Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila celebrates his 10th anniversary as archbishop of Denver next week. To mark the milestone, Catholic World Report recently conducted an interview with the archbishop in which he discusses some of the fruits of his time as Denver’s shepherd as well as some of the challenges the Church is facing.
On getting the call to be assigned as bishop to the archdiocese in which he was ordained a priest, Archbishop Aquila shared: “The experience taught me the importance of surrendering to the will of the Father, of seeking His will alone, and of dying to myself and my desires. I need to let my desires become one with the desires of the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It gives me tremendous freedom, and it fulfills the Gospel ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free'” (John 8:32).
On the challenges of evangelizing the people in Colorado, he stated: “Colorado itself is a very libertarian state. Many of its people are socially liberal and have surrendered to secular humanism. The challenges for the Church in this culture are great.”
