Human Life International's Winter 2007 Cardinal von Galen Award

As I've mentioned before, Human Life International regularly honors those Catholic priests & prelates who stand up against the culture of death. Their willingness to speak out despite opposition from within as well as without shows what a true shepherd of the Church should be like. The award is named after Blessed Clemens von Galen, Archbishop of Münster Germany during WW II. He earned the nickname The Lion of Münster by the fact that he spoke out against the atrocities of the Nazi regime. This included condemning the deportation of the Jews to the concentration camps in his sermons as well as the Nazi's euthenasia programs & treatment of the Catholic Church. He was also an outspoken critic of Stalin & communism. In 1941 he was put under virtualhouse arrest for what his words & actions.

This time arround HLI has chosen to honor not 1 but 2 bishops for the work they did last year in the campaign to defeat Constitutional Amendment 2 in Missouri. These 2 bishops are Raymond Leo Burke, Archbishop of St. Louis & Robert William Finn, Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph. For those of you who aren't aware of what happenned last year, Amendment 2 "claimed to ban human cloning but actually only banned the implantation of cloned human beings in a woman's uterus." In actuality it allows for the creating of clones & killing those human embryos created by the use of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). (This is exactly the same as what the Iowa Legislature & Gov. Culver recently did here in Iowa.)

In a letter sent out by Bishop Finn to all the priests & deacons of his diocese he called on all the clergy to speak out the truth about this amendment. He spoke out about the concerns that some priests might have that their saying something "will smack of 'politics.'" His answer: "Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. The fundamental God-given dignity of each human person, and the need for human society to respect that dignity, transcends all partisan or political categories. This dignity is the core value at the heart of our Catholic social teaching, and an integral aspect of the Gospel message we are called to teach." He went on to encourage them to not be afraid of any threats of legal consequences as a result of their speaking out. He pointed out that the actions he was calling them to take were " governed by the same rules as when we encourage our parishioners to call or write their state legislator or congressional representative on a piece of legislation. It is "issue advocacy," not partisan political activity or electioneering for any candidate." (The Catholic Key, 1 Sept. 2006)

HLI also pointed out what Archbishop Burke had to say at the 2007 Rose Dinner after the annual Washington March for Life. HLI points to how the Archbishop sees this type of stem cell research "Frankensteinean". He said that "we are discriminating against an entire class of human beings because of their age and size". He went out to talk about natural moral law and how "those lawmakers who do not apply it in practice contribute to the errosion of public life". The article also quotes from a proclamation made while he was still bishop of LaCrosse. This proclamation was addressed to all the politicians of the LaCrosse diocese who called themselves Catholic yet tolerated legalized abortion. He told them that by holding this position they would not be admitted to Holy Communion. "With respect to the fundamental responsibility of safe-guarding and promoting respect for human life, it is my duty to explain, persuade, correct, and admonish those in leadership positions who contradict the Gospel of Life through their actions and policies.” (A Pro-Life Bishpop's Action, by Most Rev. Fabian W. Bruckewitz, S.T.D. Bishop of Lincoln, Social Justice Review)

In giving them this award HLI says: "Achbishop Burke and Bishop Finn have displayed admirable episcopal leadership of the faithful, and HLI gratefully acknowledges their service with our Cardinal von Galen award."

(Taken from Human Life International's FrontLines, Winter 2007)

(Note: Bishop Finn continues his bold leadership as bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph. On 21 February 2007 he issued a pastoral letter entitled Blessed Are The Pure In Heart A Pastoral Letter on the Dignity of the Human Person and the Dangers of Pornography. Bishop Finn has been criticised by various disident groups in, as well as out of, his diocese for his bold stand for truth, orthodoxy & faithfulness to the Magesterium of the Church during his entire time as bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Much of the evidence they have used to support their calumnies has been either total fabrications or deliberate misrepresentations of the truth about his actions. Please pray for him & the great work he is doing as cheif shepherd of his flock. Both these bishops truly deserve this award for all the work they have done.)

(Photos: Blessed Clemens August Graf Cardinal von Galen, unknown
Bishop Reverend Robert William Finn. DD, Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph
Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, Archdiocese of St. Louis)