Catholic Apologetics Online

Choose a topic from Vol 3:

God

Man

Religion

The Religion of the Bible

The Christian Religion

A Definite Christian Faith

The Problem of Reunion

The Truth of Catholicism

The Church and the Bible

The Dogmas of the Catholic Church

Moral Teachings of the Catholic Church

The Church in Her Worship

The Church and Social Welfare

Social Duty of the Church

1351. I definitely affirm that if our spiritual leaders would concentrate on solving the problem of starvation in the midst of plenty, this world would be a much happier place.

I am tempted to ask who is your "spiritual leader," and to what extent you submit to his guidance. Here it is you who offer to be the guide. I do not deny for a moment that the world would be a happier place if the problem of starvation in the midst of plenty were solved. But I might mention that Christ sent His Church to concentrate upon the salvation of souls, and to drill into men that, whatever comes or goes, they must seek first the Kingdom of God and His justice. In obedience to that teaching of the Church, it is for men to let God's justice extend to their human relationships. In a thoroughly Christian spirit those in charge of the administration of the temporal welfare of humanity must concentrate on the problem of starvation in the midst of plenty. If rulers and politicians have abandoned the Christian spirit and have neglected this duty, then there is no sense in attacking the spiritual leaders whose advice has been ignored.

1352. Millions, in needless suffering, are compelled to exist on the dole until we get back to prosperity.

Correct. But you must distribute the blame in the right quarters. I deny that any advice from our spiritual leaders has led to such a sad state of affairs. And I deny that they have been silent about it.

1353. Are the fortunate of more concern to God than the unfortunate?

No. St. James writes very emphatically on that point. Listen to his words. "Hearken, my brethren," he writes, "hath not God chosen the poor man? Do not the rich oppress you by might? And do they not draw you before the judgment seats? Do they not blaspheme the good name that is invoked upon you? Go to now, ye rich men. Weep and howl in your miseries which shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted: and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered: and the rust of them shall be for a testimony against you; and shall eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up to yourselves wrath against the last days. Behold the hire of the laborers, who have reaped down your fields which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Hosts."That does not sound as if the fortunate are of more concern to God than the unfortunate.

1354. I venture to say that, if our spiritual leaders, politicians, and journalists were put on the dole until the problem of starvation were solved, we would have a permanent solution within a week.

I cannot agree with you. The problem is more complex than that. Also why do you leave out the millionaires, bankers, commercial magnates, and those generally who have actual control of the wealth of this world? Spiritual advice, political legislation, and streams of ink from journalists' pens are not sufficient in themselves to reform the world.

1355. The suffering is caused in the main through the sheer callousness and indifference of the many well-placed, who are too selfish and in-human to give this problem proper scientific and intelligent attention.

If that be so, you were not justified in transferring your attack to ecclesiastical leaders. But I do not think that even now you are entirely right. Bewilderment, as much as callousness and indifference, leaves us with this problem. Even amongst the well-placed there are many worried people who are most anxious to remedy things. But the problem is most complex. The world is flooded with social theories, economic plans, financial suggestions, and political ideologies; and with no centralized international control a chaos has resulted which seems almost beyond the management of man. The human race has undoubtedly deserved the distress that has come upon it both for its past and present sins. And it should at least learn some humility from the thought of its limited abilities. Men have tried to get on without God, and God has left them to it. The results are not very encouraging. But it is the duty of all who can do so to labor for the alleviation of distress wherever an opportunity presents itself.

1356. It would be interesting to know whom Romanism would select as an escort, to point out to Jesus if He came to this world, the development of the Gospel.

I do not know that very much interest attaches to the question as to who would be selected for that duty. Nor would our Lord require a guide. Being God, He would know all things without being told. He would know how the Catholic Church has done her best, under great difficulties, to teach her children their Christian religion, how she has pleaded, day in and day out, for social justice and charity; how she has defended the Gospels and the truth He revealed against the forces of unbelief, whilst other professing Christians have made concession after concession to rationalism and the spirit of the age; how she has fought for moral standards, insisting on the integrity of marriage, opposing divorce, birth control, companionate unions, abortion, euthanasia, and the breakdown in morals generally which has followed in the wake of materialism and unbelief; how she has inspired the saints of the ages, a St. Bernard, a St. Francis of Assisi, a Father Damien to consecrate his life to the lepers, thousands of nuns to devote themselves to caring for the orphan, or for the sick in hospitals, or for unwanted old people in homes where the love of God reigns supreme; how the world has hated her, and obstructed her because of it; how prejudice has reviled her; and tyrants have felt it essential to persecute and cripple her. He would know all that, and would proclaim her His own.

1357. How would the escort explain the slums, the disease, the suffering and poverty and unhappiness and misery; and the magnificent buildings that house the rich?

Partly by the inevitable conditions of this world, partly by the neglect and sloth of people themselves; chiefly by the neglect of Catholic teaching and principles, especially during the last four hundred years since the Protestant Reformation, a movement which is foundering in the quicksands of materialism and secularism, with an "each man for himself" policy in the scramble for earthly goods, as if there were no hereafter at all.

1358. Jesus satisfied the hunger of the people after three days.

You must not make the mistake of thinking that Jesus came to fill the stomachs of hungry people. He multiplied bread for the particular group that was with Him. But there were other hungry people elsewhere, and as God, He knew of their existence. Yet He did not multiply bread for them. And why did He multiply bread for those to whom He had been speaking? Was it merely to satisfy their hunger? No. He did so as a miraculous guarantee of the truth of His teaching. But, like many other people, they were not interested in spiritual truth; they were interested only in their full stomachs. And if you look up John VI., 26, you will see Christ's reaction to that. For He said, "Amen, Amen, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you have seen miracles, but because you did eat of the loaves, and were filled. Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting, which the Son of Man will give you." In other words, Christ wrought the miracle to lead them to faith in Him and to the eternal life above and beyond this life. But they ignored that primary purpose, and took only a materialistic view based on present earthly benefits. He blamed them, as He would blame you for quoting His action in favor of a purely economic relief. Are you interested in soup - or in salvation?

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MORE FROM VOLUME 3

• About the Author
• Preface
  - Msgr Fulton J Sheen
• Author's Foreword
  - Dr Rumble, MSC

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