I find that the Church Militant is weaker in Europe than in the States and I am wondering why. Part of the history of Europe, that is wars and internecine hatreds, make people nervous about standing up for Truth. The Pope's latest statement on the necessity for civilization to maintain family values, such as marriage as being a sacrament between a man and a woman, was practically ignored except for the Vatican news agencies. There are several popular Catholic newspapers and periodicals, the best being the Catholic Herald. But, what amazes me is the silence from the pulpit. Also, the laity do not organize themselves as we do in the States, as used to we are to grass-roots politics. It just does not happen here. The petition against civil marriages was found in the back of some churches, but not all, and the success was owing to the laity passing the word around.
I am saddened that there is a lack of courage. I had a person say to me a few days, asking me, where are the courageous people in Ireland and England? This woman was on retreat where I was and she was shocked at the lack of support for the pro-life movement here. The same thing happened in Eire, when, at the pro-life rally, over 10,000 people did not have a petition to sign. Why not? Why was not the political will organized to follow up on the energy of the people? Why are people hesistant about taking control of local groups and getting organized? There are no boycotts against companies that support civil marriage or abortion.
I wish that Europeans would explain why there is a lack of courage and a lack of zeal for what our Pope and some of our bishops are so openly strong at defending-marriage, life, natural law.
