Friday, April 11, 2014

The Face of the American Catholic – Catechized but Not Evangelized


In a recent discussion with a group of professional Pastoral Associates we were discussing what was being done in our parish to teach various age groups about Church doctrine related to marriage and family issues.  At the end of a very productive discussion the statement as made – “I think we agree that we do a pretty good job at catechizing but we are not evangelizing.”  That one statement started a thought process that leads me to reflect on the situation in which the Church finds herself in the United States.

In recent blog posts Deacon Greg Kendra and the guys over at Shameless Popery both commented on Stephen Colbert taking over for David Letterman on CBS’s Late Night.  They note that the late night viewing options are now all hosted by purported Catholics and on the surface this could be seen as a trend.  We note with some embarrassment that our Vice President, Joe Biden and out-going Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius also claim (or are claimed) to be Catholic in spite of their active attacks on key elements of Church teaching. 

It is not surprising that Catholics occupy a large number of very public positions in government and the media.  We are after all the largest Christian group in the world accounting for nearly 25% of the US population.  Protestant groups still outnumber us as a total percent of the US Population at 46% but their identity is not as prominent and less likely to be stated as an identifier of moral or political position.  With numbers like those, would you think that, as a nation, we would be leading the charge globally for Christian Morality?  But this is obviously not the case.  As we all know the fastest growing group, according to the last census were the “None’s”- those who had no religious affiliation at all.  We think these numbers may be under-reported.

Or, is it something else?  Is it that, while most Catholics know what the Church teaches and believes, those teachings and moral ideals are not considered relevant when they take their place in society?  That means that while they have been catechized, they have not been evangelized.  They know in their heads what the Church teaches on subjects like marriage, the definition of family, and the dignity of the human person.  But that head knowledge has never made it to the heart. 

The lack of acceptance of Church teaching by such a large portion of those professing to be Catholic should give us all pause for thought.  Why would a person say “I’m Catholic” but support pro-abortion groups?  Why would a person like Kathleen Sebelius not only support but propose government policies that forced faithful Catholics to abandon their faith and conscience?  Why would our Vice-President say he had come to believe that the definition of marriage, held since the beginning of recorded history, be changed to include individuals who believe that sexual preferences should be given the same status as religion?

The only possible reason must be that those who profess our faith but knowingly act contrary to it have never been evangelized – have never truly accepted the Lord and his Bride, the Church.  What is most frustrating to this deacon is the Lord calls us to love these misguided souls.  On one level I accept and understand this requirement.  I pray for those who persecute me, that they might see truth and come back to the faith they profess.  On the other hand I feel we must stand up against these same people and say we are the people they promised to serve and that separation of Church and State does not mean removal of the Christian values upon which our country was founded.

I do not have any solution for the state we find ourselves in.  I only pray that we can evangelize the catechized and return to a moral foundation laid in a bygone era.

Pax

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