The
Church proclaims the gospel of salvation
in Jesus Christ. This gospel of salvation
is centered on the cross. Jesus is the
suffering servant, who went through the
agony of crucifixion in order to redeem
us from our sins and restore us to our
relationship with God.
This gospel of the cross, this proclamation
of Christ crucified, is a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.
And even for Christians, the proclamation
of this authentic gospel is being avoided
or downgraded. Thus you have the gospel
of prosperity. Thus you have political
correctness. Thus you have silence in
the face of rabid and vicious attacks
on the tenets of the faith.
The Church proclaims Christ. If in proclaiming
the authentic gospel it becomes unpopular,
is rejected, loses members, degrades
its political power, then so be it.
In fact, that was the path of the Savior.
We are called to follow him, including
embracing his cross.
The
Church Does Not Need to “Be Attractive”
but to Proclaim the Truth: Pope to Journalists
By
Hilary White
ROME,
September 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)
– Pope Benedict XVI has made it
clear that he is not going to mince
words or waste time on his visit to
a Britain beleaguered with social unrest,
chronic welfare dependency, pornography,
family breakdown, plummeting rates of
marriage, record levels of abortion
and increasingly aggressive –
and politically successful – secularism.
In
his customary press conference aboard
his Alitalia flight to Edinburgh this
morning, Benedict was asked whether
he hopes “to make the Church as
an institution, more credible and attractive”
in a country where secularism is becoming
the standard. Benedict replied,
“A Church that seeks to be particularly
attractive is already on the wrong path.”
The
Church, he said, “does not work
for her own ends, she does not work
to increase numbers and thus power.”
The
Church “serves, not for herself,
not to be a strong body, rather she
serves to make the proclamation of Jesus
Christ accessible, the great truths
and great forces of love, reconciling
love that appeared in this figure and
that always comes from the presence
of Jesus Christ.”
Benedict
brushed aside concerns about his reception,
saying, “I must say that I’m
not worried.”
Western
countries, he said, have both strong
“anticlerical or anti-Catholic
currents,” but also “a strong
presence of faith.” Britain may
have a strong history of anti-Catholicism,
but it “is also a country with
a great history of tolerance.”
“When
I went to France I was told: ‘This
will be a most anticlerical country
with strong anticlerical currents and
with a minimum of faithful.’ When
I went to the Czech Republic it was
said, ‘This is the most non-religious
country in Europe and even the most
anti-clerical’.”
Asked
about the revelations of the sexual
abuse of minors by clergy, Benedict
expressed his sadness. “It is
difficult to understand how this perversion
of the priestly ministry was possible.
“The
priest at the time of ordination, after
having prepared for this moment for
years, says yes to Christ, to be his
voice, his mouth, his hands and serve
Him with his whole life, so that the
Good Shepherd who loves and helps and
guides to the truth is present in the
world. How a man who has done this and
said this may also fall into this perversion
is difficult to understand.”
After
visiting Scotland today, and saying
an open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park,
the pope is now headed to London. On
Friday he will visit St. Mary’s
University College where he will meet
with representatives of various religious
congregations and approximately 3,000
youth. He will also meet with the Archbishop
of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace, will
deliver an address at Westminster Hall,
and will finish the day with evening
prayer at Westminster Abbey.
"For
to me to live is Christ, and to die is
gain." (Phil 1:21)