Over and over again the Church has shown this ability to interpret world events correctly.
In 1891, for example, Pope Leo XIII wrote an encyclical called "Rerum Novarum", "on the new things".
- In this encyclical he explained why communism was evil and destructive.
- But too many people, even some Catholics, didn't listen.
- And so twenty-six years later the communists sparked the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, paving the way for some of history's greatest injustices, including the mass murders engineered by Joseph Stalin, which took the lives of almost twenty million innocent victims.
In 1937, Pope Pius XI wrote an encyclical entitled "Mit Brennender Sorge", "with deep anxiety".
- In it he reiterated his condemnation of Nazi ideology and warned of the injustices that were to come if that ideology was allowed to continue unchecked.
- But once again, too many people, even many Catholics, didn't listen. The world powers continued to appease Hitler, and a year-and-a-half later World War II, with all its horrors, began.
Jesus truly is present and active in his Church.
- He not only comes to us in his person and his grace through the sacraments, but he guides our understanding of current events through the Church's official teaching.
- We know that the Church doesn't have a crystal ball to predict future events.
- But she does have the charism of speaking the truth on issues of faith and morality.
- This enables her to identify destructive social trends and false teachings. This is part of the gift God has given us through the Church.
He wants us to be able to hear his definitive interpretation of the meaning of world events, just as the crowds heard Christ's comments about the events of their day.