Divine Mercy: The Good News of the Catholic Church

One of the most attractive qualities of Christianity is our emphasis on the infinite mercy of our God.  No matter what a person has done, no matter how grave the sin or the injustice, no matter how low the person has sunk — our belief is that God always offers a hand to sinners.  This hand is the venerable hand of Jesus Christ our Lord, and He extends His mercy to us by means of the Catholic Church, most particularly by way of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

However, when the Catholic Church speaks about the moral issues of our day — that abortion is gravely evil; that there is no such thing as “gay marriage”; that birth control and “morning after” pills are not healthcare — the Catholic Church is accused by the mainstream media as being intolerant, judgmental, hypocritical, fanatical.  We as Catholics are told to stay out of politics and to keep our morals to ourselves.  However, if you recall last year when the liberal minister of St. John Episcopal Church in Washington D.C. delivered a sermon to President Obama and his family on Easter Sunday, what did he do?  He brought politics into his church, but it was "ok" because of what he said: “Captains of the religious right [like Catholic bishops and priests, and Evangelical pastors?] are always calling us back . . . for blacks in the back of the bus, women back in the kitchen, gays back in the closet, and immigrants back on their side of the border.”  Despite being an egregiously slanderous characterization of Christian conservative values, very few in the mainstream media sought to criticize this liberal minister.  The President declined to comment when asked about his feelings on the sermon.

Unfortunately, because many in the media have such a bias against the Catholic Church (as well as against Evangelical Christians), they pervert our stances on sensitive moral issues of the day.  We as Catholics believe in racial equality (nuns and priests marched side-by-side with civil rights activists in the 1960s), and the Church's criticism of the President's policies has nothing to do with his skin color.  We believe in helping women in crisis pregnancies (e.g., the Gabriel Project) as well as providing ministry to women who have had abortions (e.g., Project Rachel).  We believe that a person is defined by being a son or daughter of God – not by his/her sexual orientation – and that a person who struggles with same-sex attraction can still live a holy life and have healthy relationships in chastity.  And we believe in the dignity of the immigrant regardless of documentation.  The Church is here to offer ministry to immigrants and to help them establish themselves lawfully in a new country with the hope of living a decent standard of life.

Divine Mercy Sunday (April 27) is a wonderful reminder, that despite denigration from left-wing bigots, the Church continues to be Christ’s gentle instrument of reconciling sinners.  In Christ, we always have a second chance no matter what we have done.  He instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation to forgive our sins so we can begin a new life in Him.  Our message as Catholic Christians is not a message of condemnation, but of redemption and renewal.  The Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ gives us great hope in the midst our struggles, and is good news to all of us who are sinners.