Archbishop Wenski: Traditional Marriage Predates All of Us

His Episcopal motto is "Omnia omnibus" - "All things to everyone" taken from the Apostle Paul. His courageous policy positions are well known. He embraces Catholic Social Doctrine in its fullness. A friend of the immigrant and the poor he is also a strong defender of every human person from conception to natural death and at every age and stage. Now, he is defending Marriage against the Cultural Revolutionaries

P>MIAMI, FL (Catholic Online) - I have written about Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, Florida before. He is one of my heroes. In 2010 an Archdiocese which is home to 900,000 Catholics and one of the most beautiful Cities in the Nation, Miami, Florida welcomed home a native born son to serve as its Fourth Archbishop. He is a down to earth man of the people, born to a Polish immigrant father and a Polish-American mother. He was raised in Lake Worth and attended his parish school, Sacred Heart. He did not wander far from the nest even to respond to his vocation to the priesthood. He studied at St. John Vianney Minor Seminary in Miami-Dade and went on to St. Vincent de Paul Major Seminary in Boynton Beach.

He was ordained as priest for the Archdiocese of Miami in 1976. At the age of 46, Fr. Thomas Wenski was then ordained a Bishop. The wonderful event took place in the old Miami Arena to a packed assembly. He became the native Floridian to assume the leadership of that burgeoning and challenging Archdiocese last year. This American of Polish stock looks like he could have come from the same home town as the Blessed  John Paul II. Yet he is clearly at home in his beloved Florida. His first assignment was to a Hispanic parish. He spent a substantial amount of his ministry in the early years building and leading a dynamic Haitian apostolate, the Pierre Toussaint Haitian Catholic Center in Miami.

A vibrant witness to the true meaning of Catholic Social Teaching's call to a love of preference for the poor, the Center Fr. Wenski helped to build embodied it. The center provided social, educational, legal and life assistance to Haitian immigrants. In fact, his love for the people of Haiti led him to that suffering Nation right after January's quake. He is an ardent champion of immigrants and a supporter of true immigration reform.

In 1997 he was consecrated as a successor to the Apostles and served as an auxiliary Bishop of Miami. Then, in 2004 he was called to serve the Diocese of Orlando. There he led the Diocese in an extensive period of strengthening its mission and identity. His service in Orlando included launching a dynamic and thriving $150 million capital campaign. It also included extensive renovation of the cathedral of St. James and the erection of the stunningly beautiful National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe which  was granted official designation as a  "Basilica" in 2009.

It was in 2009 that I had the privilege of meeting Bishop Wenski and serving as his Deacon at Holy Mass. I attended the Catholic Leadership Conference on the weekend of September 10, 2009. I will never forget meeting him. It took place in this absolutely beautiful Church dedicated to Our Lady, planted, by design, smack dab in the middle of the tourist sites to serve as a missionary outpost and spiritual pilgrimage site.

That Church is nothing short of extraordinary  - from its grounds to its embracing sacred beauty within which draws you into worship. When Bishop Wenski came to greet us, I immediately liked him. He has smiling eyes and a down to earth, humble, inviting demeanor. Of course, as many of my readers know, my champion in life is the soon to be Blessed John Paul II. Meeting him in person in Rome changed my life forever. When I met Bishop Wenski I immediately thought back to that moment. His physical characteristics make him look like he could have grown up alongside of the late Pope.

He shook our hands with the strength of a man "comfortable in his skin". He interacted with us with the genuine warmth of someone who loves to be with people. Bishop Wenski is clearly a Shepherd with the heart of the Good Shepherd. When I commented on the utter beauty of the Basilica he immediately began to explain every piece of religious sculpture and art. He was effusive in his description. His enthusiasm was contagious.

He spoke with particular fondness of a bronze rendering of Joseph and the child Jesus in the carpenters shop. I told him I had deep love for Joseph and have been drawn into the mystery revealed in the bond he had with the child Jesus - and what it teaches us about fathering, the dignity of human work and the call to holiness in the stuff of everyday life. This wonderful Bishop then insisted on showing it to me personally. I followed him as led me briskly to the side of the sanctuary. Upon arrival I agreed that his enthusiasm over the work of sacred art is well earned. All I could do was pause in silence to pray and reflect.

He invited me to serve as his deacon at the Sacred Liturgy. It was one of the many honors of the 15 years I have been ordained. His presence at the altar, love of the Lord and living faith had a deep impact upon me and all who were present at Mass. This is a Bishop truly in love with Jesus and clearly comfortable in his apostolic office. Throughout the weekend, he stayed with the participants at the conference and made everyone feel comfortable, exuding the demeanor of a spiritual father. This is a strong leader in an age desperately in need of true strength. The people of Miami are fortunate to receive him.

His Episcopal motto is "Omnia omnibus" -- "All things to everyone" taken from the Apostle Paul. I experienced how apt that motto is in my brief encounter with this good man. His courageous policy positions are well known. He embraces Catholic Social Doctrine in its fullness, as it is rightly understood.  A friend of the immigrant and the poor he is also of necessity a strong defender of every human person from conception to natural death and at every age and stage.

That includes children in the first home of the whole human race, those whom Mother Teresa rightly called the "poorest of the poor".  He does not back down from controversy as evidenced when he offered a Mass of Reparation after the University of Notre Dame conferred an honorary Doctor of Law degree on President Obama. The Presidents opposition to the Right to Life for our youngest neighbors is well known. The Bishop is a man well acquainted with the important public policy issues of our day. He cannot be "pigeonholed" by those who seek to marginalize Catholics by putting limiting political labels on us.

He helped lead important efforts such as the delivery of 75 tons of food to Cuba after a devastating hurricane. He is still affirmed for his personal visit to Haiti after the devastating earthquake. He is well known for his love for the people of Haiti. He is not liberal, or conservative, he is Catholic - to the bone. Because of all of this I was not surprised on Saturday March 26, 2011 to stumble upon this wonderful piece written by one "Thomas Wenski"  in the Sun Sentinel newspaper entitled "Traditional marriage predates all of us" Of course, he is correct in his clear assertions in this article. However, one only has to read the instant "outcry" of the new cultural revolutionaries to discern how intense the struggle for the truth about marriage is becoming and what is really at stake.

Notice, the Archbishop did not rely on his clerical title to commend his clear defense of authentic marriage. The truth about marriage-  and the family and society founded upon it - is strong enough for its own defense.It is written in the natural law and knowable by all men and women through the exercise of right reason. It simply takes men and women of courage to articulate it. In an age when too many are eager to denigrate our Bishops, we need to realize that we have many courageous men in that vital office who need our prayer. They are warriors for the truth, like Archbishop Thomas Wenski. We need to join them in this struggle for the future of Western Civilization:

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Archbishop Thomas Wensk: Traditional marriage predates all of us

"Those who see "same sex marriage" as progress towards a more "tolerant" society will, with characteristic intolerance, label their opponents as "intolerant," "bigoted," "homophobic" and so on. However, to defend marriage as a monogamous union between one man and one woman is not bigotry. Nor are the efforts of those who seek to enshrine in state or federal constitutions the "traditional" understanding of marriage intolerant.

"In America, we value our privacy and that of others - and so today, most agree that one's sexual orientation shouldn't necessarily be anyone else's business. And even those Americans who hold homosexual activity to be immoral and sinful are increasingly tolerant of homosexuality as a "private" phenomenon. They might invite the person who experiences same sex attractions to conversion and, in place of behavior viewed as sinful, propose chastity - but they do not invoke the coercive power of the state to force such a conversion.

"Marriage has been primarily about the raising of children (who seem to be hardwired to be best raised by a father and a mother who are married to each other). The state has had a legitimate interest in favoring such traditional marriages as a way of investing in the future of society. Of course, in recent years, the state has often retreated from vigorously promoting these interests. Sometimes this occurred through legislation (e.g. no-fault divorce laws); sometimes through judicial fiat (e.g. Roe v. Wade).

"In our nation's culture wars, the two sides are fighting about the understanding of man and his relationship to truth and reality. One side - and today, "gay marriage" is its poster child - holds that anyone can essentially create his or her own reality. This side holds for a radical autonomy by which truth is determined not by the nature of things, but by one's own individual will. The other side holds men and women are not self-creators, but creatures. Truth is not constructed, but received and thus must reflect the reality of things. Or, as the Book of Genesis says: "Male and female, He (God) created them." (Genesis 1:27)."

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As we enter into this Holy Week, pray for Archbishop Thomas Wenski and all of our Bishops. They are the successors of the Apostles. We need to honor them, pray for them and stand with them. However, we also need to learn from this courageous Archbishop and be willing to fight for the future. Marriage and the family founded upon it is not simply a "religious" construct. It is the very foundation of a truly free society.

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