It should not be forgotten that the new commandment, the only commandment, really, which the Master left his disciples, is the commandment of love (Jn 13:34; 15:12). Unfortunately, official catechesis does not always keep this in mind, and so it tends to smother the sheep with an excess of messages which, all too often, have little to do with the kind of nourishment they actually need. These messages usually refer more to the earthly city than to the heavenly one, and they give the impression that official catechesis, despite what the Letter to the Hebrews says, is convinced that Christians have already found their lasting city and do not need to wait for another future one to come (Heb 13:14 a sensu contrario).

Even the catechesis on the dogma of Hell (which should never be omitted) ought to be taught from the point of view of love, insofar as the only comprehensible explanation of Hell is that of love voluntarily rejected and lost. But official catechesis today makes no mention of Hell, for the same reason that it also tends not to speak about true Love. Nowadays it is quite common for the sheep of Christ’s flock to be forced to feed themselves in pastures which are not the best for providing nourishment for them: ecology, pacifism, racism, political systems, politics, the rights of man, irenic ecumenism, social justice… The fact that a new State, for example, is or is not recognized by the Vatican may be significant from certain points of view, but it is of no importance at all to souls, whatever anyone may say. As regards the social teaching of the Church, it might be useful to stop to consider whether the immense library of documents containing it, constantly growing, has produced the results one might expect from such a high input of energy; surely not, perhaps because, quite often, the problems this material deals with have more to do with economic science than with moral judgments which are the Church’s competence. Be that as it may, certainly the true needs of souls are not always catered to along the route of social teaching.

All this contributes to giving the impression that the official Church is too bent on cultivating its image as an Institution preoccupied with man. It is as if, in its desperate attempt to flee from accusations of contributing to the alienation of man, to disincarnationism, and to always being on the side of the bourgeoisie, it has fallen into the trap set by its enemies. The official Church ought to realize that neither fear nor inferiority complexes ever make good counselors.