. In exercising those rights, we engage not only in a political effort but a spiritual effort as well. Pope Francis further explains, "This is political love…it is a form of charity that allows politics to live up to its responsibilities and get out of polarizations, these polarizations that impoverish and do not help under- stand and address the challenges." 2 Considering the overwhelming polarization and, sadly, hostility that we encounter in the political arena, we must ask the Holy Spirit for the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). St. Paul reminds us, "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds" (2 Cor 10:3-4). When we vote, we are voting for laws and candidates that we believe will best reflect and build the kingdom of God. We cannot be lured into a distorted understanding of partisanship where our enemies are candidates in an opposing party. Our greatest enemies are spiritual, and ignoring that truth indicates the poverty of our collective worldview. While the spiritual nature of the conflict is primary, we are not excused but rather called to engage in the political battle. We have great reasons to hope for the defeat of this amend- ment. Recent data show that if more Coloradans knew what this amend- ment would do, they would oppose it. It is our responsibility to articulate clearly what the amendment pro- poses and what the implications are. We are called as Christians to build a culture of life and to proclaim liberty in the true sense of the word. ARCH B I S H O P ' S CO LU M N Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship

• Cover