Archbishop Joseph Naumann became the 4th Archbishop and the 11th Bishop for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas on January 15, 2005. He is also the Chairman-Elect for the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities and will begin serving in that role later this year.

Alli Donohue is the Pro-Life Director for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

2018 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast:

Transcript of Interview with Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas and Chairman-Elect of the USCCB Pro-Life Activities Committee, 7/9/18:

Jim Havens: Archbishop Joseph Naumann, welcome back to Love Will End Abortion. How are you today?

Archbp. Naumann: Good, Jim. Thanks for the opportunity to visit with you and your listeners.

Jim Havens: Absolutely. A blessing to have you with us. Well, it’s been less than two weeks since Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, and today, we’re recording this on the afternoon of July 9th, President Trump will nominate his replacement. What are your thoughts on all that has transpired and all that will transpire around this Supreme Court seat?

Archbp. Naumann: Well, this is a tremendous moment of opportunity, I think, for those of us who care about the sanctity of human life and the restoration of a respect for human life in our culture and society. It all started in many ways this began with the Supreme Court decisions 45 years ago and the court is one of the ways in which this situation can be improved if not corrected. I think this is a moment for everybody that cares about the pro-life issue to first of all to pray and also to do all that we can to make our voices heard with the United States Senate that the confirmation process is fair and that qualified candidates are not subject to a litmus test. If they think the constitution doesn’t have a right to abortion, that’s not a matter for them to be disqualified from serving on the court.

Jim Havens: Yes, very good. If the pick is Judge Amy Coney Barrett, her identity as a faithful Catholic will likely be attacked as it was during her previous confirmation hearing to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. How do you answer any critics who claim that being a faithful Catholic somehow disqualifies one from being a judge?

Archbp. Naumann: Again, I think that this is a form of religious bigotry and bias. Amy Barrett is exactly the type of person that all Americans should want to have on the court. I think she’s a woman of great intellect. She’s very competent in the law and she’s a person of virtue as well. I think it’s disgraceful that there are some that would try to eliminate her simply because of her Catholic faith.

Jim Havens: Right, yes, and in some ways wouldn’t being a faithful Catholic even be an asset to being a judge?

Archbp. Naumann: Yes. Of course I think so, because I think she’s grounded in the principles really, that our founders had as well in terms of being men and women of faith, and for the most part, Christians. That she comes from that same worldview, that those that actually framed the Constitution came from. I think, again, our Catholic faith, I think, helps us. We believe that the Lord gave us our intellects and our reasons to use them in ways to glorify Him, but also to serve the human person. I think it’s not just about, certainly respect for unborn life, but it’s respect for all human life and respect for the dignity of every human person. And so again, these principles I think are the principles that we’d like to have in somebody that serves on our highest court.

Jim Havens: Absolutely. In May, you delivered a speech at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC, in which you spoke of a crisis of faith, a loss of a sense of God. Then you gave an eloquent proclamation of the Gospel. Finally, closing with the call to “pray for a religious revival in our nation, another great awakening.” How optimistic are you in revival, another great awakening in the United States?

Archbp. Naumann: Well, all things are possible in Christ. I see signs of this with young people today, with young adults, young married couples who really desire to know Jesus and to live in Him and have a friendship with Him, and that Jesus is really informing the ways that they are living their lives. And so I think this is happening under the radar screen in some ways right now. Of course, we need it to become much more widespread and that the whole purpose of the church is to share the Gospel with others, to help other people have the joy that comes from knowing Jesus Christ and His love, and to know the purpose and meaning that Jesus can bring to all of the circumstances of our life. I think the whole church is really focused on this right now. We had that gathering of Catholic leaders last summer, and it was all focused on “how do we promote the joy of the Gospel? How do we help our Catholic people become more and more missionary disciples?,” as Pope Francis says. I think there are signs of hope, but we need every Catholic really to deepen their own faith life and also their commitment to share the gift of the Gospel of Life with others.

Jim Havens: All right, yes. In our interview last January, you stated that when we get to elections and we evaluate candidates, then you have to look at what are the hierarchy of issues. And here we are some big elections coming up this fall, and sadly, in every election, there are many Catholics who do vote for a pro-abortion candidates, usually around 50%. What do you say to any Catholics listening who are considering voting for a pro-abortion candidate this November?

Archbp. Naumann: Well, I think, again, I think it’s been a wise, prudent policy in the Church in the United States that the Church doesn’t tell individual Catholics to vote for any particular candidate or any party. But that said, we do lay our principles that we think people should take with them into the voting booth. There obviously are many other important issues, many other issues of justice that we as Catholics need to be deeply concerned about. But I think what you have to ask oneself is: What issue can compare to the death of a million innocent children every year and of 60 plus million over the past 45 years? What other issue has that proportion of innocent human life being destroyed? And, of course, it’s not just the children who lose their life, but what abortion does to the mothers and the father’s as well and how part of the great evil is as John Paul II said is of abortion and euthanasia, is that they happen within the family, the very place that should be this protective place for life. And so it has a destructive poisoning effect within the whole culture. I don’t know of any other issue that raises to that level. That’s not to say there aren’t many other important issues that we need to care about, be passionate about, and try to work to find candidates that really embrace that entire ethic of life and the dignity of the human person, but when we have to make difficult choices, in my own personal estimation, this has to be of the highest priority.

Jim Havens: Right. And is that something that … There’s a discernment there, but also a prudence in looking across at the issues, while yes, all are important, I think you said it very, very well. The question really is: is there any current issue in our nation that is anywhere near proportional to the human rights atrocity of abortion that we are living through? That’s something that every person has to answer, but are we able to say objectively that the answer to that question really is “no, there really is nothing anywhere near proportional to the human rights atrocity of abortion”?

Archbp. Naumann: In my own estimation, yes. I can’t see any issue that comes to that proportion. I mean, theoretically, could there be other issues? Yes, I think, if we feared a nuclear holocaust, that could be something that would be a greater proportion. But I think if we look at the issues as they are today, as they line up today, to me again this issue because of its effect in the destruction of innocent human life and the scarring of all those that participate in it, I can’t see anything that outweighs it that’s on our horizon right now.

Jim Havens: Sure. What can you tell us about a possible new edition of the USCCB document Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship or a possible supplement to the current edition?

Archbp. Naumann: Well, not a whole lot. I think we’re in the early stages, the bishops conferences, and as the Chair of the Pro-Life Committee, once I assume that responsibility after November, I’ll be part of a working group that will help to draft it, whatever we’re going to do on this. It was a big topic of discussion in our June meetings and it’s an important effort that we do every four years to try to again lay out what we think are the principles that Catholics need to reflect on and bring with them into the voting booth. I think we’re early in that process, but I think that the principles haven’t really changed. They need to be applied to the particular circumstances of the moment and the presentation can always be refreshed and improved, and I think that’s what the bishops are hoping to do.

Jim Havens: Great. Archbishop, as the Chairman-Elect for the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, when you do begin serving in that role of Chairman in November, you’ve also already been a member on the Committee for years, so as you transition to director, how will your responsibilities on the Committee change?

Archbp. Naumann: Well, as the Chair of the Committee, the first important thing that I’ll do is select the other members of the committee and the consultants, and then as Chair, we’ll be setting the agenda for the meetings. What I want to do early in my term as Chair is to have our Committee really look at the four pillars of the Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities which are education, pastoral care, public advocacy, and then prayer. And look at what could we do, our Committee’s at the service of the body of the bishops, what could we do to help our brother bishops take to a new level our pastoral efforts in the pro-life arena and in each of those areas. I think we’ll want to look out what has been done in the past, and in the recent past, but what more can we do to educate our people, what more can we do to empower people to save lives with love and to help those heal that have been scarred by abortion, what more can we do to make our advocacy efforts more important, and all of it has to be undergirded was prayer, so how do we foster that more? So we’re going to look for opportunities to build on what’s already been accomplished.

Jim Havens: Yes. Terrific. So besides a real strong focus on those four pillars in the Pastoral Plan of Pro-Life Activities, any other new tone or new emphasis that you hope to bring to the committee?

Archbp. Naumann: Well, one particular issue to me that’s taken on importance, it’s important here in Kansas, but I think it’s important across the nation as well, and that is the many children that languish in our foster care system right now and the need for more couples to be open to adoption, especially hard to place children, and more couples that are willing to welcome a foster child into their home and really provide a very beautiful experience for that child for however long they have them. That’s an area that I would like to see us as a church to take up our game, if you will. I think we do a lot in these areas already with our Catholic Charities efforts, and it’s not to say much hasn’t been done, but I think the need remains great.

Jim Havens: Yeah, beautiful. You’ve also served on the board of the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment since 2014. For those who are not aware of it, what is the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment and why is it important?

Archbp. Naumann: Yeah, it was formed decades ago and it’s an organization that’s independent from the bishops conference, but yet, it’s closely linked to it. It tries to alert people to those public policy issues pertaining to life that the Catholic Church is concerned about, and to equip people to help have their voices heard. Historically, if people remember the postcard campaigns that we’ve had in the latter part of the last century, where we would send millions of postcards to our legislators in Washington on particular issues, and they were very effective. We had campaigns like when we were working on the partial birth abortion, when we were trying to prevent the Freedom of Choice Act from happening. Today, they use more the modern technology. The postcards, we may still use them, but electronically, a lot of advocacy happens today. NCHLA, which its name tells us what our ultimate goal is, which is to constitutionally protect all human life, but it helps us to see what are the steps, practical steps in front of us, in terms of legislation on the national level, and to alert people, and to give people opportunities to have their voices heard.

Jim Havens: Great. Finally, we do know that prayer is the foundation for all of our good work. Any advice for us today on how we can pray more effectively for the end of abortion to make it illegal in law and unthinkable in culture as soon as possible?

Archbp. Naumann: Yeah, I think it needs to be part of our daily prayer for all of us. I think we particularly should seek the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Patroness of the Americas. Our Lady of Guadalupe is pictured as a pregnant mother. I think that depiction of her particularly, of the many beautiful depictions of our Blessed Mother, is one that I think holds special relevance. And she in the conversions that happened in Mexico with the Native Americans that also brought an end to human sacrifice. And so I think she’s a particular patroness that we can call upon, and I think the Rosary for life is very powerful. I also encourage us to invoke the intercession of Saint John Paul, the great advocate for life. He too, I think, is an intercessor that we need to call upon as we strive to really implement the vision that he had for the Church when he wrote The Gospel of Life.

Jim Havens: All right, well, Archbishop Naumann, we thank you so much for being with us. I also want to thank you for that presentation that you did give recently at that prayer breakfast at the National Right to Life Convention. You mentioned in there, your favorite title of all the many titles you’ve had; titles of Father, and Bishop, Archbishop, His Excellency, Your Excellency, and you value most that title of son to your mom. Just a beautiful, heartfelt story that you shared around that, but I just want to point out that, I just want to affirm that and say that it seems to me that that ingredient of being a faithful and obedient son to your earthly mom, but then also to our Eternal Father in Heaven, that’s what makes you a good father. So I just want to thank you for your paternity and for your generosity with us and for your leadership as we continue to move forward as a people for life and a people in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Archbp. Naumann: Thanks, Jim, and please you and all your listeners, keep me in your prayers.

Jim Havens: We will, absolutely. All right. God bless you Archbishop. Thank you so much.

Archbp. Naumann: Thank you. God bless.