Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Pacifists, Ecologists and Ecumenists: Antichrist at Work

Catholic Culture
by Dr. Jeff Mirus
March 5, 2007

The retired Archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, says the Antichrist presents himself as a “pacifist, ecologist, and ecumenist.” He said this in the Lenten Retreat he finished preaching on March 3rd to Benedict XVI and the leaders of the Roman Curia. After the final session, the Pope praised the Cardinal, saying he had delivered a “very accurate and precise diagnosis of our situation today.” What can this mean?
Biffi’s Point

Cardinal Biffi’s assertion is drawn from the work of the Russian philosopher Vladimir Soloviev. Following Soloviev, Biffi wanted to put both the Pope and the Curia on guard against being weakened by the spirit of the age. His point is that in every age huge numbers of people adopt various “enthusiasms” which they invest with a noble aura. But, Biffi warned, the anti-Christ is in these enthusiasms insofar as they distract us from Christ who must be kept at the center of all our work.

“Today,” said the Cardinal, “we run the risk of having a Christianity that puts aside Jesus, the Cross, and the Resurrection” and replaces it with “a mere set of values”. In Soloviev’s portrait, Biffi pointed out, the Antichrist dilutes the truths of the faith, accommodating every interest, and becoming more and more popular. But those who are not fooled hold out to the end: “You have given us everything except the one thing that we want: Jesus Christ.”

Isms, Isms, Everywhere, and not a Thought to Think

It is the essence of an “ism” that it attempts to explain reality in terms of a single idea. It is the nature of an “ist” that he finds his identity in that idea and believes himself to be serving the common good by promoting that idea in a kind of vacuum, without regard for the network of principles and values of which it forms but a part. As such, “isms” and “ists” are invariably as popular as they are simplistic, as exciting as they are inadequate. Such are the enthusiasms of every age. They give the illusion of moral purpose while distracting man from the rigorous integrating principles on which he ought to build his life.

Among many possibilities, the three modern enthusiasms Cardinal Biffi selected to make his point were, again, pacifism, environmentalism (ecologism) and ecumenism. There is, of course, nothing wrong with working for unity among Christians, or with improving our stewardship over the environment, or with choosing (in the face of threats to oneself) never to shed blood. On the contrary, all of these are good. But it is precisely when each is elevated to an “ism” that the trouble begins. The more popular the “ism”, the greater the harm it causes.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 8:18 AM