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worth noting . . .
THE GOSPEL OF LIFE . . . Our Holy Father, John Paul II, by analyzing the false premises of Communism, along with his colleagues in Poland, contributed to the fall of the Soviet empire. In his important encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, he zeroed in on the false premises underlying the anti-life attitude in much of modern thinking, especially the materialism, scientism and individualism. In this issue Fr. Thomas G. Morrow examines the letter from a philosophical point of view. He maintains that the Pope’s thinking, if widely disseminated, could be a cultural time bomb, that is, to redirect our society from being a culture of death to a culture of life.
CATHOLICISM AND TRUTH . . . The Catholic Church affirms and believes that she was founded by Jesus Christ 2000 years ago and that he is God. Since God is infinite being and truth, he can neither deceive nor be deceived. So the truth is that the Catholic Church is the only true church. The Catholic faith appeals to the whole man—intellect, will, senses and emotions. In this issue Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., no stranger to these pages, directs his keen mind to the “truth of things” which is found in Catholicism. Some people, he says, turn away from the Catholic Church because they are afraid that her claim to truth may be confirmed and then they would have to change their way of life.
CATHOLICS IN AMERICA . . . What is the impact of American Democracy on Catholics and the practice of the Catholic faith? Living in a hostile Protestant environment, Catholics lived on the fringe of social life until after World War II. From 1945 to 1965 there was a blossoming of Catholic culture in America, but it began to fade about the time Kennedy was elected president. In this issue sociologist Dr. Joseph A. Varacalli analyzes the present position of Catholics in America. He says that internal dissent and external pressure from a secular culture have seriously reduced the influence of Catholicism on American culture and life. Do you agree with him?
THOUGHTS OF A RESIGNED PRIEST ON HIS DEATHBED . . . The man who accepts ordination to the priesthood is a priest forever. Since Vatican II tens of thousands of priests have left the active priesthood to embrace secular life; for most of them, that meant marriage and a family. Some have been dispensed from the rule of celibacy, and some have not. What thoughts run through the mind of a resigned priest when he learns that he has terminal cancer and only a few days or weeks to live? In this issue, Fr. Frederick Heuser, who has been pondering this question for some time, suggests a line of thinking that might trouble a resigned priest as he is about to meet his God.—K.B.
Back to Homiletic & Pastoral Review Table of Contents May 2002