DO THE LOONEY LIBERALS AND THE RAD TRADS UNITED IN SPINNING THE POPE IN THE SAME DIRECTION REALLY THINK HE'S GOING TO CHANGE NATURAL LAW, SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION WHEN IT COMES TO CATHOLIC MORALITY?

The rad trads and the looney liberals are at it again. They think that the survey that the pope sent to the bishops of the world asking for consultation on a number of issues concerning family life, from co-habitation, to same sex unions, to contraception and the like means that the Holy Father is polling Catholics to see what they want, a kind of a la cart menu for Catholic morality. In other words if it makes you happy, do it, forget about the common good rooted in natural law, Scripture and Tradition.

Let me let you in on a secret. It ain't true and this is my evidence:

Early in our sabbatical we visited with Archbishop Rino Fisichella (fishy-kay-la) who is the president of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization.

He is a rising "star" in the Vatican. He told us an anecdotal story about Europe, where the message of Christianity and Catholicism was first brought to illustrate how far from the Faith Catholics have fallen including the Catholic culture of once Catholic nations, such as Italy, France, Belgium, Germany and such.

The story he used was that catechists were discovering that the children they were preparing for First Holy Communion did not even know how to make the "Sign of the Cross" or other very, very basic Catholic symbols and customs. Most could not recite the Our Father, Hail Mary or Glory be. These would be children who from 7 to 10!

A couple of weeks later, I heard Pope Francis use the exact same example!

These kids are coming from nominal Catholic household where not only is the once Catholic culture no longer handing on symbols of Catholicism but neither is their family!

How widespread is this and how serious is it? How many generations of "coloring book Catholics" are there out there, victims of looney liberals who infiltrated the ranks of those who brought the reform of cathecisis in parishes and the reform of the liturgy into parishes for some 20 years following Vatican II, well into the pontificate of Blessed Pope John Paul II?   Many of these looney liberals got entrenched in diocesan offices and did horrible damage to Catholicism everywhere.

So the survey that the Vatican has sent to bishops seeking wide consultation on the various topics of the survey is meant to determine just how ill-informed and uncatehecized Catholics are. Just how many coloring book Catholics are there out there whose primarily morality hinges on fierce individualism and doing what makes someone happy, even if that means divorce and remarriage some two to seven times, cohabitation, same sex sex and unions and contraception to include abortion.

How far from the common good and truth have Catholics drifted. Are they now in a virtual apostasy? I think some will be shocked but most sound Catholics will say "I told you so!"

The deleterious effect of post-Catholics in the Church and the influence of the culture of government and celebrity, as well as other media sources has created an adulterous Catholicism unfaithful to God who reveals himself to us in natural law, Scripture and Tradition.

A proper diagnosis of how illiterate or unfaithful Catholics are to obedience to God revealed in natural law, Scripture and Tradition is essential. I think most authentic Catholics will say "I told you so" and the Vatican will find ways to hand on the Splendor of Truth in ways that turn the barque of Peter around!