ANOTHER word which has been lingering beneath the surface of thought these past few weeks is “TOTALITARIANISM”.

Totalitarianism occurs when the state demands complete subservience of its subjects, which includes the realm of morality.

Pope Benedict has warned of this growing “dictatorship of relativism.” But so has a lesser known prophet, Michael D. O’Brien, in his series of “novels”: the Children of the Last Days. (If you are looking for powerful Catholic novels with an authentic and tested prophetic message, start here.)

This totalitarianism–though as yet unorganized in terms of formal governance–is beginning to openly express itself in localized policies, such as companies and school boards penalizing staff members who oppose homosexuality. Like a cancer, this dictatorial mentality is now moving into law as governments pass nebulous “hate crime” statutes. The next steps will be to strip the Church of official (and tax) status; then to silence the pulpit; then finally, open persecution–which may in fact be the Persecution.

I say this, because this “dictatorship of relativism” is a world-wide phenomenon, thanks to globalization–and–Jesus said the harbinger of this Persecution would be an enormous upheaval in nature (Matt 24).

The prophets are warning us of what is coming unless we return to the moral and natural law established by God. Those who think totalitarianism is not possible in Canada, the United States, or western Europe would do well to study history. Perhaps the main difference now is that, rather than being enforced by might, this new “dictatorship” is crawling through the back door via “intellectual debate”, “human rights”, and sentiments of “tolerance.”

A much more insidious–and dangerous–way.

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church arrived on my doorstep today. This is the first page I opened to just before writing this entry:

Citizens are not obligated in conscience to follow the prescriptions of civil authorities if their precepts are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel. Unjust laws pose dramatic problems of conscience for morally upright people: when they are called to cooperate in morally evil acts they must refuse. Besides being a moral duty, such a refusal is also a basic human right…” –399