Sometimes we hear or see things that leave us incredulous. Such an experience happened to me recently when LifeSiteNews reported that a Catholic bishop in France issued a statement in opposition to those who oppose the legalization of same-sex marriage. The bishop is reported to have claimed that such demonstrations perpetrated “violence against homosexuals.”
Not only does such an accusation startle me in view of how well the “Manif pour tous” (marriage for all) organizers have defined their goals, but it calls into question the bishop’s allegiance to the Church and her definitive teachings on homosexual practices. Recall the Church teaches that we hate the sin and love the sinner.
The bishop’s proclamation further suggests that the nuclear family as defined so many times by Church fathers and various (1930, Section 53) popes has become somehow outdated and passé. But Christ taught definitively that those who lead the innocent into serious sin would be far better off if they had a millstone around their necks and were dropped into the sea.
Yet one need not go to France to learn about the decay that has crept into the Church, her leaders, and, as a consequence, her flock. Just recently, Jonathon Van Maren wrote a remarkably insightful article on the fallout from the sexual revolution. He explained that in our current age of sexual awareness we educate our children a bit differently:
When we approach the youth of our culture today, we’re not telling them what might happen as the result of the sexual revolution, we’re telling them what has happened—and how to avoid those consequences themselves. We now know that the free love utopia promised by hedonistic academics and drugged-up hippies was as illusory as their narcotic-induced hallucinations. All we have to do is show them the half-century report card and ask them questions—ask them if porn and hook-up culture and abortion has made them happy. Our society has confused pleasure with happiness for too long, and now that we’ve gotten a good look at the fall-out, many people are rediscovering age-old truths that our culture abandoned on the ill-fated whim of those who thought to justify their own desires.
And how do we tell our children to avoid those consequences? We teach them about “responsible sex” and tolerance toward those with a different perspective on lifestyle than what traditional folks find acceptable. In other words, while we may be helping them see the fallout of the old-time sexual revolution, we are not warning them that the current day problems with blindly following the herd and never suggesting that any behavior is sinful might lead a soul to hell.
Van Maren is on the right track, however, and all we really need to do is carry his recommendations one step further. It is incumbent on us to make it clear as well that there are right ways of dealing with sexual aberration when we see it and there are wrong ways. Frankly the best way is to take those lessons we are learning today and use them as tools to assist others in awakening to truth and converting to Christ’s principles rather than man’s recommendations.
The fate of the traditional family and, most importantly, the eternal salvation of souls is at stake!
The situation can best be addressed by spreading the good word. We know and believe there is joy in proclaiming justice, in encouraging the wayward to understand that doing God’s will is the ultimate choice, and that living our own lives by imitating Christ in love and compassion creates a guiding light for others.
For tangible steps you can take to learn how to defend the family, go to www.defendthefamily.org. In doing so, you will equip yourself with the necessary tools to be a soldier of truth in the quest to win souls for the Lord.
Pray for the Church!
Pray for families!
Pray for our nation!