Do our children understand morality? Ethics? Virtue? The Beatitudes? If not, why? Aren’t they supposed to learn about these vital concepts from their parents? Do we (parents) fully understand, discuss and apply these concepts in our daily lives so we can set the right example for our children? I pose these challenging questions for all of us after reading a summary of Archbishop Chaput’s recent remarks to a Faith in the Public Square seminar in British Columbia. The Archbishop said that Catholics are failing to pass along our faith to the next generation and young people are losing their “moral vocabulary.” To read this summary from CNA, please click here: Losing our Moral Vocabulary.
I would maintain that our culture has accelerated in recent decades towards an “anything goes” tolerance of just about everything. We are losing our ability to draw lines in the sand and say this is RIGHT and this is WRONG. Political correctness has seeped in like a disease and we are often remaining silent about moral outrages all around us (abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, stem cell research, etc.) in order to fit in and not offend those around us. If we adults are not openly discussing and publicly embracing morality, ethics, virtue and living out the Beatitudes, how can we expect our children to do the same? If we are not living as authentic Catholics, why will our kids be any different? “If we’re embarrassed about Church teachings, or if we disagree with them, or if we’ve decided that they’re just too hard to live by, or too hard to explain, then we’ve already defeated ourselves.” – Archbishop Chaput
What are your thoughts? Does this issue resonate with you? What can we do to fight back?
