Denver Catholic

2 I CATHOLIC LIFE FEBRUARY 19, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER ARCHBISHOP'S COLUMN MOST REV. SAMUEL J. AQUILA When the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child is- sued a Feb. 5 report criticizing the Church for her beliefs on abortion, contraception and homosexuality and suggested that changing them would help children, it became clear that it has a bigger agenda than protecting kids. The Vatican does not frequently issue strongly-worded statements, but spokesman Father Federico Lombardi reacted to the committee's report without mincing words. He charged that the committee not only glossed over the efforts the Church has made to protect children and reform its prosecution system, but it also failed to understand the fundamental differences between the Holy See and other states. If it was truly listening, the Committee on the Rights of the Child would have heard about the Vatican's progress during a detailed briefi ng Church offi cials gave them almost three weeks before the report was released. However, when the committee published its fi ndings, it displayed either an inability to listen to what was said, or an unwillingness to understand. Father Lombardi concluded that the report "was practi- cally already written, or at least already in large part blocked out before the hearing." I think that Cardinal Sean O'Malley's reaction to the fi ndings and the media blitz that followed captured what happened quite well. "It is very easy to get the headlines when you criticize the Church, however, I do not think the commission's report has been either fair or particularly helpful." This activism by the U.N. committee presents a bizarre internal confl ict, since the United Nations has spoken up on other occasions in defense of religious freedom and the right of churches to live out their faith. It is certainly true that the Church must continue to im- prove its efforts to prevent child abuse. But the U.N. panel went way beyond offering advice on child abuse and used its infl uence to preach a secular "gospel" to the Church. Secular values, like all claims to truth, are based on beliefs about what it means to be human, what it means to be free, what is good and what is true. Often, those who call on the Church to adopt secular values propose these beliefs as morally neutral or even as benefi cial, branding them with slogans that make them appear in a positive light. In the case of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child report, one could see the same methodology at work. But rather than accept the committee's beliefs as they are being marketed, it is necessary to ask deeper questions about their implications. The panel recommended, for example, that the Church change its teaching on abortion as a way to protect chil- dren. But how does this lead to anyone's happiness or growth in goodness, let alone protect children, especially those in the womb? The U.N. seems to forget that every one of us was lived within our mother's womb as unborn children. In the case of contraception, the committee urged the Church to facilitate adolescents' access to contraception. How would this in any way promote the moral health, men- tal health or growth in virtue of teens? The U.N. appears to be unaware of the studies that demonstrate the unhealthi- ness of early sexual intimacy for adolescents and the dam- age it does to them. Aside from being misguided, the U.N. panel has shown how out of its depth it is. Their solutions are short-sighted because they fail to address the underlying moral issues raised by the complex problems they are trying to solve. They are focused on preventing sexually transmitted dis- eases and preventing teen pregnancy but the committee's response is insuffi cient. Instead of promoting virtue, the U.N. panel and many others in the medical community try UN committee's scolding of the Church falls fl at 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 BY NISSA LAPOINT He's been called humble, compassionate and simple and has captured the world's atten- tion for his honest and some- times humorous commentary. In honor of Pope Francis' ap- proaching one-year anniversary as pontiff in March, the Denver Catholic Register will capture the impact he's had on the lives of people in the local Church. The Register invites you to share how the pope has changed your faith. Has Pope Francis led you back to the Church? Has he been a part of your faith journey? Have you felt the Francis Effect? TELL US: ARE YOU FEELING THE #FRANCISEFFECT? Share your story on Twitter with @DCRegister and include the hashtag #FrancisEffect. You can also submit your story at www. DenverCatholicRegister.org or email us at info@archden.org with your contact information. See Aquila, Page 4 great to be around," Dowling said. "They talked about putting God above everything, and ev- erything else below his feet. ... The devil hints around that you can do all these things you'd like to do, you just need a little God." It's a common message youth encounter in today's society. Kids defi nitely feel the culture is trying to penetrate their souls with bad information, Dowling said, but he found support and fellowship at Mountain Madness, particu- larly during Saturday night's eu- charistic adoration. At 9 p.m. following a day fi lled with talks, small group discus- sion, outdoor free time, a concert, and Mass celebrated by Father Jim Crisman, director of Priestly Vocations for the archdiocese; Fa- ther Randy Dollins, pastor of Our Lady of Peace in Silverthorne and St. Mary in Breckenridge; led the group in an adoration procession. "Adoration was the most mov- ing part," Dowling said. "To see all the youth reaching out toward God when he passed by. It just hit me: How could all these row- dy middle-schoolers just calm down in that second? Jesus was in the room and he was working with us." "It was extraordinary," Klein added. Also new this year: the oppor- tunity for confession. For the fi rst time 20 priests from around the archdiocese traveled to the YM- CA venue to make the sacrament of reconciliation available to the From Page 1 PHOTO BY ROBERT LINN/DCR YOUTHS pray during Mass at Mountain Madness Feb. 15. Every person is unique

• Cover