PEORIA, IL (Catholic Online) – Bishop Daniel Jenky of Peoria, Illinois …………. gave a tremendous homily on April 14, 2012, at a Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral during the annual “Call to Catholic Men of Faith” event. Over 500 men gathered and, on a rainy day, marched through downtown Peoria bearing witness to the ancient but ever new Catholic faith. During the event the Bishop presided at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where the men and many others joined him. I paid particular attention to the event because my wife is from Peoria and became a Catholic many years ago in that Diocese.
In his homily this good Bishop did what all good homilists should do, he reflected on the readings of the day for the Liturgy. The first reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4: 13-21), recounted the hostility faced by Peter, the first Pope, and the beloved disciple, as they exercised their apostolic ministry in another culture which had grown hostile to the Church and her message of genuine liberation.
Peter and John left an example which has been followed for over two millennia whenever the Church faces open hostility from the State. It is in this account that we find these often quoted words: ” So they called them back and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” ….
The homily has been quoted in a piecemeal fashion by those who do not want Catholic Bishops to exhibit a backbone in the face of the growing hostility toward the Church in the West. Fortunately, their effort to intimidate is not dissuading our shepherds. The entire homily has been posted by the Diocese and can be read here. Our readers can also listen to this courageous Bishop on a podcast by visiting here We offer the homily in full context and complete below.
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At least one parish in the Quad Cities apptneraly decided that the fortnight for freedom conflicted with its overall agenda. While the pastor of St. John Vianney has delivered impassioned sermons on the plight of illegal immigrants and a call from the pulpit for understanding of the political activist views and actions of the Sisters of Humility, he defends completely ignoring the US Bishops’ call for a Fortnight for Freedom to protest the Obama administration’s mandate that religious affiliated organizations provide free contraception to their employees as political with no place in the parish’s mission. The pastor refused to mention from the pulpit at the past two weekends’ Masses, anything about Fortnight except to complain at one that he had been accosted in the worst way by a parishioner (whose offense was to ask why the Freedom event did not merit any parish recognition not even a mention in the parish bulletin.)This is the same pastor who allegedly accosted a person in the recent past who attempted to hand out informational literature on various politicians’ positions on abortion to churchgoers as they left Mass. This person was not even on parish property when he was accosted in the worst way by the kindly, apolitical padre.