If I had told you 10, even five years ago, that by the year 2009 Catholics would hold major positions of power in national government and significantly influence the political and cultural climate of the United States, what would your response have been?
Most faithful Catholics, after overcoming the shock of the suggestion, would have applauded such a prophecy. They would have envisioned a nation functioning in accord with God’s commandments, respecting the dignity of each human life, and standing as a beacon of hope to the rest of the world.
And they would have been wrong, wrong, wrong.
We now have people who call themselves Catholics in unprecedented positions of authority in government, and it’s the worst thing that could have happened to us. In the showdown of the political and cultural war that is rapidly escalating since January’s presidential inauguration, these baptized Catholics have been our worst enemies. They blaspheme, they cause public scandal, and they flagrantly defy Church doctrine while insisting they are “good, practicing Catholics.” With Holy Communion on their tongues, they support unrestricted abortion on demand legislation, homosexual rights agendas, irresponsible fiscal policies, and social service initiatives designed to increase public dependence upon government-run programs.
What’s scandalous about these leading Catholics is that, despite rejecting Church doctrine, they refuse to reject the Church Herself. They insist that they are Catholics “in good conscience,” whatever that phrase has come to mean. They revel in media coverage of their spiritual sincerity and seek to enlighten the rest of us that we, too, can pick and choose our beliefs regardless of the Magisterium. They refuse to leave the Church. Instead, they seem content with remaining a thorn in Her holy side.
And that’s the place where ignorance crosses the line into the diabolical. No matter how unformed, how poorly catechized these elected officials are in their Catholic faith, they must be held responsible for the intrinsically evil agendas they are promoting in our nation. Their positions of power underscore the seriousness of their sins as they jeopardize their own souls and the souls of countless others who are led by their example and word into heresy and mortal sin.
Why do Catholics in the U.S. put up with this scandal? One answer is that most Catholics don’t know what is right or wrong, particularly in the arena of morality, and specifically on the subject of sexual sins. If you consider that most people who have been baptized into the Catholic Church are contracepting, divorcing, and don’t know what the inside of a confessional looks like, it’s easy to understand how they can be numb to scandalous actions and comments by Catholic lawmakers.
Another answer is confusion about the definition of conscience. Catholics don’t (or shouldn’t) form their consciences according to political polls, national trends, or personal preference. Our consciences are formed by instruction based on Holy Scripture and 2,000 years of Church tradition, dating to when Christ walked the earth and taught the first apostles. If you are going to allow a public figure to inform your conscience, please forget Nancy Pelosi and read St. Augustine, who was just as much a public figure and can tell you everything you need to know about sexual sin.
During the French Revolution, when many Catholics found it difficult to accept the unbridled bloodshed of the new regime, they were told it was simple to overcome their consciences: just go out, commit a mortal sin, and then receive Holy Eucharist. It was the surest way to kill a conscience then, and it still is.
Just as “conscience” has been contaminated by post-modern thinking, so has “compassion.” The things we Americans let slide in the name of compassion! Homosexual adoptions, late-term abortions, pornographic classroom materials, environmental hokum, unethical mortgage lending, you name it, we’ll swallow it as long as it’s coated with a sob story about how someone isn’t being treated “fairly.” We’d rather be called foolish than prejudiced, and we’d rather condone serious sin than be considered prudes.
Approximately one-quarter of the 111th Congress is Catholic, a number slowly rising in recent decades, according to the Catholic News Service. However, an ever-growing number of Congressional Catholics are Democrats who use their legislative clout to defend their party’s anti-Catholic agenda on issues of life, marriage, finances, taxes, government regulation and more.
The likes of Catholics such as Speaker of the House Pelosi, Vice President Joe Biden, soon-to-be-confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and other cabinet and Congressional members will continue to erode opportunities for a true Catholic voice to be heard in the national arena. Their presence undermines Gospel values and the clear role of Catholics in today’s confused world.
What should our response be to our own worst enemies? We pray for their conversions, and the salvation of their souls. We also look to St. Paul, who reminds us “…that to (those who) love God, all things work together unto good…” (Romans 8:28). For every Joe Biden, there is a zealous young man studying for the priesthood. For every Nancy Pelosi, there is a mother teaching the undiluted faith to her children. For every public official who is staining the Bride of Christ with their lies and dissent, there is a parish community immersed in the sacraments, which bring life and light to our consciences and empower us, despite our imperfections, to be faithful followers of Christ in and out of season.
The very presence of unfaithful Catholics on the national scene, and their perverted representation of the True Faith, is assisting in a renewal of Catholic expression, thought, and learning within parishes, schools, convents, seminaries, and most importantly, in homes. It is a movement that John Paul II prophesied would be a new springtime for the Catholic Church, and it is happening now. The inspiration is from the Holy Spirit, but much of the fuel for the fire, so to speak, is provided by the enemy within as they continually prick our determination to defend the Church of Christ.
Men and women of orthodox Roman Catholic faith are entering the ranks of law, education, mass communications, and yes, even politics. We are already seeing young priests and religious changing the course of the Church in America, as well as the thousands of young families who innately flock to them. In another generation, the numbers will multiply and the groundswell will continue to gain power.
Although the secular world may laugh at the thought of seemingly unpowerful people influencing the course of American politics and culture, they are wrong. They fail to see the eternal irony of God, Who takes the lowly and raises them up; Who takes the weak and makes them strong; and Who chooses to use the small to accomplish the greatest things.
So our own worst enemies will, in God’s design, serve a purpose after all.
