St. Patrick and Truth

I bind myself today 

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, 

Through belief in the Threeness, 

Through confession of the Oneness 

of the Creator of creation. 

– St. Patrick’s Breastplate 

Today, the Catholic Church remembers and celebrates the life of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. This beloved saint of the Emerald Isle preached the Gospel for nearly forty years. His story is one of hardship and transformation that God used to confront the pagan culture dominating 5^th century Ireland. The challenges he faced were similar to those we face today – slavery, human trafficking, human sacrifice, and the worship of false gods. With firmness of faith and undaunting determination, St. Patrick confronted the evils of his day and changed the landscape of Irish culture that led to the baptism and conversion of thousands, the establishment of churches, and the integration of Catholic teaching that still influences modern-day Irish society. 

I recently joined HLI Ireland for a one-week mission, hosting programs in Dublin, Drogheda, Monaghan, Enniskillen, Derry, and Belfast. The theme of the mission was “Ireland, let us turn back to Christ the King, and the tender love of His Mother.” The message was a call for Ireland to reclaim the sovereignty of Christ, to respect and defend the sacredness of life, and to uphold marriage and family as designed by the Creator.  

Unfortunately, Ireland’s spiritual roots have been weakened in recent decades, leaving it vulnerable to anti-life forces and the spirit of the age. The horrific Irish sex abuse crisis has undermined the Church’s moral credibility, while a comfortable secularism has been more than eager to fill the void with an alluring message of wealth and worldliness. Many pastors have been hesitant to speak out against moral threats with two resulting consequences being the legalization of same-sex unions in 2015 and abortion in 2018 – once unthinkable in the overwhelmingly Catholic country. Now advocates for euthanasia and assisted suicide are strenuously working to legalize the practice, placing the sick, elderly, handicapped, and dying at great risk.  

This acceptance and even normalization of evil raises serious questions about the depth of faith and conscience formation of Catholics in Ireland, especially among the youth who are intentionally targeted by progressives peddling their perverse ideology. The current moral decay exposes a divorce from practicing the faith and its relevance in and to society as a whole. Catholic identity in society, particularly within families and public and Catholic schools, has been greatly compromised, resulting in the secularization of Irish society and culture. With less emphasis on religious instruction and the integration of Catholic values, more and more young people steadily drift away from the Faith. They no longer attend Mass or avail themselves of the sacraments.  

 Nevertheless, death peddlers shouldn’t underestimate the depth and strength of Ireland’s spiritual roots. The Catholic faith is in Ireland’s blood. The spirit of St. Patrick still lives on that island. Irish pro-life campaigners rely heavily on prayer and fasting and must work to remind their fellow countrymen that what St. Patrick brought to Ireland is precisely what has made their country great. Now, more than ever, Ireland needs the Gospel: it needs Christ’s admonitions to “do unto others” as we would have them do unto us; it needs the example and intercession of the great Irish saints, who rejected the allure of the world for Christ; it needs that spirit of Irish independence that has defied the spirit of Moloch for so many decades, and has stood up for the weakest and most vulnerable.

Truth and Freedom

In the modern world, we tend to think of freedom simply as the ability to do whatever we like. However, in Evangelium vitae, Pope St. John Paul II observed that the key to proper formation of conscience is “the recovery of the necessary link between freedom and truth” (no. 96). True freedom is not the ability to do whatever we like, but the capacity to do what is right, from the standpoint of the truth of God’s law.  

As Pope St. John Paul II says, 

[W]hen freedom is detached from objective truth, it becomes impossible to establish personal rights on a firm rational basis; and the ground is laid for society to be at the mercy of the unrestrained will of individuals or the oppressive totalitarianism of public authority (no. 96). 

A false sense of freedom that is detached from truth has not only desensitized the conscience of most, but has given rise to grave, intrinsic evils, which pose serious danger to the salvation of souls and the future of humanity.  

One of the most contested issues in our culture centers on an improper understanding of the dignity of the human person. Those who do not believe that all human beings have inherent human dignity have attempted to redefine human life. While we know this is impossible, innovators have certainly confused many in society as to its definition and have won several victories in the culture—like we see in Ireland. 

A shared dignity is the basis to the equality of all men. “Therefore, no law made by man can override the norm written by the Creator without society becoming dramatically wounded in what constitutes its basic foundation,” said Pope Benedict XVI in a 2007 address. This understanding permits a rational communication and a fraternal relation between all human beings, providing the basis for rejecting any arbitrary language that pits one person against another. “To forget this,” Pope Benedict XVI warned, “would mean … rendering the future of society precarious.” 

Our shared dignity is what drives the cause of the principles that regulate our behavior toward one another; guiding principles which we call the natural law. Because we are dealing with a human person, whose nature has certain characteristics, we should act and behave in accordance with those characteristics. To act against these characteristics and the true good of the human person, not only damages oneself but leads to grave harms against others and the common good. 

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts, 

Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that “everyone should look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as ‘another self,’ above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity” (no. 1931).  

The hard thing is often the right thing to do; and the easy thing is often also the wrong thing. One of the reasons we have criminal laws is to turn that formula on its head, to protect the common good by creating incentives to do the right thing and avoid the wrong thing. It’s easy to rob a car dealership and drive a nicer car. But the law makes stealing hard by introducing the threat of imprisonment. Stealing is such a serious crime that we would never consider legalizing stealing for “extreme cases.” The reason why is obvious. It sends the message that stealing is an acceptable solution to our problems. It tears down a crucial wall, and thereby harms individuals and creates social havoc. 

Respect for human dignity, therefore, is the cornerstone of a moral society, which should affirm the worth of every human life on the grounds that life is always good. The one who is anchored in the natural law tradition sees clearly that the dignity owed to every person is inscribed in our nature. 

Human life is of such incomparable worth that no act intended to violate this intrinsic value is ever permissible. Contraception, abortion, euthanasia, human trafficking, murder, etc. are intrinsically evil acts in every situation or circumstance, and they are an offense against human dignity, a crime against the sacredness of human life, and an attack on society. They are always immoral.

Upholding Truth

I have been in many countries where there is limited ability to speak on fundamental issues impacting human life, marriage, and family. The danger this poses is incalculable, especially to those who dare to uphold Judeo-Christian values. If anyone, for example, contradicts laws, political viewpoints and ideology, or the positions held by those in power, that individual or group runs the serious risk of being arrested and charged with a crime. This inability to freely address critical topics as they relate to authentic human rights, which flow from the inherent dignity of the human person is always detrimental, not only to individuals but to society.  

Catholic teaching distinguishes itself by its firm and unchangeable defense of human dignity. This dignity refers to the intrinsic and absolute value of the human person due to the mere fact that he or she is a person, and not because of their race, religion, achievements, age, health, or any other characteristic.  

As I have mentioned in the past, a crisis of truth has led to a crisis of freedom. The unmooring of moral principles did not happen independently of a rejection of truth and desire to be “free.” As the Catechism states, “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to ‘the slavery of sin’” (no. 1733). 

In other words, to be free, we need the truth. But to find the truth, we need to be free to search for it. 

Freedom does not achieve its full capacity or its dignity until it makes choices that reach out to what reason perceives as objectively good and true. Contrary to modern-day thought, freedom, when exercised in truth and reason, is not diminished but is fulfilled when one employs it to bring about a genuine good. 

I am reminded of Pope St. John Paul II’s words in Redemptoris hominis when he quotes Jesus: “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Continuing, he says,  

these words contain both a fundamental requirement and a warning: the requirement of an honest relationship with regard to truth as a condition for authentic freedom, and the warning to avoid every kind of illusory freedom, every superficial unilateral freedom, every freedom that fails to enter into the whole truth about man and the world. Today also, even after two thousand years, we see Christ as the one who brings man freedom based on truth, frees man from what curtails, diminishes and as it were breaks off this freedom at its root, in man’s soul, his heart and his conscience. What a stupendous confirmation of this has been given and is still being given by those who, thanks to Christ and in Christ, have reached true freedom and have manifested it even in situations of external constraint! (no. 12)

Protect Truth, Protect Freedom of Speech

In October 2024, Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Bill 2022 was signed into law in Ireland. Though the new law, an “update” of a 1989 law, seeks to strengthen the protection of people of different races and religions and persons with disabilities from acts of hatred and violence, it also enacts a broader ban on “hate crimes and speech.” However, it provides no clear definition or explanation of this terminology. 

This new law also establishes a radical new definition of gender, stating that “gender…includes transgender and a gender other than those of male and female.” One can easily see how a progressive-minded government will use this new definition of gender to legitimize transgender ideology and silence all dissent. Individuals should be able to express their beliefs without fear or oppression, even when they respectfully disagree with their government or popular opinions and “accepted” behavior.  

While recently in Ireland, I met someone who has been charged with a “hate crime” because they choose to oppose the violence of abortion and defend human dignity. Instead of protecting free speech and public safety, the new law is designed to shut people down, to make them afraid to speak against the state-sanctioned narrative. It prevents people from disagreeing with injustices that violate human dignity and God’s design for human life.

The pro-life and family movement poses a genuine threat to the power, desire for control, and ideological beliefs of the progressive elite who largely govern Western countries. In a great majority of cases, those endorsing the principles of liberalism and modernism are unable to respond to Judeo-Christian arguments, which are factual, scientific, and logical. So, they turn to bullying and vilification, censorship, threats of legal suits, confiscation of property and money, and imprisonment.  

Because of their opposition to liberal and modernist agendas and ideologies, pro-life and family leaders and their groups are prime targets for censorship. This is especially true regarding the tenets of the sexual revolution that seek to normalize and enshrine sexual “freedom”—i.e. promiscuity and premarital sex, pornography, contraception and abortion, homosexuality and alternative forms of sexuality, and the destruction of traditional marriage and the family and their redefinition—which these movements regularly confront. 

As history teaches, when the elites obtain too much power, they use their position of authority to shut down the proclamation of all truth against their false and ridiculous “arguments.” It is important that the people of Ireland (indeed all of us) make our voices heard now, before it is too late, courageously defending our right to be heard, and the objective truth of the pro-life and pro-family viewpoints.  

St. Patrick models for us in how to respond to a culture and society that no longer seeks truth. When the Celtic High King Laoghaire lit a fire for the pagan Feast of Tara (Beltane Festival during the Spring Equinox), he prohibited any other fires that could be seen from Tara during the entire duration of the festival. St. Patrick disregarded the King’s order and lit and blessed the Paschal fire and the Easter Candle during the Vigil Service on Holy Saturday night. The fire on the Hill of Slane was left burning and could be seen clearly from the Hill of Tara.  

St. Patrick lifted high the light of Christ, bringing about the transformation of a people and nation. His example and teaching are the same remedy needed today for the people of Ireland and the world.  

Please join me in praying the famed prayer purported to be penned by St. Patrick. Now is a time to beg Christ to surround Ireland with His protection, and to draw her back (indeed the whole world) to His Heart. Let us pray:  

“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”