Editorial: On Accepting the Church’s Teachings

On Accepting the Church’s Teachings

SURVEYS   show that 76% of . . .

. . . all Catholic women in the country – apparently supported by 71 to of the priests – feel free to practice artificial birth control. Abortion, traditionally considered by Catholics to be tantamount to murder, is slowly gaining in acceptance – even among some of the Church’s leading theologians.”

The above quotation is from a secular daily newspaper with a wide circulation. The passage, along with several others from a series of articles on the recent Synod in Rome, seems to indicate that a great deal of confusion exists among Catholic people in the United States.

It could be that this sort of confusion is nothing new. Maybe it existed in years past but did not surface as it is doing today. We don’t pretend to know. But the fact is that it is widespread in the modern American Church today, and for all we know, it may be prevalent elsewhere as well.

Hard Realities of Christian Living

This editorial does not deal with the matter of contraception, abortion or divorce. Ours is a devotional magazine, one intended to stimulate piety, especially devotion to our Blessed Lady. But it is our conviction, based on years of experience and a great deal of reading, that the existence of this confusion among Catholics is only a symptom of a deeper problem: a lack of faith in the Church that Christ founded and a refusal on the part of many to face up to the hard realities of Christian living.

And indeed, those realities are hard. Every Christian should realize that. The Church never told them otherwise. And Christ Himself made it clear to us that following Him would not be a bed of roses. He told us, through His life and teaching, that His disciples were to take up their cross and follow Him or they would not be worthy of Him.

As Catholics, We Must Accept . . .

It will help the readers of The Queen to avoid this confusion and upset in their own lives by paying strict attention to the fact that when there is a conflict between the teaching of the Church and the opinions of theologians – even “leading theologians” – we, as Catholics, accept the teaching of the Church. And, as Catholics, it is our obligation, in faith and in honesty, to notify confused people that this is not a matter of controversy or opinion. Only the Pope and the Bishops speak for the Church. If theologians contradict them on matters of faith and morals, then they are wrong.

It will also help our readers if they understand that popular opinion polls do not decide what is morally right and morally wrong. St. Paul himself knew that he was a minority of one when he exhorted the people of Corinth to straighten out their morals. And even if 71% of the priests in this country reject the teaching of the Church, then 71% of the priests in this country are flat wrong. Whether they mean well or are just ignorant, is completely beside the point. The Church is right, and they are wrong, for the simple reason that Christ promised to be with the Church, not public opinion polls, to the very end of time. And he told the Church, not “leading theologians,”: “Who hears you, hears Me.”

. . . the Teachings of the Church

Our readers know that we have been through this sort of thing many times in the past. We assure them that the Church is not falling apart at the seams. Christ is still with His Church, and like the storm on the Sea of Galilee, this too shall pass in God’s good time. The Lord has blessed us with a Pope who is a man of courage and faith, letting everyone know that he stands firm on the teaching of Christ, and letting them know further that he intends to continue acting as the Vicar of Christ on earth.

Meantime, we ask you to pray for all who are confused and upset in today’s Church, including and especially, 71% of American priests and “leading theologians.”