So
it is that because of the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, many Catholics do not practice their faith to the point of
standing out from those who are ignorant of Christ. In approaching the vexing
questions of modern society, too many Catholics take positions based on a
liberal-conservative spectrum, rather than on the teachings of Jesus Christ
which come to us via His church. Only genuine conversion, metanoia,the fruit of evangelization, will change this reality, allowing Catholics to experience the joy of faithful discipleship. No ideology may substitute for
real personal conversion. In essence, metanoia means to
question one’s own way of living, to start to see life through God’s eyes, and
turn away from conformity to this world. Genuine
conversion predisposes us not to see ourselves as the measure of all things,
but to a humility that trusts ourselves to God’s love, which becomes the
measure of all things. This was the central teaching of Vatican II: a renewed
call to the faithful to strive after holiness, which means doing the Father’s
will in all things, empowered by His grace.
I s the Holy Father being "sifted like wheat" of late? I ask this because he has made some interesting remarks of late, such as: Pastors should not be “putting our noses into the moral life of other people.” Isn't there the requirement that confessors and a pastors priests have some sense of the moral life of those to whom they minister? S econdly, during a question-and-answer session , Francis spoke of a “pastoral cruelty,” such as priests who refuse to baptize the children of young single mothers. “They’re animals,” he said . Most priests are very generous in extending baptism to infants, realizing that they are not responsible for the sins or shortcomings of their parents. Those who do, at times, delay baptism do so for other reasons, such as little evidence for a well-founded hope that the child will be raised in the faith. There are some prudential judgments to be made and pastors are required to make them (see canon 868). ...

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