What is the World Coming To?

Today I am pondering two “what-is-the-world-coming-to” types of situations:  1) the serious push to have abortions legalized right up to the moment of birth (and even after birth), and 2) the hideous worldwide Catholic clergy sexual abuse scandal.   These are major battles of right vs wrong and, I dare say, Satan appears to be winning.  Let’s take a look.

It appears to me that both situations can be traced back to the tumultuous 1960s.  Now, I was a teenager for most of that time, but I can tell you that I was a very happy lad.  At first, everything seemed to be cool.  I was living on a small Iowa farm, going to high school, enjoying playing baseball and basketball, tending to my many 4-H farm animal projects, and surrounded by loving family and religious sisters and priests.  I had heard of one or two unwanted pregnancies occurring among high school acquaintances, but there was never any thought of an abortion.  In fact, while scandalous, there was nothing to be considered, except to get married or to be a single mother, or to put the child up for adoption.  And these choices were not the end-of-the-world options that they seem to be today.  Life simply went on for everyone, including the unborn babies.

Our priests were well-respected, holy people.  Besides celebrating daily school Masses, they held weekly confessions, 40-hour devotions, Benedictions, parish missions, etc.  The priests were the respected authorities where right and wrong were concerned, and I never heard any peep about any scandal.  There were the changes brought about by the Vatican Council II, which created confusion, and the papal decision that artificial means of birth control was sinful.  There was much dissent from this teaching, even among clergy.

Then came the seventies.   The Supreme Court declared that unborn children were not Constitutionally protected “persons” and could therefore be aborted at will.  And priests secretly began sexually abusing children.  Whoa!!  The whole dynamic of life began to change especially for those directly affected.  People, including me, were slow to adjust.  I never gave the Supreme Court decision much thought early on, but later it was front and center. 

And now, here we are in 2019.   The world is a mess, to put it mildly.  I used the word “hideous” above to describe the sexual abuse scandal.  It has reached bishops, cardinals, and religious orders worldwide.   Something needs to happen.  But what?  And the abortion question.  All Democratic presidential candidates and many state governors have bought into the idea of passing legislation and state constitutional amendments making it legal up to moments before birth!  Yes, Satan appears to be winning.  Dear reader, I don’t know where your thoughts are on these things, but we need to get straightened out.  We need leadership.  If you are a liberal-minded person inclined to change things, we need to return to sanity, to normalcy.  It’s time for traditional values to be the objects of change before Satan wins the final battle.   Let us pray. please.  Amen!