Renew The Church! – website and Blog

Many Catholics are knee-jerk Democrats.  Holding tight the Church’s teaching for a “preferential option for the poor,” these loyal Democrats swallow the pills of free abortions, amoral equality in all ways for active homosexuals (I cannot bring myself to use the word “gay” now distorted to its modern meaning), further destruction of marriage and disintegration of families of the poor, the upending of all Catholic notions of subsidiarity, the discarding of the need for personal responsibility among the poor, the strangulation of personal initiative and the massive expansion of a socialized welfare state – and so on – all these poison pills are in the cup with the one that is labeled “social justice” and so many Catholics swallow them all together.

The result is the election, and now the re-election, of the most pro-abortion president in our history.  I remain astounded that this happened.  Even after these weeks since the election, I want to remain in disbelief and denial.  How did it come to this?  If not for the Catholic vote, it would not have happened.  If not for the Catholic silence in the pulpits, I speculate, and if not for the absence of solid Catholic adult formation in the Faith, it would not have happened.  If Catholics were formed in the truth of our responsibilities to society – and if we lived them – Catholics would not have en masse handed all “preferential option for the poor” over to a political party that promised to do it for us, on the cheap: the Democrats.  Of course, nothing true or good is cheap.  There is poison in that easy-in easy-out fast-food party of “social justice,” and the whole country is showing the growing weakness and sickness of heart that leads eventually to death.  There is a fault in the wall, and the wall will fall.  The Church was sent to be a watchman for the city and a light for the nations, and we have become too drunk with the toys and pleasures of secularism to stand our guard.

A major factor in this misguided political philosophy of the Church in America is the widespread misunderstanding of Catholic social teaching, and social justice.  I recently read an excellent article – superbly crafted and written.  It gives a precise and accurate Catholic analysis of the mess we have gotten ourselves into.  Please read it!  The article is in Crisis Magazine on-line:

Catholic Social Teaching: It’s Time to End the Misrepresentations, by Anthony Esolen.

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Here are a few possibly helpful references:

Catholic Social Teaching on Poverty, an Option for the Poor, and the Common Good

The Catechism on Social Justice, #1928-1948

Compendium on the Social Doctrine of the Church