State Monopoly on Education Continued-
Christianity, however, has the same aim. To be sure, there is nothing sectarian about God's revelation and the salvation he offers to mankind. Christ commissioned his Apostles to "make disciples of the all the nations." And in terms of the life of each individual, there is no aspect of that life which does not come under the care and rule of Jesus Christ. Indeed, from infancy to death, the Lord has something to offer each person through the Catholic Church such as the sacrament of baptism for infants, confirmation for adolescence, matrimony for adults etc.
The Church is also is the messenger of God's plan to the young and the old, the poor and rich, and the strong and the weak. Everyone, without exception, can benefit from the Gospel of Life. Therefore, it can be said that Christian education is truly "totalitarian." Its objective is to shed light on every aspect of human existence; not just on our life here on earth, but also on eternal life as we hope to possess it in heaven.
However, when the faith of Christians ceases to be "totalitarian;" that is, when they no longer exercise their faith in every department of life, then the State will fill those voids, becoming all things to all people in place of God.(1) Assuming this kind of role, the State will exercise a control which will know no boundaries or limits. The result is an all-powerful State; one that will not tolerate any rivals, especially the Christian religion.
To avoid conflict, one of the two institutions- the Church or the State -would have to forfeit its universal or totalitarian mission. But the Church is, by God's design and by the nature of her mission, totalitarian and universal in its scope. To deny this about herself would be to deny what Christ commanded her to do.
It cannot be denied, however, that the Federal, State and local governments in America are ever tending towards what rightfully belongs to the Church: influencing and shaping every department of life. The more civil authority progresses along these lines, the more the Church will have to prepare itself for conflict. Indeed, she will be forced to resist the kind of control the State is currently pursuing.
This control, which Americans are becoming more acquainted with, "would mean the end of freedom and initiative." More sobering yet, it would result in "political, economic, intellectual and spiritual slavery." Cardinal Gibbons and Etienne Gilson could not have been more accurate about the challenges Americans face in 2010.
