John Paul II and the Death of the Faith

FROM the EDITORS:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Opinions expressed on the Insight Scoop weblog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Ignatius Press. Links on this weblog to articles do not necessarily imply agreement by the author or by Ignatius Press with the contents of the articles. Links are provided to foster discussion of important issues. Readers should make their own evaluations of the contents of such articles.

NEW & UPCOMING, available from IGNATIUS PRESS

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

John Paul II and the Death of the Faith

A Swiss Guard stands in front of a painting of St. John Paul II as Pope Francis leads his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Oct. 22. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

John Paul II and the Death of the Faith | K. V. Turley | CWR blog

The "wisdom" of the second half of the 20th century answered by the wisdom of a sainted pope, an American friar, and a British genius

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

It will not survive; it will die.

That was the view of the Faith when I was younger. Now, over 40 years later, I can only but agree: it will die.

Growing up in the 1970s, the pervasive view was that religion was an embarrassment, a throwback to an age of superstition whilst all around the white heat of technological progress burned ever brighter. The then Pope, Paul VI, old and frail, appeared to have all but “lost” to the so-called Sexual Revolution that seemed to permeate everything—or so we were told by the media, leaving us with the feeling that everyone, save a few Catholics, had moved on from religion. It was to be a different era now; we were moving into a future that promised to be as contrasting as it was to be momentous, and with the certainty that there was no room for Catholicism.

Television domininated the 1970s, and it had a monopoly on our young minds; the secular agenda set by television shaped our worldview, forming one with no relationship whatsoever with the teachings of the Church. Like most of my contemporaries, we lapped up any televised cant (as long as it sounded plausible), from “experts” and the favored intellectuals of the day, believing, as we did, that such men knew “something” about “everything”. And, all the time, joined in this communal mind control, there were those around us decrying Catholic education's wholesale “brainwashing”. Looking back now, the assertion seems utterly preposterous, especially given the fact that many of those attending and teaching in such schools either misunderstood the Church's teachings or already rejected them outright.

It was clear this state of affairs couldn't continue. The Faith just couldn't survive, and not only in the British Isles, but all across the West. Nevertheless, as an adolescent, I wondered where it was all going to end; that said, one thing was patently clear: the Faith would die.