Steve Skojec

Having just read Archbishop Chaput’s rebuttal to Nancy Pelosi’s discussion of abortion on Meet the Press, it occured to me that it might be a worthwhile thing to send him a letter of thanks. I wish that my family could be blessed with a bishop like him, and I think that if we desire courage from our shepherds, we must support them with our prayers, words and actions.  Having written to and received a response from Archbishop Burke in the past on a similar matter, I know that they appreciate hearing from Catholics who are encouraged by their leadership.

In my e-mail to Archbishop Chaput, I wrote:

Your Excellency,

I just wanted to send you a brief note in thanks for your continued and courageous witness for the Catholic faith in these trying times. Having just read your statement in response to Congresswoman Pelosi’s appearance on Meet the Press, I am encouraged that there are some shepherds yet willing to do battle for the hearts and minds (to use a politically popular term) of the faithful. Living in the Diocese of Arlington, VA, and attending Mass in the Archdiocese of Washington DC, I see precious little of this courage here in the nation’s capital where these “Catholic politicians” come to enforce their violations of the moral law. Voices like yours and Archbishop Burke give hope to those of us without firm leadership. I believe that we need our bishops to be more like St. Ambrose in his chastisement of Theodosius when dealing with the issue of abortion (after all, the massacre of the Thessalonicans was a much less grievous affair than our current holocaust in the womb) rahter than hiding behind vague notions of “pastoral style”. People are losing the sense of how evil and widespread abortion really is, because even those who most fervently believe in the sanctity of life are often unwilling to stand up and fight for the cause in a manner that demonstrates their convictions. Good leadership on this issue is essential.

So thank you, once again, for your example. I work in public relations, and success in this business has everything to do with showing the competency of leaders and the consistency of positive messages. While the pro-life message and strong leadership on its behalf may not endear us to the world, it does wonders for the faithful.

If you’d like to send him a note as well, his e-mail address is shepherd@archden.org