"Father Pacwa: Discernment key to transforming culture"


Adapted from Archbishop José H. Gomez's archdiocesan publication, "Today's Catholic" newspaper, December 19, 2008. By J. Michael Parker.

"Father Mitch Pacwa, S.J., founder and president of Ignatius Productions and a popular author, speaker and talk show host on the Eternal Word Television Network [EWTN], spoke Dec. 6 [2008] at the Pilgrim Center of hope's annual prayer breakfast at the Omni Hotel.

"More than 600 people attended.

"[T]he Jesuit priest said, It's very difficult for many people today to discern God's will because, since 1968, there's been a decrease in teaching of the facts of our faith.

"He told a story of a lunch conversation a group of U.S. bishops once had with Pope John Paul II in which one bishop said that many American young people are not morally culpable of mortal sin when they commit adultery and fornication because they don't know it's sinful.

"Father Pacwa said imitating John Paul's Polish accent, no the young people are not culpable -- but for the bishops who do not teach the faith, it's a very big sin.

"The audience responded with enthusiastic applause.

"Then the priest made the point If you don't know about God, if you don't know about the facts of our faith, the commandments of God and the church, if you don't know the Gospel and the history of God's relationship with people, how are you going to do any kind of discernment?

"But the Judeo - Christian tradition has thousands of years of God revealing himself to humanity and commanding people to do amazing things that changed the world, he added.

"He cited St. Benedict.

"[T]he priest said, Is it any wonder that Pope Benedict XVI named St. Benedict Europe's patron saint? It it weren't for St. Benedict's community, European culture would have been lost, including the classics of ancient Rome. Benedictine monks copied down many books that remian classics to this day...

"Monks in the Middle East transcribed the works of Plato, Aristotle and many other Greek philosphers, scientists and scholars that otherwise would have been lost.

"Although atheists often portray faith as opposed to reason and many modern universities ridicule faith in God, Father Pacwa pointed out that it was the Catholic Church, inspired by Muslims, that established the first universities in the West and invented the concept of school systems.

"[T]he priest said, Discernment of what God wants is part of our biblical history, but it's also inerent in the history of the church. Its assumptions are that God is good and that he wants to speak to us and guide us ......"

A really good read! :)