STOP ATHEISM
A MESSAGE OF THE NATIONWIDE CONGRESS OF CATHOLICS ‘STOP ATHEISM’
We, Catholics, gathered at the feet of Jasna Góra Mother and the Queen of Poland, are the witnesses of Christ in every situation. Our duty is penetrate the temporal order with the Christian spirit. Through the testimony of lively and mature faith, it is our duty to make an access to God easy and show his presence in the public life. We do not give our consent to closing the gift of faith in the private sphere, therefore, we cannot allow for insulting Christ in the public forum. We should express our faith with power!
Introducing atheism in life is a new phenomenon which demands a special engagement of lay Catholics. In the name of the falsely understood tolerance, today Catholics are demanded to resign from practicing what they recognize as real and right with their faith. Following the voice of Polish bishops, expressed in bioethical messages, we want to emphasize that today our beliefs are pushed aside onto the margin of a discussion as anachronistic. It particularly concerns issues connected with the breach of the natural law, with the evil of contraception, abortion, in vitro procedure, the gender ideology, institutionalization of the same sex-couples, promotion of behavior patterns, which are contradictory with the traditional family model.
Facing the aggressive rhetoric of atheists, we, as Christians, cannot be indifferent. We have a right to insist on serious treating our arguments and beliefs. The Catholic attitude towards an atheist is friendly and without any prejudice in the spirit of Christian love. However, it is not uncritical. We cannot take on an attitude of silence or indifference towards the temptation of freedom without God and alienation of the man. We cannot fall into resignation or soulless fatalism. In contrary, the awareness and the courage of faith is supposed to encourage us to oppose the evil and solidarity with the persecuted. For, this solidarity of Catholics can bring us closer to one another and strengthen us in the truth that God cooperates with the man in his fight against the evil.
Facing more and more signs of aggressive atheism, which is taking on a form of anti-Christian ideology, we express our opposition and say:
STOP the ideology of freedom without God
STOP the advertisement of the world without God
STOP promoting caricatures of God, with which a believer has nothing in common
STOP glorification of non-faith which raises the rejection of God to the rank of ‘scientific’ attitude towards the world
STOP depreciation of Christian roots of Europe
STOP violent fighting religion
STOP discrimination of believers
STOP intolerance which leads to removing religion from the social life
STOP false presenting the teaching of faith
STOP violating the ability of learning the truth
STOP atheistic provocation in the name of art or freedom
STOP marginalization of Catholicism in the public life, especially in mass media
STOP the ideology against life
STOP family alienation
STOP the fight against the conscience voice, rejecting a clause of conscience
STOP moral relativism
STOP stigmatization of patriots
STOP promoting vulgar anti-clericalism
We want to remind all believers that they should live in accordance with their beliefs, so that they could justify and defend them effectively. Our intention is not to run a ‘political action’, identified with one political group. Our Congress is an initiative of Catholics, who know the teaching of the Church and implement it in life. We are faithful to indications of our great Compatriot blessed John Paul II, who taught that passivity is unacceptable as an attitude, it becomes a fault. Therefore, nobody should remain in passivity’.
A patron of our initiative is blessed priest Jerzy Popiełuszko, a martyr of the truth and freedom. Through his intercession we as good God to help us support the truth, while others are keeping silent, so that we could win the evil with good.
Jasna Góra, 16 June 2013
(AA)
"Niedziela" 25/2013