Priorities

Some have denounced bishops’ recent statements for their alleged “narrow focus” on a “single issue,” accusing them of reordering the 10 Commandments and associating them with “bumper-sticker religion.”

Given the diverse subject matter and the immense quantity of the statements, homilies and teaching materials that issue from bishops and from the Holy See, associating them with “bumper sticker religion” or a “single issue” embarrassingly demonstrates the shallowness (if not ignorance) of the critic.

No institution speaks or acts more broadly than the Roman Catholic Church, yet even the Church must prioritize.

The world is a very complex place, filled with many problems – too many for human beings to solve all at once. If humans try to solve all the problems of the world with an equal amount of attention and resources, our efforts will be so dissipated as to become utterly ineffective or worse.

We should not just do something so we can say we did something or talk equally about everything so we can say we talked about it ("See? We care!"). We should strive to be as effective as possible.

The only way to address numerous problems effectively is to prioritize them and to direct resources appropriately. The best way to prioritize them is based on the truth, not on polls or the lobbying of interest groups.

Some problems have greater ramifications than others. Some problems are more fundamental: leading to many other problems.

We as Church must do all we can to fulfill our mission and also to address the problems of the world in which we live. No suffering in the world should escape our notice, but we must be as intelligent as possible in using the resources and opportunities we have to do the good we must do.

Be compassionate. Be righteous. Be effective.