Belmont Abbey College Takes on Caesar: Has a New Catholic Resistance Begun in the US?

12/16/2011

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where men and women might live wholly sufficient unto themselves, satisfying their needs and desires through their own ingenuity. This vision presumes a frankly "post-Christian" world ruled by rationality, technology and good social engineering. Religion has a place in this worldview, but only as an individual lifestyle accessory.

"People are free to worship and believe whatever they want, so long as they keep their beliefs to themselves and do not presume to intrude their religious idiosyncrasies on the workings of government, the economy, or Borrowing a trenchant phrase from the late Cardinal Henry de Lubac he warned of the rise of "inhuman humanism" and called for a Catholicism of Resistance:

"Today's secularizers have learned from the past. They are more adroit in their bigotry; more elegant in their public relations; more intelligent in their work to exclude the Church and individual believers from influencing the moral life of society. Over the next several decades, Christianity will become a faith that can speak in the public square less and less freely.

"A society where faith is prevented from vigorous public expression is a society that has fashioned the state into an idol. And when the state becomes an idol, men and women become the sacrificial offering. Cardinal Henri de Lubac once wrote that "It is not true that man cannot organize the world without God. What is true, is that without God, [man] can ultimately only organize it against man. Exclusive humanism is inhuman humanism."

"The West is now steadily moving in the direction of that new "inhuman humanism." And if the Church is to respond faithfully, we need to draw upon the lessons that your Churches learned under totalitarianism. A Catholicism of resistance must be based on trust in Christ's words: "The truth will make you free." This trust gave you insight into the nature of totalitarian regimes. It helped you articulate new ways of discipleship. Rereading the words of the Czech leader V�clav Havel to prepare for this talk, I was struck by the profound Christian humanism of his idea of "living within the truth." Catholics today need to see their discipleship and mission as precisely that: "living within the truth."

Like all prophetic men, the Archbishop of Denver used language in this extraordinary address which is inspired in the true sense of the word, filled with the Spirit. He also pulled no punches. The speech contained a searing and insightful analysis of what is rotting western civilization from within.

However, also like truly prophetic Christian men, the Bishop did not leave us there. He proposed a heroic response of living faith and sacrificial action:

"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. So what does this mean for us as individual disciples? Let me offer a few suggestions by way of a conclusion.

"My first suggestion comes again from the great witness against the paganism of the Third Reich, Dietrich Bonhoeffer: 'The renewal of the Western world lies solely in the divine renewal of the Church, which leads her to the fellowship of the risen and living Jesus Christ.' The world urgently needs a re-awakening of the Church in our actions and in our public and private witness. The world needs each of us to come to a deeper experience of our Risen Lord in the company of our fellow believers. The renewal of the West depends overwhelmingly on our faithfulness to Jesus Christ and his Church.

"We need to really believe what we say we believe. Then we need to prove it by the witness of our lives. We need to be so convinced of the truths of the Creed that we are on fire to live by these truths, to love by these truths, and to defend these truths, even to the point of our own discomfort and suffering. We are ambassadors of the living God to a world that is on the verge of forgetting him. Our work is to make God real; to be the face of his love; to propose once more to the men and women of our day, the dialogue of salvation.

"The lesson of the 20th century is that there is no cheap grace. This God whom we believe in; this God who loved the world so much that he sent his only Son to suffer and die for it, demands that we live the same bold, sacrificial pattern of life shown to us by Jesus Christ. The form of the Church, and the form of every Christian life, is the form of the cross. Our lives must become a liturgy, a self-offering that embodies the love of God and the renewal of the world."

We need to heed Archbishop Chaput's call for a Catholicism of Resistance. You can read the entire address here. We also need to stand strong with Belmont Abbey College in prayer and solidarity.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Belmont Abbey College, Affordable Care Act, Religious Freedom, Catholic Resistance, Archbishop Chaput, Health care, Conscience, Deacon Keith Fournier

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1 - 10 of 14 Comments

Joseph
1 year ago
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!!
Diane
1 year ago
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!
Robert Burford
1 year ago
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.
Tim
1 year ago
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.
ninek
1 year ago
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.
JeanCatherine
1 year ago
Copy this story and write your representatives peacefully about it. They have to read it.
Judy
1 year ago
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
Randy
1 year ago
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
Jennifer
1 year ago
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.
techwreck
1 year ago
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.

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