As Pope John Paul II is beatified in Vatican City today, central Wisconsin Catholics will be represented there by their former bishop, who was raised in Stratford.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, who spent much of his life in central Wisconsin, served as bishop of the Diocese of La Crosse from 1994 to 2003. He reflected during a Saturday phone interview from Rome on the life of John Paul and the times that they spent together.
At the heart of John Paul's teaching was what he called "new evangelism," which addresses what the Church should do in a secular world in which many people doubt the existence of God, Burke said.
"His response was that we live our faith as the first Christians and the first missionaries did," said Burke. "We teach the faith and we take part in a life of prayer and sacraments. We give witness to faith as if for the first time, with a great sense of the most important gift of our life, to know Jesus Christ and receive him and live within him in the Church. If we know our Lord and teach him and follow him and of course, most of all, worship him, then we will transform our world."
RapidsTrib:Cardinal says John Paul II inspired calls to action
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment