.- Cardinal
Sean P. O'Malley sat for an interview yesterday with the Boston Globe.
A great number of issues were tackled by the recently named Cardinal,
such as the identity of Catholic institutions and the need for greater
consistency of Catholic institutions with Church teachings.
First mentioning
his recent nomination as Cardinal, he described the Consistory last
month as a “very significant moment for Catholics, and important moment
for the Catholic Church in Boston, the recognition of the importance of
this Catholic community.”
Referring to yesterday’s presentation of the financial situation of the diocese, he said
“We had a very
important event. We had promised transparency, and everyone was anxious
to find out exactly what the situation in the church is, and where the
pot of gold is buried.”
He then strongly
renewed his call for Catholic institutions “to reflect what the values
and the teachings of the church are.” “And certainly,” he said, “the
institution of marriage is very central in what the church's message
is. So, obviously the church imposes a definition of the institution of
marriage, and we see that the very best way for children to be raised
is in a loving relationship of a married man and woman.”
Cardinal
O’Malley stressed the need for consistency in the Church, saying, “Our
teachings, when they're seen in isolation, are I think difficult for
people, but they're part of a whole.”
“They're part of
a Catholic ethos,” he continued, “and our desire to be faithful to
Christ and to the commandments, to certain core values…I would hope
that those who disagree would try to understand more where the church's
teachings are coming from,” he added.
On the issue of
Catholics who have stopped practicing their faith, Cardinal O’Malley
stressed the need to evangelize “We hope that, as we approach our 200th
anniversary in 2008, when we would like to launch programs of
evangelizations, spirituality that would invite people to reconnect
with the church, those who have stepped away, particularly those who
have stepped away over these very painful issues of the past couple of
years.”
On whether the
Church should be open to certain reforms, such as the ordination of
women, he said “I don't want people to think that the church is being
unjust. I want them to see that we are being faithful even when it is
difficult, even when it is challenging.”
The Boston
Cardinal also renewed his concern for the identity of Catholic
education institutions, saying, “Certainly my meetings with the college
presidents have been very encouraging. I think Father Leahy is
sensitive to the needs for Boston College to deepen its Catholic
identity and part of that means to be concerned about teaching.”
“We have a very ongoing dialogue with all our Catholic colleges around issues of Catholic education,” he added.
The interview
concluded with questions about his appointment to the Boston
Archdiocese in the midst of massive sexual abuse scandals.
He said, “I
think in general for many Catholics, the crisis has caused us to focus
more on what is the very center of the church, why we are Catholics,
who our God is and the mission that's given to us. It's not about me.
It's about Christ, his church, his mission. I'm just a small part of
it. I do my best,” he concluded.
Catholic institutions should reflect values and teachings of Church, says Cardinal O’Malley
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