By Adolfo Castañeda, S.T.L. and Felipe E. Vizcarrondo, M.D.
The mission of Christ entrusted to the Church is of a supernatural order. It is not primarily political, economic or social. From this mission, however, derive teachings for all aspects of human life. This is why the Church rightly claims “the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles, including those pertaining to the social order, and to make judgments on any human affairs to the extent that they are required by the fundamental rights of the human person or the salvation of souls” (CCC 2032).
Read more . . . Does the Catholic Church Tell You How to Vote? – Truth and Charity Forum.
Servus Fidelis ~ The Faithful Servant 
What we need, and by we I mean Catholics and all other Christians, is good solid strong moral teaching from our various churches, that makes the congregation aware in no uncertain terms that there is good and evil, and the nature of good and evil does not change simply because some of us might decide for themselves that good and evil changes depending upon the perceptions of the individual. They need to have it hammered home that there are absolutes of good and evil, period. This moral relativism nonsense needs to be dispelled by our church leaders.
Parents also need to firmly and definitely ground their children in those absolutes, and make their children aware of the perils of moral relativism.
There’s a lot of work to be done. Time to roll up our sleeves and get out our cans of elbow grease.
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Unfortunately, we have teachers, priests, and even bishops that preach a different message. How can we ever come together as long as there are factions in our leadership about what is acceptable moral behavior? We need the Holy Spirit to change many hearts and minds from the leadership down to the layman. The average layman, I believe, doesn’t even use the teachings of the Church to decide on societal issues: they use their wants and desires.
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I think as laypeople, those of us who are going to hold to the teachings of the Church and obey its precepts need to do so in a very public way, and make our stance known, such as what you’re doing with this blog, for example. We need to make our voices heard. The more that do so, the louder will be the message.
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It is probably our last freedom that we retain to evangelize I’m afraid. I have been silenced in parishes and in my ministries. A few short stories;
I was relieved of teaching an RCIA class because one of the candidates for the Church was told by the priest that it was OK to contracept after I had taught the teachings of the church. In another instance, I was relieved of my prison ministry because I had the audacity to go to a more conservative parish on Sundays and to go to lunch with one of my mentors: the retired priest who I had helped write his book The Lamb of God. Just yesterday I was relieved from teaching RCIA and an Inquiry class because of several factors. First, my ecclesiology did not square with the pastors view of ecclesiology. Second, there were complaints about my blog which some thought was an attack on the Church. Third, there was a complaint that I was smoking a cigarette outside of the classroom reserved for the class and one of the busy bodies and gossips that are so prevalent in our church found this unacceptable. Fourth, another said that she heard me speaking out against our Bishops with another man outside the classroom. Of course, she has no idea if I was reciting an article I read or what the context of the remarks were as she was not in the conversation. Just an eavesdropper eager to spread scandal with little or no facts.
The problem today is progressives, both within and without the Church. They elevate what they have deemed their rights above all others even if it requires that they slander someone else with incomplete information. Though I would love to explain that every time she grills a steak or builds a fire in her fireplace she produces enough dangerous carcinogens and smoke that would in comparison produce many more toxins than a whole carton of cigarettes being smoked in the open air. I would also suggest that maybe she should go back to riding a bicycle as every other mode of transportation puts many more tons of pollutants in the air than does any personal decision on my part to enjoy an occasional cigarette. So it is the secular outcome of progressives gone wild. They have rights as they define them and deny rights if they infringe on their own personal beliefs. It is a world that has lost its mind and is totally self absorbed. The blog may be the last place a Catholic can get involved in evangelization unless one is blessed with a good orthodox priest who believes that we have liberties albeit within a framework of truths that we must hold. The progressives go far beyond that and are hellbent on eliminating the rights and liberties of others.
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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host –
by the Divine Power of God –
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
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That’s it my friend. I say that prayer every day and I think all Catholics should do the same. We need to send evil back into the dark shadows from whence it comes.
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If your parish and diocese is anything like mine, sooner or later you’ll get a new priest and yours will go elsewhere. Maybe your parish will get a new one that does hold to the traditional teachings of the Church. Something to pray for, at any rate.
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I’ve held out the hope for over 15 years and 4 pastors. I’m still waiting and hoping as you say.
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“Hope springs eternal in the human breast…”
Well, I’ll add you and your parish to my prayers. “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
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Indeed so, and prayer is our best weapon and defense in these confusing times.
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I think that is just dreadful – they are very silly to lose you.
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As you can see, I have experienced this almost from the beginning of my conversion to Catholicism. It is a battle to keep your faith and to evangelize and to seek out others who hold to orthodoxy. When you find an orthodox Catholic hold him close as a treasured friend.
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I’m very glad you have kept your faith. It has helped me and many others.
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Kind of you to say, Steve. You’re obviously one of those orthodox Catholics that I treasure.
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