Authentic Christians have always and everywhere accepted a "healthy pluralism." At the same time, such Christians have also understood that they have an obligation to acknowledge their beliefs and to preach the moral message given to them by the Lord Jesus. The follower of the Lord Jesus possesses a qualified certainty regarding the tenets of Natural Law and other truths which are revealed by God and help guide the conduct of man. Consequently, the authentic Christian understands that Christian ethical principles inform human society.
The authentic Christian will reject the sophism of those who declare that anyone who does not buy into the Dictatorship of Relativism (a pluralism of opinions which rejects any and all absolute truth or even its possibility) is a "fanatic" or a "fundamentalist." On the contrary, the authentic Christian will defend the truth in a positive manner. And while respecting persons and living out charity, such a Christian will proclaim the truth without fear.
This is the mind of Christ. As Pope John Paul II taught us in his Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, No. 95:
"The Church's teaching, and in particular her firmness in defending the universal and permanent validity of the precepts prohibiting intrinsically evil acts, is not infrequently seen as the sign of an intolerable intransigence, particularly with regard to the enormously complex and conflict-filled situations present in the moral life of individuals and of society today; this intransigence is said to be in contrast with the Church's motherhood. The Church, one hears, is lacking in understanding and compassion. But the Church's motherhood can never in fact be separated from her teaching mission, which she must always carry out as the faithful Bride of Christ, who is the Truth in person. "As Teacher, she never tires of proclaiming the moral norm... The Church is in no way the author or the arbiter of this norm. In obedience to the truth which is Christ, whose image is reflected in the nature and dignity of the human person, the Church interprets the moral norm and proposes it to all people of good will, without concealing its demands of radicalness and perfection".
In fact, genuine understanding and compassion must mean love for the person, for his true good, for his authentic freedom. And this does not result, certainly, from concealing or weakening moral truth, but rather from proposing it in its most profound meaning as an outpouring of God's eternal Wisdom, which we have received in Christ, and as a service to man, to the growth of his freedom and to the attainment of his happiness.
Still, a clear and forceful presentation of moral truth can never be separated from a profound and heartfelt respect, born of that patient and trusting love which man always needs along his moral journey, a journey frequently wearisome on account of difficulties, weakness and painful situations. The Church can never renounce the "the principle of truth and consistency, whereby she does not agree to call good evil and evil good"; she must always be careful not to break the bruised reed or to quench the dimly burning wick (cf. Is 42:3). As Paul VI wrote: "While it is an outstanding manifestation of charity towards souls to omit nothing from the saving doctrine of Christ, this must always be joined with tolerance and charity, as Christ himself showed by his conversations and dealings with men. Having come not to judge the world but to save it, he was uncompromisingly stern towards sin, but patient and rich in mercy towards sinners."
I have always presented the Church's teaching regarding homosexuality in a spirit of truth welded with charity, see here for example. However, homosexual activist John Hosty from Salem, Massachusetts has repeatedly referred to me as a "bigot" at the comments section of this Blog post.
I have never responded to Mr. Hosty's angry and accusatory comments. And I have no intention of doing so. I forgive them because I know where the hatred and lack of peace comes from. So filled with anger and hatred is Mr. Hosty that he has just left another comment at this Blog (which I have decided to keep but not to publish) in which he accuses me of having hatred in my heart while asserting that, "Christ never intended for you to be so wrapped up in fear that life becomes a burden rather than the blessing it should be....With all the wonders we have been given why would you want to waste so much time on this constant doom and gloom."
By this Mr. Hosty no doubt means that my adherence to the Church's Magisterial teaching regarding the sinfulness of homosexual acts constitutes "fear" (I'm surprised he didn't use the code-word "homophobia") and that reminding others of the sinfulness of homosexual acts constitutes "doom and gloom."
I don't see it that way. The Commandments of the Lord Jesus do not represent "doom and gloom" unless you are firmly committed toward rejecting them. Yes, Hell is doom and gloom. But fidelity to the Good News of Jesus Christ is not an attitude of fear and negativity. It is an attitude of hope. An attitude of love. We keep His Commandments because we love Him (John 14:15). And we are not ashamed of sharing His Good News with others nor will we cower in fear before those who seek to silence us with their intolerance.
The Dictatorship of Relativism would paint authentic Christians as "bigots." Click on the link above [ the title to this post] and ask yourself who the real bigots are.
Related reading: Fascism has come to Canada
5 comments:
If homosexual activists such as John Hosty are really and truly committed to "pluralism," why do they continually attack the beliefs of Catholics and others who believe homosexual acts are sinful and ridicule them? Obviously because their "pluralism" is a sham. What they want is to criminalize and demonize opposition to homosexuality. What's happening in Canada is proof of this. And astute readers of that article will notice that such persecution isn't limited to Canada and that Canadian authorities want to be able to charge orthodox Christians in THIS country.
Time to wake up people!
Intolerant homosexuals want to prosecute Fr. de Valk for his Roman Catholic Faith. This even though he has said that, "The basic view of the Church is that homosexual acts are a sin, but we love the sinner."
Yes, it is crystal clear who the real bigots are Paul.....crystal clear. These Christianophobes don't want us to have the right to hold our beliefs. They would rather make it illegal to hold Christian beliefs regarding homosexuality and to preach these.
We are not the intolerant ones. As a practicing Catholic, I have never looked to throw homosexuals in jail or criminalize them just because I disagree with their choices. And I have never known a Catholic or any Christian who wanted to do so. Sure we disagree with their homosexuality. But, unlike them, we aren't out to make it illegal to hold certain beliefs.
These activists who want to prosecute Fr. de Valk want to deny Catholics their religious freedoms.
I don't imagine it will be long before the homosexual movement in the United States is asking the federal government to censor mail and to arrest Christians who oppose homosexuality and lesbianism. Catholic priests and pastors will have to be silenced, Catholic and Christian websites and Blogs, and the Bible re-classified as "hate literature."
Meanwhile, the silence from Catholics is deafening. Over at the HCCNS website, the Marian Movement of Priests is being classified as "heresy" but nothing is said about VOTF or the advance of the "gay" agenda.
The apostasy is blinding more and more people - even professing Catholics. Minds are darkening. We shouldn't be surprised though. Our clergy don't preach the truths of the Faith - for the most part - or the need to make a sacramental confession on a regular basis. I naver hear anything about the need for daily prayer either.
But some find the time to level false accusations against the Marian Movement. Incredible. Just incredible.
What's going on in Canada is a complete travesty. Catholics in Canada are entitled to maintain their religious beliefs and to express their deeply-held religious convictions. Canada is becoming increasingly hostile toward any expression of religious thought which doesn't fit in with the politically correct zeitgeist.
In his latest attack on Paul Melanson, anti-Christian homosexual activist John Hosty compares Paul with Dr. James Dobson and asserts that his sources are "garbage." This is a favorite tactic of John Hosty. Anyone who presents an intelligent argument against Mr. Hosty's Gospel of Sodomy and who cites an authoritative source or sources can expect Mr. Hosty to dismiss those same sources as "garbage." Indeed, any source not originating from the homosexual community is dismissed by Mr. Hosty. No matter how fair and objective the source. No matter how learned and respected the author/s.
This cheap tactic always fails. Intelligent people will readily see it for what it is. A propaganda ploy.
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