Tim Drake on "America’s Jubilee Agenda"

Tim Drake writes in the April 27-May 3 issue of National Catholic Register: "Pope Benedict XVI Tells Bishops: Address Dissent, Marriage and Abuse".

... When he met with approximately 350 bishops and nine cardinals in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception April 16 in Washington, he was marking this year as a “jubilee” bicentennial anniversary of the elevation of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and of the creation of the dioceses of Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, Ky.

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In his remarks, he did what Pope John Paul II did during the Great Jubilee: examine the Church’s conscience and set it on a path to a new springtime.

“Is it consistent to profess our beliefs in church on Sunday, and then during the week to promote business practices or medical procedures contrary to those beliefs?” he asked. “Is it consistent for practicing Catholics to ignore or exploit the poor and the marginalized, to promote sexual behavior contrary to Catholic moral teaching, or to adopt positions that contradict the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death?”

“Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted,” Benedict declared. “Only when their faith permeates every aspect of their lives do Christians become truly open to the transforming power of the Gospel.”

Pope Benedict reminded the bishops of their duty to target the crisis of dissent.

“Once again,” he said, “it falls to you to ensure that the moral formation provided at every level of ecclesial life reflects the authentic teaching of the Gospel of life.”

He urged the bishops to make a positive case for marriage and family.

“It is your task to proclaim boldly the arguments from faith and reason in favor of the institution of marriage, understood as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, open to the transmission of life,” he said. “This message should resonate with people today, because it is essentially an unconditional and unreserved Yes to life, a Yes to love.”

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(emphasis added)

My Comments:
Speaking of Tim's coverage of the papal events, Fr. Owen Kearns has this to say in "The Coverage Continues":

... If you enjoyed Pope2008.com during this visit, or if you missed it, not to worry: The site, as its name suggests, is not ready to retire just yet. Tim Drake will bring you the next chapter in this extraordinary year of papal encounters...

Next up: World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia.


UPDATE
As for what's on the American Church's "Jubilee Agenda", Christopher Blosser, writing at Catholics in the Public Square, draws our attention to what Cardinal George refers to as the "priorities" of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

The episcopal conference has recently identified the strengthening of marriage and of family life as one of five priorities for our common attention in the next several years. The other four are protecting the life and dignity of the human person at every stage of life’s journey; handing on the faith in the context of sacramental practice and the observance of Sunday worship; fostering vocations to ordained priesthood and consecrated life; and profiting from the cultural diversity of the church here, especially from the gifts of Hispanic Catholics.