St. Dominic Catholic Church

Pastor's Corner

April 30, 2017

Perhaps it should be no surprise that 71% of California Catholics also say right or wrong depends upon the situation (Pew Foundation Survey, 2014).  This is called “relativism”, and is contrary to scripture and Church teaching – as well as common sense.  Relativism holds that “what is true for me might not be true for you.”  It is often held up as a kind of tolerance. Two relatively recent events point to the overarching effects of relativism: the downplaying of reality as described and understood by science, and the invention of the idea of “alternative facts”.  As a man who studied geophysics, and who belongs to the Order whose motto is “truth”, both of these frighten me.

Some argue that given the extent of disagreement about moral issues, it follows that there are no objective moral truths. But the conclusion does not follow from the premise. Consider a different argument of the very same logical form. There is extensive disagreement about the existence and nature of God, therefore it follows that there is no truth of the matter about God's existence and nature. But there is a truth of the matter. There either is a God or not! There is a fact of the matter, even if we don't know what it is, or fail to agree about it.

Often, Jesus is promoted as a model of tolerance, but that is to twist Jesus to our own ends.  While Jesus reaches out to sinners and outcasts and eats with them, much to the chagrin of the Pharisees who tried to separate themselves from sinners, Jesus’ message is clear: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 4:17); “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”  (Luke 5:32);  “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15)  As God among us, Jesus desires only what is good for us.

Jesus’ concern for repentance presumes that there are some attitudes and behaviors that need to be repudiated because they are bad for us!  He came to give us the fullness of life – and that means some ways of living are less than fulfilling.