A Gallup poll released this summer revealed that Americans’ trust in major institutions continues to fade. Eleven of 16 institutions tested — for example, the Church, the presidency, health care — saw significant declines. Newspapers found themselves at a historic low, with only 16% (!) of Americans saying they have a “great deal” of confidence in them.
Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, food insecurity and increasing economic instability, the lack of trust in major institutions is perhaps the most important symptom of America’s increasing polarization. And we, as American Catholics, are not immune to these trends. We live in this culture, not separate from it.
And all of this is why Our Sunday Visitor matters now more than ever. Founded 110 years ago by a diocesan priest with a heart for preaching the healing balm of the Gospel, this newspaper is one of the American Church’s most trusted sources for Catholic news and commentary.
Living at the heart of the Church, Our Sunday Visitor knows that the biggest problems our country faces are not political problems, they are cultural problems. Today, in America, life’s most important questions are being casually brushed aside in favor of internet trends, political victories and convenience.
These temptations — and many others besides — are very great challenges for Christians today. In fact, in 1974 at the end of a television show, Fulton Sheen solemnly declared: “We are at the end of Christendom. Not of Christianity, not of the Church, but of Christendom.” By this, Archbishop Sheen meant that the fabric of society, as woven by Christian principles, has faded. Christianity no longer predominantly shaped economic, political or social discourse.
The challenges we face as disciples demand of us renewed creativity and zeal. We must read and study and pray constantly, in search of increasing insight and wisdom. And in this project, Our Sunday Visitor promises to be a faithful companion. The paper’s name, as Father Noll conceived it, promises weekly spiritual renewal, bringing light and life.
Joining Our Sunday Visitor and committing myself to this project of bringing light and life is a singular privilege for me, a Dominican friar and Catholic priest. St. Dominic, the founder of my religious order, was singularly dedicated to Truth, and like Father Noll, had a special desire to reconcile the lost sheep to the flock.
Together, we must grapple with life’s greatest questions. We must constantly be looking to live our faith boldly in an increasingly secular world. We must offer hope where shadow and darkness seem on the rise. We must embrace new ways to radiate the love that Jesus offers every soul.
Jesus’ invitation to discipleship offers immeasurably more than our weary hearts could dream of. I think one of the greatest temptations for Catholics today is to believe that our best days are behind us. The allure of halcyon days woos every heart and especially entices those of us who are lovers of Tradition.
But our time, such as Almighty God has seen fit to give us, is no less wonderful or great than the days of yore. Archbishop Sheen’s aforementioned declaration of the death of Christendom did not end with solemn lament. Rather, he continued on, saying: “These are great and wonderful days in which to be alive. I thank God … that I can live in these days, because these are days of testing.” Sheen’s words were no less true in 1974 than they are now.
These are great and wonderful days for Catholics. They are great and wonderful because the Gospel offers the only cure that will aid our broken world. Weary souls are thirsting for God, and it’s our vocation to help them find him. Our Lord tells us in St. John’s Gospel, “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Only the Truth unites. Only the Truth heals. Only the Truth frees.
Father Patrick Briscoe, OP, is editor of Our Sunday Visitor. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMaryOP.
