What should Catholics be concerned about this year? There seem to be five important issues we should worry about — and here they are.
1 Religious Liberty. Catholics were concerned in 2012, when the Obama Administration tried to force us to pay for contraceptives and abortifacients, among other things in our health care plans, violating the First Amendment, which protects our freedom to worship and practice our faith publicly without interference from the government. Guess what? The Administration is going forward and seems willing to take on not only the Church but anyone whose faith stands in the way of their agenda.
2 Catholic Identity. Catholicism is always a rather tumultuous faith, with its members arguing about religious issues and seeking a way to present our faith to the secular world. But what is happening now is stunning. Catholics who should know better are questioning our belief system. Disobedient priests challenge dogmas essential to our faith and say the Church must change certain essential dogmas. Catholic writers dismiss the importance of the priesthood and sacraments. Too numerous to mention here, they can be easily found on the internet. Worse than this is the ignorance of our Catholic faithful. Here the Church must claim a mea culpa. Because it has not taught the faith clearly in the last generation, Catholics simply do not know the faith.
3 White Flight. All one has to do is look at the practice of our faith in this country to see that there seems to be an exodus of white Catholics away from the Church. We are so big as a Church that a million followers leaving here or there is unnoticeable, particularly when Hispanics are joining our parishes in increasing numbers. They are not simply leaving because of bad homilies or music. Whether in dull or vibrant parishes, they simply drift away, and we need to find out why.
4 Same Sex Marriage. Most Catholics believe this is okay; it is not. If we allow marriage to be anything other than one man and one woman, we will collapse our society, certainly not immediately, but inevitably. Marriage and family, as they are traditionally understood, are the pillars holding up our society. The Church is going to fight the secular powers vociferously on this. Will we join the struggle as faithful Catholics, or will we sit on the sidelines, betraying our faith and allowing a godless secularism to overwhelm our society?
5 Atheistic Secularism. Lastly, no Catholic can ignore the many attacks on our faith. Check out Frank Bruni’s Sunday editorial in the New York Times (http://bruni.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/examining-the-support-for-same-sex-marriage/) to read the most vicious anti-Catholic screed in recent times. Not only are secularists attacking Catholics for their activism in the real world, they are beginning to attack our core beliefs, urging Catholics to support a radical left-leaning agenda that sees our concern for human life, our belief in the authority of the pope and bishops, indeed, our basic belief in Jesus, as outmoded, outdated and irrelevant. Some prominent Catholics, including some priests, have joined this atheistic secularism in attacking our faith.
Lots to be concerned about. We will talk more about these issues in the weeks and months to come. There should be no despair or despondency about these issues. Jesus himself predicted the struggle we are in. You remember what he said? “Do not be afraid.” And after he said that, he said he would be with us, giving us strength to fight the terrors of the day.
He has already overcome the world. Let’s just make sure we stay by his side, reminding a darkening world of the power of his light and his truth.