I
consider the pope's words to be a vindication
of our posture in the last political exercise.
As I have said, we were not playing politics,
rather we were fighting for the culture
of life.
What we witnessed is that there are
many Catholics, including priests and
nuns, who become the enemy within when
they "even give a helping hand
to this type of secularism." If
you do not gather, you scatter. In the
same way, if you do not speak out, then
you participate in the wrong that is
being perpetrated. Worse of course is
if you yourself supported pro-RH candidates,
especially for the highest post in the
land.
We
must speak out, and speak out clearly
and forcefully. As CFC-FFL we are called
to a prophetic role. A prophet is never
popular. He is misunderstood, opposed
and persecuted. He speaks often against
the establishment that be, including
the religious establishment. Being a
prophet is fraught with dangers. But
if prophets do not speak out, then,
God having spoken to them, they bear
a greater guilt. In our pro-life work,
we must maintain "a strong prophetic
dimension without allowing (ourselves)
to be silenced."
We
are called to shun political correctness.
We are called to be courageous. We are
being prepared for redemptive suffering.
We cannot simply take for granted that
the gates of hell will not prevail against
God's Church. That is true. But what
about those many souls that are lost
in the meantime?
With
a pro-choice, pro-RH, pro-population
control government, secularist opposition
will intensify. We must remain steadfast
and unyielding. The enemy is powerful,
composed of pro-choice politicians,
dissident theologians and Catholic educators,
and powerful media. We simply trust
in a victorious God.
At
the root of it all is our work of EVANGELIZATION,
given us from the start in 1981 and
still our main mission today. With evangelization,
we focus on renewing the FAMILY and
defending LIFE. We are a missionary
community, called by God to bring His
good news of salvation in Jesus to the
world. Part of that essential good news
is the crucial importance of the family
and of life.
Pope
Benedict in Portugal: Christians, Answer
to Secularism is to Re-Evangelize World
By
Hilary White
ROME,
May 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- Pope Benedict said in his many addresses
and homilies during his recently concluded
trip to Portugal that "vast effort
at every level" is needed to answer
the threats of
growing secularism in Europe, of which
abortion and homosexual "marriage"
are among "today's most insidious
and dangerous."
To
the assembled bishops in Fatima on Thursday,
he forthrightly called for "a
new missionary vigor," to counter
"politicians, intellectuals, communications
professionals who profess and who promote
a monocultural ideal, with disdain for
the religious and contemplative dimension
of life".
"In
such circles are found some believers
who are ashamed of their beliefs,"
Benedict added, "and who even give
a helping hand to this type of secularism,
which builds barriers before Christian
inspiration."
What
is needed, he said, is "a
vigorous Catholic outlook ... in fidelity
to the magisterium ... a strong prophetic
dimension without allowing yourselves
to be silenced."
The
theme of the entire three-day visit
was the call to all Christians to become
personally committed to missionary activity
and the re-evangelization of western
culture. He called for Christians at
every level in the Church and society,
to "bear witness to all of the
joy that [Christ's] strong yet gentle
presence evokes, starting with your
contemporaries."
He
asked Christians to display
courage in the face of secularist opposition
and even their own complacency, saying,
"Often we are anxiously preoccupied
with the social, cultural and political
consequences of the faith, taking for
granted that faith is present, which
unfortunately is less and less realistic.
Perhaps we have placed an excessive
trust in ecclesial structures and programs,
in the distribution of powers and functions;
but what will happen if salt loses its
flavor?"
In
comments on Thursday to social and pastoral
care workers in Fatima, Benedict became
even more explicit, praising work to
preserve "the essential and primary
values of life,
beginning at conception, and of the
family
based on the indissoluble marriage between
a man and a woman." These pastoral
works, he said, "help to respond
to some of today's most insidious and
dangerous threats to the common good."
Benedict's
call to the Christians of Portugal to
defend the spiritual and philosophical
roots of their culture came at the same
time that Portuguese legislators were
preparing to legalize same-sex "marriage."
This week Portuguese president Anibal
Cavaco Silva signed a law making Portugal
the sixth country in Europe to allow
gay “marriage."
It
has been announced that Pope Benedict's
call for the re-conversion of Europe
and other western, traditionally Christian
countries, will become the work of a
new Vatican Office, the Pontifical Council
for the New Evangelization. This expression
was coined by his predecessor John Paul
II and is an activity that has gained
strength in the U.S.
In
an address
to religious education teachers in December
2000, then-Cardinal Ratzinger, said
the New Evangelization is "the
path toward happiness," and "to
evangelize means to show this path-to
teach the art of living."
"For to me to live is Christ, and
to die is gain." (Phil 1:21)