Whither The Church in the Face of the New Anti-Semitism? (Updated at Bottom)

"An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign,

but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah."

Matthew 16:4

The mixed signals coming from the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican regarding Gaza and Islam is bewildering. On one hand we have Cardinal Renato Martino (I’m ashamed to say I share the same birthday as this man) stating It's always the unarmed populations who pay. Look at the conditions in Gaza-- more and more, it resembles a huge concentration camp." On the other The Vatican has expressed alarm over the burning of Israeli flags. And let us not forget the controversial Regensburg address 2 ½ years ago.

Stunning. And precisely what we don’t need in these times. We need a strong spiritual voice. Not just a political or military one. And, say what you like about it (at times it seems we are hated second only to our brothers The Jews), the absolute strongest single spiritual voice in the world against Islam is the Roman Catholic Church. Yet it is squandering the moment.

You would think Joseph Ratzinger, with his life history, would be at the fore to recognize exactly what is happening for what it is. Forced to join the Hitler Youth at 14, he refused to attend meetings. His father was an enemy of the Nazism who believed it was in direct conflict to his Catholic faith. Taken together, you would hope Pope Benedict would be more vocal, more condemning of what he sees happening in Europe and throughout the world as the protests against Israel grow ever more numerous, loud and violent. When he sees the very same thing happening to the same people, now in the name of Islam instead of Nazism. He knew firsthand the horrors of the Nazis. Of anti-Semitism.

With his Regensburg address and the controversy he had to have known it would create we had hopes that we had a Pope who “got it”. Not one who went about kissing the Koran. One who wasn’t afraid to stand up and call Islam for what it was. One who might bring Christian faiths together to stand openly against Islam and not appease it.

So why the silence? Why the mixed message? Has he bought into the whole Religion of Peace crap? Is he afraid of a Muslim backlash? A political Backlash? One within the Church itself?

I don’t think so. It’s deeper and more troubling than that.

The RCC is the largest single Christian Church in the world. Benedict should use this, find a way to exhort Catholics worldwide, get them to take the lead in understanding not only the physical danger but the spiritual danger now presented by Islam and anti-Semitism. Exhort them to openly condemn Hamas, Hezbollah as well as the smashing of Synagogue windows, burning of cars in Paris, boycotting Jewish businesses in Rome, attacks on Jews in London or Brussels. Exhort them to preach to their Christian brothers – Catholic or otherwise – to see the evil we now face and do something, say something, anything, in condemnation of it.


I am not talking about evangelizing here, or converting to Christianity. I’m talking about recognizing the spiritual danger to Judeo-Christian culture as a whole.


But The Church itself has its own serious problems. Fewer and fewer converts. Fewer called to the clergy (I once seriously considered enrolling in the seminary, as did my grandfather. The whole celibacy thing was the deal breaker). Catholics themselves aren’t what they used to be. They attend mass only when convenient (guilty). Holy Communion holds no significance for them. Confession an old fashioned notion. By game time they’ve forgotten what the homily was about, few actually kneel to pray and go ahead, ask a Catholic the last time he opened a Bible on his own. If they own one other than as a dusty family heirloom.

A large part of that is because of the perceived strictness of Catholic teaching. But the Church does not waiver on this. It’s not a smorgasbord choose one belief from column A one from column B and feel free to dress it up as you wish. That is not Faith. Faith is believing what is taught. It isn’t supposed to be easy. Faith takes work and Catholics are as guilty as anyone else in the instant gratification business. In adhering to the strictness of their “faith”, for better or worse, Islam has us beat.

Benedict thus far has not been able to turn this around. Indeed as a very conservative Catholic he may only be exacerbating it. He needs to find a way to bring Catholics back to the Church before he can exhort them to anything. But he needs to find a way to do it, a message, which brings them back without compromising the teachings of The Church. He does not have the charisma of John Paul II who could have done it the other way around.

This Fourth Jihad/Final Crusade is as much, or more, a spiritual war as a physical one. As such Benedict should be one of, if not the, leader in the forefront. Yet he cannot get his own to follow him, let alone anyone else.

The anti-Semitism on the rise, the caving to the demands of Islam,are, I believe, attributable to our loss of Faith, of the tenets of our Christian heritage. We are losing the spiritual war.
Europe seems to be showing the greatest spiritual loss, though certainly not the only loss. Evident by the open anti-Semitism being reported. But it’s only matter of time until we see more of it here in America, and elsewhere.

And so the hate is a symptom of the abandonment, not loss, of our own spirituality.

In Benedict’s case it may be fear of something far worse than simply political backlash.

===

The Third Secret of Fatima is not the cocked up story we’ve been told about an assassination attempt on the Pope, supposedly fulfilled May 13, 1981 when Mehmet Ali Agca shot and nearly killed Karol Wojtyla.

It is, instead, about the Loss of Faith of the Church. Especially in Europe. And the loss of the Church altogether.

The first explanation is a fraud. A fraud that, for various reasons, may have been known about and covered up by none other than Joseph Ratzinger.

The second is well on it's way. And the consequences dire.


UPDATE:

I'm adding a response I left in answer to a comment from Always on Watch. In retrospect maybe I should have included the thought in the original post:

Always On Watch said...
MR,Thanks for posting this. You've put into words what has been on my mind for quite some time.

Of all Christian leaders, I expected something much bolder from this Pope.

I've decided that the reason is some kind of fear. But fear of what?

Is it the possibility of admitting that the conflict with Islam is a religious war and that the West doesn't fight religious wars anymore?

Monday, January 12, 2009 12:47:00 PM

midnight rider said...
AoW -- I think it goes much deeper than that. And it has to do with that Third Secret of Fatima.

You need not believe in Catholic Prophecy, especially Fatima, but as long as Ratzinger does -- and this is almost certainly the case -- it affects his actions.

I am no way qualified to speak about the prophecies so this very brief explanation is my take on it only.

Essentially, that Third Secret I refered to may be the crux of the issue. Remember that these are prophecies, and were to be revealed BEFORE they occured. So when the Church cocked up the nonsense about the attempted assassination of the Pope AFTER the fact the faithful pretty much said WTF?

Ratzinger was supposedly instrumental in the fraud. He wrote the commentary on the Sceret but it was dictated to him. And he has kept that info to himself all these years.

Alledgedly the true meaning of the Third Secret is the loss of Faith and the Church itself, said to happen before the last days. He may be afraid by taking too hard a stance, he will exacerbate that problem and usher in that era.

Then there is his name. According to some other Catholic Prophecies (NOT the Bible) the last Pope before the Ascencion of the Anti-Christ to the Thrown of Peter would be Benedict. Sobering but HE KNEW THIS when he chose the name. He may be having second thoghts, cold feet, about the mantle he chose to accept.

Again, you need not believe in Catholic Prophecies Last Days or End Times, as long as Ratzinger does, whether true or not, they matter.

For way better explanations on this when you have ALOT of time, and are so inclined, go to the links I included in the post. Also search The Bayside Prphecies, and this site as well: http://www.tldm.org/default.htm. . .

. . .if you really want to give yourself sleepless nights go to this site:

http://bibleprobe.com/last10popes.htm

Saint Malachy was a 12th Century Catholic Monk who seems -- seems --to have accurately predicted the Last Ten Popes.


Incidentally, and not included in the above comments, the next Pope - The Anti-Christ - will take the Name Petrus Romanus