Heaven Will Be Empty

Nobody likes a grouch. But, I’m not a happy Catholic.

My church, the Catholic Church into which I was born and baptized, the church that I have always loved all of my 78 years, the comfort zone where I went when all my problems became too much, is suffering. And that makes me sad.

At a time when Catholicism should be a guiding light for all people who wish to please God and win their reward of heaven, my church was shaken by a sex abuse scandal. As if that wasn’t enough, far too many of the laity have been voicing discontent with some of the church’s teachings. And all of this has been happening in a culture that is beginning to look like the early days of the fall of Rome.

So, personally, this has been a tough time. Vatican II changed the look and feel of my church. The reverent simplicity of the holy sacrifice of the Mass was unnecessarily complicated by lay lectors, extraordinary ministers, turned around altars and, of course, the vernacular liturgy that completely dissipated the mystery that the Latin brought to the celebration. And lest I forget, Vatican II granted permission to all orders of nuns to shed their habits if they so desired. Soon gone were the outward sign that these women were special and that they were in our world but not of our world.

Granted all of these changes wrought by Vatican II were superficial and did not alter the fundamental teaching of our church, but Vatican II somehow gave the laity the courage, the nerve to challenge some of the teachings of our Church. This gave rise to the “cafeteria Catholics” and the Catholics who hid behind the groups with names that rationalized what they were attempting to do: bend the teachings as if they were flexible.

As a man who spent high school and college in a seminary studying for the New York priesthood, the sex scandal by some of our priests shocked and saddened me beyond words. But, there again, this scandal gave voice to some of our lay people who felt priests should marry. That’s not all of the suggestions made often and loudly by these well-meaning but misguided laity.

Nevertheless, throughout these 44 years since that Council, the indisputable teachings of my Church have been like beacons of light always leading me to safe harbor whenever I needed it.

Now, as I look around at the moral decay in America, I grieve not only because of the disappearance of the distinction between right and wrong or sin and virtue, but also because of the many Catholics who are voicing discontent within our church instead of denouncing what is wrong outside our church..

And so, I decided to write this blog. I am sick of the immorality that passes for normalcy in our everyday living. I am sick of the Catholics challenging doctrine and attempting to justify their behavior by calling it intellectual pursuit. This blog is not a scholarly treatise. Rather, it is a strong reminder and reiteration of Catholic doctrine. It is a fervent plea that all Catholics need to announce to the world what our basic, fundamental teachings are if we are to lead the way out of our modern Gomorrah.

Sometimes, I feel like a lone layman lamenting, a voice crying amidst the noise of some laity discontent and saying, “Enough! This is what you must believe or you must leave”. Other times, I just feel like a lone Catholic wondering how our society has gotten so morally polluted and why Catholics-at least- have done very little about clearing that air.


Much of what I have written has already been published in letters to the editor, Guest Columns and web postings It is my fervent hope that these thoughts of mine will inspire some Catholics to change and encourage others to continue in the pursuit of heaven.

My point is simple: We must get our act together. Everybody. Not just Catholics. But, unless Catholics get back to basics and begin setting examples that Christ wanted and begin to transform the world, Catholics-and non-Catholics as well-are all going to hell.

Well, maybe not all of us and maybe not hell. Purgatory, for sure.

Count on this, though: the way so many are behaving, heaven will be empty.