BISHOP OLMSTED

A favorite Biblical image used by the Church Fathers to describe the fragility and complexity of human life is that of a potter working with clay.

Since being installed as Bishop in 2003, I have been blessed to watch the Diocese of Phoenix grow. We have 117 parishes and missions which serve over 1.1 million Catholics.

Scandal is not a happy topic. It is fodder for gossip and fuel for rumors. It is a favorite of modern media and a weapon in decadent politics. But scandal, even if enticing to the curious mind, cannot make the heart sing. It weighs down the human spirit. It leads a person towards hell.

In the previous edition of The Catholic Sun, we spoke about the “scandal” of the Cross of Christ, which is not a real scandal at all but rather “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (Cf. 1 Cor 1:7ff). Now, let us turn to true scandals that seriously impede others from doing what is right and achieving their eternal destiny in heaven.

In the previous editions of The Catholic Sun, we spoke about the “scandal” of the Cross of Christ, which is no scandal at all but rather “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (Cf. 1 Cor 1:7ff) and, then, about true scandals that lead others to sin, that impede them from doing what is right and that place a stumbling block along the path to their eternal destiny in heaven. Now, let us turn our attention to the roots of scandal, and then to key ways to counteract scandal’s destructive impact.

Cualquier peregrino que llegue ante de la Basílica de San Pedro en Roma inmediatamente siente una sensación de alegría y majestad, ante las inmensas proporciones y calidad excepcional del arte y la arquitectura.

Any pilgrim arriving before St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome immediately feels a sense of joy and majesty, before the immense proportions and exceptional quality of the art and architecture.

En los primeros siglos de la fe cristiana, el rito del Bautismo con sus gestos, palabras y simbolismo potentes, tenía un fuerte énfasis en la conversión, una reorientación radical de la vida del pecado y hacia Dios.

In the earliest centuries of the Christian faith, the rite of Baptism with its powerful gestures, words and symbolism had a strong emphasis on conversion, a radical reorientation of one’s whole life away from sin and toward God.

This month, I begin a new series that addresses the scandals of the Church that came to light across our nation this past summer.