English

Dobro polovico prvega meseca leta 2022 sem preživel na ameriškem kontinentu. Začel sem v prestolnici Kolumbije, kjer smo zbrali odgovorne za mladinsko pastoralo 5 latinsko ameriških držav: Čila (z dvema ekipama in sicer iz mest Santiago in Concepción), Peruja (z dvema ekipama in sicer iz mest Lima in Arequipa), Brazilije (z dvema ekipama in sicer iz mest Salvador in Porto Alegre), Nikaragve (in sicer iz mesta Granada) in gostujoče Kolumbije. Bogotá ima solidne prometne povezave in je sedež Škofovskih konferenc latinske Amerike in Karibov (Conferencias episcopales de América Latina y el Caribe, na kratko CELAM). Potem, ko so se bili mladi leto in pol pripravljali na lokalni ravni, smo delegate zbrali na srečanju celotnega kontinenta.

Vedoč, da bom na ameriškem kontinentu in da je ameriška politika po dolgem cincanju vendarle odprla meje za državljane Evropske unije, se mi je zdelo smiselno, da tako dolgo pot združim še z drugo in sicer v ZDA. Približno v tem času pred dvema letoma smo namreč ustanovili ekipo za mlade v Skupnosti v ZDA. Od takrat se nismo videli v živo, zato je bil to pravi trenutek. Voditeljski par trenutno živi v glavnem mestu Kalifornije, zato smo se za slab teden dobili pri njiju doma. Prvič v življenju me je pot vodila v Sacramento, zato sem si privoščil nekaj malega brskanja po internetu: kam sploh grem, kakšna je zgodovina mesta in države. Po zemljevidu sem zašel tudi v Los Angeles ter se vprašal kdo je tamkajšnji škof. Tamkajšnjega pomožnega škofa Msgr. R. Barrona zdaj že precej dobro poznam in sicer preko njegovih pojavljanj na spletu, nikoli pa nisem vedel, kdo je losangeleški škof … kar se mi zdi nasploh zanimivo vprašanje. Nadškof mesta (El pueblo de nuestra Señora la Reina de) Los Ángeles je Msgr. José H. Gomez. Opazil sem njegov par mesecev star govor neki španski organizaciji, ki me je precej pritegnil. Do te mere, da ga v hitrem prevodu objavljam tukaj. Razlog je dokaj preprost: jedrnato in pametno oceni trenutno duhovno stanje v ZDA ter naredi opombo, da v končni fazi ne gre za izključno ameriški pojav, temveč splošno zahodni. Dobro razumeti, kaj ponuja sodobni main stream in katero alternativo imamo kristjani: to se mi zdi še kar ključno. Od tod naprej torej citiram nadškofa.

Dragi prijatelji, žal mi je, da ne morem biti z vami osebno. Toda počaščen sem z vašim povabilom, da nagovorim ta ugledni kongres. Prosili ste me, da obravnavam resno, občutljivo in zapleteno temo – vzpon novih sekularnih ideologij in gibanj za družbene spremembe v Združenih državah ter posledice za Cerkev. In seveda mislim, da vsi razumemo, da se to, s čimer se Cerkev sooča v Združenih državah, dogaja tudi v vaši državi in v državah po vsej Evropi, v različni meri in na različne načine. S tem razumevanjem želim svoje današnje razmišljanje ponuditi v treh delih. Najprej želim spregovoriti o širšem kontekstu globalnega gibanja sekularizacije in dekristjanizacije ter vplivu pandemije. Drugič, želim ponuditi “duhovno interpretacijo” nove socialne pravičnosti in političnih identitetnih gibanj v Ameriki. Na koncu želim predlagati nekaj evangeljskih prednostnih nalog za Cerkev, ko se soočamo z realnostjo sedanjega trenutka. Začnimo torej.

1. Sekularizacija in dekristjanizacija. Mislim, da vsi vemo, da čeprav so v Združenih državah edinstvene razmere, podobni široki vzorci agresivne sekularizacije že dolgo delujejo v Španiji in drugod po Evropi. V naših državah se je dvignil elitni vodstveni razred, ki ga religija malo zanima, ki ni resnično navezan na narode, v katerih živi, ali na lokalne tradicije in kulture. Ta skupina, ki je vodilna v korporacijah, vladah, univerzah, medijih ter v kulturnih in strokovnih ustanovah, želi vzpostaviti tisto, kar bi lahko imenovali globalna civilizacija, zgrajena na potrošniškem gospodarstvu in vodena z znanostjo, tehnologijo, humanitarnimi vrednotami ter tehnokratskimi idejami o organiziranju družbe. V tem elitnem svetovnem nazoru ni potrebe po staromodnih sistemih prepričanj in religij. Pravzaprav, tako menijo, je religija, zlasti pa krščanstvo, samo ovira za družbo, ki jo želijo zgraditi. To si je pomembno zapomniti. V praksi, kot so poudarili naši papeži, sekularizacija pomeni dekristjanizacijo. Že leta se v Evropi in Ameriki namerno trudijo izbrisati krščanske korenine družbe in zatreti vse preostale krščanske vplive. V svojem programu za ta kongres namigujete na “cancel kulturo” in “politično korektnost”. Zavedamo se, da je pogosto tisto, kar se zbriše in popravi, perspektive, ki so zakoreninjene v krščanskih naukih – o človeškem življenju in človeški osebi, o zakonu, družini in še kaj. V vaši in moji družbi, se “prostor”, ki ga Cerkev in verujoči kristjani smejo zasedati, krči. Cerkvene institucije in podjetja v krščanski lasti so vse bolj izrinjena in pod pritiskom. Enako velja za kristjane, ki delajo v izobraževanju, zdravstvu, vladi in drugih sektorjih. Ohranjanje določenih krščanskih prepričanj naj bi ogrožalo svoboščine in celo varnost drugih skupin v naših družbah. Še ena točka konteksta. Vsi smo opazili dramatične družbene spremembe v naših družbah s prihodom koronavirusa in načinom, kako so se naši državni organi odzvali na pandemijo. Mislim, da se bo zgodovina ozrla nazaj in videla, da ta pandemija ni toliko spremenila naših družb, kolikor je pospešila trende in usmeritve, ki so delovale že prej. Družbene spremembe, za katere bi lahko potrebovali desetletja, se zdaj zaradi te bolezni in naše družbe odvijajo hitreje. To vsekakor drži v Združenih državah.

Nova družbena gibanja in ideologije, o katerih danes govorimo, so se dolga leta vsajale in pripravljale na naših univerzah in kulturnih ustanovah. Toda z napetostjo in strahom, ki sta jih povzročila pandemija in socialna izolacija, ter z umorom neoboroženega črnca s strani belega policista in protesti, ki so sledili v naših mestih, so se ta gibanja v naši družbi popolnoma ušla z vajeti. Ta kontekst je pomemben za razumevanje naših razmer v Združenih državah. Ime George Floyd je zdaj znano po vsem svetu. Toda to je zato, ker je za mnoge ljudi v moji državi, vključno z mano, njegova tragedija postala močan opomnik, da sta rasna in ekonomska neenakost še vedno globoko zasidrana v naši družbi.

To realnost neenakosti moramo imeti v mislih. Ker so ta gibanja, o katerih govorimo, del širše razprave – razprave, ki je absolutno bistvena – o tem, kako zgraditi ameriško družbo, ki bo širila možnosti za vsakogar, ne glede na barvo kože, od kod prihaja, ali gospodarski status.

2. Amerika ‘nove politične religije. To je moja teza. Verjamem, da je najboljši način, kako naj Cerkev razume nova gibanja za socialno pravičnost, da jih razume kot psevdo-religije in celo nadomestke in tekmece tradicionalnih krščanskih prepričanj. Z zlomom judovsko-krščanskega pogleda na svet in vzponom sekularizma so sistemi političnih prepričanj, ki temeljijo na socialni pravičnosti ali osebni identiteti, zapolnili prostor, ki sta ga nekoč zasedala krščanska vera in praksa. Kakor koli imenujemo ta gibanja, trdijo, da ponujajo tisto, kar ponuja religija. Ljudem dajejo razlago za dogodke in razmere v svetu. Ponujajo občutek smisla, cilja življenja in občutka pripadnosti skupnosti. Še več kot to, tako kot krščanstvo, ta nova gibanja pripovedujejo svoje “zgodba o odrešenju”.

Da razložim, kaj s tem mislim, naj poskusim na kratko primerjati krščansko zgodbo s tem, kar bi lahko imenovali zgodbo “woke” ali zgodbo o socialni pravičnosti. Krščanska zgodba gre v svoji najpreprostejši obliki nekako takole: ustvarjeni smo po Božji podobi in poklicani k blagoslovljenemu življenju v zedinjenosti z njim in s svojimi bližnjimi. Človeško življenje ima od Boga dan “telos”, cilj in smoter. Zaradi svojega greha smo odtujeni od Boga in drug od drugega in živimo v senci lastne smrti. Po Božjem usmiljenju in njegovi ljubezni do vsakega od nas smo rešeni s smrtjo in vstajenjem Jezusa Kristusa. Jezus nas spravi z Bogom in bližnjimi, nam daje milost, da se preustvarimo po njegovi podobi, in nas kliče, da sledimo njemu v veri, ljubeč Boga in bližnjega ter delamo za gradnjo njegovega kraljestva na zemlji. Vse v prepričanju, da bomo imeli z njim večno življenje v prihodnjem svetu. To je krščanska zgodba. In zdaj bolj kot kdaj koli prej jo morata Cerkev in vsak katoličan poznati in oznanjati v vsej njeni lepoti in resnici.

To moramo storiti, ker je danes tam zunaj še ena zgodba – konkurenčna “odrešitev”, ki jo slišimo, da jo v medijih in naših institucijah pripovedujejo nova gibanja za socialno pravičnost. Kar bi lahko imenovali “woke” zgodba gre nekako takole: ne moremo vedeti, od kod smo prišli, a se zavedamo, da imamo skupne interese s tistimi, ki imajo enako barvo kože ali naš položaj v družbi. Prav tako se boleče zavedamo, da naša skupina trpi in je odtujena, a ne po naši krivdi. Vzrok naše nesreče je, da smo žrtve zatiranja drugih skupin v družbi. Osvobojeni in odrešeni smo z našim nenehnim bojem proti našim zatiralcem, z bitko za politično in kulturno moč v imenu ustvarjanja družbe pravičnosti. Jasno je, da je to močna in privlačna pripoved za milijone ljudi v ameriški družbi in družbah na Zahodu. Pravzaprav veliko ameriških vodilnih korporacij, univerz in celo javnih šol aktivno promovira in poučuje to vizijo. Ta zgodba črpa svojo moč iz preprostosti njenih razlag – svet je razdeljen na nedolžne in na žrtve, zaveznike in nasprotnike. Toda ta pripoved je privlačna tudi zato, ker se, kot sem že rekel, odziva na resnične človeške potrebe in trpljenje. Ljudje so prizadeti, čutijo se diskriminirani in izključeni iz priložnosti v družbi.

Tega ne smemo nikoli pozabiti. Mnoge od teh, ki pritrjujejo novim gibanjem in sistemom prepričanj, vodijo plemeniti nameni. Želijo spremeniti razmere v družbi, ki moškim in ženskam onemogočajo njihove pravice in možnosti za dobro življenje. Seveda si vsi želimo zgraditi družbo, ki zagotavlja enakost, svobodo in dostojanstvo za vsako osebo. Toda pravično družbo lahko gradimo le na temeljih resnice o Bogu in človeški naravi. To je stalni nauk naše Cerkve in njenih papežev že skoraj dve stoletji. Naš zaslužni papež Benedikt XVI. je opozoril, da Božji mrk vodi v mrk človeške osebe. Vedno znova nam je rekel: ko pozabimo na Boga, v bližnjem ne vidimo več Božje podobe. Papež Frančišek enako in močno poudarja v Fratelli Tutti: razen če verjamemo, da je Bog naš Oče, ni razloga, da bi druge obravnavali kot svoje brate in sestre.

Tukaj je ravno v tem problem. Današnje kritične teorije in ideologije so globoko ateistične. Zanikajo dušo, duhovno, transcendentno razsežnost človeške narave; ali pa mislijo, da so ti za človeško srečo nepomembni. Kaj pomeni biti človek zreducirajo na fizične lastnosti – barvo naše kože, naš spol, naše predstave o spolu, naše etnično ozadje ali naš položaj v družbi. Brez dvoma lahko v teh gibanjih prepoznamo določene elemente teologije osvoboditve, in zdi se, da izhajajo iz iste marksistične vizije. Poleg tega so ta gibanja podobna nekaterim herezijam, ki jih najdemo v zgodovini Cerkve. Tako kot zgodnji manihejci tudi ta gibanja vidijo svet kot boj med silami dobrega in silami zla. Tako kot gnostiki zavračajo stvarstvo in telo. Zdi se, da verjamejo, da lahko ljudje postanemo to, kar se odločimo narediti iz sebe. Ta gibanja so tudi pelagijanska, saj verjamejo, da je odrešenje mogoče doseči z lastnimi človeškimi napori, brez Boga. In kot končno točko bi opozoril, da so ta gibanja utopična. Zdi se, da resnično verjamejo, da lahko ustvarimo neke vrste “nebesa na zemlji”, popolnoma pravično družbo, z lastnimi političnimi prizadevanji.

Ponovno, moji prijatelji, moja poanta je naslednja: verjamem, da je za Cerkev pomembno, da ta nova gibanja razume in z njimi sodeluje – ne v družbenem ali političnem smislu, ampak kot jih sprejme kot nevarne nadomestke za pravo religijo. Z zanikanjem Boga so ta nova gibanja izgubila resnico o človeški osebi. To pojasnjuje njihov ekstremizem in njihov oster, brezkompromisen in neprizanesljiv pristop do politike. In s stališča evangelija, ker ta gibanja zanikajo človeško osebo, ne glede na to, kako dobronamerni so, ne morejo spodbujati pristnega človeškega razcveta. Pravzaprav, kot smo priča v moji državi, ta strogo sekularna gibanja povzročajo nove oblike družbene delitve, diskriminacije, nestrpnosti in krivice.

3. Kaj je treba storiti. To me pripelje do končnega sklopa razmišljanj. Vprašanje je: kaj je treba storiti? Kako naj se Cerkev odzove na ta nova posvetna gibanja za družbene spremembe? Moj odgovor je preprost. Oznanjati moramo Jezusa Kristusa. Pogumno, ustvarjalno. Svojo zgodbo odrešenja moramo povedati na nov način. Z ljubeznijo in zaupanjem, brez strahu. To je poslanstvo Cerkve v vsaki dobi in vsakem kulturnem trenutku. Ne smemo se ustrašiti teh novih religij socialne pravičnosti in politične identitete. Evangelij ostaja najmočnejša sila družbenih sprememb, kar jih je svet kdaj videl. In Cerkev je proti-rasistična od začetka. Vsi ljudje so vključeni v njeno sporočilo odrešenja. Jezus Kristus je prišel oznaniti novo stvarstvo, novega moškega in novo žensko, ki jima je dana moč, da postaneta Božji otroci, prenovljena po podobi svojega Stvarnika. Jezus nas je učil, da spoznamo in ljubimo Boga kot našega Očeta, in svojo Cerkev je poklical, naj to veselo novico prenaša do konca zemlje – da zbere, iz vsake rase, plemena in ljudi, eno božjo družino po vsem svetu.

To je bil pomen binkošti, ko so moški in ženske iz vseh narodov pod nebom slišali evangelij v svojem maternem jeziku. To je mislil sveti Pavel, ko je rekel, da v Kristusu ni Juda ali Grka, moškega ali ženske, sužnja ali svobodnega. Seveda v Cerkvi nismo vedno živeli po svojih lepih načelih ali opravljali poslanstva, ki nam ga je zaupal Kristus. Toda svet ne potrebuje nove posvetne religije, ki bi nadomestila krščanstvo. Ti in jaz moramo biti boljši priči. Boljši kristjani. Začnimo z odpuščanjem, ljubeznijo, žrtvovanjem za druge, odstranjevanjem duhovnih strupov, kot sta zamera in zavist.

Osebno najdem navdih v svetnikih in svetniških likih v zgodovini svoje države. V tem trenutku mislim predvsem na božjo služabnico Dorothy Day. Zame ponuja pomembno pričevanje o tem, kako lahko katoličani delujejo, da bi spremenili naš družbeni red, z radikalno nenavezanostjo in ljubeznijo do ubogih, ki temelji na blagrih, na pridigi na gori in na delih usmiljenja. Imela je tudi izostren občutek, da moramo, preden lahko spremenimo srca drugih, spremeniti sebe. Nekoč je rekla: “Zelo jasno vidim predvsem, kako slabi so ljudje. Želim si, da ne bi tako videla. Tako jasnost mi dajejo moji lastni grehi. Ampak ne morejo me skrbeti tvoji grehi in bede, ko imam toliko svojih … Moja molitev iz dneva v dan je, da bo Bog tako razširil moje srce, da vas bom vse videla in živela z vsemi vami, v njegovi ljubezni.” To je odnos, ki ga potrebujemo zdaj, ko je naša družba tako polarizirana in razdeljena.

Navdih črpam tudi iz pričevanja častitljivega Augustusa Toltona. Njegova zgodba je neverjetno resnično ameriška. Rodil se je v kot suženj, z materjo je pobegnil na svobodo in postal prvi temnopolti moški, ki je bil posvečen v duhovnika v moji državi. Tolton je nekoč rekel: “Katoliška cerkev obžaluje dvojno suženjstvo – suženjstvo duha in suženjstvo telesa. Prizadeva si osvoboditi nas obeh.” Danes potrebujemo to zaupanje v moč evangelija.

Trenutno smo v nevarnosti, da bomo zdrsnili v novo plemensko ureditev, v predkrščansko idejo človeštva, razdeljenega na konkurenčne skupine in frakcije. Živeti moramo in oznanjati evangelij kot pravo pot do osvoboditve vsakega suženjstva in krivice, duhovne in materialne. V našem oznanjevanju in življenju ter predvsem v ljubezni do bližnjih moramo pričevati o božji lepi viziji našega skupnega človeštva – našega skupnega izvora in skupne usode v Bogu. Končno, v tej uri menim, da mora biti Cerkev glas posameznikove vesti in strpnosti, in da moramo spodbujati večjo ponižnost in realizem glede človeške resničnosti. Priznati našo skupno človečnost pomeni priznati našo skupno šibkost. Resnica je, da smo vsi grešniki, ljudje, ki želijo ravnati prav, a pogosto ne. To ne pomeni, da ostajamo pasivni pred socialno krivico. Nikoli! Vendar moramo vztrajati, da bratstva ni mogoče graditi s sovraštvom ali delitvijo. Prava religija ne želi škodovati ali poniževati, uničiti preživetja ali ugleda. Prava religija ponuja pot tudi najhujšim grešnikom, da najdejo odrešitev.

Še zadnja misel, prijatelji. In to je resničnost božje previdnosti. Moramo se držati tega nadnaravnega razumevanja, ker je resnično: božja ljubeča roka še vedno vodi naša življenja in pot narodov. V ZDA se Cerkev pripravlja na praznovanje 490. obletnice prikazovanj Gospe iz Guadalupe, ki označuje resnično duhovno ustanovitev Amerike.

In že vidimo znake pristnega verskega prebujanja, ki se dogaja v Ameriki, pod vso kontroverznostjo naše politike, pod nenehnimi oblaki pandemije, pod vso negotovostjo o tem, kam gre naša država. Prepričan sem, da bomo v prihodnjem desetletju, ko bomo praznovali 500. obletnico prikazovanja, videli to duhovno prebujenje. Besede Gospe v Tepeyacu me še naprej krepijo in navdihujejo: “Ali nisem tukaj, jaz, ki sem tvoja mati? Ali nisi v moji senci, pod mojo zaščito?”

Hvala za povabilo in za poslušanje. Naj vas Bog vse blagoslovi in naj Gospa iz Guadalupe še naprej posreduje za nas!

Prečastiti José H. Gomez, nadškof Los Angelesa. Video govor na kongresu katolikov v javnem življenju. Madrid, Španija. 4. november 2021.

Besedilo sem našel tukaj (Reflections on the Church and America’s new religions).

English

America’s new religions

I spent a little bit more than half of the first month of 2022 on the American continent. It all started in the capital of Colombia, where the leaders of the young adults pastoral from 5 Latin-American countries gathered: Chile (with 2 teams, from Santiago and from Concepción), Peru (with 2 teams, from Lima and from Arequipa), Brasil (with 2 teams, from Salvador and from Porto Alegre), from Nicaragua (from the city called Granada) and from hosting Columbia. Bogotá is not only a well-connected city, but it also hosts the Episcopal conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean (Conferencias episcopales de América Latina y el Caribe, or shortly CELAM). The young adults have spent a year and a half preparing locally. After that, we gathered their delegates at a continental gathering.

Knowing that I would be on the American continent and that the politics of the US, after quite some time, finally decided to let the citizens of the European Union travel in, I thought it would make sense to combine such a long trip with another one to the US. Right at this moment, two years ago, we created a young adults committee of the Community in the US. We haven’t met live since then, that’s why it was such a good idea to meet again. The leading couple currently lives in the capital of California, so the whole committee gathered at their place. It was my first time in Sacramento, so I thought it would be good to google some facts on the area and its history. Checking Google Maps, I somehow finished in Los Angeles and asked myself who was the bishop of that city. I have got to know its auxiliary bishop Msgr. R. Barron through his online presence, but I never knew who was the bishop of LA … which I thought was a cool question. The archbishop of the city (El pueblo de nuestra Señora la Reina de) Los Ángeles is Msgr. José H. Gomez. A talk he gave to a particular Spanish organization only a couple of months ago drew my attention, up to the point that I publish it here as well. The reason is quite simple: he shortly and thoughtfully describes the current spiritual situation in the US and remarks that it is not ultimately an American phenomenon but a western thing. It seems to be crucial to understand what the mainstream offers and what alternative the Christians can propose. From now on, I quote the Msgr.

My friends, I am sorry that I cannot be with you in person. But I am honored by your invitation to address this distinguished Congress. You have asked me to address a serious, sensitive, and complicated topic — the rise of new secular ideologies and movements for social change in the United States and the implications for the Church. And of course, I think we all understand that what the Church is facing in the United States is also happening in your country and in the countries throughout Europe, in different degrees and in different ways. With that understanding, I want to offer my reflections today in three parts. First, I want to talk about the wider context of the global movement of secularization and de-Christianization and the impact of the pandemic. Second, I want to offer a “spiritual interpretation” of the new social justice and political identity movements in America. Finally, I want to suggest some evangelical priorities for the Church as we confront the realities of the present moment. So, let’s begin.

1. Secularization and de-Christianization. I think we all know that while there are unique conditions in the United States, similar broad patterns of aggressive secularization have long been at work in Spain and elsewhere in Europe. An elite leadership class has risen in our countries that has little interest in religion and no real attachments to the nations they live in or to local traditions or cultures. This group, which is in charge in corporations, governments, universities, the media, and in the cultural and professional establishments, wants to establish what we might call a global civilization, built on a consumer economy and guided by science, technology, humanitarian values, and technocratic ideas about organizing society. In this elite worldview, there is no need for old-fashioned belief systems and religions. In fact, as they see it, religion, especially Christianity, only gets in the way of the society they hope to build. That is important to remember. In practice, as our popes have pointed out, secularization means “de-Christianization.” For years now, there has been a deliberate effort in Europe and America to erase the Christian roots of society and to suppress any remaining Christian influences. In your program for this Congress, you allude to “cancel culture” and “political correctness”. And we recognize that often what is being canceled and corrected are perspectives rooted in Christian beliefs — about human life and the human person, about marriage, the family, and more. In your society and mine, the “space” that the Church and believing Christians are permitted to occupy is shrinking. Church institutions and Christian-owned businesses are increasingly challenged and harassed. The same is true for Christians working in education, health care, government, and other sectors. Holding certain Christian beliefs is said to be a threat to the freedoms, and even to the safety, of other groups in our societies. One more point of context. We all noticed the dramatic social changes in our societies with the coming of the coronavirus and the way our government authorities responded to the pandemic. I think history will look back and see that this pandemic did not change our societies as much as it accelerated trends and directions that were already at work. Social changes that might have taken decades to play out, are now moving more rapidly in the wake of this disease and our societies’ responses. That is certainly true in the United States.

The new social movements and ideologies that we are talking about today, were being seeded and prepared for many years in our universities and cultural institutions. But with the tension and fear caused by the pandemic and social isolation, and with the killing of an unarmed black man by a white policeman and the protests that followed in our cities, these movements were fully unleashed in our society. This context is important in understanding our situation in the United States. The name George Floyd is now known worldwide. But that is because for many people in my country, myself included, his tragedy became a stark reminder that racial and economic inequality are still deeply embedded in our society.

We need to keep this reality of inequality in mind. Because these movements that we are talking about are part of a wider discussion — a discussion that is absolutely essential — about how to build an American society that expands opportunities for everyone, no matter what color their skin is or where they came from, or their economic status. With that, let’s turn to my next point. 

2. America’s new political religions. Here is my thesis. I believe the best way for the Church to understand the new social justice movements is to understand them as pseudo-religions, and even replacements and rivals to traditional Christian beliefs. With the breakdown of the Judeo-Christian worldview and the rise of secularism, political belief systems based on social justice or personal identity have come to fill the space that Christian belief and practice once occupied. Whatever we call these movements — social justice, wokeness, identity politics, intersectionality, successor ideology — they claim to offer what religion provides. They provide people with an explanation for events and conditions in the world. They offer a sense of meaning, a purpose for living, and the feeling of belonging to a community. Even more than that, like Christianity, these new movements tell their own “story of salvation”.

To explain what I mean, let me try to briefly compare the Christian story with what we might call the “woke” story or the “social justice” story. The Christian story, in its simplest form, goes something like this: we are created in the image of God and called to a blessed life in union with him and with our neighbors. Human life has a God-given “telos”, an intention and direction. Through our sin, we are alienated from God and from one another, and we live in the shadow of our own death. By the mercy of God and his love for each of us, we are saved through the dying and rising of Jesus Christ. Jesus reconciles us to God and our neighbors, gives us the grace to be transformed in his image, and calls us to follow him in faith, loving God and our neighbor, working to build his Kingdom on earth, all in confident hope that we will have eternal life with him in the world to come. That’s the Christian story. And now more than ever, the Church and every Catholic needs to know this story and proclaim it in all its beauty and truth.

We need to do that, because there is another story out there today — a rival “salvation” narrative that we hear being told in the media and in our institutions by the new social justice movements. What we might call the “woke” story goes something like this: we cannot know where we came from, but we are aware that we have interests in common with those who share our skin color or our position in society. We are also painfully aware that our group is suffering and alienated, through no fault of our own. The cause of our unhappiness is that we are victims of oppression by other groups in society. We are liberated and find redemption through our constant struggle against our oppressors, by waging a battle for political and cultural power in the name of creating a society of equity. Clearly, this is a powerful and attractive narrative for millions of people in American society and in societies across the West. In fact, many of America’s leading corporations, universities, and even public schools are actively promoting and teaching this vision. This story draws its strength from the simplicity of its explanations — the world is divided into innocents and victims, allies and adversaries. But this narrative is also attractive because, as I said earlier, it responds to real human needs and suffering. People are hurting, they do feel discriminated against and excluded from opportunities in society.

We should never forget this. Many of those who subscribe to these new movements and belief systems are motivated by noble intentions. They want to change conditions in society that deny men and women their rights and opportunities for a good life. Of course, we all want to build a society that provides equality, freedom, and dignity for every person. But we can only build a just society on the foundation of the truth about God and human nature. This has been the constant teaching of our Church and her Popes for nearly two centuries, now. Our Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI warned that the eclipse of God leads to the eclipse of the human person. Again and again he told us: when we forget God, we no longer see the image of God in our neighbor. Pope Francis makes the same point powerfully in Fratelli Tutti: unless we believe that God is our Father, there is no reason for us to treat others as our brothers and sisters.

That is precisely the problem here. Today’s critical theories and ideologies are profoundly atheistic. They deny the soul, the spiritual, transcendent dimension of human nature; or they think that it is irrelevant to human happiness. They reduce what it means to be human to essentially physical qualities — the color of our skin, our sex, our notions of gender, our ethnic background, or our position in society. No doubt that we can recognize in these movements certain elements of liberation theology, they seem to be coming from the same Marxist cultural vision. Also, these movements resemble some of the heresies that we find in Church history. Like the early Manicheans, these movements see the world as a struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Like the Gnostics, they reject creation and the body. They seem to believe that human beings can become whatever we decide to make of ourselves. These movements are also Pelagian, believing that redemption can be accomplished through our own human efforts, without God. And as a final point, I would note that these movements are Utopian. They seem to really believe that we can create a kind of “heaven on earth,” a perfectly just society, through our own political efforts.

Again my friends, my point is this: I believe that it is important for the Church to understand and engage these new movements — not on social or political terms, but as dangerous substitutes for true religion. In denying God, these new movements have lost the truth about the human person. This explains their extremism, and their harsh, uncompromising, and unforgiving approach to politics. And from the standpoint of the Gospel, because these movements deny the human person, no matter how well-intentioned they are, they cannot promote authentic human flourishing. In fact, as we are witnessing in my country, these strictly secular movements are causing new forms of social division, discrimination, intolerance, and injustice.

3. What is to be done. That leads me to me final set of reflections. The question is: What is to be done? How should the Church respond to these new secular movements for social change? My answer is simple. We need to proclaim Jesus Christ. Boldly, creatively. We need to tell our story of salvation in a new way. With charity and confidence, without fear. This is the Church’s mission in every age and every cultural moment. We should not be intimidated by these new religions of social justice and political identity. The Gospel remains the most powerful force for social change that the world has ever seen. And the Church has been “antiracist” from the beginning. All are included in her message of salvation. Jesus Christ came to announce the new creation, the new man and the new woman, given power to become children of God, renewed in the image of their Creator.

Jesus taught us to know and love God as our Father, and he called his Church to carry that good news to the ends of the earth — to gather, from every race and tribe and people, the one worldwide family of God.

That was the meaning of Pentecost, when men and women from every nation under heaven heard the Gospel in their own native language. That is what St. Paul meant when he said that in Christ there is no Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free. Of course, in the Church we have not always lived up to our beautiful principles, or carried out the mission entrusted to us by Christ. But the world does not need a new secular religion to replace Christianity. It needs you and me to be better witnesses. Better Christians. Let us begin by forgiving, loving, sacrificing for others, putting away spiritual poisons like resentment and envy.

Personally, I find inspiration in the saints and holy figures in my country’s history. In this moment, I am looking especially to the Servant of God Dorothy Day. For me, she offers an important witness for how Catholics can work to change our social order through radical detachment and love for the poor grounded in the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and the works of mercy. She also had a keen sense that before we can change the hearts of others, we have to change ourselves. She once said: “I see only too clearly how bad people are. I wish I did not see it so. It is my own sins that give me such clarity. But I cannot worry much about your sins and miseries when I have so many of my own. … My prayer from day to day is that God will so enlarge my heart that I will see you all, and live with you all, in his love.” This is the attitude that we need right now, when our society is so polarized and divided.

I am also drawing inspiration from the witness of Venerable Augustus Tolton. His is an amazing and truly American story. He was born in slavery, escaped into freedom with his mother, and became the first black man to be ordained a priest in my country. Father Tolton once said, “The Catholic Church deplores a double slavery — that of the mind and that of the body. She endeavors to free us of both.” Today, we need this confidence in the power of the Gospel.

We are at risk right now of sliding into a new “tribalism,” a pre-Christian idea of humanity as divided into competing groups and factions. We need to live and proclaim the Gospel as the true path to liberation from every slavery and injustice, spiritual and material. In our preaching and practice, and especially in our love for our neighbors, we need to bear witness to God’s beautiful vision of our common humanity — our common origin and common destiny in God. Finally, in this hour I think the Church must be a voice for individual conscience and tolerance, and we need to promote greater humility and realism about the human condition. Acknowledging our common humanity means recognizing our common frailty. The truth is that we are all sinners, people who want to do the right thing but often do not. That does not mean we remain passive in the face of social injustice. Never! But we do need to insist that fraternity cannot be built through animosity or division. True religion does not seek to harm or humiliate, to ruin livelihoods or reputations. True religion offers a path for even the worst sinners to find redemption.

One last thought, my friends. And that is the reality of God’s providence. We need to hold onto this supernatural understanding, because it is true: God’s loving hand still guides our lives and the course of nations. In the States, the Church is preparing to celebrate next month the 490th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which marks the true spiritual founding of America. And already, we are seeing signs of an authentic religious awakening going on in America, underneath all the controversy of our politics, the continued clouds of the pandemic, all the uncertainty about where our country is heading. I am confident that we will see this spiritual awakening grow and spread in the coming decade, as we look ahead to the 500th anniversary of the apparition. And Our Lady’s words at Tepeyac continue to strengthen and inspire me: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother? Are you not in my shadow, under my protection?”

Thank you for your invitation and for listening today. May God bless you all and may Our Lady of Guadalupe continue to intercede for us!

Most Reverend José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles. Address delivered by video to Congress of Catholics and Public Life. Madrid, Spain. November 4, 2021.

I found the text here (Reflections on the Church and America’s new religions).