Belmont Abbey College Takes on Caesar: Has a New Catholic Resistance Begun in the US?
I suggest that this recent action of Belmont Abbey is an act of an emerging Catholic Resistance in the United States
We live in a time when the Church is called to be a believing community of resistance. We need to call things by their true names. We need to fight the evils we see. And most importantly, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that by going along with the voices of secularism and de-Christianization we can somehow mitigate or change things. Only the Truth can set men free. We need to be apostles of Jesus Christ and the Truth he incarnates (Archbishop Chaput)
PrintBELMONT, NC (Catholic Online) - Belmont Abbey College is nestled in beautiful Belmont, North Carolina, a picturesque campus not too far from Charlotte, North Carolina. The College was founded by Benedictine Monks in 1876 and stands as a sign of hope for Catholic Higher Education. It is a bright light in the Catholic Church in the United States and a vital part of the New Evangelization.
When President William Thierfelder began his leadership of the school he made a public profession of faith and took the oath of fidelity to the Church's Magisterium in fidelity with Blessed John Paul II's decree entitled "From the Heart of the Church" (Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 1990). Every Professor of theology has a Mandatum from their local bishop, which is the official church recognition that they intend to teach in full communion with the teaching office of the Catholic Church.
The College's courageous stand against the encroachment of the Federal Government on Religious Freedom when the EEOC sought to force it to distribute contraceptives was an example of heroic Catholic witness and inspired many. In a recent article in the re-launched "Crisis Magazine" entitled "At Belmont Abbey, Catholics Fight Back" Gerald J. Russello explains the recent act of courage undertaken by Belmont Abbey College:
"Earlier this month, Belmont Abbey College, a small, century-old Benedictine college in North Carolina that has deep devotion to its Catholic identity, sued the federal government for violating its rights to worship freely because of certain provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, known as "Obamacare." Among other things, the Act requires institutions to include the provision of coverage for abortion and contraceptives as part of their insurance plans. Providing such coverage would, of course, violate the Catholic principles of Belmont Abbey and countless other religious institutions.
"As has been widely reported, before filing this suit, Belmont Abbey struggled against the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that had claimed the college was "discriminating" against women for not including such services in its insurance coverage. Remarkably, Belmont Abbey is almost the only Catholic educational institution to resist the act or similar laws that have been passed across the country at the state level."
I suggest that this recent action of Belmont Abbey is an act of an emerging Catholic Resistance in the United States. It may also signal a new turn in our relationship with an increasingly hostile federal government.
On Tuesday, August 24, 2010, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia addressed the Canon Law Association of Slovakia. The address was, entitled "Living within the Truth: Religious Liberty and Catholic Mission in the new order of the world. I was reminded of his words when I read of the recent action of Belmont Abbey College.
The Archbishop spoke of the necessity of living "within the Truth" and spoke of forming a "Catholic Resistance". Belmont Abbey is doing that.
In discussing the decline of Western Culture the Archbishop began with these words, "Tertullian once famously said that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church. History has proven that to be true. And Slovakia is the perfect place for us to revisit his words today. Here, and throughout central and eastern Europe, Catholics suffered through 50 years of Nazi and Soviet murder regimes. So they know the real cost of Christian witness from bitter experience -- and also, unfortunately, the cost of cowardice, collaboration and self-delusion in the face of evil.
"I want to begin by suggesting that many Catholics in the United States and Western Europe today simply don't understand those costs. Nor do they seem to care. As a result, many are indifferent to the process in our countries that social scientists like to call "secularization" - but which, in practice, involves repudiating the Christian roots and soul of our civilization."
He then assessed the true state of the West with a rare and sober clarity, warning, "We face an aggressively secular political vision and a consumerist economic model that result - in practice, if not in explicit intent -- in a new kind of state-encouraged atheism. To put it another way: The Enlightenment-derived worldview that gave rise to the great murder ideologies of the last century remains very much alive. Its language is softer, its intentions seem kinder, and its face is friendlier.
"But its underlying impulse hasn't changed -- i.e., the dream of building a society apart from God; a world ...
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An absolutely outstanding speech - reasoned, passionate and incisive. More than that Archbishop Chaput rightly warns us against self-delusion and complacency. We are faced by a formidable foe: social and political elites who have long nursed and planned their willful destruction of the West's Christian heritage. Their assault has been long in the planning and has already gained a massive head of steam. Hard times, perhaps much harder than anything we have faced for centuries, are coming down the track. We must prepare for those hard times, prepare ourselves and our families, without illusions or self-deception, but with the courage and hope of truth and our Faith as members of the one true Church of Christ. Archbishop Chaput is to be commended in spelling out this stark reality with such simple, clear and bold language. And as the old saying has it - 'forewarned is forearmed!' So for all of us, from the humblest foot solider (among whom I include myself) to our commanding officers in Holy Mother Church, let us prepare for battle!!
To Robert Burford- Obama is still trying to lead as many Catholics out of the Church as possible in order to win the next election. The true doctrines of the Church are the last great obstacle to his complete securalization of this country and the desire to destroy morality and replace it with amorality. Sadly too many Catholic voters fell for the pro death agenda of Obama and the Liberals last election. Christ said: if you love me do as I say and I did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it(10 Commandments). There is no moral relativism or amorality in the 10 Commandments. The secular amoralists are choking on the bone of those Commandments which the Catholic Church upholds. Many Catholics need to wake up and realize that if they are prolife they must always vote prolife or they are not only betraying Christ and His Church, but they are continuing to create a brutal murderous society. They shouldn't be shocked when it eventually turns on and attacks them and theirs. Their vote for the murderers in office helped to create the monster that will eventually harm them and their future generations. Catholics- wake up! God bless and sustain Belmont Abbey!
It is ironic that we would never ask a Jewish or Muslim person to eat pork. Why does the Obama administration think it is alright for Catholics to recognize a union between same sex couples or to condone abortions.
Let's be honest here, not all religions will be victims of "Inhuman Humanism" in the coming years. I can think of one religion in particular that is spared the "Separation of Church and State" nonsense that secularists spout. In fact, it is given a special place at the hearth of heathanism that is modern Liberal-though. Those that follow the murderous economic/political theories of the 20th century l.o.v.e. this particular religion. Here is a clue: 9/11.
We need "like" buttons on articles and comments. I am proud of Belmont Abbey and proud of my fellow Catholics here. I worry about my complacent fellow Catholics who don't realize we are being slowly heated up like the proverbial boiled frog.
Copy this story and write your representatives peacefully about it. They have to read it.
Great article Deacon Keith! I am so proud to be a Catholic! And it gives me a shot in the arm to hear this Abbey standing up to Ceasar! Here I refer politically to Vance & techwreck. Techwreck however, triggered a memory by mentioning Jesuits. (An older man, taking the same flight as I, noticed my crucifix that I was wearing, and asked if I was Catholic. I said "Yes". To which he asked if he could sit & talk while we waited for our plane. I agreed. He was a bit in despair, having sent his 3 children all through Catholic schools & H.S. & Jesuit College, to have them All turn away from their Faith.) I brought this up because I do not exactly hear a lot of good things coming out of some Catholic, esp. Jesuit colleges. This greatly disturbs me. It is one thing to be attacked from outside, but from w/in as well? I do not believe that it was coincidence that all 3 children left the Faith. The childrens ages were spread apart, the father, a humble religious man himself. He & his wife still go to Mass. I dislike to say this, but I hear this more & more. We also need to take a look a Catholic teaching. Evidently, the Jesuits are too liberal. I do not know what else to think? I am saddened. Yes indeed! we do need to form a Crusade of Catholic Resistance, and it is wonderful that this Abbey is standing up! God knows we need it! But here I think of Joe Rivera...What he says sounds "sound" enough to me...if that is the case...then what will happen? "Hear Our Prayers 'O Lord"....Blessings to all
Great article Deacon Keith. God Bless Archbishop Chaput, His words are challenging, exhilarating, and stir the Spirit. As believers we need to know and understand Gods word, the truth (the bible), his love letter to us.
Randy
Know what you believe
Believe what you know
Know the truth
Let the truth be known
My husband and I have three daughters we'd like to send to Belmont Abbey College in about 10 years. How I pray their doors are still open then. They are fighting the good fight and their uncompromising witness is powerful. Keep it up, Belmont.
Belmont Abbey is a beacon of morality in the morass of moral relativism and political correctness that is North Carolina's university system. The little college also compares favorably with much larger universities commonly know as "Catholic" but actually semi-Catholic in the Jesuit or other "traditions" that they substitute for the teaching of the Church. It is no wonder that the secular humanists of the Obama administration chose to make an example of Belmont Abbey in order to "send a message" to Christian colleges and universities about compliance with their pro-death agenda.