I've always felt that the struggle between spiritual good and evil in the world coexist, not as two discrete "sides" that can be marked off by a line dividing those who align themselves with 'Christ' from the world of non-believing secular 'culture' (pace H. Richard Niebuhr) -- no matter how this struggle may be manifested in various societies and institutions -- but, rather, as a spiritual antithesis running through the heart of every individual, even every religious believer. It may be pure fantasy, but I've always had this notion, despite the horrors that blight our past, that this struggle must somehow intensify as history progresses. There's food for thought in that, I suppose.
In any case, I was made aware upon awakening this morning of how much we have to be thankful. Things might have gone much differently, but on April 19th, 2005, the former Cardinal, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was elected Pope Benedict XVI. On December 1st, 2006, he returned safely to Rome from a visit to Muslim Turkey where there where assassination rumors abounded. On July 7th, 2007, the long and often painfully-awaited Motu Proprio was finally published. Who could have expected such answers to prayer?
Then upon arrival at school this morning, I was greeted with an unopened piece of mail from the Cardinal Newman Society for the Preservation of Catholic Higher Education containing a message from Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. Among other things, it related some news from the other side of the scale -- about Catholic universities. In 2006 a Georgetown University dean ran for office on a pro-abortion platform. Santa Clara University openly and actively refers its students to Planned Parenthood for contraception. DePaul University offers students a minor degree program in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Studies. A recent survey shows that at least 46 Catholic colleges and universities recognize homosexual clubs promoting and celebrating gay 'culture'. Advocates of abortion, stem-cell research, and physician-assisted suicide, same-sex marriage, and women's ordination are being invited to give commencement addresses and receive honorary degrees by Catholic institutions throughout the country. Oh, and remember The Vagina Monologues, celebrating lesbian seduction, molestation, and rape of a minor? This year, for the 6th year running, nearly one of every ten Catholic colleges and universities -- including Boston College, Marquette university, and the University of Detroit Mercy -- hosted performances of this delightful little sexually explicit, anti-Catholic, women-demeaning drama.
The struggle continues ...
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