Presently, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is meeting in Baltimore (thanks, KFD). Timothy Cardinal Dolan, outgoing President of the USCCB, on behalf of the Conference, welcomed Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio (essentially, the Holy Father’s “ambassador” to the U.S.), to deliver an address to the assembly yesterday evening. You can read the full text of Archbishop Vigano’s address here. It’s interesting.
John Paul I and Cardinal Wojtyla, 1978
There’s a quote in the Nuncio’s address that caught my attention, given by Cardinal Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) in an address during the Eucharistic Congress in 1976 for the Bicentennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He said:
“We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced. I do not think that the wide circle of the American Society, or the whole wide circle of the Christian Community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist. The confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence. It is, therefore, in God’s Plan, and it must be a trial which the Church must take up, and face courageously…”
That was nearly forty years ago. We can continue to pretend that the world isn’t afflicted by something…. very dark…. We can continue to believe that the instant times are notdifferent than times before…. but JPII makes our denials seem all the more…. ridiculous.
We must become like barnacles and firmly attach ourselves to the Rock, lest we get swept away by rising tides. Jesus says that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Rock. He doesn’t say that all Christians will be saved. So long as we are the Rock, and the Rock is us, we are safe!
Servus Fidelis ~ The Faithful Servant 
No wonder JPII will soon be canonized as a saint. His words are very prophetic. Oddly enough the Church is facing a number of trials in America, the country he singled out. It seems that the Church in particular is persecuted daily by outside forces of evil whether it originates with society in general, the media, or even our own government that lacked the fortitude to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. The faithful are viewed as homophobic, narrow-minded bigots living in the past. They feel Christians should accept abortion on demand, (some paid by taxpayers), pornography, lewd movies and TV programs, same-sex marriages, etc., etc.,–the list goes on and on. May God grant all of us the courage to stand up for our faith in these troubled times.
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So true Betty. I guess if there is a silver lining it is that about 95% of those who say they are Catholic aren’t. The other 5% in the remnant Church will fight the good fight and we do win in the end.
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Thank you sharing this. Sound much like the warnings of the Old Testament Prophets.
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It sure does, doesn’t it?
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Hi! I want to wish you a Happy New Year! I have not seen you around for some time, and I hope that all is well! God bless you. 🙂
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