Catholic New World - The Cardinal's Column - To Walk Together…FRANCISGEORGE: The day after the recent conclave to elect Pope Francis ended, the cardinal electors assembled in the Sistine Chapel to concelebrate Mass with him. He preached a very straightforward homily, constructed around three words: to walk, to build, to proclaim. We are to walk together, to keep moving, but at such a pace that no one is left behind or overlooked. We are to build as we walk so that the generations that follow will have a home in the church. As we walk and build, we are to talk, to profess our faith in Christ crucified and risen. That, in three words, is the program for the new evangelization.
The church tries to walk with everyone, even those who cannot physically walk: the aged, the unborn, the chronically sick. There is another group of outcasts that merit our special attention these days: those who have spent many years walking among us but who are not here with rights because they crossed the border illegally. The U.S. bishops have not condoned illegal entry into this or any other country. The bishops have said, however, that we should look at those who are here as our brothers and sisters, deserving of concern for them and their families.
