Now is the time for Catholics to find themselves and renew their faith in the Church. As Rahm Emanuel famously said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Catholics in America now face a serious crisis concerning their faith. Politicians, reporters, aid workers, judges, teachers, and public figures around the world have hacked away at the Church’s beliefs for a long time, and the scrutiny is intensifying. To compound the problem, many bishops and Vatican officials lack the fortitude to stand up to these attacks, and the flock itself is dwindling and without solid guidance. 

The most recent outrage comes from elements within the Catholic Church itself. Father John Jenkins, President of the University of Notre Dame, recently announced that Barack Obama accepted an invitation to speak at Notre Dame’s commencement ceremony this year, and will also receive an honorary law degree from the University. The Cardinal Newman Society, now joined by CatholicVote.org, organized a petition of protest in hopes of convincing Fr. Jenkins to rescind the invitation due to Obama’s far left, anti-life policies. Mr. Obama is no friend to the pro-life movement whatsoever, even to the point of supporting infanticide in botched abortions. The Catholic Church is very clear in its teaching that human life begins at the moment of conception. At the time of this writing, over 104,000 have signed onto the petition.

Despite the petition, and a wave of criticism of Fr. Jenkins and of Notre Dame in the press, so far the university shows no indication of rescinding the offer to Mr. Obama. Kevin Keane, a 1988 alumnus of Notre Dame, told the student newspaper The Observer, “I will be in attendance on commencement day with several thousand others to show my distaste for this decision. We will bring with us the graphic photos of what abortion does to its victims, so there can be no doubt about the hatefulness of the man chosen to instruct Notre Dame graduates in how to be a success in life.” The student paper also interviewed several other people planning massive protests on campus.

Immediately preceding the Notre Dame scandal was the AIDS controversy Pope Benedict faced over comments made during his trip in Africa. “You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem,” the pontiff declared concerning the AIDS virus that has ravaged the African continent. The pope’s remarks were met with condemnation of the Church’s long held beliefs on sexuality. 

“His opposition to condoms conveys that religious dogma is more important to him than the lives of Africans,” said Rebecca Hodes with the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa.

CNN’s Roland Martin wrote that, “For the church to continue to ignore the definitive research that condoms play a huge role in decreasing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases is mind-boggling.”

What Rebecca Hodes fails to realize is that if Africans adhered to the dogma of the Catholic Church, as Pope Benedict was encouraging them to do, millions of African lives would be saved.  And as far as Mr. Martin’s contention goes, according to Dr. Edward Green, director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, “There is a consistent association shown by our best studies, including the U.S.-funded 'Demographic Health Surveys,' between greater availability and use of condoms and higher (not lower) HIV-infection rates.” 

Dr. Green went on to say that, “We have found no consistent associations between condom use and lower HIV-infection rates," said Green, "which, 25 years into the pandemic, we should be seeing if this intervention was working,” adding, “The best and latest empirical evidence indeed shows that reduction in multiple and concurrent sexual partners is the most important single behavior change associated with reduction in HIV-infection rates.”

Last month Pope Benedict met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a self proclaimed Catholic and abortion supporter, and reminded the Speaker of, “the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.” In the past I have been clear in saying that I think pro-abortion Catholic politicians such as Pelosi, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, and Joe Biden are dangerous heretics. These public figures intentionally mislead the faithful to win votes, but Church officials do little to stop them.

The crisis among American Catholics is real. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University found last year that only 23% of adult Catholics attend Mass every week. Exit polls from the recent presidential election found that Obama won the Catholic vote overall 52 to 45 percent, but that John McCain won the Catholic vote among those who attended Mass on a weekly basis. These numbers reinforce what common sense suggests; that Catholics who regularly attend mass will vote for politicians supportive of Catholic teachings. 

The U.S. Council of Bishops wrote in 2004 that, “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.” Obviously this statement failed to reach Notre Dame, and the Catholics who voted for Obama, Biden, Pelosi, etc.

The drumming of Republicans (the political party of life) in the last two elections has galvanized the conservative movement in America to reorganize and take action.  Conservatives realize that the ideas and values of America’s Founding Fathers are timeless, and can restore our nation’s greatness. Likewise, Catholics need to reinvigorate the faithful, and bring our brethren back to Mass (on days other than Easter and Christmas). The teachings of Jesus and of His Church still have real value, even in an era of political correctness. Only by knowing and living the faith can those who identify with Catholicism be truly representative of their religion. Never let a serious crisis go to waste.