Guest Opinion: Fr. Jay Scott Newman in the Lion's Den
sympathy. Converts told how priests like Father Newman and me gave them hope and drew them to the Catholic Faith. College students and old people wrote saying that they were encouraged in their faith and were determined to renew their pro-life fight because of Father Newman's letter. Priests and religious wrote thanking us for our stand and telling us to fight the good fight. Loyal, informed, and dedicated Catholics wrote simply to express their thanks and goodwill.
The thousands of e-mails we received reveal four American responses to full-fledged, red-blooded Catholicism.
The demonic were understandable: The devil will be a gentle dog as long as you feed him, but if you kick him, he bites back. The lame are those who are largely ignorant of the Catholic Faith, and can best be helped with prayer.
But the "defiant" category makes up the largest number of our respondents, and is the saddest category of all. Statistics show us that these are the Catholics who sealed Obama's victory. They are people who were poorly catechized over the last 40 years in America. They have been nurtured in the Protest Generation and told that it is fine, even noble, to disagree with the Church. They have been taught to act according to their conscience without taking the trouble or time to inform it.
Caught up in the trendy agendas of the day, they have jumped on the bandwagons of feminism, environmentalism, homosexualism, socialism, and sentimentalism -- mistaking their favorite cause for the Catholic Faith. When they are confronted with clear, concise, and consistent Catholicism they are shocked and angry, and their response is (if they haven't done so already) to leave the Church, preferring their own wisdom to the wisdom of God.
In the next 20 years, this sort of Catholic will become extinct. As America descends further into decadence and decline, the lines will be drawn between the forces of darkness and the forces of light. People will have to choose whether to serve God and His Church or the dark side. Catholics will have to choose to be fully committed or not. If they choose to be Catholic, let them be informed and involved and integrated. If they choose to leave the Church, then they should be honest and stop referring to themselves as Catholic.
If those in my "defiant" category are Catholics at all, then what kind of Catholics are they? We have heard the terms "cultural Catholic" and "cafeteria Catholic," but they might as well be called "chameleon Catholics" -- not only because they change color with every new trend of thought, but because there is something reptilian about them.
Rev. Dwight Longenecker is chaplain of St. Joseph's Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. Visit his Web site at www.dwightlongenecker.com.
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The idea that voting for Obama was sinful because Obama is pro-choice is preposterous. McCain is a supporter of the death penalty and is also a war hawk. These aren't pro-life characteristics.
The woman who get's an abortion and the person who performs it are the sinners.
I too am concerned and disheartened by those who call themselves Catholic, and yet do not accept the teachings of the Catholic Church. I would prefer a smaller church that continues to preach the truth with clarity and charity rather than have it watered down to satisfy a greater number of people. The Church was instituted by Christ - not by man. People need to remember that the Church is their means to salvation, not a means to an easy life on earth. There is no easy life on earth, I will pray for all Catholics that their hearts and minds be open to the beauty and truth of our Faith.
God bless you Fr. Newman,
I hope all priests stand for the Church as you did. In our Parish, we have a visiting priest who openly campaigned for Obama in his Homily. And the most scary part of him, he happen to be a director of a seminary in the Chicago area.
I think he is right about the next 20 years. I think were lining up for the "2 camps" as Mother Angelica I believe said.
The wheat and the chaff.
The goats and the sheep.
I hope we have the stamina to go after the one lost sheep for the 99. May God grant me patience for my brothers and sisters in these times.
Love in Christ
Holly
Thank you for the article how do we justify our actions on judgment day?
Sadly I my community which prides itself on conservative Christian values I would have to say that the majority probably would support abortion . This is I feel something which the Church must take responsibility for. The Church is here to provide spiritual guidance and direction ,,not feminists or the State who have a different role As I have said and will continue to say ,until the Church instills, through love and kindness , the desire to obey the fist commandment then society will always be in error.Only true peace on earth will put mankind into harmony with God ,only then will we be acceptable to Him , this is the purpose and mission of the Church . Erik
Thank you father for keeping and explaining the Catholic faith to a fast detoriating world.
Father, I am glad to see this article. I sent along information to my family a few days before the election to let them know of Obama's stance on the Freedom of Choice Act, and I have to say I was suprised to get a similar response. Very few were in support of what I believed all Catholics should take to heart when it comes to a pro-life stance. I do hope the Catholic Church continues this fight and I pray for those priests who present the truth about those who lead our country. We always need more strong and outspoken leaders in our Church.
Thank you for this brave article, Father. And thanks be to God for priests like Fr. Newman!
It is so sad, how many in this country say they are Catholic, but think like the world thinks. I pray that God will give us all the grace to hear St. Paul, "Be not conformed to this world..." (Rom. 12:2).
May GOD Be Praised By All, At All Times, Everywhere!
Dear Father Dwight, I'd seen an episode of Journey Home when you were the guest, it was very enlightening.
This predicament, has, as all predicaments, brought to the fore, more clearly, than ever, the understanding of Catholics, of their own Faith.
Your classification of the responses you've received is very true, as is your assessment that in 20 yrs, there wouldn't be a non-Catholic 'Catholic', Catholics who prefer to remain non-Catholic by actions, but profess by words to be Catholic.
That would be news for quite a few, including Madam Kennedy, who pronounced her own prediction, that in 40 yrs, there would be a woman pope, yeah sure! There would be a woman pope, not in the Catholic Church, rather in the Church of the fallen Catholics.
Even inspite of the in-your-face evidence, of how media distorts the news, through their anti-Catholic lenses, people still choose to follow it.
Media is something that, if people boycott it, it'll either get its acts straight or will shutdown completely.
Is media, a necessary evil, I don't think so. Because media has played a very significant role in the decadence of the present day societies, by their portrayal (or should I say betrayal) of activities, that even a decade ago would have seemed to be consigned as morally reprehensible. Their support of such lifestyle has engendered the society with evils, that even permit such atrocities as abortion, as a right!
Such a media is not worth the time we spend on it. It certainly isn't doing any good, and more importantly is helping distort societal values and thus destabilizing the society itself.
I firmly believe that it is time that Catholics completely boycott media, till the time that they learn their lesson or till alternative Catholic Mainstream Media arises. The time is ripe for such an action. EWTN has done immeasurable good (it had weaned me from the slavery to movies), and continues to do so. But we need to have a mainstream media, that is not Anti-Catholic, but shows how Catholic a basic society is and how unCatholic societies have come to be.
A very good comparison, indeed, is looking at the societies that are only a couple of decades apart.
The effects of contraception are so evident, let us highlight the same.
Let us not let down, its time for the offensive. Its time for the Catholic Mainstream Media Channels. May GOD, WHO raised up EWTN, from nothing, also raise up a Catholic Mainstream Media Channel, that would serve HIS people and also the society at large and thus help them to grow closer to HIM.
We are called as Children of GOD, nothing less and we cannot give or become anything less.
Let our actions reflect our status as Children of GOD.
Lastly, I congratulate you and dear Fr. Newman, may GOD continue to bless you (for when we are weak, HE is strong) in your daily witness, that is often (even at times intentionally) distorted, reviled, rejected.
GOD will strengthen you. Even if a thousand were to fall at my side, ten thousand at my right side, I will not fear, for GOD is with me (Ps. 91).
GOD Bless!