Warning for the Church (Fulton Sheen)

that now sounds almost prophetic.

He said, There will be a counterfeit Church,

a mystical body of the Antichrist, that will in all externals resemble the mystical body of Christ. He described a religion without a cross, a Christianity emptied of sacrifice, a faith that keeps its language but loses its substance. It would look compassionate, but avoid repentance.

It would speak of peace, but remain silent about sin. It would promise unity, while quietly eroding truth. Sheen understood that the greatest deception would not look evil.

In that same 1947 work, he wrote that the Antichrist will not be so called, otherwise he would have no followers. He will come disguised as a great humanitarian. He will talk peace, prosperity and plenty.

He will tempt Christians with the same three temptations with which he tempted Christ. The danger would not be obvious rebellion. It would be subtle compromise, a softening of doctrine, a reshaping of morality, a Church tempted to be accepted by the world instead of faithful to Christ.

And yet, he never spoke with despair. In 1974, during an appearance on the Mike Douglas show, Sheen said something that would shake every Catholic awake. Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious.

It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops and your religious act like religious.

He was not attacking the hierarchy. He was reminding the faithful that in times of crisis, God raises up saints among the laity. The renewal of the Church has always begun with ordinary believers who refuse to grow cold.

Sheen also said in 1972 that we are living in the days of the apocalypse, not meaning the end of the world, but a time of unveiling, a time when what is hidden in hearts is being revealed. The Church, he explained in retreat talks near the end of his life, is going through a passion. She will follow her head just as Christ was mocked, betrayed and crucified before the resurrection.

So too the Church must pass through suffering before renewal. This is where lukewarm Catholics must wake up. The crisis inside the Church is not proof that Christ has abandoned her.

It is proof that she is being purified. And purification is painful. It exposes weakness.

It reveals corruption. It forces a choice. Will we conform to the spirit of the age? Or will we cling to the cross? Sheen’s message was never to panic.

It was never to leave. It was never to rebel. It was to become holy.

Because the Church does not ultimately belong to the bishops or theologians or movements. She belongs to Christ. And Christ has already conquered death.

Sheen believed deeply that after the passion comes the resurrection. The Church may endure a good Friday. But Easter is not cancelled.

Christ remains in the Eucharist. The sacraments still give grace.

Truth does not expire.