GenX
11-13-2007, 11:30 AM
"This week, in what appears to be a growing trend of hostility toward the Catholic Church, a U.N. Official blamed the Catholic Church for the spread of Aids because of its unwavering opposition to contraception and promotion of abstinence until Marriage.
Earlier this month, on October 7, 2007 two male members of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” attended a Catholic Mass and came forward to receive the Holy Eucharist dressed in “drag”. In fact they were dressed in attire that mockingly resembled the religious habit of consecrated Catholic women religious. The group on its own web site boasts of itself as “… a leading order of [censored] nuns".
Comedians, the most recent being Kathy Griffin, regularly mock the Catholic Church with reckless abandon, spewing tirades of anti-Catholic rhetoric pretending to be “humor". Bill O’Reilly of the Fox News Network presented a report on Friday October 12, 2007 entitled “Mocking the Catholic Church”. He is right on this issue. Anti-Catholicism seems to be the only acceptable prejudice these days.
The tactic of denigrating Catholic Christians and making them the subject of mockery and ridicule is not without historic precedent. It is as old as the Church. The Roman authorities charged the first Christians of that era with "odium humani generis" [hatred of the human race] when they arrested them. It is eerily similar to the way in which some now seek to charge Catholics with creating a "climate of hate."
This charge was directed against Christians in Rome by those who were threatened by their message and their witness of life. Some in Rome had lost respect for the dignity of all human life while still claiming to be enlightened. They practiced primitive forms of abortion as well as "exposure", the killing of unwanted newborns.
Additionally, the Emperor Nero in the first-century A.D. was, like many Romans, a libertine, overt in his promiscuous homosexual behavior. Some historians note his having taken a male “wife”.
The history of ancient Rome seems to show a correlation between the growth of hostility toward the Christians and the spiraling moral decline of the Republic. The Romans simply did not want to have to hear these Christians with their opposition to abortion and the practice of "exposure" (the killing of newborns). Their nihilism and hedonism was threatened by the Christian witness and lifestyle.
One of the ancient Christian m****cripts from that age, written to a pagan inquirer into the Christian faith, is entitled a “Letter to Diognetus”. It spoke of the distinctly different practices of the Christians: "They reside in their respective countries, but only as aliens. They take part in everything as citizens and put up with everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their home, and every home a foreign land. They marry like all others and beget children but they do not expose (kill or abandon) their offspring. Their board they spread for all, but not their bed."
The insistence of the early Christians on the dignity of every human person as well as the witness of their faithful monogamous marriages - eventually - transformed ancient Rome. But it was not without opposition, hostility and, sadly, persecution. So it may be once again in our own day for all orthodox Christians. Out in front in our own age, speaking truth and refusing to worship the new false gods are faithful, are Catholics. Fortunately the government has not charged us with "hatred of the human race." However, there seems to be a growing effort to brand us as "extremist" and "intolerant."
The letter to Diognetus also contained these words:"… what the soul is in the body that the Christians are in the world." Those who insist on remaining faithful as Christians (Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox) must not retreat in our own time. We are to be the soul of the world in our own age. That vocation has never been comfortable. That's why we have as our sign a cross. We will stand for the truth concerning marriage - and the family founded upon it – and we will stand for the truth concerning the dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death.
Our position is the opposite of hatred of the human race. It is borne out of a love for the dignity of all men and women in their person, their bodies, and their families. It expresses our hope to see all men and women experience authentic human freedom and flourishing. Our positions also serve the Common Good of society.
Anti-Catholicism is one the rise in our day. However, Catholics must not cower when confronted by those who attempt to silence us. Our message is not our own. It is for the whole world and it still sets the captives free. "
LINK (http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=25766)
Earlier this month, on October 7, 2007 two male members of the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” attended a Catholic Mass and came forward to receive the Holy Eucharist dressed in “drag”. In fact they were dressed in attire that mockingly resembled the religious habit of consecrated Catholic women religious. The group on its own web site boasts of itself as “… a leading order of [censored] nuns".
Comedians, the most recent being Kathy Griffin, regularly mock the Catholic Church with reckless abandon, spewing tirades of anti-Catholic rhetoric pretending to be “humor". Bill O’Reilly of the Fox News Network presented a report on Friday October 12, 2007 entitled “Mocking the Catholic Church”. He is right on this issue. Anti-Catholicism seems to be the only acceptable prejudice these days.
The tactic of denigrating Catholic Christians and making them the subject of mockery and ridicule is not without historic precedent. It is as old as the Church. The Roman authorities charged the first Christians of that era with "odium humani generis" [hatred of the human race] when they arrested them. It is eerily similar to the way in which some now seek to charge Catholics with creating a "climate of hate."
This charge was directed against Christians in Rome by those who were threatened by their message and their witness of life. Some in Rome had lost respect for the dignity of all human life while still claiming to be enlightened. They practiced primitive forms of abortion as well as "exposure", the killing of unwanted newborns.
Additionally, the Emperor Nero in the first-century A.D. was, like many Romans, a libertine, overt in his promiscuous homosexual behavior. Some historians note his having taken a male “wife”.
The history of ancient Rome seems to show a correlation between the growth of hostility toward the Christians and the spiraling moral decline of the Republic. The Romans simply did not want to have to hear these Christians with their opposition to abortion and the practice of "exposure" (the killing of newborns). Their nihilism and hedonism was threatened by the Christian witness and lifestyle.
One of the ancient Christian m****cripts from that age, written to a pagan inquirer into the Christian faith, is entitled a “Letter to Diognetus”. It spoke of the distinctly different practices of the Christians: "They reside in their respective countries, but only as aliens. They take part in everything as citizens and put up with everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their home, and every home a foreign land. They marry like all others and beget children but they do not expose (kill or abandon) their offspring. Their board they spread for all, but not their bed."
The insistence of the early Christians on the dignity of every human person as well as the witness of their faithful monogamous marriages - eventually - transformed ancient Rome. But it was not without opposition, hostility and, sadly, persecution. So it may be once again in our own day for all orthodox Christians. Out in front in our own age, speaking truth and refusing to worship the new false gods are faithful, are Catholics. Fortunately the government has not charged us with "hatred of the human race." However, there seems to be a growing effort to brand us as "extremist" and "intolerant."
The letter to Diognetus also contained these words:"… what the soul is in the body that the Christians are in the world." Those who insist on remaining faithful as Christians (Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox) must not retreat in our own time. We are to be the soul of the world in our own age. That vocation has never been comfortable. That's why we have as our sign a cross. We will stand for the truth concerning marriage - and the family founded upon it – and we will stand for the truth concerning the dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death.
Our position is the opposite of hatred of the human race. It is borne out of a love for the dignity of all men and women in their person, their bodies, and their families. It expresses our hope to see all men and women experience authentic human freedom and flourishing. Our positions also serve the Common Good of society.
Anti-Catholicism is one the rise in our day. However, Catholics must not cower when confronted by those who attempt to silence us. Our message is not our own. It is for the whole world and it still sets the captives free. "
LINK (http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=25766)