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The first words of the prologue to the Catholic Church’s catechism express the purpose of faith: “Father … this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Cultivating that relationship with God is the purpose of faith and the mission of the Catholic Church.
Yet, this can be quite a challenge in an atmosphere that looks suspiciously upon faith, which cannot be measured, tested or quantified. Great advances in technology, science and human progress seem to have reduced faith, in the eyes of many, to something arcane or irrelevant.
Ironically, compounding this relegation of faith to an obscure corner of American life is the success of a prominent Catholic, the late President John F. Kennedy.
In 1960, as Sen. Kennedy was making his bid for the White House, he needed to convince American voters that a Catholic could be an acceptable choice. He took his case to 300 Protestant ministers in Houston, where he declared, “But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected president, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured. … So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again — not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me — but what kind of America I believe in.”
As history shows, Kennedy was successful. But as Archbishop Charles Chaput explains, “His speech left a lasting mark on American politics. It was sincere, compelling, articulate — and wrong. Continue reading
Image: Lancaster Online
Fr Allan Wolfe is pastor of San Juan Bautista Catholic Church in Lancaster. He is also a correspondent for Lancaster Newspapers Inc.
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