Fortifying leaders for strong headwinds

January’s Legatus Summit East in balmy Palm Beach at The Breakers — the first Summit on Florida’s Atlantic Coast in over 10 years — drew a remarkable Legate crowd of several hundred, enthused and intent on standing especially strong for Christ in tumultuous times. It was a much-needed recharge following a vexing year.

Hosted by the St. Louis Chapter with “Salt and Light” as its theme, the event featured guest cardinals, priests, and lay speakers from around the world, who inspired Legates on issues — from facing oneself realistically, to leading during confusing times, to fearlessly witnessing for Christ and His Truth, to being prepared for one’s ultimate end.

Three days of hard-hitting talks, inspiring Masses, spiritual time in Adoration, rosary, and Confession — interspersed with fabulous indoor- and outdoor-gorgeous meals, spa time, and relaxation on sugary beaches or golf courses — all synergized to refresh Christ’s ambassadors for exemplary engagement. Here are a few highlights.

Beauty of the journey

Opening-night keynote speaker, Fr. Dave Pivonka, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville, presented a hilarious, unblemished account of walking the challenging rural 30-day, 500-mile El Camino trail through Spain, culminating at St. James’ burial place.

He likened carrying a manageable backpack to lightening one’s heavy life-load — through expiating guilt, shame, and bitterness. “And Our Lady walked with me,” he said, helping him adjust to the day-to-day emotional and physical struggles. “But if you only concentrate on getting to the end,” he said, “you actually miss the incredible beauty of the journey.”

Leading amid hyper-confusion

Catholic University’s dean of its Busch School of Business, Dr. Andrew Abela — a Northern Virginia Chapter Legate, gripped the crowded room with his talk on being a faithful Catholic leader in times of unparalleled mayhem.

Leaders are being bombarded with “absolutism” — the now-perspective which follows relativism, he said. And “wokeness” tells everyone what to do, given absolutism’s “facts.” Rooted in Marxism, absolutism begins with a conclusion, then prescribes activism to make a predetermined change — like defunding the police. Absolutism’s dangerous indoctrination of youth, he said, is what causes their inability to think, to blindly accept “cancel culture” and see others’ views as offensive or “violent.” They consult their feelings in reacting, rather than intellectual reason and fact.

In short, today’s youth need the reliable guideposts of reason and traditional morality, Abela said. This can come through their on-the-job exposure. To reach them, he advised leaders to live by the Commandments, receive sacraments frequently, and inculcate the Cardinal Virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance) to make wise everyday decisions. This renders a leader as calm, fair, nonthreatening, and approachable. “Because the spiritual life really infuses the practical life,” he said.

Health care as God’s care

Emmaus Health founder Dr. Rusty Chavey, his Ann Arbor practice originally an “experiment”’ in authentic Catholic health care, presented a refreshing treatment style. His practice functions as an extension of what the Church has always represented.

“Today, many Catholic health organizations are indistinguishable from secular ones,” he said. But he operates Emmaus’ multi-specialty practice with a reimagined approach. When Americans’ life expectancy began to decline in 2014, he realized people were suffering most from diseases of despair – alcoholism, drug dependency, depression. With the decline of family, community, and religious emphases, he saw the Catholic clinician also as an intermediary. For example, anti-abortion doesn’t define the totality of pro-life work. A clinician should realize the roles that depression, violence, trafficking, and rape may play in women choosing abortion.

“I emphasize ‘flourishing’ over just ‘wellness,’” he said. That encompasses health, happiness, life-meaning, character, and close social relationships. “And Catholic health care should provide safe options for Catholics, he said. “I’ve even asked patients if they were religious, or if they’d recently been to the sacraments if Catholic” — such things play a part in a person’s overall well being.

Hold fast to the good – and to the Church

George Cardinal Pell was brought in from Rome live via video, and spoke on his recent prison term before finally being acquitted.

Having spent over a year in an Australian prison before being cleared of unfounded sexual abuse charges, the Cardinal spoke on confusion in the Church. “There are periods of confusion in life,” he said, “but we have to preserve what is good.” He spoke and wrote daily as a devoted witness of Christ throughout his prison term, his allegiance to God moving some back to their faith.

“And free speech is essential,” he said, adding that the tendency toward censure is increasingly disturbing. He re-emphasized the Church’s longtime teaching of redemptive suffering, reminding his listeners that God’s providence is always at work — even when seemingly confounding.

Raymond Cardinal Burke spoke in person on the state of the Church, and the root of its errors and scandals.

Those outside — and some inside — the Church “are trying to insinuate the culture into it” he said. Common slogans like “accompaniment” lead to confusion and error when the traditional teachings on morals instead go untaught. The rhetoric of a one-world government, of framing abortion and euthanasia as rights, of attacks on traditional marital and family dignity — all paint man as in charge of the world, rather than God. What’s worse, he said, is when the Church follows dictates of the state, rather than its true mission to convert men to Christ.

Faithful Catholics, then, must work continually on this conversion effort — in the family, in education, through prayer and worship, through daily virtue-example, re-establishment of a Christian politic, constant trust in Christ, and by identifying concrete means of living out Christ’s mission.

CHRISTINE VALENTINE-OWSIK is Editor of Legatus Magazine.