Bloggers Have a Voice - Let it Be Heard!

Father Z (WDTPRS) brought to my attention to a recent statement by the US Bishops regarding the importance of Catholic bloggers and the role we play in the current "struggle for religious liberty."  As Father Z highlights, they specifically request us to join them in the front lines. 

That's an incredibly welcome sign, in my opinion, sing it trumpets that our Church is mobilizing in a big way.  I think folks are finally waking up to the battle we are on the cusp of, and our bishops are rightly calling on us to ready ourselves for it.

There is so much disinformation regarding faith, theology and politics that it's important to have trusted, well-reasoned folks fighting back with with the truth.  That's where bloggers come in.

For many of us, we hopped on-line to utilize the blogosphere for a variety of reasons.  Some of us needed a creative outlet, some of us wanted to share our secrets of parenthood.  Some wanted a way to document their struggles with infertility or adoption, and others wanted to find a soapbox with which to decry the evils of Mets fans (I kid, I kid).  Still others were looking for feedback on recipes and more realized they could network with other like-minded individuals who agreed that needlepoint is cooler than crocheting. 

Point is, all of us came here for different reasons, but in the end, we all share information with one another.  We all write and most (if not all) read the content of others.  Information travels ridiculously fast through Catholic circles, and much of the credit is due to Catholic bloggers. 

I can't even tell you how many times I've come across gems from folks like Father Z, Cam over at A Woman's Place, or Devin over at St. Joseph's Vanguard.  The Deacon's Bench is like a revolving door of news, and places like Spirit Daily summarize all sorts of interesting tid-bits. 

This is all highly important work (though it may not seem like it at first glance).  Education is key to winning this battle because we need to be fully aware of the situation at hand.  Being kept abreast of the various bills floating around, the sentiments being publicized by our politicians, and the calls to action being made by our Church leaders all need to be in the forefront of our mind. 

Bloggers from all over the world are able to give very unique insights to these issues.  They're also able to alert others to what's going on in different parts of the country / world - things that very rarely make the highly secular news networks.

However, our call to blog (as Catholics) should be tempered by the teachings of the Church, and a summit / council / whatever would be a great way to not only give a voice, but guidance, to those of us who want to answer the call.  So consider this my vote of support for Father Z's petition.  Please spread the word to other bloggers!  Write to your bishops and see if we can't get others involved.

Or, you can do what Diane over at Te Deum Laudamus did (which I find to be absolutely hilarious):  Start a Rumor! Ha ha!

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