The Mission of Catholic Bishops = Social Justice

At the conclusion to their Fall Meeting in Baltimore last week, the Bishops of the United States issued a Special Message concerning the HHS mandate that is just begging for a Catholic reading.

[WARNING: SOCIAL JUSTICE ALERT!]

We stand together as pastors charged with proclaiming the Gospel in its entirety. That Gospel calls us to feed the poor, heal the sick, and educate the young, and in so doing witness to our faith in its fullness. Our great ministries of service and our clergy, religious sisters and brothers, and lay faithful, especially those involved in Church apostolates, strive to answer this call every day, and the Constitution and the law protect our freedom to do so.

Feeding the poor, healing the sick, and educating the young…

If this is all it takes to proclaim the “Gospel in its entirety” and to witness to “our faith in its fullness,” for what exactly did the martyrs lay down their lives?

Needless to say, the bishops aren’t exactly swimming against the post-conciliar tide here, but it does cause one to wonder at what point it will occur to these men that setting aside the mission of converting the world to Christ; behaving instead as if Our Blessed Lord had commanded His Church to go out into the world like a body of Peace Corps volunteers, is what got us into this mess in the first place?

Complete essay at Harvesting the Fruit of Vatican II