To the Editor:
I think that the Holy Father’s long-term vision for the Church is similar to our continuing call to Faithful Citizenship. I understand Pope Francis as begging us to become involved in the world around us, not be passive bystanders. For all of us, I would say we ought not to be allowed to even comment on legislation affecting some group of the “least of these” until we can name 10 “of those” that we know personally. I like my heated home, the food in my refrigerator and pantry, and I do not believe that he wants me to abandon all that for a life of intentional poverty.
However, I do believe that he wants me to think of those without shelter, or those without food or medical care, every time I avail myself of those blessings. I believe he wants me to realize they are blessings, not something I somehow earned. I did not have the opportunity to choose to be born a white, middle-class male at a time and in a country where such have prospered for a long time. That was the key blessing from which so much else flowed. I believe the Holy Father wants me to be so aware of others that I cannot sleep if I am not in right relationships with the rest of his children. And, I believe he wants that because it is his deepest belief that is what Christ wants of me.
Glenn Leach
St. Ann Parish, Long Grove
