Madrid, Spain, Feb 14, 2008 / 14:41 pm
In an opinion piece published by the Spanish daily La Razon, Cardinal Ricardo Maria Carles, Archbishop Emeritus of Barcelona, said Catholics should not be fearful of bearing witness to the faith in the public square.
“To give witness to the faith, without false hang-ups, has always been the fruit of the virtue of fortitude, as a consequence of the undesired, but often unavoidable, confrontation of the Gospel with the world, in a pejorative sense,” the cardinal writes.
“Fortitude is need to confess the faith in many places, without hiding it, especially when the glory of God or the good of neighbor demand it,” the cardinal explained, pointing out that this testimony is evident when one lives “with simplicity, but with heroism, in love, joy and peace”.
“When our lives have Christian relevance, they are convincing and attractive. They are more convincing than words, as you bear witness to what is inside,” Cardinal Carles stated.
“The desire for holiness is the reflection of the transformation of man and society proclaimed by Christ, which we Catholics cannot renounce out of fidelity to God,” he said.