There should be no objections to a Shepherd of the Church (whichever office he holds in the hierarchy) giving a conference, speech, exhortation, or the like, about an indifferent, even banal, topic such as Art, History, Philosophy; or, say, about any of the many themes that human Arts and Sciences comprise. In this particular case, the important thing to take into account would be the need to not confuse such behaviour with the proclamation of the Christian message.

            However, the normal course of action of the ecclesiastical paraenesis is to try to achieve the instruction of the faithful in the Christian Message – a purpose that becomes compulsory when the objective of that instruction is the specific truths of Christian Existence. Such is the case of the homilies offered at weekday or Sunday Masses, or sermons for the occasions of various festivities or liturgical events, etc.

            It is also convenient to remember, if we want to understand better the issue we are speaking about, that Christian paraenesis (which, for simplification purposes, we have identified here with preaching) may take on diverse expressions: exhortations, speeches, conferences, sermons, homilies, funeral orations, etc.

            Let us consider, for instance, the theme of an exhortation which we had the opportunity to listen to a few weeks ago: European Cathedrals as a compendium of art and religious spirit. If we strictly confine ourselves to the objective at hand, this theme does not need to be considered as specifically Christian. As to the truth of its content, it is not to be expected that anyone will object.

            Going a little bit further, we should say that it would be truly difficult, if not impossible, to regard this instruction as specifically Christian.[1] Such distinction is frequently forgotten, but its importance should not be overlooked by either the Shepherd or the faithful.

            The statement that European cathedrals are a compendium of art and religious spirit, although truthful, does not correspond to the tradition of the Christian Deposit of Faith. In truth, this statement cannot be regarded as an exclusive feature of the Western or Christian world, for it can be applied to all cultures. Indeed, the same could be said about Greek sculptural and architectural art, for instance. The abundance of cults, as well as the collection of Greco-Roman gods and goddesses is part of the framework of a religion. The same could be stated about the presence of the Pyramids. They are impressive millenary monuments of Egyptian art and of belief in mythological gods and divinized Pharaohs. The fact that these two cases are false religions (for there is only one true religion) does not deprive them of the category of religion. This was well established at the Meetings of Assisi first convened by Pope John Paul II and then evoked with great praise by Benedict XVI, where there were no distinctions among the religion of the true God, religions of false gods, and religions with no belief in any deity.

These Meetings also are historical facts which made it quite clear that the millenary idea of paganism has been transcended ever since the Second Vatican Council: from now on, all religions are recognized by Catholic Theology, if not as the only authentic ones, at least as possessing some values, more or less; enough to attain salvation, according to the new Ecumenism.

            As stated above, a Shepherd may give a dissertation about any cultural theme. However, if he speaks to his faithful as their Shepherd, he must focus his dissertation on the spiritual needs of his sheep and the problems affecting them, which, in the last analysis, are the cause, or determining factors, that may either lead them to or separate them from salvation. If the Shepherd does not act accordingly within these parameters, and if this lack of acting accordingly becomes his habitual conduct, then he is giving ample reason for anyone to think that he has fallen victim to an inferiority complex.

            If what has been said up to this point leads to the bottom of this issue, then it is evident that we are facing an inferiority complex in the eyes of the World, and the fear of announcing the Gospel. As we expressed at the beginning of these editorials, this latter issue, namely, fear as the possible origin of the presumed inferiority complex, corresponds to the second layer of depth of our study. That is why it deserves special consideration, which may lead us, as strange as this may seem, to the conclusion that we have not yet reached the true and ultimate cause of this phenomenon.