The following comments come from a conversation I had with Catholic friends. The brief reflection that follows gives, what I believe, some of the reasons behind the demands for change to Catholic moral doctrines, regrettably voiced by many Catholics who defend modernist doctrines rather than truths of their faith. The grip of Catholic disinformation on the conscience is deep, strong and powerful, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. My hope is to loosen this powerful grip, and begin healing among the many victims fallen prey to its anti-Catholic vitriol, pomposity, and modernistic rhetoric.
“The Church is out of touch with reality and needs to change. It needs to get out of the Dark Ages especially on issues of morality.” So began the conversation. “The Church needs to stop being so homophobic on issues of sexuality, gender ideology and marriage. What is the Church so afraid of?” “Church attendance is declining all the time because of its rigid adherence and defense of out-of-date ideas on marriage and gender equality. Everyone was nodding in agreement.
“I have a lot of good Catholic friends and none of them attend Church. They are tired of being judged and made to feel shame for their lifestyle choices or for who God created them to be, they feel unwelcomed.” “They are doing nothing wrong and not hurting anyone!”
“The Church is irrelevant,” piped in another. “It has no authority to tell me or anyone else for that matter who we can or cannot marry, or how many children we can afford to have, or which couples are best suited to adopt a child.”
“You cannot deny that the vast majority of Catholics just ignore Church teachings anyway,” came a comment from another. “ Statistics and low Church attendance prove that Catholics are indifferent toward what the Church has to teach on modern issues of morality. Catholics disobey way more teachings they disagree with rather than blindly submitting to them”. “I live in the real world, not in the stone age.”
Comments like these stem from powerful anti-Catholic narratives which are ubiquitous on social media. The importance of using extreme caution and diligence when searching various media sources for accurate information on Catholic teachings cannot be overstated. Closer scrutiny of many of the “trusted sources” reveals the real issue of Catholic disinformation. Information presented to unsuspecting Catholics as accurate and factual. Inaccuracy is inherent, carefully nuanced to avoid detection, not completely false or fake, but very much misleading. For example, it is factual that many modern Catholics are demanding change. Many do reject, disobey Church moral teachings, deeming them ‘irrelevant’ and are simply ignoring them. But it is misleading and disingenuous to claim this attitude exists at the core of the modern Catholic conscience. Catholic disinformation is one of the main antagonists in family disputes on Church moral teachings, indoctrinating many into modernistic ideologies without counting the cost, the cost of truth and the loss of who-knows-how-many souls. Demands for changes to Catholic moral teachings have one commonality: to make the Church resemble more and more the modern world, lacking the truth of God!
I find it truly ironic that Catholics who defend modernist doctrines are blind to the demands inherent in the truth of Church moral doctrines, to defend the dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death and to defend the sacredness of marriage. By raising the teachings of the Church’s moral doctrines to their proper level of seriousness, as truths to be defended which lead to life or death, exposes this irony. If so, would most Catholics defend with deep conviction modern anti-Catholic narratives with their very lives? I have difficulty believing such. Am I being naïve? Perhaps some would say I am. Voices of dissent against the moral doctrines of the Church ruthlessly attack the Church’s stance on the dignity of all human life, on issues of gender identity, the definition of traditional marriage, teachings against sex outside marriage and reproduction rights, with passion and conviction. Anti-Catholic narratives are prevalent in the entertainment media, in most educational institutions, including in some professing to be Catholic and sadly in a minority of modern clergy. No wonder the grip of Catholic disinformation on the modern Catholic conscience, is deep, strong and powerful, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
The many voices of average Catholics who are convinced of the truth of the Church’s moral doctrines often fall silent, perhaps for fear of being censored, intimidated, ridiculed or how often conversations with family and friends become emotionally charged, with bursts of anger, hurtful words and division.
When feelings alone are used to legitimise the demands for change, the result is a trail of destruction in loving relationships. Modern ideologies have empowered feelings to the level of being the only source of authenticity, authority and legitimacy for truth, rendering Church moral doctrines naturally guilty of injustice, oppressiveness and dictatorial crimes.
I began with a hope to loosen the powerful grip that Catholic disinformation has on the modern Catholic conscience and begin healing among the many victims fallen prey to its anti-Catholic vitriol, pomposity, and modernistic rhetoric. The conversation I had with my Catholic friends ended with me simply asking them to envision what a Catholic Church that adopted all the changes to its moral doctrines would look like, to think about the real implications brought on by those changes. A Holy Catholic Apostolic Church adopting modern moral teachings which have resulted in the euthanizing of tens of thousands of people and the murder of tens of millions of unborn children.
A Church consisting only of accompaniment, preaching a gospel of compromise, lacking sanctifying grace, less rigid, where people “feel” included, journeying further and further from the Cross. A relevant Church no longer hated by the modern world which vehemently hates an irrelevant Christ! The real implication is death, the death of all Sacraments, and perhaps the loss of countless souls. The fall of the Church will be the fall of humanity. Am I being naïve?