I understand that in a democratic
society, the Catholic Church and its members must try to shape social and political
policies and to have their voices heard on the pressing moral issues of the
day. There is no doubt that an increasing number of recent actions (beyond the
HHS contraception and sterilzation mandates) taken by the Obama administration pose real and imminent threats to our God
given and constitutionally recognized fundamental right - freedom of religion.
Freedom loving people of all religious persuasions and those of no religious affiliation
must stand up and defend this fundamental principle – one which no man, no
government, no nation has the right to restrict.
Nonetheless, I am at a loss to
understand how political strategizing and judicial skirmishes, no matter how
well-intentioned and necessary they both may be, should take precedence over
the Church’s primary duty - the sanctification and salvation of souls.
The Catholic Church has a duty to
preach Christ’s Truths in their completeness, not just the more palatable and
less controversial ones, to all peoples,
not just those who identify themselves as Catholic. The fact that many if not
a majority of Americans, Catholic and non-Catholic, may not believe abortion,
contraception, sex outside a sacramental marriage, sterilization and in-vitro
fertilization are intrinsically evil acts – neither
changes those Truths nor exempts the Church from explaining and teaching those
Truths to everyone. Jesus charged us
to “make disciples of all nations” did He not?
Instead of using the present attack
on our religious freedoms as an opportunity to simultaneously explain, with
clarity, courage and love, why the Catholic Church teaches that the acts listed
above are intrinsically evil, our current approach suggests we will defer that
portion of our duty until after the public fight over our religious freedom has
been resolved.
We may never have a better opportunity
to save souls or a wider platform from which to explain God’s teachings in these
areas to a broader audience than that which God has presented us with now. In
fact, we may not have the freedom to do so at all in the future.
It seems to this simple man, that
at least for now, too many are content to just preserve the rights of some Catholics
to believe these Truths and wait to an unspecified time in the future to
explain why all of us (Catholic and non-Catholic) should believe and live out
these Truths in our individual lives. What of the lives ruined and the souls lost
in the interim?
When was the last time you heard
a homily on any of these evils? When did
you last hear a priest preach on Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae (Human Life) or on Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life) written by Pope John Paul II or suggest
that you prayerfully read and study these documents? When was the last time you read an article
in your local secular or diocesan newspapers or had a parish speaker explaining
the compelling reasons behind these fundamental teachings of the Catholic
Church and the eternal consequences to those who reject them?
The more than forty years of silence in local parishes and in many Dioceses on these
issues goes a long way toward explaining why more Catholics are not engaged in this
most vital fight to preserve religious freedom in this country.
Make no mistake – the Catholic Bishops
are absolutely correct to warn us of this unprecedented attack on religious
freedom and to call us to pray and fight to preserve this God-given right.
But let me ask you this: What if
we are successful in preserving religious freedom but continue silently
condemning untold souls to eternal separation from a loving God because we
lack the courage to teach and challenge them to live the Truth?
Now is the time to end the silence!
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