When Pope St. John Paul II stood on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after being elected the first non-Italian pope in six centuries, his first words to the Church and to the world were, “Be not afraid.”
These were no small words from a man whose entire ministry had been carried out under the oppression of a communist regime. We all know how that story played out. The Church in Poland is still there, and the communist regime is not.
In truth, as the largest organization in the world, the Catholic Church has often lived in tension with civil authorities who see it, erroneously, as a threat to their base of power. In the present age, like any corporate citizen, the Church reserves the right to speak in the public forum regarding matters that affect the dignity of person and the common good. Nevertheless, since the pontificate of John Paul I, the Church has made it clear that it does not desire, nor does it see as constructive, to assume the trappings of civil governance. Nevertheless, where the Church is seen as a threat, it is often persecuted, sometime with deadly force. The sad and volatile situation in Nicaragua and China bears witness to this fact. Even in our own American society, where the Church advocates for the dignity of the human person and the protection of human life from conception to natural death, we see a deliberate attempt to marginalize religion in general, and the Catholic Church in particular, in order to remove our voice from the public square. Looking at current trends, the late Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago quipped, “I expect to die in my bed. I expect my successor to die in prison. I expect his successor to die a martyr in the public square.”
Are such trends cause for concern? On one level, yes. As a Church, as an Archdiocese, as a parish and as individual Catholics we can do much to mitigate this trend by proactively and constructively engaging the society in which we live. The Church has a face. As individual Catholics, we should actively engaged in our neighborhoods. We need to know our neighbors and they need to know us. As a parish, we need to proactively and constructively engage the community around us. For example, there are two community councils within our parish boundaries. We need to have a regular and effective voice at both of them. Similarly, we need to engage the neighborhoods around us so that they see us as a vital part of life on this side of town. In short, as a parish, we need to become so much a part of the local community that they cannot imagine life without us.
Still, if things get out of hand, as they have from time to time throughout history, there is no cause for fear. Our Lord said that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church. He did not say that they wouldn’t try really hard!
There is nothing in the present age that we have not seen several times throughout the centuries. They are all gone. The Church remains. If we are true to Christ and to His Church, there is nothing we cannot overcome. There is no one we need fear to fear, because there is no limit to God’s love for us.