CATHOLIC EDUCATION NO LONGER FIRES THE HEART OF THE YOUNG.

When the Reformers took over in this Diocese in the seventies, they had the delusion that there was too much emphasis on the devotions of Fatih and not enough on making young people think for themselves.    indoctrination became a nasty word.   Of course the whole thing was based on their already instilled bigotry.   If the Church had been given a mandate by Christ to "Go and teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" she already had the mandate of Christ himself to do so.   But something else came into play, and that was the dishonesty of not teaching about the Authority of the Church.  For years I had to listen to bureaucrats paid by the then bishop to teach such things as the 'Pope is Superior in Love and not Autbority" or "Catholics were only allowed to read the Bible after Vatican II" or "The Catholic Church does not have the whole truth we only find this with other Churches"    It really depressed me that such people could stand up and say things that could be so easily disproved, and when challenged had to resort to personal attacks.    Many have already past on to their judgement.

What they actually did was make the Church seem just as important as other Churches with no particular calling and no special message.    If you want to study say Abraham Lincoln in depth you will want to know who his parents were, where dd he live, and why was he so important.  What message did he give that was so inspiring and what can you do to be faithful to that message.   If we turn to Jesus Christ the Gospel tells us that he taught us to bring the message of love to others, but he also taught us we had a soul to save, that others had souls to save, and his death on the cross was to free us from sin by means of the grace this sacrifice achieved.  "We live now in the grace of Christ" St Paul told the Corinthians.   "Go and teach all nations.......to observe what I have commanded you" was the last words of Jesus to his disciples  That was an exciting message.   St Francis Xavier, St Ignaitus Loyola, thousands of people spreading the Word of Christ to the far corners of the earth.    Was it really just about being nice to one another.  Was it really just to help you remember to give money to Cafod.  Was it really just about doing the things that Oxfam, and other secular societies also do.    "Depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels".    Father says we are not to take these sahyings  seriously any more.     I have to say that if this is all that is left of the teachings of Jesus little wonder young people avoid Church like a plague.    As the evil of Abortions increase - we must not offend the community by speaking of abortion.  As what Christ called Adultery takes over the lives of our youth and marriage is not longer popular among young people, resulting in thousahds of unhappy childreb growing up without a father, or a father and mother, let us not offend anyone by mentioning marriage in case someone is divorced.     No, no, we must not be judgemental.     Never mind what the youjg people we are a 'community of faith'

But we tell them Jesus loves them, how dare I contradict.   It is of little point when children only hear that in Church then come home to their unhappy childhood which the Church does not care about.  

The notion of being part of a movement bringing souls to God, of being part of a movement bringing peace to the world through establishing the kingdom of God, getting young people to marry in the way God intended, to fight against family breakdown, to gain converts and more people to spread the message now that is real apostleship.   A Church militant on earth and bearing the sword of Christ and the Cross of Christ to the lost.   What a wonderful vocation.   In my day thousands of young people were inspired to fight this fight, we had not shortage of priests, and families said the Rosary with their young people who had not yet been alienated.    There is the challenge, there is the fight, there is the Catholic Faith.