Big Government Edges Out Christian Charity

Alice C. Linsley

As the federal government swells, reform of education and healthcare becomes less a matter of citizen involvement. As more government officials show themselves to be against traditional Christian institutions, the Church finds itself increasingly marginalized and with fewer resources to direct to education and healthcare.

America needs reform in education and in healthcare. Unfortunately, these will be the tools of big government and can be used against the people as easily as for their benefit. Simply consider how Communism used the Soviet healthcare system to identify and “cure” political dissidents.

There was a time when these were the special projects of religious orders and they were undertaken with great vigor and considerable success.

The Jesuit Order, founded by the Spaniard Ignatius of Loyola, received official recognition in 1540. Ignatius served as General Superior of the Order until his death in 1556 at the age of 65. During his lifetime Jesuit missionaries went to China and to South America. Jesuit priests founded several towns in Brazil, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The Society of Jesus dedicated itself to education. The first Jesuit schools adopted the curriculum of the Renaissance humanist academies which included Greek and Latin poetry, oratory, drama, mathematics, theology and history. The Scholastic approach to education was extraordinarily successful, if we judge it by the great minds it produced.

When Ignatius' died in 1556, the Jesuits were operating 74 colleges on three continents, and by 1626 the order had established 400 colleges throughout Europe. Jesuits colleges and universities became the standard for excellence in Europe and from them came some of the greatest minds of western history: Miguel de Cervantes, René Descartes and Voltaire, to name a few.

The Church funded schools and charity work to the poor through its parishes and religious orders throughout Europe. Priests, nuns and lay clerics staffed schools and hospitals, and where Protestantism became the established religion, such as in northern Germany, these educational and charitable efforts were taken over by Protestants.

Today there are still a few Jesuits universities, but they are pressured to compromise with our secular American society. There are still some Catholic hospitals, but they are under pressure to perform abortions and have promised to close rather than violate the sacred trust to protect, defend and preserve human life.

As the State's power over citizens increases, it will seek to co-opt charitable and educational religious institutions. There is increasing competition among providers of education and healthcare in our shrinking economy. Our government is positioning itself to take over the whole ball of wax. And when that is accomplished, none in America will be truly free.