Our faith is not private, but to be practiced daily
By Karen Gilman
ETC staff

“Our faith is something to be practiced daily – in our homes, at work, while we carry out our business,” that’s what Bishop Curtis J. Guillory, SVD, said of Pope Benedict XVI’s April 16 message to the U.S. bishops during his April 15-20 trip.

Faith is not just for Sundays, but rather, faith that is nourished, inspired and directed by attending Mass on Sundays gives people what they need to go out into the world and witness their faith to others.

“Our faith ought to influence everything we do,” Bishop Guillory said. “It is a compass in our lives.”

The pope also talked about how this country was founded on freedom.

“But this isn’t a freedom to just do what we want,” Bishop Guillory said. “It’s the freedom to do the right thing.”

Another item the pope spoke to the bishops about was the clergy sex abuse scandal.

Pope Benedict told the bishops they needed to continue to reach out compassionately to the victims and continue to put measures into place to prevent that from happening again.

Bishop Guillory pointed out that in the Beaumont Diocese extensive measures are in place from strict background screenings for those working with children to educational workshops. There is information online to help parents and age-appropriate classwork for students in religious education programs and Catholic schools in the diocese.

When he arrived in Washington, Bishop Guillory said he could feel the excitement throughout the city.

“Our Holy Father just emanates joy and hope. A theme of his is hope for the future, despite the difficulties we have,” Bishop Guillory said.

“True hope is not founded on political structures,” he said, “but our hope is in Jesus Christ.”

At the Mass in the Washington stadium the spirit was unbelievable.

“When the pope arrived at the stadium everybody was screaming, shouting, taking pictures,” Bishop Guillory said.

He added that he thinks the visit impacted the country in a positive way.

“We really got to know who he is,” he said. “In his job before he was pope, he had to be stern. Now, even though he is still stern when he needs to be, he is a teacher and his compassion is seen. His joy really showed through.”