“The Western world is not divided; it is the privileged ruling class with false idols that will collapse.”

In fact, Roberts began by painting a bleak scenario. He described the situation in Western countries as “churches are empty, schools are closed, art and architecture is ugly, politics has become a religion. We treat children like adults and adults like children.” He added: “We have traded marriage for pornography, community for clicks, and adventures in holiness for virtual reality.” According to his standards, countries cannot escape from this situation either. “Once proud countries, especially this one (Spain is an example), built on a clear vision of what is true, good and beautiful, are now unable or even concerned about protecting any of them, let alone their borders, sovereignty and culture,” he said.

Therefore, in a world where “the seams seem to be coming undone,” Roberts found it “very appropriate that hope is the theme of this conference and this year’s Jubilee of the Catholic Church.” It’s a reality that doesn’t mean, “Our church, our culture, our civilization has been here before, and the barbarians are at the gates, or within them, and on the verge of extinction.” But, he added, “when it appears that the West is approaching death, it is actually approaching glory.” “As Chesterton wrote, Christianity has died and risen again and again because it had a God who knew how to get out of the grave,” he commented to explain the situation.

Positive phrases quickly qualified. “This does not mean that Christianity is not in crisis. In fact, we are facing several crises,” he explained, adding that “the church itself is in crisis, plagued by divisions and still recovering from a global abuse scandal.” Thus, over the past two generations, “popular attendance and doctrinal observance have plummeted, and the church’s secular prestige has taken a hit.” Added to this is the fact that there is a crisis in our culture of what is called in the United States a culture war.

“Western countries are under attack from within and without,” he continued. Among the internal attacks: “Our nation’s elites denounce Biblical religion, objective truth, and even science,” while “disparaging democracy, marriage, and family, and filling our society with pornography, ugliness, and addiction.”

And responsibility for the problem is concentrated precisely in these “elites”. “Across the Western world, ruling elites have more in common with each other than with the countries they are supposed to serve,” he commented, accusing the institutions they cannot occupy of trying to usurp them in some way. This means they “reject fundamental concepts of human dignity and equality, national sovereignty, and the rule of law.”

west and hope

Faced with this situation, he recalled that although Christianity appeared to be “on the verge of extinction” it had always been “like this” and that the Church “has lived on the brink of disaster throughout its history, ever since the rooster crowed on the first Good Friday,” but that in each case the “resurrection” came “from the last place and the last people the world expected.” “The catacombs, the monasteries, the medieval religious orders, the Counter-Reformation, they were all led not by great men but by lowly men,” he cited as examples.

“It is these secular elites who now ‘run’ the world, controlling institutions, economies, industries, culture, technology, education, and the media.” However, he points out that “it is not the West that is divided, decadent, and hopeless,” but rather “a privileged ruling class with false idols, false sophistication, and an empty materialism that is crumbling.” His hopes have failed. These elites have wanted to sever the social, economic, and familial bonds of faith and reason. Although they have improved policies through their globalism and their “woke” policies, “they have been our involuntary partners, doing work for us and discrediting themselves,” he continued.

In the face of this, he noted that “the hope of millions of people from different countries, different religions, and different cultures” is that “even when darkness surrounds us, we remember that ‘tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.'” Today, those ashes are “a secular world that is collapsing,” while “fire rises from those ashes and is a reinvigorated West that spreads throughout the world.” In that sense, he recalled “green shoots,” such as the restoration of vocations in many U.S. dioceses and the increase in youth in the church, or “a new generation of priests who are the most Orthodox we’ve ever seen.” And also the “enthusiasm and pride” that accompanies the election of the first American pope.

He also recalled the role of John Paul II in the fight against communism in the 70s and 80s of the last century as an example of that struggle. “If Christianity rises again, it will be up to us to bear its weight, as hopeful Christians have always done,” he added.

He praised the policies of Donald Trump, whom he considered “the most appropriate president since Ronald Reagan,” before calling for action on the specific situation in Spain. “The Sánchez government has clearly shown the Spanish people what its priorities are, who it truly serves and who it does not serve,” he said. “Recent surveys have shown that two-thirds of our compatriots feel that their country is on the wrong path,” he explained, adding that “the era of ‘woke’ corruption is an open invitation for the power of democracy, faith, law and order, and family values ​​to come to the fore.” “Every time a government abuses its power, it creates an opportunity to defend the two Christian values ​​of solidarity and subsidiarity,” he added.

In conclusion, Roberts appealed for the unity of Spain’s Christian community, since “the building of Christianity is achieved jointly through unity.” “The good thing about the West is that it unites our nature. We can partner and learn from each other. We must put the family at the center of our national life and fill the gap with hope,” he concluded.