BBC Reports on Young Women Becoming Nuns

Sister Jacinta

There's an interesting story on the BBC website on how more young women are turning to a religious vocation in a world that is giving them many problems, pressures and false hopes which quickly fade and die.

We can only hope Holy Mother Church recognises that there is a terrible spiritual vacuum in many peoples' lives. If Catholicism isn't forthright enough to offer itself, with 'the Truth that sets you free' at its core, then many youngsters will turn to any number of evils and errors which will plunge all too many souls into damnation.

There are many false worldly choices offered to the young, which is why I think Catholicism needs to stand apart from the "modern world" with its relativism, decadence and hostility to the family. By being apart from the mess of the modern world it can attract those who have seen through the half-truths and miasmas of the modern world or who have witnessed its empty promises, whatever their age.

Redemptorists Promote Relativism and Religious Anarchy

Remember the Redemptorist Publication Sunday Plus? In a recent post I showed how it was used to promote Buddhism, horoscopes and make young Catholics feel that their Faith was unnecessary.

Well I just came across another edition of Sunday Plus, again by the Redemptorists and again from October 2010 (I think I must have stuffed it in a pocket in disbelief and forgotten about it).

There relevant section in this one is again the "Meet" section. In the last one we met Amy, who was embracing horoscopes and Buddhism, whilst all but denouncing Catholicism. A great example for the Catholic children where this bilge was dished up.

In this other issue of Sunday Plus we get to meet Hannah. Here instead of Buddhism and horoscopes we have relativism in all its cafeteria Catholicism scope - just the kind of relativism the Holy Father attacked on his visit here last September.

Hannah, well as it says:

• She's not sure about the the need for an organised religion.
• She... is happy to pick and mix the bits of her Catholic upbringing which still make sense to her.

Got that?

Now the Redemptorists are promoting religious anarchy.

Who will ensure the Sacraments are there for us? Who will ensure we have priests to Consecrate the Sacred Species? And even if Catholicism survives this free-for-all that Hannah proposes, we are still free to "pick and mix."

That's what Woolworths specialised in - and we all know what happened to them.

Yet again all this is given over without proviso, without a Catholic defence of the Church (i.e,. organised religion) and all of her Sacraments, Sacramentals, the Creed etc. which we are not free to "pick and mix."

This kind of insidious propaganda is designed to weaken the faith of our young, to plant seeds of doubt and rebellion against Holy Church, the Blessed Sacrament, the Papacy and all we hold dear.

It's high time the Redemptorists were made to print Catholic material or told to shut up.

Souls are at stake - even, but not just, Amy's and Hannah's. But at least they can plead ignorance. The Redemptorists responsible have no such defence.

Redemptorists Promote Horoscopes and Buddhist Prayer to Catholic Youth

I think, and I am sure that many will agree with me, that one of the biggest 'turn offs' for young Catholics in the last 40 years has been the kind of "happy clappy" catholicism (with a small c) which has deliberately played down the unique nature of the Catholic Faith and like some comprehensive school's social studies class has tried to hug all 'faiths,' nuclear disarmament, lets 'understand' the hatred homosexuals have to put up with, etc.

Believe me I know, having sat through those very lessons, put off by that very church, not truly understanding my Catholic heritage, Faith and morality.

Often in the guise of appealing to the youth, the worst kind of social worker garbage and rainbow-coloured tapestry covered church walls outrages have been allowed to occur.

I sometimes wonder if more young people would be in our churches, attending Mass, learning their catechisms, if the hierarchy/clergy left well alone when it comes to "youth initiatives."

Am I just an old cynic recalling the worst examples of past personal experiences? Perhaps we will see things change for the better, but reading personal accounts of events like the World Youth day in Australia, I am worried that lessons aren't being learnt.

Let me show you an example of what I mean by the 'social worker catholicism' which I find so disruptive (if not outright heretical!).

The bulletin 'Sunday Plus' is published by the Redemptorists (Redemptorist Publicatiuons, Alphonsus House, GU34 3HQ - www.rpbooks.co.uk) and is designed so parish priests can use it as a useful colourful page on the reverse side of which to publish their own parish weekly newsletter.

All well and good so far (I have seen some very uplifting varieties of this kind of affair, with stories of the Saints etc.).

This issue of Sunday Plus (30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 24th October 2010) has a section "Meet Amy..." with a picture of a trendy looking young person, we assume (rightly?) is a Catholic.

So that I don't spoil the enjoyment for you, or get accused of partial editing, let me give you the whole text of the 'Meet Amy' bit, including the emboldened quote placed at the front so it stands out amongst the whole page:

"I think that Catholics would benefit from hearing more about what other religions have to offer."

Amy's mum is a Catholic and Amy was baptised as a baby, but she does not have a sense of a Catholic identity now. Although she is open to different religions and beliefs, she really rejects the prescriptive nature of Catholicism. Amy doesn't believe in a personal God, but believes in a higher power which binds living things together on earth. She reads her horoscopes every day and has recently started trying Buddhist prayer.

What are the Redemptorists trying to prove with this Grade A guff?

• That horoscopes are fine and dandy?
• That Buddhist prayers are fine?
• That losing one's Catholic identity is de rigueur?
• That being open to  'different beliefs' is welcome?
• That Catholicism is "prescriptive" and hence bad?
• That vague belief in a 'higher power' is sufficient?

All this is put out there by this Redemptorist publication without qualification, and so is being promoted by "Catholics" in Catholic churches to the Faithful, including young, impressionable Catholics,

And we wonder why so many youngsters are losing their Faith?

Click on the images here and read the piece for yourself.

Personally I think it is scandalous.

If someone told me this piece was written by a New Ager, an aggressive atheist or a homosexual militant as a means to draw young Catholics away from the Church by overwhelming them with meaningless goo, I would readily believe them.

Yet this was published by - if not written by! - Catholic priests with a duty of care to many Catholic souls.

It shows the terrible state of our Church that not one iota of outrage is expressed at this kind of material (never mind that it was published in the first place).

If we and our children really had to "Meet Amy" in the weekly newsletter (and I wonder how many parishes took this tripe) might we not have met her in the format of being instructed by a thoroughly Catholic priest? Could we have had right opposing wrong? Might we have expected some guidelines for Catholic children and teenagers on how to be loyal to the 'Faith of their Fathers' -- instead of what was dished up in the form of an uncritical advert for what GK Chesterton warned us of all so many decades ago:

When a Man stops believing in God he doesn't then believe in nothing, he believes anything.

...including horoscopes.