Vincent Ryan RuggieroI recently read a book review titled “Modern Man’s Monstrous Fall” by Catholic League research director Kyle Nazareth. The book he reviewed was George L. Marlin’s Modern Monsters, which details the political “war” against western culture.
I was impressed by the historical background of the fall because it sheds light on the more recent and continuing decline of western secular culture and the decline of religious, and notably Catholic culture.
The author traces the history through the following sequence:
Martin Luther (1483-1586) challenged Catholic teaching and founded Protestantism. Marlin notes that Luther “denied the existence of objective, universal truths” opposed the “union of faith and reason” and held that Salvation is from faith alone.
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) denied the existence of God and “replaced virtue with pragmatism,” changing the idea of good and bad to “whatever works.”
Rene’ Descartes (1596-1650) believed that knowledge comes from reason alone, rather than from God.
John Locke (1632-1704) “limited the state to protecting life, liberty, and property rather than guiding citizens toward the common good.”
David Hume (1711-1776) “demoted morality into mere feelings.”
John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) “sidelined the common good in favor of individual preference.”
Georg W F Hegel (1770-1831) “reject[ed] the Church” and made the state the “source of rights and morality” and the “final arbiter of truth.”
The reviewer, Kyle Nazareth, adds this to author Marlin’s discussion: “Since the late Middle Ages, European history’s revolt against the Catholic Church has [worked] through the systematic dismantling of both the Catholic “intellectual heritage” and the “integration of faith and reason.” “From this,” Nazareth says, “emerged the totalitarian dictatorships of the 20th century and today’s radical leftist politics.”
I noted earlier that Marlin’s book and Nazareth’s commentary shed light on the “more recent and continuing decline”. In some ways the recent decline is more powerful and dramatic than that of the preceding centuries. For one thing the percentage of well-educated people has dramatically increased. For another, from 1960 on, the decline has been advanced through devices never imagined even by the greatest minds of the past.
From the 1960s on, the cultural messages communicated from Luther to Hegel (noted above) were not only reinforced but expanded by Humanistic Psychology (HP), notably that of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Communications media and college classrooms spread the messages that truth is not objective but subjective and personal. Therefore, from this view, rather than being searched for and discovered, truth is simply created by each person to fit his or her wishes. The effect of this idea was to destroy the distinction between common sense and irrationality.
Similarly, goodness and evil, and right and wrong were no longer determined by the Ten Commandments or a common code of ethics, but by one’s personal preference. Accordingly, the self was elevated to a previously unimagined level of trust and soon became singularly important. Not surprisingly, the traditional virtue of humility was discarded and self-esteem took its place. Parents and teachers were warned not to criticize young people for what they said or did, no matter how absurd, offensive, or self-harming it might be. Similarly, teaching students to examine their thinking to eliminate mistakes was considered unnecessary, not only because doing so would diminish their self-esteem, but also because since they “created” truth, nothing they thought or said could be mistaken!
Given the rejection of traditional views of truth, right and wrong, goodness and evil, the legal system based on these concepts was bound to falter. First the changes were small. Then misdemeanors were dismissed as unimportant and felonies were treated as minor offences. For example, shoplifting was no longer prosecuted if the merchandise taken cost less than $900 per visit. Riots were increasingly considered “peaceful protests” even when they evolved into violence or arson. Rapists and child molesters were given light sentences (if any). And the crime of crossing the border illegally drew harsh criticism not for those who committed it, but instead for the law officials who arrested the offenders.
Thus has the fall of Western civilization proceeded slowly through the centuries and more rapidly in the modern area. Ironically, those who contributed to the fall included the champions of Western civilization—the Jews who inherited the Original Testament and the Christians who inherited the New. Even more ironically, the Church that has the longest commitment to the New Testament among Christians—the Catholic Church—seems to be contributing more to the continuing decline than Protestant denominations. Some readers may be shocked at this assertion, so let me offer some typical examples of what I base it on.
In early April 2026, Pope Leo told the press that he disagreed with President Trump’s actions in Iran. “Enough of war,” he said, adding that he hates “the illusion of omniscience” [that is, pretending to know everything]. The reference was clearly to Trump.
I was saddened by the Pope’s words. Had he tried to solve that war over the last 40 odd years while Iran was killing thousands of innocent Jews and building weapons that would kill all those still alive? Did he know half as much as Trump about the unpublished dangers posed by Iran? (Of course not.) Was he not aware that Trump has prevented seven or more wars in Europe and Asia since he was reelected? Relevant Biblical passages rushed to mind: Matthew: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Romans:“You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.” Proverbs: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Matthew:“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” John: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” Did none of these passages occur to Pope Leo while he was accusing Trump?
At roughly the same time Pope Leo was speaking to the media about Trump, several US Cardinals were guests at CBS and one of them said this: “ICE people are ‘lawless’ and wear masks to hide their identities and terrify people.”
To be honest, I was not surprised because I’ve seen similar statements from Catholic Prelates in recent years. It betrayed shallow, shabby thinking from a man who presumably enjoyed the Catholic “intellectual heritage” and the “integration of faith and reason” that Kyle Nazareth spoke of. Did it not occur to the Cardinal even fleetingly that ICE agents and their families have received death threats for doing the jobs Congress signed into law, and they wear masks to protect them and their families?
Many more examples of Catholic leaders contributing to the fall of Western culture could be cited. Here are a few in rapid fashion: continuing to support the illogical notion that wide open borders are an appropriate way of solving the world’s poverty problems and pose no danger to host countries; remaining much too silent about educators and doctors encouraging gender changes for young children without informing parents; tacitly approving rules that give illegal aliens voting rights; remaining largely silent about biological males competing in women’s sports; generally avoiding precise and meaningful sermons on the importance of avoiding sin and practicing virtue; all too often keeping Catholic Catechisms on the shelf rather than in parish education events.
What will it take to reverse the fall of Western culture into a vigorous, sustained rise?
Jesus’ answer is simple: Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:20) That promise applies to every Church that professes faith in Christ. But it applies with special emphasis to the church with the longest profession of Christian faith—the Catholic Church.
But let’s be more specific, indeed pointed, about what Pope Leo and other members of the Catholic hierarchy should do to help restore Western culture. They should be genuinely humble and understand that, like every other human being, their thoughts and beliefs can be shallow and/or mistaken. In fact, their anointing and its accompanying prestige can close their minds to learning, especially from those beneath them. They should therefore consider all views of an issue rather than those they are familiar with and inclined to favor; and consider the possible consequences of each line of action before reaching a conclusion and expressing it. Equally important, after sufficient time has passed for the views they embraced to bear fruit, they should put aside pride and determine whether their view was proved right. If it was not, they should acknowledge their error publicly and promote the truth. Failure of the Catholic hierarchy to do this, as happened in the case of Biden’s open borders, not only abused God’s truth but created havoc and disharmony in America and confusion among Christians around the world.
Copyright © 2026 by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero. All rights reserved.
Donald Wittmer
