The Observer, February 25, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 19
Free Speech Zone: Catholic Church not into fads; will persevere
To the Editor:
As a student leader for the Newman Catholic Student Association, I must note that the recent article and letter regarding the Catholic Church missed the point. While the Church is and will always be at odds with the world, as her founder foretold when he promised to guide her by "the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept," orthodox Christianity has survived for 2000 years because of her perseverance.
The fact is that Catholics are obligated to obey Church teaching. Like Crystal Antes, I am a convert, and I know it can be hard to embrace the Church's wisdom over our culture, but we must realize that the push for the Church to embrace egoistic sexuality (contraception and abortion for example) is the product of a trend that is only 70 years old. This is nothing, for the Church has combated ideologies of death with the Gospel of Life for centuries. From Gnosticism to Marxism, all have passed away while the Catholic Church remains.
Along the same lines, conscience does not just happen: it is formed. To say that something runs contrary to one's conscience merely states that it runs contrary to the authority that person has accepted, be that the Catholic Church or Hollywood. Those who take Christianity seriously must find resources like the Bible, the teachings of the Saints, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to cultivate a Christian conscience. This will help us to trust more in the grace of Christ than in the false "choices" of the world.
There are plenty of examples of Christian churches and peoples who have taken another route. The Anglican Communion, especially the Episcopal Church, has everything Anna Brady proposes (married clergy, female clergy, divorce, and birth control), and it is in a far steeper decline than the Catholic Church. Likewise, France embodies modern secularism, and in time Frenchmen will be nearly extinct: the contraceptive mentality is eliminating them. The lesson here is that the Church cannot overcome the shortage of priests (itself a result of selfishness on the part of men who refuse God's call and parents who dissuade their sons) by embracing today's selfish culture. She must challenge the culture with the Gospel, and her refusal to be a slave to fashion is what will preserve her.
Daniel Weick
Undergraduate Student
