Is Western civilisation facing a spiritual collapse? And why does the Catholic Church seem so reluctant to confront the crisis?
In this episode of In Conversation, Katherine Bennett and Mark Lambert welcome back Fr Robert McTeigue SJ, Jesuit priest, author and host of The Catholic Current, for a provocative discussion about the future of Christianity in the West.
Against the backdrop of reported unrest across France and other European countries, Fr McTeigue argues that the problems facing Western society run much deeper than immigration, political instability or economic decline.
From falling birth rates and the breakdown of family life to the consequences of the sexual revolution, he explores how decades of cultural change have contributed to a crisis of faith, identity and social cohesion.
But where is the Catholic Church in all of this?
Fr McTeigue questions whether Church leaders have become too reliant on dialogue, diplomacy and synodality while neglecting the spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting, repentance and evangelisation.
He also discusses what he calls “the scandal of mediocrity” within Catholic worship, arguing that the Church cannot proclaim the Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life while tolerating a culture of liturgical indifference.
And as younger generations increasingly question the promises of secular culture, could the Catholic Church’s ancient traditions offer the answers they are searching for?
IN THIS EPISODE:
What is driving the reported unrest across Europe?
Why Fr McTeigue believes the West is facing a spiritual crisis
The Catholic Church’s response to cultural and political upheaval
Why prayer, fasting and the Rosary still matter
Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France and the legacy of the French Revolution
The contraceptive pill, declining birth rates and the breakdown of family life
How the sexual revolution changed Western society
Should Catholics reconsider where they donate their money?
The scandal of mediocrity in Catholic liturgy
Beauty, truth and goodness as instruments of evangelisation
Synodality, Church leadership and the danger of doctrinal compromise
Why some young Catholics are rediscovering tradition
Can the Catholic Church help rebuild Western civilisation?
Throughout the conversation, Fr McTeigue challenges Catholics to recover confidence in their faith, take spiritual warfare seriously and recognise that Christianity offers something radically different from the promises of modern secular culture.
As he puts it:
“We have to really participate in the truth and the goodness and the beauty of our faith.”
