Bishops from the United States are continuing their ad limina pilgrimages to
Rome to pray at the tombs of the Apostles, and to meet with the Holy Father and officials
from the Curia. Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans is one of the prelates visiting
the Eternal City this week.
In an interview with Chris Altieri, Archbishop
Aymond talked about some of the issues facing the Church in America.
He spoke
about the recent decision by President Barack Obama to demand that sterilization,
abortifacients and contraception be included in virtually all health plans. “This
is extremely disappointing – that the government has taken this stance. It’s unprecedented,
as we know… We must express our disappointment, we must express our confusion, because,
I think, we thought the United States was a land of liberty and justice and freedom,
and that seems not to be the case.”
Archbishop Aymond also spoke about the
upcoming Year of Faith and the New Evangelisation: “I’m very much looking forward…
to the Synod on Evangelisation. We know that there are people who are un-churched,
and there are people who are nominally catholic, people who are catholic by title.
This is an opportunity for us to become more missionary, to become more outreaching,
because as we know, what we are really about in evangelisation is to help people come
to a personal, intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus and then that leads to a
greater commitment to the Church and to religion.”
The Archdiocese of New Orleans,
he said, has a special focus during the Year of Faith. “We have declared it a Year
of Faith, with a specific emphasis on coming to a better understanding of and appreciation
of the Eucharist.” Their approach was inspired by “the gift of the new Roman Missal.”
Listen
the complete interview of Archbishop Gregory Aymond with Chris Altieri: