Caught In Between

As Christians and especially as Catholics, we are caught in between two powerful and destructive forces in the world. On the one hand there is the fanatical and radical Islam that is currently fueling riots throughout the world. This extreme and radical Islam justifies the killing of children as a political tactic, punishes those Moslems who convert to another religion, is hostile to the practice of other religions, and responds with violence to the least provocation. On the other hand, we have the corrupt forces of a globalized decadent Western culture of pornography and materialism passing itself off as entertainment and commercial advertising. Between these two destructive forces, the Christian witness stands alone as the sane, viable alternative. The authentic Christian witness joins faith and reason together, has a mature view of the relation between politics and religion, and seeks to protect the dignity of all human life from conception to natural death. The most powerful version of this Christian witness is the Catholic witness which flows from the central teaching authority of the papacy missing from other Christian communities-- a papacy that again and again has gone against the grain of a decadent, morally chaotic West addicted to contraception, lust, death, and materialism. The papacy also reaffirms today in the face of the irrational violence of radical Islam and in the face of the Western desecration of human love and life the ancient Christian truth: Deus Caritas Est, God is Love. God does not want or will suicide bombs or riots or assassinations or blatant violations of freedom of religion. God does not want the deconstruction of marriage, the normalizing of self-destructive lusts, or the exploitation inherent in sex without marital commitment.

In a recent talk, I recall George Weigel talking about the choice the world faces: which of the current world views on offer is the best for mankind? It is becoming increasingly obvious, even in some cases to avowed atheists and agnostics, that the Christian and Catholic way is the world view that offers the most coherent and genuine humanism to the world, a Christian humanism that challenges us to be better and does not appeal to our worst instincts. The other choices are clearly giving a blank check to the evil that lurks in the hearts of mean. Look around for the sane alternative. Sooner or later, you will look to Rome for the combination of reason and faith that a world in turmoil needs.