Blase J. Cupich

Blase J. Cupich

Blase Joseph Cupich (March 19, 1949) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, a cardinal who serves as ninth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Quotes

• Receiving the Eucharist is not a private action but rather a communal one, as the very word "communion" implies. [...] or that reason, the norm established by the Holy See for the universal church and approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is for the faithful to process together as an expression of their coming forward as the Body of Christ and to receive Holy Communion standing.
  • From an interview of Gina Christian, Cupich: Standing, not kneeling, for Communion a ‘powerful symbolic expression’, OSV News (December 18, 2024)

• These stories offer us a model of how real refreshment of body and spirit is achieved. Three things are worth noting. First, rest comes as an invitation from Jesus. Recently, Pope Francis recommended to a group of priests that they should be open to the rest that comes from Jesus, rather than relying on other ways to relax, some of which can be very unhealthy, if not destructive. We can use entertainment, mind altering substances and other means that only serve as a temporary release of tension and fatigue. Superficial at best, these efforts end up provoking more restlessness and lethargy, especially if they bring upon guilt and depression. It is known, for instance, that alcohol can be a depressant and impact our overall mood. Jesus offers us the gift of rest, and so the first step is to surrender to the kind of rest he offers, and accept his invitation, rather than taking on this burden ourselves. Second, his invitation is to go to an “out of the way” place, a deserted place. This is not an invitation to take a vacation to an exotic location, but rather a summons to enter into those places in our lives that we ignore, yet which have an impact on us.
  • "The gift of rest", from the online edition of The Catholic New World, the Chicago archdiocesan newspaper, in the Archbishop's Column (July 26 - August 8, 2015)

• The person of faith, (Henri Nouwen) says, is able to see in that moment the faithful presence of God, the one who has never left us, who keeps his word. He comes and picks up those bricks from the crumbling wall and begins to fashion something new, not a wall but a concave space, where we are invited to a deeper intimacy with the ones we love and with God. It is in that greater sharing, that greater intimacy that we begin to realize that the real stability in life is not the wall of our accomplishments but the faithfulness of the ones we love and the faithfulness of God, because both reveal how rich life is in keeping a promise, in keeping one's word. There is nothing to compare with having someone keep their word to us.
  • "Homily for the Marriage Jubilee Mass", at Holy Name Cathedral, August 30, 2015, reprinted in the online edition of The Catholic New World, the Chicago archdiocesan newspaper, in the Archbishop's Column (September 20 - October 3, 2015)

• Interviewer: That’s in fact what the pope is reported to have said in an interview published this morning in La Repubblica when asked before the elections what he thought about Donald Trump. “I do not pass judgement on persons or politicians, I just want to understand what are the sufferings that their way of proceeding causes to the poor and the excluded,” the pope is quoted as saying. Cardinal Cupich: That’s right, and I think before an election it is important that we do not single people out and speak about them in a personal way. That has never been our our way of acting, and it is disturbing that some have deviated from that tradition and practice. We need to return to speaking about these issues without speaking directly about individuals and criticizing them personally.
  • From an interview of Gerard O’Connell, Cardinal-designate Cupich speaks on crossing great divides in U.S. life and church, American Magazine (November 14, 2016)

• (About the Catholic Church sexual abuse cases). [Prelates] have to be very clear about an accountability procedure for accusations about bishops. Bishops have to, as a group, say, 'We cede our rights as bishops to have somebody else come in and investigate us,'. Every bishop has to be willing to say, 'I will allow myself to be investigated by an independent group if there is an accusation against me.'
  • From an interview of Joshua J. McElwee and Heidi Schlumpf, Exclusive: Cupich says bishops must cede authority, allow lay oversight of accusations, National Catholic Register (October 15, 2018)

• I’m moving along on the crest of the wave that he has created. That’s to my advantage, because there is a new enthusiasm, an awareness of what it means to be church. The fact that the media has tied my wagon to his horse has been very helpful because there is a way in which the Holy Father is opening us to look at how the church can be of service to the world. That’s something I’ve always believed. People ask me whether I like what the pope is saying. I say, “Yeah, but I’ve been saying this for forty years as a priest.” The real enthusiasm that people have for the life of the church and for the moment of transition in this archdiocese is tied in many ways to what the pope is doing.
  • From an interview of Grant Gallicho, An Interview With Archbishop Blase Cupich. A Listening Church, Commonweal Magazine (January 22, 2015)

• (In an open leter to Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila) Catholic sacramental theology is based on the premise that the sacraments are the work of Christ, which is the meaning of the Church’s affirmation at Trent (DS 1608) that the sacraments act ex opere operato, or, as St. Thomas wrote in the Summa, III, 68,8: ‘The sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God.’ Owing to the nature of God, Christ and his works can never be diminished by any act on our part. [...] I write as a brother bishop with the suggestion that you consider offering a public clarification of your point.
  • As quoted in Cardinal Cupich asked Archbishop Aquila for 'public clarification' over Eucharistic doctrine, The Pillar (April 22, 2021)