Archbishop Raymond Burke, the American archbishop renown for his bulldog defense of the sanctity of life, will be speaking in Phoenix, Arizona this week.
The local paper that reported his planned speech, Arizona Republic, referred to Burke as “divisive” and “controversial”.
The sad thing is, that’s not sensationalizing.
Someone standing up for his or her own/church’s beliefs is controversial. But thank goodness some do it. Too many are choosing the easy way.
Take Lisbon’s Cardinal Patriarch Jose Policarpo as an example. Portugal is about to legalize gay marriage. About 85 percent of Portuguese people identify themselves as Catholic and 45 percent (the majority) disagree with legalizing gay marriage. There are plenty of people that would rally to the cause, but Cardinal Policarpo said the issue is “parliament’s responsibility”.
Contention is uncomfortable. Standing up for anything, can be difficult. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done.
Abortion is not an issue of choice and privacy, but a matter of saving people. Legalizing gay marriage is not an issue of civil rights; it’s a matter of protecting the core of our society—the family. Feel free to read more on these arguments and explanations here.
Controversy isn’t always a bad thing.