Is Sin Obsolete?

Catholics are often derided or ridiculed for their sense of guilt.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is considered a relic of the past, even by people who consider themselves “practicing Catholics.”   Sin itself is viewed as nothing more than a superstitious explanation of normal human urges which the Church unfairly attempts to suppress.   Catholic morality is not merely ignored, it is now under attack, and in some cases being labeled as “intolerance” and even a violation of human rights. 

The Obama administration is quite literally attacking the moral teaching of the Church in three areas: marriage, abortion, and religious freedom.  Not only is this administration seeking repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, it has promulgated thousands of pages of new regulations and financial penalties in an attempt to force employers, even those with religious objections, to pay for contraceptive and abortive drugs, as well as surgical sterilization.   Less publicized have been the government’s decisions to cancel long-standing contracts with Catholic social service agencies based on the Church’s refusal to provide abortion services, despite these agencies winning bids based on objective performance criteria.  In other instances, Catholic adoption services have been forced to shut down due to their refusal to accept gay couples as prospective parents.

Ironically, despite its insistence that the Church not impose its morality on others, the State is imposing its morality on the Church.  All of this brings to mind the question of sinfulness.   Is there such a thing as sin?  Pope John Paul the Great often said the Church imposes nothing, but it proposes a moral guide for the attainment of happiness.  More specifically, he said:

“When freedom does not have a purpose, when it does not wish to know anything about the rule of law engraved in the hearts of men and women, when it does not listen to the voice of conscience, it turns against humanity and society.” 

Unwittingly, our own government seems to have turned against humanity and society.  Mohandas Gandhi identified seven social sins:  politics without principle, wealth without work, commerce without morality, pleasure without conscience, education without character, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice.  When I read this list, I was alarmed about how accurately it describes what’s going on here in America.  Are we falling collectively into these social sins?  Is this the direction our government is leading us with its attacks on life and marriage?   Is our citizenry passively accepting this moral decline because it’s easier than forming a real conscience based on natural law and the guidance of our moral leaders?   Have we lost the capacity to listen to “the rule of law engraved in our hearts?”

In the absence of critical thinking based on natural law, we accept fallacious arguments, like those attempting to make the argument for gay marriage which claim “no harm.”   But in countries where gay marriage is now legal, conventional marriage rates have declined from already low levels, as have birthrates.  Moreover, schools teach that homosexuality is natural (despite the obvious truth of our biology to the contrary), and that anyone who disagrees is an intolerant bigot.   Is that where America is headed?  I close with another quote from John Paul the Great:  “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”  Let’s pray for marriage, our families, and our nation.