Duplicate or die out

Is this controversial?

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, head of the Catholic Church in Scotland, "(I)n remarks that risk sparking political anger" recently said that unless European Catholics begin having more children (larger families) their faith will be eclipsed by that of immigrants. This is the lead of an article in The Scotsman .

It's only controversial if you are rooting for the complete eradiction of Christianity from Europe. It is no secret, except to most Americans, that the European birth rate is imploding; that is, births are not keeping up with deaths of the native populations. Immigration from other parts of the world has kept the EU economic engine alive, but at the cost of an eroding culture.

Cardinal O'Brien describes a recent trip to Vienna:

(He) described the fears of a guide who showed him around the Austrian capital. "She said: ‘You know, we are losing our Christian Catholic community. We are not having babies, but the immigrants, they love babies, love families, love family life, have many many children, and soon they will be taking over’," Cardinal O’Brien said, adding: "Basically, that reflects the views of some of our own Church leaders at this time."

The cardinal did not mention any particular group of immigrants or name any religion, but other Catholic leaders have publicly said they are worried that rising Muslim immigration to Europe could tip the demographic balance against their faith.

Ministers and business leaders have argued that more immigration is the answer to labour shortages, and the cardinal lent some support to that effort earlier this year, encouraging Canadians of Scots descent to return to the country. But he suggested that, for Catholics in Scotland, the focus should be on increasing the number of children they have. "I would say to our own people, have a look around, remember the joys of your own family," he said.

The cardinal’s remarks about immigration were made in a BBC radio interview broadcast last month. It can still be heard on the BBC’s website.

To prove that wimping out is truly an international sport, a spokesman for the prelate said that O'Brien "totally accepts" the case for immigration to Scotland, was only trying to draw a contrast to other European countries, and doesn't believe Scottish Catholics should worry. [WARNING: PC Alert, Raise Aft Shields]

Why is it that liberals, who so easily understand that something like a condor, a panda or a humpback whale can become extinct it fails to reproduce in sufficient numbers, have such a hard time accepting the hard and necessary logic of cultural survival?

I guess they just don't care much for Western culture, which nevertheless depends less on the Enlightenment than on the Light of Christ for its existence, and without which their freedom to scold us into politically correct silence would not exist.

France has passed from a Catholic country to a secular nonsense-ocracy. With its large and growing Muslim immigrant population, it may soon be forced to become a quasi-Islamic state. The growing pains are already ravaging the French body politic. This should be the concern of anyone who values the historical, cultural and religious contributions of this nation. (Yeah, I like to poke fun at the Frogs too, but I don't want to lose them!)

An argument could be made, perhaps, that France deserves this demographic takeover. But are we ready to accept an Islamic Spain, Italy or Germany. How about Britain? Or Russia?

If the Islamic faith were reliably friendly it would be easy to shrug the shoulders and say, "C'est la vie." The reality is that this "religion of peace" has an awfully nasty habit of fostering violence against Jews, Christians and even the spiritually clueless, the worldly secular whose worship includes the traditional favorites of power, pleasure, profit and self. Islam does not co-exist well. Call it selfishness, self-interest or even a desire for diversity if it floats your boat, but I would like to see Europe recover its Christian identity and preserve its historical voice. It would be an easier region for my children and grandchildren to understand.

LEST WE FORGET: The backdrop for this drama on the world stage was built on contraception and abortion. The secular culture of choice proved too attractive to the old world of faith and life. The irony is that in doing so, the culture of choice has aborted the seeds of its own survival.

Could the same happen in the United States. Not only could, probably is happening, only our migrant newcomers are the hispanics of Latin America, a people who largely embrace the culture of faith and life. Given a choice, I'll gladly learn Spanish. I'm already Catholic.