Q. In my view our Catholic bishops are endangering their own souls and those of countless thousands by being essentially mute regarding the upcoming election on the subjects of abortion and same-sex marriage. There should be a brief statement to the media to the effect that voting for a politician that is pro the above abominations would put the soul of the voter at risk. In my parish, the bishop had a letter read to that effect. However, he is reaching only about 25 percent of Catholics who attend weekly Sunday Mass in this county. Your comments please. — R.B.K., Virginia.
A. Let us share instead some comments from the blog of Msgr. Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. “It is zero-dark-thirty in our post-Christian culture,” said Msgr. Pope, and our bishops and priests must prepare their people “for war — a moral and spiritual war, not a shooting war” — by “a clear setting forth of the errors of our time, and a clear and loving application of the truth to error and light to darkness.”
He said that “seeking to compromise with this culture is now unthinkable….We have to retool and provide every opportunity to get clear about our faith. Sermons and other teachable moments must sound a clear call to personal conversion and to battle for souls and to stop treating lightly the sinful disregard for God’s law in our families and communities.”
The monsignor said that “our bishops especially need to shift into another mode entirely. Collectively and currently they seem more interested in protecting what little we have left than in summoning the Catholic people to battle. Priests, too, seem loath to summon people to anything challenging or uncomfortable.”
He warned that “it is time to prepare for persecutions that will get bolder by the month and year. The dark movements that marched in under the banners of tolerance never meant it. And having increasingly gained power, they are seeking to criminalize anyone who resists their vision. No tolerance for us. Religious liberty is eroding, and compulsory compliance is already here.”
He asked, “When will we as a Church finally say to the bureaucrats who demand we comply with evil laws: ‘We will not comply. If you fine us, we will not pay. If you seek to confiscate our buildings, we will turn maximum publicity against you, but we will not comply. If you arrest us, off to jail we go! But we will simply not comply with evil laws or cooperate with evil.’ Right now, most of us can barely imagine our clergy standing so firm. Quiet compromises and jargon-filled ‘solutions’ will be a grave temptation to a Church ill-prepared for persecution.”
Msgr. Pope expressed the hope that “we find our spine before it is too late. It is usually a faithful remnant that saves the day in the biblical narrative. I pray only for the strength to be in that faithful remnant. Will you join me, too? Let’s pray and start retooling now. Only our unambiguous faith can save us or anyone we love. Pray for strong and courageous faith.”
We have begun praying that St. John Fisher (1469-1535), who was beheaded for opposing the effort of King Henry VIII to take over the Catholic Church in England, will inspire the bishops of today to have the same courage to proclaim the great moral truths of our faith to a political culture that has abandoned truth and morality.
Q. The upcoming presidential election appears extremely critical regarding the future of our nation. Clearly, the platform of the Democratic Party supports unrestricted abortion, euthanasia, same-sex “marriage,” loosely restricted immigration, and disrespect for police and military. Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee. Will Catholic Church leaders advise all Christians not to support such a dangerous platform and presidential candidate, or will they sell out like Judas with a salved conscience that the Democratic Party will give more money to their favorite so-called charitable organization? — J.D.H., California.
A. See the previous reply and pray for our bishops that they may be courageous shepherds protecting their people against what Msgr. Pope called the “dark movements.” Pray also to St. Thomas More (1478-1535), who also was beheaded for opposing King Henry VIII, that only people of heroic virtue will be elected to public office in this country in November.
Q. A heartbreak situation — my wonderful small and lovable pet terrier dog died recently. I hope it is not too emotional to say that I always saw in her kind eyes a reflection of God’s own kindness and love. Surely one can hope and wish that a reunification with one of God’s creatures is possible in Heaven. — J.C., Ireland.
A. As far as we know, the Church does not teach about the fate of animals after death. The Catechism call animals “God’s creatures” and says that “he surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory [cf. Matt. 6:26; Daniel 3:79-81]. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals” (n. 2416).
However, said Fr. Benedict Groeschel in his book After This Life, “we can engage in some reasonable speculation.” He said that “it would seem to me that although animals can have no right to eternal life — as even human beings only receive this by grace — is it not reasonable to hope that an animal who has helped us along our way through life, and had a real share of our affections, may also be with us (recreated, so to speak) in our heavenly home? Some will laugh. Some will ridicule. But many will at least hope that they will find their animal friends, who have meant so much in this life, with them in the next” (p. 111).
Addressing this same question in his book Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven (p. 45), Dr. Peter Kreeft asked: “Why not? How irrational is the prejudice that would allow plants (green fields and flowers) but not animals into Heaven! Much more reasonable is C.S. Lewis’ speculation that we will be ‘between the angels who are our elder brothers and the beasts who are our jesters, servants, and playfellows.’ Scripture seems to confirm this: ‘Thy judgments are like the great deep; man and beast thou savest, O Lord’ (Psalm 36:7).”
Q. This is a follow-up to your answer concerning eternal life in Heaven. As I understand, the Church teaches that at the end of time the saints will have resurrected bodies as did Christ after His Resurrection, a body with which He walked the Earth, spoke with, and ate with the apostles. Presumably our resurrected bodies will also have that same ability. Our Church prayers, in the Nicene Creed and the Glory Be, include references to a “world to come” and a “world without end.”
This suggests, at least to me, that the world (planet Earth?) in some form will continue to exist even after the end of time. Your answer suggests to me that the saints will spend and enjoy eternity in Heaven in adoration of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the presence of our Blessed Mother and all the angels.
My questions: Will planet Earth play a role in our eternal life after the end of time? If not, why then do we pray world without end and why will we have resurrected bodies? Could we not exist forever in eternity as you described as spirits in the spirit realm of Heaven without resurrected bodies? My inference is that perhaps God does have a plan for us to be able to return to a “new Earth” with our resurrected bodies. — D.M., via e-mail.
A. The Book of Revelation says that at the end of the world there will be “a new heaven and a new earth” (21:1) and that God will “make all things new” (21:5), but the meaning of those phrases is a mystery. We know that we will have glorified bodies in the next life and that they will be exceedingly beautiful, immune from pain and death, unrestricted by matter, and able to move with the speed of light.
What needs to be stressed, however, said Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, in his book The Catholic Catechism, is that “risen persons are still of the same human species and still the same individuals they were on earth….When we say that the glorified body is no longer mortal, we do not imply that it ceases to be a body. It becomes, of course, a spiritualized body; but it does not lose its corporeity. It remains truly human, although with an immortality coming from the divine strength, which enables the soul to so dominate the body that corruption can no longer enter what had formerly been subject to decay” (pp. 265-266).
We don’t know whether God’s plan includes a return to a “new Earth” with our resurrected bodies. We can only hope and pray to live in such a way now as to get to Heaven. Then we will know the answer to your questions.
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