"A New Pentecost": Catholic World Report editorial, May 2008

A New Pentecost | George Neumayr | Catholic World Report editorial | May 2008

The Holy Father’s inspiring visit to the United States.

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Speaking to the US bishops on April 16, Pope Benedict XVI made the arresting comment that an “almost complete eclipse of an eschatological sense” marks “many of our traditionally Christian societies.” America, he didn’t need to add, is one of them, but the very warmth of the welcome the Holy Father received in the US and the intensity of attention during his visit suggested a growing exhaustion with the eclipse of religion under secularism and a hunger for God’s revelation of man’s ultimate purpose.

Burdened by the yoke of an ideology that treats God as irrelevant to the ordering of society—an ideology which has at once destabilized public life, eroded the foundations of culture, and corrupted US Catholicism—Americans were ready for the Holy Father’s theme of “Christ Our Hope,” open to his arguments about the harmony of reason and revelation, and moved by his humility and piety.

Read the entire editorial...

Comments

[Runescape Gold]

moved by his humility and piety.

[TulipaToo]

A wonderful analysis of Benedict's visit and what he was truly saying. But how many American Catholics are really listening? How many bishops and American educators are listening? Benedict has been saying these things all along, just because he visits America doesn't mean the apostates are going to listen. The decay of our culture is too widespread to hope that things will change in our lifetime. Benedict's words will echo down the century, but a truly healthy, holier culture will not take hold until 2075 or so, in my opinion.

Certainly, there are now pockets of hope. Young seminarians are far more orthodox. Religious orders who truly "get it" are thriving. But American Catholicism is in a shambles. Whatwith American Catholics clinging to consumerism, birth control, reproductive technology, divorce, co-habitation, abortion and gay rights, there's little to be cheery about.
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[Augustine II]

Another excellent editorial from Neumayr. My favorite part:

"In a false age, Pope Benedict offers truth; to the weary and enslaved, he represents grace. As the eye naturally turns to light, so people of good will turn toward holiness."