If what you are saying is correct - and I personally do not think so - then people are lost. If the idea of spending eternity in endless torment does not motivate people to change their lives, then nothing will. We’ve tried your way of thinking - de-emphasizing the “negative” aspects of the Church teaching, such as hell, and emphasizing the “positive” aspects - God’s “love and mercy.” Michael Voris has a great name for it - the Church of Nice. Look at the results.
Since the Baltimore Catechism is no longer used on a major scale, all we have seen in the world is the spread of evil. Promiscuity is no longer seen as seen as sinful, homosexuality is accepted as normal, living together without marriage has no stigma whatsoever. For women under 30, there are more out-of-wedlock births than those born into a marriage. Abortion - the legal killing of unborn babies - has been the law of our land for 39 years. Same sex marriage, which will entail the destruction of the family, is soon to be the law of our land, and churches who “discriminate” against homosexuals will no doubt be prosecuted by our judical system. Our “entertainment” is vulgar, profane and basically pornographic. Our government now feels it has the right to force the Catholic Church to go against her own teachings, i.e. forcing the Catholic Church to support contraception.
Is it just coincidence that as the teaching of the Catholic Church has weakened and she no longer forcefully teaches the dogma of the church as she once did, that society has devolved into a truly evil place? Back when the Baltimore Catechism was still used, the Churches were packed from early in the morning until afternoon with people attending Mass every Sunday, the confession lines were long and continuing, people rarely waited more than a few weeks to baptize their babies. Religious vocations were overflowing so much that the seminaries and convents could barely contain them.
No, I don’t think the Church of Nice works very well at all.
I think you are greatly oversimplying to imply that the world has gone over to sin mainly because the Catholic Church no longer uses the Baltimore Catechism.
There are many forces that caused the downfall of culture, especially in the U.S. (and there are quite a few threads on CAF discussing this).
I agree with you that many many souls will be lost. These are hard times.
I think that if things could be turned around by something as simple as bringing back the Baltimore Catechism, the Church would have instituted this change a long time ago. But as you know, the Church has NOT advocated bringing back the Baltimore Catechism as the primary teaching tool. Do you think that the Church knows what She is doing?
Finally, I have a little bit of a problem with such a gloomy view of the Catholic Church. During these times of the “Church of Nice,” as you and Voris label it with such derision, my husband and I, along with our daughter, converted from evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism (and several other members of our family are studying the Catholic Church). For all of us, and
many other converts that we know, the “Church of Nice” has been glorious, the place where we found Jesus Christ, Truly Present!
Father Barron’s excellent series on PBS makes it clear that the Catholic Church, the “Church of Nice,” is still very much in the business of seeking out and saving lost souls in every country on the earth, and the Church is doing an excellent job of this work!
Besides Father Barron’s reports, there are many other reports about the good work that the Catholic Church is doing.
In our own city, it was primarily due to the work of the Catholic Church (although Protestants were helping) that the only abortion clinic in the area was SHUT DOWN a year ago, and will not re-open. Praise God.
For those seeking a more traditional Mass, Pope Benedict XVI made this easier by declaring the Motu several years ago. Although the Latin Mass in the U.S. is still not spreading like wildfire, it IS happening, and many Catholics now have a somewhat easier time finding a Latin Mass and a group of Catholics who lean towards traditional practices (including use of the Baltimore Catechism).
(In our city, the Latin Mass has been offered since the mid 1990s, with the full approval of our bishop.)
In the U.S., although secular culture is very very dark at the moment, the Catholic Church is a strong light in the midst of that darkness. I see no reason to denigrate the Church by labelling it with a demeaning name and declaring that She is failing. Quite the opposite.
Even various works of art (e.g., the recent movie,
For Greater Glory, which did well at the box office and with the critics) demonstrate that the message of the gospel is still being taught fearlessly and cleverly by the Catholic Church. Many other good things are happening; Christians are holding the line here in the U.S. We could definitely use some help from the Holy Spirit and all the angels and saints!
But Catholics are holding the line; e.g., there is a fairly good chance that the current pro-choice President and the pro-choice Congress may be voted out and a pro-life President and Congress elected (although there is also a pretty good chance that the current President and Congress will be re-elected by a confused and rebellious population).
Again, I say that we need to do what our Church tells us to do and stop complaining that Holy Mother Church isn’t doing enough. If for you, this means reviving the Baltimore Catechism and propagating the good things in this catechism, then do so.
I don’t believe that the Church has forbidden this catechism, has She? So go for it in your corner of the world! It certainly can’t hurt. When the enemy is on the move, we throw everything we can at the enemy. So throw the BC and inflict some wounds on the enemy.
It is so good to hear a voice of sanity.