One of the fundamental reasons, confronting these issues has been difficult for the Church, is the degradation in moral and other values found in our increasingly secular, materialistic and “feel good” society. It seems that everything that “feels good” is acceptable to many in our society. It is easy to see the decline in moral and other values, that the Church and others are trying to defend, in print, movies, other entertainment venues and even in our government.  An extremely sad example of the societal problem, though not directly related to the Church, is found in celebrity adulation such as occurred when in the 1990s the President and his entourage sat in the front row of a Washington theater and laughed and applauded when a celebrity comedian made extremely rude and explicitly sexual “jokes”.

Unfortunately, Catholics, including some clergy, modify their beliefs to be “trendy” and politically correct. One result of this tragic situation is the fact that out of the 200 “Catholic” colleges and universities in the US, the Cardinal Newman Society only recommends 18 of them.  Another example of this is reflected in part by the conflicting signals coming from the clergy by not publicly disavowing the actions of politicians and celebrities that flaunt the Church’s teachings. We have many leading politicians who vote for policies that are in direct conflict with Catholic doctrine, but suffer no sanctions from the Church’s hierarchy. Virtually all of these elected officials are from one political party and this makes it appear to be a bias by the church leaders in favor of that political party. A final example, (and there are many more) of conflicting signals is the USCCB’s statement on Immigration. It states that countries have a right to exercise control over their borders[1] and yet many higher-level clergy and many laity seemingly do everything possible to circumvent the very laws that are designed to control our borders and immigration. What are we devout and faithful Catholics supposed to think or do?

Finally, maybe the biggest cause is the sinful “Sexual Revolution” documented in a film by that name and highlighted by comments from Pope Paul VI’s encyclical HUMANE VITAE (Human Life) in 1968. The Sexual Revolution has harmed women more than anything else. Sadly, our leaders hardly ever mention this cause.

---

[1] http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/immigration/strangers-no-longer-together-on-the-journey-of-hope.cfm

While recognizing the right of the sovereign state to control its borders, Exsul Familiaalso establishes that this right is not absolute, stating that the needs of immigrants must be measured against the needs of the receiving countries:”