Homily

Fr. Robert Barron, a priest of the Latin rite, Archdiocese of Chicago, is the author of the series "Catholicism" which we'll be watching starting later this month. Fr. Barron explained why he got involved in taking on such a project. He said he became tired of all kinds of people in our culture and society talking about the Church, but getting it wrong over and over again. He felt that we needed to tell our own story about the Catholic faith, what it is, who we are, why we believe, because it is the greatest story in the history of mankind; and if we do this using modern technology, we can effectively reach many people with the Gospel message, but even more importantly we can learn more about our own faith so that we can become better followers and evangelists of Jesus Christ.

So one basic idea impressed me very much: that other people are telling our story and they are getting it wrong. If you read or watch references to the Church in print or on screen especially in the last 10 years, what picture do you see of the Catholic Church? It's a picture that is filled with images of and references to priests abusing children, Catholic politicians who live contrary to our faith, of a Church that is opposed to women and their freedom and equality by denying their right to contraception, abortion, and ordination, and has an outdated, puritanical view of sexual relations outside of marriage. They often convey the idea that Church exists only to feed its own power and promote itself by controlling its members, killing its opponents, and trying to destroy any other group or endeavor that dares to challenge the Church's domination of the world, such as science.

Now it is true that there are, and always have been, sinners in the Church, and groups and people in the Church who have done wrong, and sometimes very great wrong. We cannot and should not condone any wrong doing by any group or any person within the Church, even at the same time knowing we are also sinners in need of repentance and God's mercy.

How does the reporting and commenting section of our society view the Church? I think that that's a very important question to ask, or we won't understand where they are coming from. I think our public voices used to see the world through a set of glasses that saw the importance of family life, faith in God, the strength of the local community, patriotism for the whole country, and a common set of moral values shared by most people. That has changed. Family life is in shambles, faith is considered to be only a marginal part of life if it is there at all, the local community has given itself over to the federal government, patriotism is fine if we're afraid of terrorists, and there are very few common moral values we can point to. So I suggest that most public commentators today do not see the world through a set of glasses that provide a view which reflects a number of ways of looking at people and events. Instead, they have put on a monocle, one lens, and everything is filtered through politics. Almost everything is seen as political. You are Republican or Democrat, you are liberal or conservative, you are obsessively concerned with freedoms and equality or else you are an oppressor of human rights. The greatest and most important sanctuaries in our lives are not so often to be found in our homes, because so often we have shattered our own home lives and in that mess we have made we have allowed the government to step in and take more and more control. And not all of that control is bad, because when we as a people decided to put ourselves above our marriage and children, someone has to take charge and responsibility to avoid disaster, especially for children and the elderly. But the sanctuary of the home has been severely compromised.

What about the sanctuary of the Church? The freedom of religion and faith? This sanctuary is also being torn down for us, and sadly not just by outsiders, but also by some who are in the sanctuary. It is not an outright attack so much as a pulling down, brick by brick, the walls that used to protect the freedom of religion in favor of all those who do not share your faith. So we see recently federal rules that compel Catholic institutions to provide contraception coverage in their health insurance for employees. We have seen in several cities Catholic Charities closing down their much needed adoption services, because they are now forced by law to adopt out children to same sex couples. We can be sure that we will continue to find more and more examples of laws contrary to our faith being put into practice as time marches on. Freedom of religion is becoming gradually replaced by the freedoms that other people claim they hold, no matter how recent or unprecedented these claims may be.

So we have, for some time, been taught that our way of life is supposed to be political: relating to government, or conduct of government, involving or involved in politics, the competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership especially in (but not limited to) government. We have been taught that government is the most powerful source of powerful power to empower us in our powerless lives. Policies and laws and governmental programs have taken a greater and greater control over our lives, and, as a people, we have not only allowed it to happen, we have welcomed it and voted for it, again and again. Governmental powers have always promised us a better and happier life for us if only we would let them rule over us. That's not new. But what is different in our country today is the ever-increasing number of people who believe in that. More than at any other time, in our history, people are looking to government to be the source and main provider of morality, charitable work, education, and definer of truth.

And many Catholics, as well as other Christians, have bought into this political model. When I was a boy, you never heard the terms "liberal Catholic" or "conservative Catholic." You were a "good Catholic," meaning you tried to live your faith, a "bad Catholic," which meant you publicly did not strive to live up to the Faith, or you were a "non-Catholic," which meant you were going to hell. (Just kidding!)

Notice "liberal or conservative" vs. "good or bad." Political descriptions vs. moral description. I want to point this out to you because there is a great danger involved when we start to view our faith in political terms. And, sadly, I once promised and vowed to Dave that I would never allow him to sleep in church for more than 15 minutes on a Sunday — so I will close here, but I have laid this foundation because I want to talk about this danger to faith next Sunday. It's too big a topic for a short piece of time, but until next Sunday, I ask you to consider what effect politics has, or should have, on your faith. And we'll come back to think on it again.