CAN WE REALLY CALL OURSELVES CIVILIZED?

This has been a century of incredible developments in all fields of human

endeavour. We, the privileged of the Western world, have gained a measure

of individual freedom unmatched in any other time in the history of mankind.

In fifty years, our technology has progressed more than in the 1949 years

that preceded them. We have walked on the moon. We can now travel anywhere

in the world in very little time; we have vanquished diseases that were

killing millions of us every year;

and material comfort has never been so great. Yet...

We need only reflect briefly on our way of life to see just how terribly we

have regressed morally. We are in fact back to the barbaric pagan times of

the Aztecs, that highly developed Mexican civilization conquered by the

Spaniards. We have even gone one

better: to kill at both ends of life through abortion and euthanasia. Even

though they may carry new names, these are still crimes which are committed

to satisfy our own gods - money, comfort, pleasure, power, "liberty."

The history of the 16th century Aztecs is often described in glowing terms

for their perceived refined culture - a perception, however, that belies the

barbaric nature of a society over which Satan exercised unimaginable evil

power. Thus, we know from archived documents that during a dedication

ceremony of a temple to their god, these highly admired people killed 80,000

victims in an orgy of blood which lasted four days. That is, 80,000 men,

women and children disemboweled and their hearts torn out while they were

still alive. Some 50,000 were likewise offered in sacrifice each year. One

child in five was sacrificed. Aren`t we forced to admit that the Aztec

society very much resembled ours?

As is the case with Western civilization today, Aztec society had made

tremendous progress in mathematics, astronomy, architecture and in

engineering, but had not progressed in the virtues which mark us as truly

human beings. The invading Spaniards put an end to human sacrifices, but

our society has revived these massacres of innocent babies which vastly

surpasses in cruelty the mayhem of the Aztecs. Just try defending, for

instance, the act of plunging scissors into the backs of heads of live

babies whose

entire torsos are outside their mothers` wombs and then sucking out that

child`s brains - as is currently legally done in partial-birth abortions.

The paganism of the Aztecs has been replaced by secular humanism which

worships at the altar of the Almighty Self. This selfish creed has

supplanted Christian-inspired principles and has imposed its social doctrine

on Western society for the past four

decades. It has succeeded in making us think what the great "advances" of

the 20th century are: acceptability of abortion at any time for whatever

reason; homosexual practice, mechanical or chemical birth control, and

euthanasia. Moreover, these

enlightened architects of the new moral order have succeeded in both

marginalizing those with Christian faith beliefs and excluding them from the

debate on these vital social issues.

Secularism rejects the absolute standards and moral foundations of the

Christian faith by persuading people to build new structures which make

legal what is evil. Pope John Paul calls it building structures for a

Culture of Death. So far, that culture`s most horrendous victory is

legalizing the killing of children in their mothers` wombs.

The 20th century unquestionably ranks as mankind`s most violent and vicious

epoch, thanks largely to secular ideologies like Communism, and the secular

public ethics of liberalism. Many Catholics - and this regretfully appears

to include a good number of priests and bishops - seem totally unaware that

society has descended into a new paganism, a tragic godlessness that`s even

more barbaric than that of ancient times.

Let`s not mince words! We are at war. It is a "culture war" rather than the

shooting variety. Its victims are the 60 million unborn babies slaughtered

each year throughout the world, sadly much of it aided and abetted by the

United Nations. To many Christians it is becoming clear that its outcome

will be the inevitable demise of our civilization. Already we are witnessing

the rotten fruits of relentless war against children. Throughout Europe, in

1996, there were 700,000 more deaths than births. Europe is in fact filling

more coffins than cradles. Of the 35 countries in Europe only little Malta

is truly reproductive.

Canadian civilization, under what has been touted as enlightened political

leadership, has legalized murder and called it choice. Every year we

taxpayers contribute financially to the murder of more than 100,000 of our

future citizens in a fashion no

different from that practiced by the Aztecs some five centuries ago.

In the name of pride, many now parade their sexual perversions up and down

the streets of our major cities, while newspaper editors and TV news anchors

smile and tell us this is progress. Marriage is disposable, chastity is

scorned, fidelity scoffed at while

Christian people who protest injustices are held up for scorn, ridiculed and

even imprisoned. Freedom has become just another word for licentiousness

and self-indulgence.

Former U.S. Attorney General, William Barr, several years ago brushed a grim

reality of North American civilization. Its decadence was evidenced by the

30% of children born out of wedlock - about a quadrupling in 25 years; the

highest teenage pregnancy rates - about double other industrialized

countries; and divorce almost as common as marriage. He rightfully stated

that we can measure the moral health of a society by the way it treats it

most weak and defenceless. He unequivocally warned of the implications to

any society legalizing the slaughter of its most innocent citizens - its

own unborn children.

Let us pray with renewed fervour to our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of

the unborn, and ask her help in driving abortion back to Hell in the same

manner she helped stop human sacrifices in 16th century Mexico. Until then

we in North America will forever remain citizens of officially uncivilized

countries.

Thaddee Renault