In the United States today, our economic system is under extreme strain and our political system is often distrusted. Some of those who shape our economic system and political life have acted immorally and irresponsibly. Many people are in danger, especially the poor. The present complex crisis, whose resolution remains uncertain, presents a moment for us to put our lives and our future in the hands of God’s Word made flesh. No economic or political system lasts forever and none is of ultimate importance. When human institutions show their limits and remind us that all things pass, what remains centrally important to every aspect of our lives is Jesus Christ: “the same yesterday, today and forever."

I feel somewhat uneasy leaving the country for three weeks when all of us are anxious about the future, but the synodal topic, the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church, is more important than anything else to human survival and eternal happiness. I pray that the synod’s deliberations will help us keep a perspective of faith in the midst of our present personal and societal difficulties.

Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago