"So Long As They Leave Me Alone ..."

Too often I feel nothing but apprehension towards the institution we call The Church.
Too often the rules and regulations and dogma push out common sense.
Too often the Church chooses the way of bureacracy rather than affirming life.
Too often the future of the Church seems bleak ...

But then, every once in awhile a breath of the Spirit blows through and reminds us that The Church is the living Body of Christ, and its mission and ministry is to affirm life even in the face of dogmatic positions ...

With that in mind, I would like you to meet the newest hero for the Modern Church:

Bishop Kevin Dowling is known as "The AIDS Bishop."

Bishop Dowling puts a whole new spin on the idea of "What Would Jesus Do?"

Bishop Dowling is proud to call himself pro-Life, but that label is not what many would think - his pro-life stance has lead him to spend time in a Hospice for AIDS victims, and most importantly to advocate for, and to be involved personally in the distribution of condoms throughout his Diocese.

His stance runs totally counter to the official and doctrinal stance of the Vatican ... But his stance is what he fervently believes SHOULD be that of the Church, and what would Jesus himself would do under the same circumstances ... Bishop Dowling is simply living his faith ...

Read more about Bishop Dowling by clicking HERE.

This all makes me wonder though: should we listen to robed theologians sitting far from Sub-Sahara Africa who dogmatically condoms are bad, or should we listen to a man who spends his free time holding the hands of those who are dying of AIDS and in his pro-Life stance sees the distribution of condoms as the only way to stem the tide of this horrid disease ???

I know I'd be more prone to listen to Bishop Dowling, and that's why he's one of my HEROES.

He sums the whole dust up well by saying - "So long as they leave me alone ..."

May the wisdom of the Church one day catch up to Bishop Dowling ... May Bishop Dowling continue to live the Gospel by affecting one life at a time ... and May the Church find more men, women and children like Bishop Dowling who simply live their faith boldly ...

Today Bishop Dowling shows us what being an Easter People can really mean ... AMEN !!