The World's Blindness is Frightening

"Outside of the Church, there is no salvation," is a phrase that was once used by Popes, Bishops and Priests. It is used less so nowadays, since we are encouraged to entrust all to the Mercy of God. One thing that is for sure, however, as one reads pieces like this in The Independent is that "Outside of the Church, there is no mercy."

The public media-fuelled backlash against the Holy Father and the Catholic Church is frightening, not just in its ferocity, but in its blindness. The World outside of the Church has no sense of sin. It has a sense of right and wrong, but nothing we can call Conscience. Therefore, here in the UK, the sense of injustice and hatred towards the Church for having among its clergy, a small minority who have committed gross abuse against the child is not measured, or restrained by a sense of personal sin.

A largely atheistic country, media, government and society, in the light of the revelations concerning priestly abuse, rightly condemns the crimes committed and is shocked by stories of cover-ups at the time, yet the people now hurling rocks at the Vatican, the Pope and the Church do not have the humility to keep their own sins and Death before their eyes. That is why their anger is so frightening. Their justice is not tempered by mercy.

This society condems child abuse and injury to the child committed by a small minority of Priests, as the great evil that it is. Yet, it is a different story when it comes to the sins of the World. Abortion is the biggest killer of children the World has ever seen. A crime once outlawed in every Western nation is now something perfectly acceptable. Every year in the UK, abortion kills over 200,000 babies in their mother's wombs, yet the World turns a 'blind eye'. It is sanctioned by law and even promoted in schools.

This society condems the sexual perversion of a small minority of Priests, as the great evil that it is. Yet, it is a different story when it comes to the sins of the World. The practise of homosexuality is widespread. A sexual sub-culture once outlawed as being a danger to society and the family has now become something perfectly acceptable. The widespread practise of homosexuality has damaged the institution of the family and society. The homosexual culture is hedonistic, unrestrained by the stability and security of married, spousal love, leaving individuals psychologically damaged, physically injured, even fatally so by HIV/AIDS and emotionally and spiritually bereft, immersed as they often are in a culture which worships sexual pleasure, alcohol and drugs.

This society condems the disloyalty and betrayal of a small minority of Priests, as the great evil that it is. Yet, it is a different story when it comes to the sins of the World. The practise of adultery and divorce is widespread. A sin against Marriage and Chastity once seen as being a danger to society and the family has now become something perfectly acceptable. The widespread practise of adultery and divorce has damaged the institution of the family and society. The adultery and divorce rife in the the World leaves families shattered, children's lives fragmented and leaves scars which become open wounds once these children grow up and try to engage in a relationship of their own.

And yet, even though these three scourges upon not just society, by the bloodied back of Our Lord Jesus Christ at the Pillar are all overlooked by a society with no Conscience. In their rage, the enemies of the Church, blinded by their own sins, take their fury out on the Holy Father, the remaining Priests and Bishops innocent of reproach in the matter of clerical abuse of minors and condemn the Church as filthy and corrupt. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice." As Catholics we practise mercy. We even pray for those who are guilty of abuse, as well as the victims of clerical abuse whose faith was destroyed by the evil committed by those who were entrusted to them. Because of our knowledge of our sins, we practise mercy with all. The Church is the Hospital of sinners. The Church is the Fount of Mercy, but outside of the Church, there is no mercy. Perhaps that is why, outside of the Church, there is no salvation.