February 16, 2023 (Edward J Barr) – The idea of a remnant Church is not new. Throughout the bible there are references to the idea that a small, purer group will persevere in keeping the divine light alive in the world. Some remnants appear designed by God (Noah) while others may be seen as permitted by Him (the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles). Whatever the reason, today we may be experiencing the creation of a remnant molded by the Culture of Death (COD) that in some cases may be supported by the Church.
The Culture of Death has made great strides in Western Culture. While its primary sacrament of abortion was mildly restricted in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the proliferation of worldwide abortions continues. The precursor to abortion, failed contraception, is enthusiastically embraced by Western Cultures. Even presumed faithful Catholics (those who attend Mass weekly) agree; only 8% say contraception is morally wrong; the rest say it is morally acceptable or isn’t a moral issue at all (Source: Pew Foundation poll). Catholic news outlets report similar findings. EWTN polling before the 2022 election found that less than half of all Catholics agree that abortion (47%), euthanasia (45%), or physician-assisted suicide (41%) is intrinsically evil.
The question of why the Culture of Death is winning the culture war is relatively simple. The most rational explanation is the more Western culture rejects God, the more it will assume the mindset of the devil (see The Devil touts 2022 ‘Culture of Death’ success). Pew Research reports the decline in belief of God as one societal constant since the start of the millennium. This has occurred along with a slew of pathologies, from increased drug use (illegal and legal) to suicide. The Culture of Death’s gnostic-modernist mindset promotes the belief in an unholy relativism that decrees there is no truth. This leads to such insanity as government’s forcing sane citizens to affirm such delusions as “fluid genders” and plural names for confused individuals. What used to be seen as “gender dysphoria” by medical professionals is now viewed as choice. Of course, all such illusions are self-destructive. The secular world reports the inconvenient truths about “lifestyle choices” (increased rates of drug addiction, suicide, lower life expectancy) but does nothing to address the issue, other than to blame “haters” for not agreeing that a boy is a girl, or a girl is a boy. Objective reality can’t compete with subjective desires in the Culture of Death.
A common element in the Culture of Death is, of course, death. Yet, it is death with a purpose. The Population Bomb was a 1968 blockbuster book by Paul R. Erlich that predicted a worldwide catastrophe due to overpopulation, and championed ways to reduce global population before it was too late. It was the precursor of the Global Warming, now Climate Change (when doesn’t it change?) fanatics of today. None of the predictions made by Erlich came true, yet he did develop an impressive group of fawning intellectuals who sought various ways to decrease procreation across the planet. From Al Gore to Bill Gates these powerbrokers have sought to “solve” the issue of humanity overwhelming the earth. Are they finally poised to achieve their goal?
Several recent trends indicate a massive decline in humanity and global instability may be coming our way. We will focus on two causes that are trending toward substantial population and societal upheaval. Not surprisingly, both have some ties to abortion. The first example is the direct link of abortion policies to the inability of nations to sustain current population numbers.
China is the preeminent exemplar of how official COD policies can have unintended consequences. The strict “one-child” policy proved harmful to Chinese society. Forced abortions in general and the purposeful abortion of females resulted in the country having about 32 million more males than females. The Chinese Communist Party did officially end the “one-child” policy in 2015 yet it has not changed the depopulating trend. China is not alone in being close to a population implosion. According to the United Nations, there are 96 countries and areas (such as Hong Kong, Macao, etc.) that are below fertility replacement during the 2020-2025 time period.
Many COD proponents believe the impending population implosion will be a good thing as it will lessen “pressure on scarce resources.” Even the NY Times has reported on the negative impactpopulation decline can have on global economies. Elon Musk claimed that population implosion is “potentially the greatest risk to the future of civilization.” Musk virtually stands alone among the super wealthy; it probably isn’t a coincidence that he hasn’t been invited to the “do as I say, not as I do” World Economic Forum (WEF) crowd of Davos divas.
China is the main global competitor to the United States, so the impulse may be to cheer its potential disarray. Yet the US is also on the list of countries with below replacement level births. All of NATO and most majority Christian countries also make the list. If nothing changes, the world will face this crisis in the coming decades. But something did change, which brings us to our next point.
The second example that is affecting fertility is the promotion by global governments of a poorly tested, unproven, and untried gene therapy treatment. By coercing their citizens to inject a yet unknown concoction directly into their bodies, world leaders initiated a massive drug trial of 5.4 billion people. The experiment isn’t going too well. First was the admission by authorities that the “vaccines” don’t prevent recipients from getting or spreading the disease (note: The CDC changed the definition of a vaccine to support the fiction that COVID gene therapy injections can be called vaccines. If they can do it with ‘marriage’ why not with vaccines?). Then a myriad of reports emerged about waning efficacy and adverse events injuring ‘vaccine’ recipients.
Pfizer documents released under Freedom of Information (FOIA) lawsuits are shedding light on the reality behind the roll out. The released documents state that “the effect on sperm, fetuses and nursing children are unknown.” UK regulators found that Pfizer’s president made “misleading” and “unqualified” statements in promoting COVID ‘vaccines’ for children. Yet the CDC claims the shots are safe for pregnant and nursing mothers, and it was just approved for children. Of the 1.5 million adverse events reported on the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) as of February 2023, only 4,920 are miscarriages. However, one must consider that VAERS is a self-reporting system; there is no oversight to ensure adverse events are reported and no incentives (but plenty of disincentives) for medical professionals to comply. Secondly, a 2010 study by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc. found that “fewer than 1% of vaccine adverse events are reported.” Whatever the actual number of miscarriages due to the COVID shot regime, two suppositions can be conservatively made. The first is that there are far more miscarriages now then prior to the shots. The second is that child-bearing age adults were also impacted by the overall number of other adverse events reported in VAERS.
Due to the massive censorship that still exists in mainstream media and on Big Tech platforms it is difficult to get exact figures on the impact COVID shots are having on fertility rates. We do know that a significant number of adverse events linked to COVID inoculations pertain to cardiac disorders. A disproportionate percentage of these events are experienced by young people, particularly boys and young men. There will be no real clarity of the damage done by the shots as the purveyors and promotors (Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Government) can only be harmed by supporting any investigations. But harm has already arrived. Even the CDC has admitted that life expectancy fell for the second year in a row. Facts such as this and the increase in all-cause mortality will be impossible to hide, but any attempt to consider the COVID inoculations as a cause will be immediately crushed and accusatory fingers will wag and shame the “conspiracy theorists.”
The Church has a vested interest in determining the actual reasons for the decline in fertility, be it from abortion, vaccines, or other causes. The dignity of the human person is foremost in the Church’s social justice doctrine, and it should be interested in determining why births are declining and lives are ending faster and for more varied reasons than just a few years ago. How has the Church responded to the long-term challenge of abortion and the shorter challenge of the COVID response? Is there any connection between the two potential causes? What role has the Church played during this period of reduced life expectancy? We will explore that and more in Part Two.
Edward J Barr is a catechist, an attorney, an intelligence officer, and a university faculty member. He earned a Master of Theology degree from the Augustine Institute. His new novel, The Gray Apostle: Mission of the Messiah is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores. Mr. Barr is a contributing writer for the Roma Locuta Est blog (www.RomaLocutaEst.com)
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