The day for fence sitting is over

ST. LOUIS, May 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Speaking to a crowd of more than 7,000 faithful during an intense day-long event in St. Louis on Saturday, renowned Catholic preacher Fr. John Corapi warned, "The day for fence-sitting is over; the days to be a lukewarm Catholic are rapidly coming to an end."

In a wide-ranging discourse, sponsored by the international Catholic businessmen's organization Legatus, Corapi called Christians to task for dropping the ball and losing the culture to "neo-pagan" elements.

"The unraveling of Christianity has led to the unraveling of the world," he explained. "We are at war [for souls], so we don't have the luxury to sit on our complacent rear ends."

Urging attendees to examine the current political climate, he said that "socialism is not in conformity with biblical teaching. Socialism doesn't profit the poor, but only brings poverty and misery. Socialism is about the seizure of power. It only brings everyone down to the lowest common denominator."

In his final segment, Fr. Corapi said that in all of his years as a priest, he's never seen such fear in people. "There's a lot of anxiety, a lack of trust in government, elected and appointed officials. There's a crisis of trust," he said. Then quoting from the Gospels of Mark and Luke, he advised "fear is useless; what is needed is trust."

Fr. Corapi's biography on his website states that his life experiences went "From small town boy to the Vietnam era US Army, from successful businessman in Las Vegas and Hollywood to drug addicted and homeless, to religious life and ordination to the priesthood by Pope John Paul II, to a life as a preacher of the Gospel who has reached millions." Corapi regularly appears on the EWTN television network.

The original of this article is here.