Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good Tuesday Morning, Gina Goddeck and Marty Lenz on Colorado's
Morning News eight fifty am ninety four to one FM
and on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Bertie Fratilli, borna Pascua.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Pope France, is delivering a blessing to thousands in Saint
Peter Square at Easter Sunday Mass. The pope passing away
yesterday at the age of eighty eight. He had been
in declining health over the last few months, including battling
double pneumonia at a Rome hospital for several weeks.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Joining us now on the KWA Common Spirit Health Hotline
to talk more about the Pope's life and legacy. Denver's Archbishop.
It's Samuel Aquilla. Archbishop Aquila, thank you so much for
your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Ah, You're very welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Tell us a little bit about your personal experiences with
Pope Francis.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I had met him. The lengthiest meeting I had with
him was for our Adlimina visit back in January of
twenty twenty. It was Italy at that time was going
through the starts of COVID. Nobody quite knew what it was,
(01:11):
but we had about an hour and a half meeting
with him the bishops of the region, and an adlimita
visit is where the bishops of a country go and
visit with the Holy Father and with the various offices
(01:31):
in the Korea for about a week or so, and
it's every five to seven years, depending on the Holy
Father's schedule and all. So with that, I also had
other meetings with him that were just more brief type
(01:53):
meetings of greeting him and saying hello with him, and
that I knew him, he would recognize me and and all.
But he was always a very gentle kind with me,
(02:15):
and and in the ad limit of visit we talked
mainly about the importance of evangelization and reaching out to
the people to bring them to Christ and come to
know Christ.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Archbishop was was Francis a transformative pope, maybe at a
time where the Church needed some transformation, if you will.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
He was transformative in so far as certainly he was
first pope from Latin America, and so he was a
new World pope, and he certainly brought the needs of
Hispanics to the forefront. He was first Jesuit pope, and
(03:11):
with that, you know, came his worldview and his his
greatest legacy was his constant faithfulness to Jesus Christ and
to the Gospel, and his constant emphasis on the importance
of mercy and of being those who treat others with
(03:36):
respect and to bring them into that encounter with Christ.
He also uh certainly expanded the college of cardinals, and
those will be the ones who elect a new Holy Father.
And he the expansion was in so far as it
(04:00):
used to be heavily European, and now there's cardinals from
all over the world, and many countries have cardinals that
never had them before. So in that way he was
very transformative and just in the way that he would
(04:21):
reach out to people. Sometimes the media would portray him
as changing church teaching, but that he did not do.
He was very faithful to the church. He had a
very deep devotion to Our Blessed Mother before he began
any trip in whenever he ended a trip, the first place,
(04:45):
the last place he would visit going out of Italy
and the first place he would visit coming back was
Santa Maria Majore, which is one of the four major
basilicas in Rome, and he would always go there and pray,
and in fact he has chosen there for his final.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Resting place, Archbishop David Kale, here seems a bit odd
and I think you alluded to this briefly here, that
so called conservative popes like John Paul the Second and
Benedict might be followed by a pope who by many
is considered ideologically different. Since popes appoint cardinals who elect
(05:29):
the next pope, and I think Francis may have been
runner up to Benedict when Benedict was elected pope, how
does it happen that there isn't a sea change within
the College of Cardinals where popes are ideologically one after
the other pretty much the same.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, you need to understand that the teaching of the
Church we reveal, we believe is revealed teaching, that it
isn't the teaching of men, but it is the teaching
of God. And so we're called to be those who
(06:12):
maintain that teaching, who are faithful to that teaching, and
proclaim that teaching, whether it's popular or not, is not
the important thing. We as human beings, cannot change the
laws of God, and nor can we change the way
that God constantly is faithful or is constantly calling people
(06:41):
back to His ways and not the ways of humanity,
and so in that way it folks may have different styles,
but they're called to maintain the teaching of the Church,
(07:02):
and that received teaching and hand it on and with
that is certainly helping people to understand those teachings and
why the Church teaches what she teaches.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Archbishop Aquilla, going off of that, whether Catholic or atheist,
what is a small aspect of Pope Francis's life that
you really hope listeners remember and even try to embody
in their daily lives.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I would say his kindness and outreach to those who
were on the periphery, and by that I mean the homeless,
the immigrant, the ones who very much had no one
to care about them. Were blessed within the Archdiocese of
Denver to have the apostolate here of Christ in the city,
(07:56):
which is primarily young college students who are post college
students who give up a year or two years of
their lives to feed the homeless every day and to
reach out to them. And it's an incredibly beautiful witness
(08:17):
to recognizing the presence of Christ in every person. And
also I would hope that people would recognize his strong
support and teaching on the dignity of human life from
(08:38):
the moment of conception through natural death and living that
teaching out and being faithful to it. And it's precisely
when you're grounded in the love of God, in the
love of Jesus Christ, that you are faithful and merciful
(08:59):
and kind and tender with others without surrendering the teachings
of the church or presenting the fullness of the truth
of the Gospel.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Archbishop, You've been generous with your time. I just I
have one final question, kind of going off that a
little bit. Are we in an inflection point with the church?
I am Catholic, but in many ways there seems like
there's a bit of a schism between those who are
Catholic that are very doctrine are and I'll point maybe
to the United States where it seems like there's a
much more conservative bent with Catholicism to say, the rest
of the world, at least my perception, and even with
(09:35):
family members that are are part of the church, so
are do we see there's a bit of a divide
with the Catholic faith depending on the country, the region.
And I hate to say it, even with some of
the political divide that we have.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Right, Yeah, it is certainly the times in which we're
living are challenging. I will, you know, not deny that
their secularism has made great in roads, and for many
there is a lack of understanding of the teaching. And
(10:07):
whenever there's any harshness on any side, that is not
the gospel, nor is that the message of the gospel.
And that is why Francis po Francis emphasized so much
the importance of mercy, the importance of kindness, of loving
your neighbor and loving God first. And if you're loving
(10:32):
God first, then you are going to love your neighbor.
And certainly that is it isn't so much the way
people perceive the teachings of the Church and understand them
is what brings about the divide, is that some see
(10:56):
them as not having mercy, not having you know, they
would be the first ones to throw a stone at
the woman caught in adultery in that story in the gospel,
And that is not the way of the Gospel. The
way of the Gospel is forgiveness, it's mercy, it's repenting,
(11:18):
it's changing your life and being in that lifelong relationship
with Jesus Christ. You know some question I always ask
people on either side, is you know how has Jesus
impacted your life? And is he your best friend? And
is he truly lord of your life? And and how
(11:43):
how how do you live that out?
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquilla. Archbishop Aquilla, thank you so much
for your time this morning. We greatly appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
You're very welcome. Take care,
Good Tuesday Morning, Gina Goddeck and Marty Lenz on Colorado's
Morning News eight fifty am ninety four to one FM
and on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Bertie Fratilli, borna Pascua.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Pope France, is delivering a blessing to thousands in Saint
Peter Square at Easter Sunday Mass. The pope passing away
yesterday at the age of eighty eight. He had been
in declining health over the last few months, including battling
double pneumonia at a Rome hospital for several weeks.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Joining us now on the KWA Common Spirit Health Hotline
to talk more about the Pope's life and legacy. Denver's Archbishop.
It's Samuel Aquilla. Archbishop Aquila, thank you so much for
your time this morning.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Ah, You're very welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Tell us a little bit about your personal experiences with
Pope Francis.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I had met him. The lengthiest meeting I had with
him was for our Adlimina visit back in January of
twenty twenty. It was Italy at that time was going
through the starts of COVID. Nobody quite knew what it was,
(01:11):
but we had about an hour and a half meeting
with him the bishops of the region, and an adlimita
visit is where the bishops of a country go and
visit with the Holy Father and with the various offices
(01:31):
in the Korea for about a week or so, and
it's every five to seven years, depending on the Holy
Father's schedule and all. So with that, I also had
other meetings with him that were just more brief type
(01:53):
meetings of greeting him and saying hello with him, and
that I knew him, he would recognize me and and all.
But he was always a very gentle kind with me,
(02:15):
and and in the ad limit of visit we talked
mainly about the importance of evangelization and reaching out to
the people to bring them to Christ and come to
know Christ.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Archbishop was was Francis a transformative pope, maybe at a
time where the Church needed some transformation, if you will.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
He was transformative in so far as certainly he was
first pope from Latin America, and so he was a
new World pope, and he certainly brought the needs of
Hispanics to the forefront. He was first Jesuit pope, and
(03:11):
with that, you know, came his worldview and his his
greatest legacy was his constant faithfulness to Jesus Christ and
to the Gospel, and his constant emphasis on the importance
of mercy and of being those who treat others with
(03:36):
respect and to bring them into that encounter with Christ.
He also uh certainly expanded the college of cardinals, and
those will be the ones who elect a new Holy Father.
And he the expansion was in so far as it
(04:00):
used to be heavily European, and now there's cardinals from
all over the world, and many countries have cardinals that
never had them before. So in that way he was
very transformative and just in the way that he would
(04:21):
reach out to people. Sometimes the media would portray him
as changing church teaching, but that he did not do.
He was very faithful to the church. He had a
very deep devotion to Our Blessed Mother before he began
any trip in whenever he ended a trip, the first place,
(04:45):
the last place he would visit going out of Italy
and the first place he would visit coming back was
Santa Maria Majore, which is one of the four major
basilicas in Rome, and he would always go there and pray,
and in fact he has chosen there for his final.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Resting place, Archbishop David Kale, here seems a bit odd
and I think you alluded to this briefly here, that
so called conservative popes like John Paul the Second and
Benedict might be followed by a pope who by many
is considered ideologically different. Since popes appoint cardinals who elect
(05:29):
the next pope, and I think Francis may have been
runner up to Benedict when Benedict was elected pope, how
does it happen that there isn't a sea change within
the College of Cardinals where popes are ideologically one after
the other pretty much the same.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Well, you need to understand that the teaching of the
Church we reveal, we believe is revealed teaching, that it
isn't the teaching of men, but it is the teaching
of God. And so we're called to be those who
(06:12):
maintain that teaching, who are faithful to that teaching, and
proclaim that teaching, whether it's popular or not, is not
the important thing. We as human beings, cannot change the
laws of God, and nor can we change the way
that God constantly is faithful or is constantly calling people
(06:41):
back to His ways and not the ways of humanity,
and so in that way it folks may have different styles,
but they're called to maintain the teaching of the Church,
(07:02):
and that received teaching and hand it on and with
that is certainly helping people to understand those teachings and
why the Church teaches what she teaches.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Archbishop Aquilla, going off of that, whether Catholic or atheist,
what is a small aspect of Pope Francis's life that
you really hope listeners remember and even try to embody
in their daily lives.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
I would say his kindness and outreach to those who
were on the periphery, and by that I mean the homeless,
the immigrant, the ones who very much had no one
to care about them. Were blessed within the Archdiocese of
Denver to have the apostolate here of Christ in the city,
(07:56):
which is primarily young college students who are post college
students who give up a year or two years of
their lives to feed the homeless every day and to
reach out to them. And it's an incredibly beautiful witness
(08:17):
to recognizing the presence of Christ in every person. And
also I would hope that people would recognize his strong
support and teaching on the dignity of human life from
(08:38):
the moment of conception through natural death and living that
teaching out and being faithful to it. And it's precisely
when you're grounded in the love of God, in the
love of Jesus Christ, that you are faithful and merciful
(08:59):
and kind and tender with others without surrendering the teachings
of the church or presenting the fullness of the truth
of the Gospel.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Archbishop, You've been generous with your time. I just I
have one final question, kind of going off that a
little bit. Are we in an inflection point with the church?
I am Catholic, but in many ways there seems like
there's a bit of a schism between those who are
Catholic that are very doctrine are and I'll point maybe
to the United States where it seems like there's a
much more conservative bent with Catholicism to say, the rest
of the world, at least my perception, and even with
(09:35):
family members that are are part of the church, so
are do we see there's a bit of a divide
with the Catholic faith depending on the country, the region.
And I hate to say it, even with some of
the political divide that we have.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Right, Yeah, it is certainly the times in which we're
living are challenging. I will, you know, not deny that
their secularism has made great in roads, and for many
there is a lack of understanding of the teaching. And
(10:07):
whenever there's any harshness on any side, that is not
the gospel, nor is that the message of the gospel.
And that is why Francis po Francis emphasized so much
the importance of mercy, the importance of kindness, of loving
your neighbor and loving God first. And if you're loving
(10:32):
God first, then you are going to love your neighbor.
And certainly that is it isn't so much the way
people perceive the teachings of the Church and understand them
is what brings about the divide, is that some see
(10:56):
them as not having mercy, not having you know, they
would be the first ones to throw a stone at
the woman caught in adultery in that story in the gospel,
And that is not the way of the Gospel. The
way of the Gospel is forgiveness, it's mercy, it's repenting,
(11:18):
it's changing your life and being in that lifelong relationship
with Jesus Christ. You know some question I always ask
people on either side, is you know how has Jesus
impacted your life? And is he your best friend? And
is he truly lord of your life? And and how
(11:43):
how how do you live that out?
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Denver Archbishop Samuel Aquilla. Archbishop Aquilla, thank you so much
for your time this morning. We greatly appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
You're very welcome. Take care,
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