NUISANCE BEFORE THE YEAR OF FAITH
Fr. IRENEUSZ SKUBIŚ
When a very important event in the Church is approaching, when parishes are undertaking Lent or advent retreats, when the pilgrimage movement starts – we are wondering among our friends what the opponents of the Church will make up to disturb this sacred time of chance and grace. And, unfortunately, there will always appear an attack on the Church, on a bishop, on a priest. And it is so now. The Year of Faith is coming. The Church is getting prepared for this special time which gives an occasion of return to God, awakening of human consciences. We subordinate our faith to reflection, we are asking questions about it, we want to understand it. Some editorial offices are trying to ‘help’ us in it. And an editorial office prepared a material for the Year of the Faith, which makes St. Francis a reveller, and calls St. Klara a spiritual lover. Assuming only the best will of editors we must recall here an important Latin saying: ‘Sancta sanctetractare’ – sacred things, sacred matters, saint people should be treated in a sacred way and referred to with a deserved respect. Neglecting holiness and undermining the greatness of the saints is not fitting for publishing offices which want to serve believers in the Year of Faith. Maybe they have different intentions.
And just now people have woken up, who show that the head teacher of a high juniors’ school of the Salesians in Lublin is a man who commits a crime of pedophilia. We do not know the details of the described situation but one thing is certain that there was no pedophilia there. One must have a wide imagination to choose legal paragraphs for this situation and throw blasphemy at a catholic priest.
What will we learn about soon? What stick or stones will be found to throw at a catholic priest, ridicule the Church… The television has been excited about the recent new information: Jesus had a wife. But let’s think over the truthfulness of this writing. If we, for example said that Jan Kochanowski betrayed his wife – how to prove it today? The record from the 4th century was treated as a discovery by media. Whereas the Gospels come from the earlier times (2nd half of the first century), are more credible. They say about life, death, resurrection and entering the Heaven by Christ and there is nothing in them which is widespread today by the contemporary enemies of God and the Church. But some journalists especially are aiming at giving this ‘information’ to people in an exceptional time for them and attack their faith, their trustfulness in Christ and God. What’s more, they are trying to ‘make their insinuations believable’ by opinions of passer-by in the street. This journalist comes up to a woman and asks what she thinks about it. She gave a very wise answer that it is a big stupidity. But there are also other answers, silly, unsuitable. the accommodating journalism is blasphemous and brings harm to many people. Sometimes it seems that the contemporary people are insulting God, the Cross and the big community of the Christians much more sophisticated, ruthless and strong than communists or Nazis. Therefore the Catholics should take an attitude of solidarity against these attacks and listen to the voices of their pastors. In a sermon to the world of work gathered on 16 September this year at JasnaGóra bishop Antoni P. Dydycz pronounced loudly, among the others, ills which we are suffering from quietly. He was not saying about extraordinary things, but he was emphasizing clearly what bad is happening in our homeland. Immediately he was attacked with the opinion that bishops are not allowed to express his opinion in this way. Everybody else is allowed to say everything – also against God, wicked people are allowed to attack our faith, slander everything which is holy for a believer, feminists are allowed to realize their personal options – whereas the Catholic bishop who speaks to us and on behalf of us, who expresses the words of truth, experience of so many Polish women and men, is not allowed to speak about it?...
Nobody can take away the treasure of faith from us. We, the Christians, are praying to Jesus who is God, the Redeemer of the world. We adore him, kneel in front of him, following the example of Blessed John Paul II. And when it seems that we can do nothing, there is still a light from the tower of JasnaGóra. It had been shining to Poles forages – let it also shine to us today. Let Poles in the Year of Faith stand in front of their queen in a compact range and let Polish families bring children and the youth to God. Because, first of all, we must rescue them, we must explain a lot to them and pray for the young Poland. We must also use the teaching of John Paul II because he left us an excellent testament in his pronouncements during pilgrimages.
(AA)
"Niedziela" 40/2012