By Vaclav Rajlich and Michael O. Kenney
Many Catholics have abandoned the faith—as many as 13 percent of American adults. Without a concerted effort toward renewed orthodoxy, we stand to lose many more.
The road map for renewal, we believe, is found in St. John Paul II’s Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth). Catholic educators and youth ministers, and indeed all Catholics, should take a new look at this 1993 encyclical that summarizes Christian morality: follow the Gospel, abide in Jesus Christ, and be renewed in orthodoxy and transformed by grace.
That may seem too simplistic to overcome the challenges that young people face today, but nothing else will do. “Such is the consoling certainty of Christian faith, the source of its profound humanity and extraordinary simplicity,” writes St. John Paul II.
At times, in the discussions about new and complex moral problems, it can seem that Christian morality is in itself too demanding, difficult to understand and almost impossible to practice,” he continues.
This is untrue, since Christian morality consists in the simplicity of the Gospel,
in following Jesus Christ, in abandoning oneself to Him, in letting oneself be transformed by His grace and renewed by His mercy, gifts which come to us in the living communion of His Church.
Bringing this truth to our Catholic young people is the task of Catholic education and pastoral outreach. In fact, we note that in the same year Veritatis Splendor was presented, the Cardinal Newman Society was launched with a simple—some said too simplistic—call for fidelity to
Jesus Christ and His Church in Catholic education. Drawing from Vatican teachings, the Society
insists that
Catholic education is an expression of the Church’s mission of salvation and an instrument of evangelization: to make disciples of Christ and to teach them to observe all that He has commanded.
The Gospel Truth
The third millennium poses old and new challenges, and Veritatis Splendor provides the way
forward. Magnificent in its simplicity, powerful in its clarity, Veritatis Splendor rejoices in
Christ, the Redeemer of Man. We are to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, remembering
the Blessed Mother’s charge: “Do whatever He tells you.”
This is the plea of every Catholic mother who entrusts her child to Catholic education or youth
ministry. Teach young people to rejoice in the splendor of truth. Guide them on the moral path,
as Dr. Rajlich lays out carefully in his book, How to Live a Good Life Following New Testament
Ethics.
Renewed orthodoxy, anchored in the Gospel, presents truth faithfully, persistently, and attentively
to the times. For instance, we need to teach New Testament ethics with a laser focus on what Pope
Benedict XVI called the greatest threat to the Church today, “the worldwide dictatorship of
seemingly humanistic ideologies,” including those concerning gender and “reproductive
freedom.”
The New Evangelization consists in faithfully proposing Christ and courageously opening the
door wide to Christ. Faithful Catholic education is vital—both formal and lifelong education.
Jesus is the center of the universe and of history, and our young people need to know Him well.
Renewed orthodoxy proposes story-based ethics. There is nothing more fascinating than the
story of Jesus and his small band of followers. His story rises above all stories. His story instills
everlasting meaning capable of capturing the enthusiasm of the next generation, as it did for the
generations past.
Do Not Be Afraid
St. John Paul II introduced the themes of Veritatis Splendor in his inaugural address on World
Mission Day in 1978, 15 years before the encyclical. He urged all to be courageous co-workers
of the truth:
Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept His power. Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and with Christ’s power to serve the human person and the whole of mankind. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To his saving power open the boundaries of States, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows what is in man. He alone knows it.
John Paul II asked all to trust God Who is love, truth, and eternal life:
So often today man does not know what is within him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt which turns into despair. We ask you therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of eternal life.
This is the special calling of the Catholic educator, the catechist, the youth minister: to rid young people of the despair caused by ignorance and love them with the truth. By a renewed orthodoxy in the light of Veritatis Splendor, we can guide Catholics on the simple way of Christian morality.
Vaclav Rajlich, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of computer science at Wayne State University and author of How to Live a Good Life Following New Testament Ethics.
Michael O. Kenney, J.D., LL.M., is director of the Catholic Identity Standards Project and a senior fellow of The Cardinal Newman Society, which promotes and defends faithful Catholic education.
