continue at Fox6 (video)In this intense political season, the leader of some 700,000 Catholics in the Milwaukee area is weighing in on the state’s divisive issues. FOX6′s Mike Lowe recently sat down with the most prominent religious leader in Milwaukee – Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki to talk politics.
When Listecki arrived in Milwaukee two years ago, he had an almost impossible task: replacing the Reverend Timothy Dolan. “I’m here because God wants me to be here. It was following a friend (Dolan) and I would certainly want to follow in the wake of someone who has had such a good impact on the community,” Listecki said.
Dolan left for New York, but Listecki proved that he, too had the common touch, and a sense of humor. The 62-year-old archbishop is a serious man – a retired Army lieutenant colonel who sees himself fighting the good fight, upholding Catholic teaching not only in his pulpit, but also in his politics. He is, in many ways, Milwaukee’s political priest, and he calls ‘em like he sees ‘em. “I’m part of the political process. I’m not just a head of a corporation. I’m a believer. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe he is – not to do a Tebow, but I believe he is our Lord and Savior,” Listecki said.
Listecki says faith must translate into action, and he has taken steps to protect what he sees as Catholic values under assault. He criticized Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her characterization of Catholic teaching on abortion, and he condemned President Barack Obama’s appearance at the University of Notre Dame. In addition, Listecki came out against the healthcare bill on the same grounds – that the Obama administration would force Catholic hospitals and schools to provide birth control coverage, which goes against Catholic teaching on contraception. “We’re not going to do it. We’re not going to violate our conscience. If individuals think we will just take this lying down, we do have courts, laws and the Constitution,” Listecki said.
Not everyone is in Listecki’s controversial corner. His critics say he should stay out of politics. “That’s the privatization of religion. ‘We don’t mind if you’re religious, as long as you close the curtains, and we don’t have to see you. As long as you don’t say anything that disrupts those things we want to do.’ That’s not faith,” Listecki said.
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“We’re not going to do it. We’re not going to violate our conscience. If individuals think we will just take this lying down, we do have courts, laws and the Constitution,” Listecki said.
And when the courts, the laws and the Constitution are all used against the Faith, Your Excellency, what will you do then?
If the Archbishop is placing his hopes in those three failed American institutions, he is courting near-certain defeat. All three branches of government are corrupt to one extent or another and the Constitution will be no help at all (I recall one brillaint writer who stated that trying to defend your freedoms using the Constitution is like defending Catholicism using the Book of Mormon). Archbishop Listecki will soon have to realize that he must stand firm - against ALL branches of government and a hate-crazed media - and simply say, "No."
Oh, they will not take this lying down. They will use every means at their disposal to shove this horror down the throats of all people in this country. But the Bishops, all of them, have to just say "No." Will the National Guard be called out to force the Church into compliance? Possibly. There are precedents to this, if we all remember recent US history. But let them. Let the whole world see the military might of the government arrayed against the Church. Let everyone witness the spectacle. But if the Bishops would start realizing the power they have by proclaiming the truth, while at the same time cleaning up the messes in their dioceses, things very possibly might start to go against the tyranny in Washington.
Joseph Stalin once contemptuously said, "How many divisions does the Pope have?" Perhaps the Bishops, and our current Pope for that matter, should recall those words. Stalin and his regime are gone, but the Church endures.
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