Washington state Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib announced that he’s retiring from public office to become a Jesuit priest.
Habib, a rising Democratic Party politician and cancer survivor who has been blind since he was 8 years old, made the announcement on Thursday.
In a column for the Jesuit publication America Magazine published the day of his announcement, Habib explained that his decision came after “two years of careful and prayerful discernment.”
He noted that his political career was “firmly rooted in Catholic social teaching, which places the poor, the sick, the disabled, the immigrant, the prisoner and all who are marginalized at the center of our social and political agenda.”
“But over the past couple of years, I have felt called to a different vocation, albeit one that is also oriented around service and social justice,” wrote Habib.
“I have felt a calling to dedicate my life in a more direct and personal way to serving the marginalized, empowering the vulnerable, healing those who suffer from spiritual wounds and accompanying those discerning their own futures.”
Habib went on to note that “while we certainly continue to need people of good will to serve in elected office, meeting the challenges our country faces will require more than just policy-making.”
SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski
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