An Interview with Luis Paul S. Baron, Missionary, Founder
- Profiles in Catholicism
- Sep 18, 2020
- 30 min read
Updated: Jul 4
by Gordon Nary
1. Gordon: Please provide our readers with an overview of the mission of the Pope Paul VI Foundation.
Luis Paul Baron: 1.1- The Foundation's powerful Mission Statement, "The 'ambition' to do Good and keep doing Good for others should have no limits!" tells a lot about its Mission's essence, which is deeply focused on Paul VI’s “New Evangelization Convocation” (Evagelii Nuntiadi) as a top priority (note “good” with “G”). However, even a basic overview will depend on some knowledge about the origin of the Foundation. Unfortunately, there's no satisfactory short answer for an already nearly half-century-old, low-profile institution that is deeply interconnected with my personal life and not fitting for a short and public interview. If someone is really interested, an easy way to learn about its origins within a proper context, which is what matters (since an uncommon "Seed-Foundation"), is through the reading of Article 51 of the General Statutes of the Blessed Family of Sts. Anne & Joachim Catholic Society, after reading its Glossary's entry related to the word "Ambition," plus Article 4 of the same document, as an essentially required prior condition. This is available online here, as an eBook or PDF file.
1.2- Also, reading the ABOUT tab-page of our www.BlessedFamily.us (JoAnLab.Net) website will provide a substantial historical report related to the Pope Paul VI Foundation.
1.3- Anyway, as a glimpse, I could state, as mentioned above, that the Foundation was and still is a low-profile, small, and somehow 'sui-generis' organization, functioning like a "multi-seed" incubator. It is deeply rooted in St. Joseph, orthodox, Brazilian-born, uninterruptedly not-for-profit, privately funded and inspired directly by the words of Blessed Paul VI himself. Committed and proactive truth seeker under deep obedience to the 'Magisterium' united with the Pope. Quietly 'ora, adora et labora' as a discreet Roman Catholic Project developer focuses on the New Evangelization as top priority, a Pro-life lobby and supporter, a former management standards research and software house, and also an international kind of 'Think & Prayer Tank' that sincerely strives to remember, 'ad majorem Dei gloriam', what Jesus asked us on Matthew 6:3 "let not your left know the Good your right is doing."
2. Gordon: Why do you consider Blessed Charles de Foucauld as your spiritual father and the Servant of God Chiara Lubich as your spiritual mother?
Luis Paul Baron: 2.1- First, regarding the Servant of God Chiara Lubich, the Founder of a large religious family, because she was the primary source and represented the deepest foundation and joy of my whole spiritual and ministerial life. I would never be what I am without the extensive formation received from her charism, especially during the 1970s, after a personal encounter with one of Chiara's first companions, Violetta Sartori, whom I met many times. She was my mom's friend, sleeping over with other "Focolarinas" at my home in Curitiba, Brazil. As a teenager -probably sick with the flu- she entered my room to visit me and pray with my mother for my wellbeing. From my first yearly Mariapolis in July 1970 (at that time, a week-long 5,000 participants) passing through the Focolare's Second Generation School (Gen2-M multi-years school, after 1973/4/5...), I studied some and read most of Chiara's books, many in Italian since they were not yet available in Portuguese at that time. For more details, please read our General Statutes' Art. 2 §4 about her foundational role in this regard.
2.2- Now, it is not so simple to reveal, or how far I can reveal -it is very private- why Blessed Fr. Charles de Foucauld is indeed my spiritual father, because personally I never even thought about, nor did I ask for that. I'm convinced it was/is an unbelievable direct gift from God: One afternoon in the year 2000, I was praying fervently inside an old car donated to my foundation. After almost three years of working full-time as a volunteer at and for the Diocese of Orlando, FL, including Saturdays plus busy Sundays, under my duties of E. Ministry of Communion and Catechist, I was exhausted (no vacations), in deep peace, but completely broke (never charged a penny, I have a Vow of Poverty) with many material needs. There, at that moment, praying for a couple of hours inside the car, I deeply understood that God was unilaterally granting me, in honor of Bl. Foucauld, a gigantic spiritual miracle in favor of two dear teenagers and their eventual future descendants, for whom I was not even praying at that moment. And further, subsequently, still in the car at the diocese's parking lot, somehow, I also received, supernaturally, a mysterious and very rare Grace (indeed -I clearly understood- granted exclusively due to the extraordinary merits of Charles de Foucauld), which instantly moved me to call him daddy (in Portuguese), spontaneously calling "Papai" Charles, followed by a profound peace and deep trust. From that moment on, I felt moved to entrust myself under his protection with immense confidence as my new and powerful intercessor and provider for my personal needs, especially (interestingly) material needs (although the first and major miracle received was exclusively spiritual) which remains infallibly fruitful to me until this day, and hopefully until death in my life and in the life of my future spiritual sons and daughters.
3. Gordon: You are very active on Pro-life issues. In your understanding, what strategic areas should we focus on, in addition to what we are already doing well, or what can the Pro-life Movement do to speed up the pace and/or increase the positive results, addressing Pro-life challenges at a strategic level?
Luis Paul Baron: 3.1- First: Mother Angelica, when asked a similar question, only said (don't recall the exact words) that we probably tried everything but did not try "St. Michael the Archangel... enough!" Lack of prayer, in its 'lato sense' (Mass, sacrifices, reparation, fasting, adoration, etc.), is and will always be at the same time the number one problem and, therefore, the best remedy, if converted into real priority. After all, and above all, we are fighting demons. How can we unmask and reveal, without prayers, the subtle evil hidden behind the widespread contraception mentality within our deceitful throw-away culture, which is at the base of the “Pro-Choice” movement? It is just not possible. Our Lady asked us to pray the Rosary daily. Do we pray at least weekly? I don't think so, not even monthly, besides rare exceptions. When will we understand that we should pray more and work less, as our Lord told Martha, giving us her sister Maria as an example of true wisdom?
3.2- Second: Death Penalty. Obviously, we cannot compare the murder of an innocent and defenseless person with the morally lawful execution of a serial killer. However, why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong? Pope Francis is right; in this day and age, there's no longer any moral justification for the death penalty. Raising the bar in order to re-include the death penalty into our official Catechism, but now in stronger condemnatory terms, perhaps under the concept of "essentially" evil (the word "intrinsically" evil - correctly applied to abortion - cannot be used, because it is not, but almost), since it's perfectly avoidable in every civilized country, would re-validate the Pro-Life movement with an additional and more consistent strategic power, not seen before.
3.3- Third: NFP (Natural Family Planning). Our irresponsible negligence (as Church) for not properly developing/expanding this foundational area is almost "criminal." What a lousy job! Why wait until it is too late? Even formation for the sacrament of Confirmation should include at least basic teachings about why NFP is so critically essential. The "antidote" to the whole contraceptive mentality should start here. NFP, especially when integrated with St. JPII’s TOB (Theology Of the Body)., should be a very high strategic priority for our Church (every possible parish, school, pastoral program, Pro-Life women's center, etc.) and the future of the Pro-Life movement. Our credibility would increase exponentially, and many disputable, shallow, yet very powerful overpopulation arguments would be better dealt with and properly addressed by future preventive NFP-based solutions. This should be taught especially in areas where extreme poverty and "street-raised" children (tens of millions across the world and growing, according to Wikipedia) are shameful problems. Everywhere else, it should be taught as an essentially critical pastoral and fertility resource for responsible parenthood and holier marriages.
3.4- Fourth: We need a major development in every possible area to fund, support, and facilitate adoptions on a large scale, exclusively by natural families (the only way Children most elementary Human Right, which is to be united for life with a mother and a father, will be properly respected). Mother Teresa recommended going even further: "I never give a child to a couple who have done something not to have a child."
3.5- Fifth: Euthanasia, and the imminently massive physician-assisted suicide nightmare, are already in their initial phase. Another Pandora's Box has now been opened! No wonder: From the moment any country decides to protect by law the Satanic business of abortion-on-demand, it becomes 'ipso facto' a potential crime against humanity due to its extremely grave new context and many other related evils that will keep coming or legally validate, such as euthanasia, human embryo manipulation, IVF, bio-genetic crimes, etc., until such law is reversed. This, without even considering the indirectly supported auto-consequences, such as the increasing trade of human organs, even more divorces, the gradual self-destruction of the judicial structure (Court Systems, Law Enforcement, ...), the redefinition of marriage, etc. There's an immense distinction, especially in God's eyes, between the fact that crimes cannot be totally eliminated from any large State/Society, versus countries that promote and even pay for one of the worst kinds of organized crime possible to mankind, daring to legally code a brutally coward murder as if a "medical procedure," enshrine it in the Constitution as a “Right”, by the highest Court in the Land: Beyond belief! It is tantamount to a gradual but inevitable juridical and cultural suicide for any nation, therefore no longer worthy of being called civilized.
3.6- Sixth: Enforce (never beg for) “Conscientious Objection” as a nonnegotiable Human Right at any price. And do whatever we can, prudently, under the law, starting with those involved with assisted suicide (since most current laws still criminalize it, thank God!) to boycott, blacklist, and/or reveal "fake" (hitmen) medical doctors and nurses, proven directly involved in the business of assisted suicide and -above all, the commercial killing of unborn children, the now missing "future husbands of our daughters, or future wives of our sons." We should also remind them that -if they were Catholic, knowing that abortion is a mortal sin, but freely choosing abortion or provided for, they are already automatically excommunicated, as clearly defined by Canon Law, until sacramental indult, if granted by a priest to the truly penitent. It's a serious moral and social duty to raise cultural understanding or knowledge about these acts, probably the most despicable type of human action. It should be done by every possible legal and ethical means, like blogs, watchdog groups, data requests under the Freedom of Information Act, bulletin boards, church bulletins, etc. Also crafting new laws or local ordinances to defend every vulnerable human life, including a kind of County or Community level 'persona non grata' implementation, if local laws shield them from jail. It is similar to the international world of diplomacy: Being so named ("non grata") formally, publicly, consists in one of the most powerful forms of public censure which any country can apply against some foreign diplomats. Actually, it is done so (as we should also do, against "fake" killer "doctors" shielded by law) precisely because diplomatic immunity protected them from being arrested or face ordinary venues of legal prosecution.
3.7- Finally (…after that said!), we need to understand something else extremely more important, that should be obvious but unfortunately is not understood, not even mentioned, and not even considered at any university or think-tank, to this date, as far as I know. Therefore, it will require a longer explanation, impossible for short two or three paragraphs such as the previous issues: It’s about the foundational need to insert and develop into our international Juridical Framework, a critical but still missing key-principle. An ontological and supra-religious legal angular stone. We (at the Pope Paul VI Foundation) tentatively named it "The Existential Gestational Debt" or, better yet, "The Human-Existence [both genders] Pregnancy-Debt," as an imperative life-long liability to be paid forward in every reasonable way, at every possible level, according to “minimum” Justice (therefore enforceable) and the Natural Law. It is a deeply truthful and strategic moral concept that can and should be a foundational factual-factor of Natural Justice (common to all human beings). It is a seminal Doctrine that we conceived and are slowly developing inside one of the 200 Focus Groups created inside our JoAnLab.Net private social network (see the INDEX tab under "Crimes against Humanity: Abortion-on-Demand," or just write to us if you can help or need more information).
3.8- Within this Doctrine, we strongly argue that the natural raw-fact, everyone's life's primary biological milestone, the nine-months pregnancy phase indispensable for all human life should never, ever, be taken for granted, including its potential legal, philosophical, and theological implications, and consequent moral obligations towards humanity that, therefore, shall be mandatory. Each human being "owes" his/her “whole” life -so to speak- to our biological mothers. We all "owe" at the very least a nine-month gestational-pregnancy debt, since even the worst of mothers carried-to-term (otherwise “you” would not be alive). And such Human-Existence indebtedness evidently extends to our fathers, ancestors, the medical community, farmers, families, workers, religious, etc., therefore to the human race. In becoming potential mothers, women have the honor to pay-it-forward “in kind,” literally, and unwanted/unwilling pregnant women could then be morally and legally convinced/helped to carry the child full term, until birth, for at least a guaranteed loving adoption. Also, the man who fathered the child, if fails to keep up with his paternal responsibilities, from the moment of conception, including full support for the mother, should inescapably pay for it also in jail, in the worst-case scenario, until justice for the child and mother is fulfilled.
3.9- Formal Justice, under such a new juridical principle, once fully mature to avoid every possible unjust or unreasonable application, can and should develop to legally establish the proper doctrinal foundation to fairly enforce a generic prohibition of all voluntary pregnancy interruptions. Otherwise, unwanted pregnancies will continue to be “interrupted” based on "my body, my choice" -a ridiculously shallow but unfortunately still persuasive argument today and forever- until defunct by the development of such or similar future legal cornerstone. There’s no other way to effectively defeat it, at the root level, in the future.
3.10- Regarding economics, Think Tank founder Ron Baker once said that "only a theory can replace a theory. If we reject our old notions of the way the world works, we need a new 'place' to go." which is even more valid regarding this major pro-life issue: Only further judicial developments demanded by Justice from this natural "fact-phase" and its many implicitly evident derivatives plus existential moral obligations, will be able to support a rational and scientific legal basis for a full-term "pregnancy until birth" enforcement, even in cases like rape for example. Communities, represented by the proper authorities, will then, and only then, have the minimum moral authority to explain to victims that interruption of any pregnancy will never make a woman "un-pregnant" but rather cursed for life, for becoming -irreversibly- the mother of a dead child ultimately murdered through her in connivance with a "medical professional." And to formally inform, "in extremis," that as a victim of rape, under similar (new) Law, she will have the Right to demand the State to sustain one hundred percent of her basic life needs (food, shelter, prenatal care, and related) until the birth of that innocent child, saved to be given in adoption. Additionally, she will have the utmost right to seek severe reparatory justice, to the maximum extent of the law, to punish the perpetrator of such a horrible crime, but she will never be authorized to murder an innocent human being, regardless of the rape grievance.
3.11- Unfortunately, "Pro-Choice" women will still complain, seeking abortion on demand even for frivolous reasons, under the same sophism "it is my body! I can choose to do whatever I want with my body." In fact, the real root of the Pro-Choice movement has never been about choice; it's about escaping the consequences of bad choices by cowardly taking all choices away from another totally innocent and defenseless human being. Also, contradictorily refusing others their right to choose life in the form of conscientious objection (by the way, the "acid test" of authenticity), proving how astonishingly phony the great majority of "Pro [their] Choice [only]" people really are, since they deny others the right choice to obey their conscience. Conscience Protection is a paramount Human Right. Instead, they choose murder, not life. Therefore, blind emotions from whoever is cruelly determined to "choose" death under the euphemism of pregnancy "interruption," alleging that the body is "mine," should be reminded that nobody, in any future civilized Society will (from now-on), legally "help" her with such a "job," and that her real body does not have two distinct DNA, two heartbeats, four eyes, four feet, four ears, or twenty digits (f.&t.), as during pregnancy.
3.12- We must (then) enact new and keep enforcing just laws, as any decent community represented by the State ought to do. During her unforgettable 1994 speech here in Washington DC (N.P.B), in the presence of the President & Vice President of the United States, among many other dignitaries also brought to tears, Mother Theresa (now Saint) also said the obvious: "The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"
3.13- Surely, our proposed foundational human-ontological Doctrine is indispensable to enforce the obviously not-free "Human-Existence Pregnancy-Debt" in favor of a better civilization and future generations. It also applies 100% for Men (especially fathers at each particular conception), perhaps even more severely due to very solid factual reasons and moral arguments, too lengthy to be detailed here, as this is already a long text for this type of interview. In synthesis, such a major ontological and epistemological issue is so comprehensive and critical that it relates to and will affect both scientific dimensions in its philosophical and non-philosophical contexts. We (the PPVIF+JoAnLab.Net support team) strongly believe that the time-frame and the international collective effort necessary to properly develop such Doctrine at the global level -perfectly doable- will determine the initial date (as a divider of two eras), when and if the Human race can indeed enter into a new historical phase regarding Universal Human Rights: The beginning of a higher form of real Civilization, when "abortion-on-demand" will indeed become “not only illegal, but unthinkable!” Until then, it will remain just the wishful thinking made slogan by the Pro-Life Movement, that it is today! Pope Francis said that we must "defend the unborn against abortion, even if they persecute you, calumniate you, set traps for you, take you to a court or kill you."
4. Gordon: As a well-known Evangelist, what, in your opinion, could all of us do or improve to better serve our Church and communities as authentic disciples of Christ?
Luis Paul Baron: 4.1- Again, first things first! I know it will sound like a cliche, but it is paramount: A first-hand, trustful, obedient, and deeply personal relationship with Jesus Christ within His Church, which can only be proved if we truly love one another as He loved us. Pope Francis noted that the essence of authentic discipleship does not consist -primarily- of ideologic changes or ethical decisions but a deep ongoing love-communion with Christ. And true Love cannot exist without a healthy level of fear of hurting or offending the Beloved.
4.2- This also relates to your previous question. Maturity is the keyword: spiritual maturity, human maturity, political maturity, and economic maturity. Authentic maturity equates to authentic effort towards holiness, which presupposes a serious, lifelong, objective formation of conscience and a foundational sense of the brutal reality of sin, denied or ignored by our secular society. Nonetheless, it is the main reason Jesus became Emmanuel, to redeem us ("Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world") and liberate whoever agrees to follow and sincerely learn from Him. An honest mind, also regarding ourselves, is a critical prerequisite for authentic Christian maturity and its implicit mandate to seek the truth, love the truth, teach the truth, defend the truth, suffer for the truth, and - above all - Love the incarnation of "The Truth," which is God himself made flesh: Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Christian maturity and authenticity (being your best “oneself”), therefore, is the number one challenge that requires, at once, a strong lifelong determination to love and serve all, along with a constant prayerful struggle against sin, especially the sins of omissions and other serious sins from distinct areas of high risk or great vulnerability (i.e. addictions, occult, anger, rebellion, …) varying according to age, context, and reality of each one of us. As said, true Love cannot exist without the fear of hurting or offending the Beloved, which also happens whenever anyone sins against himself. Thus, we must strive to eliminate self-justifications and excuses, which are worse than cancer, particularly those masquerading sins, spiritual cancer that prevents anyone from developing good character -the only path for maturity- if not eradicated.
4.3- Ideological contamination, such as fundamentalism, “wokeism” and many other worse sins of the “mind” will indeed -although gradually- destroy millions of lives, unwilling to learn the truth that would, otherwise, set them free and able to profit from respectful dialogues. Becoming a teachable person is absolutely imperative. However, quite the opposite, in many lives, the level of presumption and arrogance are mind-boggling. If we could have "reverse prophecy" in the way we have reverse engineering, we would be able to reiterate Genesis 3:5 with additional words such as: "Eat..., and not only you will be like God, but will think like God and will act [if] like God" (without even realize that only a real God would be, would think or would act like that). Absolutely despicable! Let’s consider the overwhelming amount of "mini-gods" strutting among us; almighty self-sovereigns with profound disregard for objective truths, and little or no idea that being a relativistic mocking caricature of God is ultimately suicide. ("Don't eat that..., or you will surely die" Gen.2:16-18). Someone may remember or read this one -of many- Kim Jong-Il despicable statements: “IF we lose, I will be sure to destroy the Earth. What good is the Earth without North Korea?” Such an extreme example is obvious, because it is absolutely pathetic. However, it proves that the combination of ignorance, radical presumption with sordid arrogance quickly becomes a bold and aggressive but sincere(!) conviction. They really believe that!
4.4- [Therefore] The absolutization of personal intuitions, instinctive opinions, subjective interpretations, personal emotions, and superficial thoughts regardless of objective realities and the voice of God in our consciences, gradually self-absolutize the person (i.e. millions of low-profile versions of ‘Kim Jong-Il’ are strutting on every level of society). It becomes the root cause of deep immaturity in every major area of life. Blind ego and ignorance, not reasonable discernment, self-confirmation bias, not well-formed conscience and little or no common sense then becomes their primary source for convictions, behaviors, and decisions as if priceless, and sincerely assumed as such (called "Motivated Reasoning"): A really pathetic kind of mental illness rooted on that type of sins. “If we don’t live the way we [should] think, we will end up thinking the way we live!” (a Brazilian “power saying” that many people don’t get it). That's why, in general, paraphrasing Thomas À Kempis, the sins of the "intellect" are even worse than those of the flesh. And, also Jesus said so, in similar words. No question they are at the root of pride and deeply associated with the Original Sin.
4.5- Creativity/innovation/proportionality are additional keys: "Business as usual" in areas where we are losing the battles on addiction, pornography, human life protection, fatherless young generation, human trafficking, terrorism, and the defense of the Natural Family, are unbearable quantifiable tragedies. Common-sense, proportionality and popular sayings should have already taught us that “old ways won't open new doors” and that “we cannot keep doing the same thing repeatedly and expect different results” (A. Einstein). What about the huge lack of proportionality-sense? Can real cancer be treated with flu-type remedies, such as honey, lemon and tea? Or the upcoming millions of jobs to be lost by the robotics revolution, be compensated with a new community re-training labor school for a thousand jobless people? The lack of rational, realistic, and strategic minds is also a very sad reality. We must recognize that we (Christians in general) are seriously guilty of many cowardly sins of omission. We should be on standby and ready for civil disobedience, for the moral duty of eventually collective boycotts, for a very serious and more organized political & vote responsibilities under Church guidelines, which should include accountability, follow-ups, strong vote-blocks or grassroot alliances, and the long-term preparation of our children for a holy and honorable lifetime political careers as a kind of "religious" vocation for the common good.
5. Gordon: I learned that you are writing an intriguing book tentatively named "Eschatological Extensionism." You implied many possible pastoral benefits from reason, if some recent scientific discoveries are carefully applied to the End of Times’ Revelation and the so-called "Four Last Things." Can you provide an example of how scientific developments could enlighten Catholic Eschatology?
Luis Paul Baron: 5.1- Before giving not only one but two examples, I would like to argue and comment why pleading to the Heavens for abundant blessings and world peace should include future generations and should never limit God's absolute sovereignty and generosity to any level, including the total extension of time and number of future brothers and sisters that God may decide to create and grant to the human race and history. Let us recognize, for example, how easy it is for our selfish nature (as long we are alive) to justify that "others" may die or not even be born. In most Pro-Life marches I attended in Washington, DC, I saw signs chiding how reprehensibly selfish "Pro-Choice" people really are: "The only reason they can be 'pro-choice' is because their mothers were Pro-Life and did not abort them." Ronald Reagan used to "joke" (kind of) that "I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born. It's easy to be 'Pro-Choice' when you are not the one being killed."
5.2- As I have already written in the foundational Glossary Section for our General Statutes, we have a critically strategic need for wise Christians to presume, pray for, and desire as possible, any logical consequence of the indisputable fact that God the Father's sovereignty is indeed absolute. Therefore, God can "decree/agree" (so-to-speak) a real chronological extension for the End of Times calendar date, in case it is already "predefined" (strongly denied by foundational Church teaching: no fatalism) or being precipitated due to so many outrageous sins by our blind humanity, or as an expansion of the human history hopefully many more hundreds of millennia, in case its end date not yet ratified or decided by God Almighty.
5.3- Contemporaneous scientific data freely available can help us to develop a better perspective on "matter, time and space." As a first example, some current live species of sea turtles, without God's direct supernatural interference in their favor, have been found to be over one hundred million years old! Just Google it: That's 100,000 of... millenniums! Would God give Christianity just two millennia after allowing -already- hundreds of thousands of millennia to animals? Why keep -even impose- narrow horizons without sound theological and scientific reasons? Why not ponder the imponderable: That God not only can but would, likely, allow the Earth in a similar, natural, slow flow of disintegration from His entropy law -not necessarily interfering in it- like He "did" for the turtles and hundreds of other animals? That alone, within the mere initial phase, and much less than 1% of the billion-year entropic process necessary for multicellular life on Earth to be fully extinct, 1% when human life is still totally possible, would easily add a couple of million years more also for mankind to survive, as now, or to thrive if a real civilization is built. (If not fatally compromised by our current nuclear capacity to self-destruct humanity in a matter of hours; or gradual planetary ongoing destruction by greed, hate, and ignorance, probably irreversible in just a few more centuries).
5.4- This, evidently, assuming that we would/should dare to ask God for it and work harder for a more united and peaceful world, focusing on massive and respectful Evangelization for the salvation of souls, fighting strongly against all forms of eugenics and the entire Culture of Death, out of pure and genuine love for future generations. It is appalling to see millions of presumably Christian women obsessed with preserving their beauty, desperate to extend just a few years of their own lives at any cost, without getting old (which is a gift from God), while caring absolutely nothing about extending the life, quality of life, or expectancy of life for the future generations.
5.5- Other contemporaneous and amazing scientific data coming up after Monsignor George Lemaitre's Big Bang theory breakthrough, as my final example here (the book will have more), reviews the reality of human "perception of the passage of time." This is an extremely relevant fact that can and will help us better understand the potential true nature of Purgatory, for example, or the potentially possible coincidence of the Final Judgment with the Personal Judgment, just to mention another eschatological related mystery, among others. Let me give a practical example that anyone can relate to: If twin sisters take a long 10-hour trip during the daytime -let's say by airplane- and one of them, very tired, falls asleep immediately, they will perceive the passage of time and the surrounding spatial reality of that same time and space at different levels and rates, despite being twin sisters under the same time, space, and vehicle. Let me try to explain: At the end of the trip, when the fully aware twin wakes up her sister, informing her that they have just arrived, she -still somnolent- will probably ask, in disbelief: "Already? 10 hours? How come? To me, it seems that we just left about one hour ago!" It is because under a deep sleep, for the sake of this improvised example (let's assume), her perception of time was 10 hours by 1, but for her sister, fully awake, the perception of the same passing time was, evidently, 10 hours by 10 hours.
5.6- Now, let's imagine so many cases of people in a coma for months, even years (such Terry Wallis, who became tetraplegic and comatose, followed a tragic accident, miraculously woke up alive after 19 years in a coma! or Jennifer Flewellen of Niles, who woke up from a deep coma five years after her accident!). Evidently, in such cases, under a drastically shorter level of "perception of time and space," since totally dependent on brain functions (just ask any boy who plays video games for hours, that feels like minutes!). Let's think about a hypothetical victim of a horrific accident, in a coma for one year but suddenly able to wake up with relatively normal brain functions, partially healed perhaps because it rewired itself during such long therapy, even recalling the accident moment and its antecedents, after that year in a deep coma. It’s very likely that, after re-gaining basic brain functionalities, he or she would "bet" and dispute his doctor's information that the state of coma persisted for a whole year. If the patient replies to the doctor that the accident happened yesterday, it is because the perception of time and space during the state of coma was, let's say, 365 by 1 (365 days by 1 day). Or the patient may be convinced that the accident happened about one month ago, when in fact it had been 12 months. In the real cases of Jennifer Niles and Terry Wallis cited above, their “perception of [passing] time” were incredibly short: She woke up literally laughing at her mom’s “5 years-old” joke, as if 5 minutes old and freshly understood, so she L.O.L. but 5 years later! Her Facebook account is named "A Miracle in the Making:" https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554133355459 And Mr. Wallis, in 2003, after 19 years in coma, spontaneously awoke and began speaking, recognized his mother, etc., but believed that he was still 20 years-old, and that it was still 1984 (the year of his accident). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Wallis
5.7- The phenomena of suspended animation and cryogenics can also help us to understand that a radical life hiatus, like a temporary or apparent “non-existence equivalence" (therefore much more than mere lack of perception of time), already exists even on Earth. Some snails, for example, can go into their shell and close the hole to keep moisture in, using almost no energy, and hibernate for years without food. The wood frog Rana Sylvatica, when the temperature drops below 32 F, becomes a solid "frogsicle," as referred to, by Wiki: The heart stops, all muscle and breathing movements cease, etc., until the frog thaws out and comes back to life, when temperature goes up above freeze! Even a human being, in his or her embryonic stage can, with current technology, be frozen and kept alive indefinitely (at least theoretically), because the cryopreserved embryos enter a state of suspended animation, like a hiatus in time where there are no biological processes taking place (therefore no aging); and as long as the storage tank remains plugged-in and supplied with liquid nitrogen, those human embryos exist as if "out-of-time," in their cryo-straws, for decades.
5.8- There's no way to describe and much less advance such fascinating reality and its many reasonable hypothetical consequences in a short interview, but let's imagine the obvious, as an initial conclusion for here, based on how the created universe and its astrophysics laws are understood by the unimaginable current levels of scientific knowledge. The now indisputable consensus is that time, space and all matter are, indeed, one hundred percent interconnected realities originating from the Big Bang, and our perception of passing time and space are directly or indirectly related to brain functions. Therefore, after human death, when our immortal souls departed from the body, we humans are no longer under the same laws of time, space, biology, physiology, etc. Moreover, our souls are not only under zero perception of passing time and space, but in reality, are outside space and under zero passing of real-time -since non-existent- and not just "perception" of it. Therefore, it is not only possible but likely that the "exact moment" (equivalent) of death for every and all humans, will coincide -in practical terms- with the resurrection of all bodies during the Apocalyptic “Second Coming” of Jesus, at the End of this World. It doesn't matter if Jesus comes in His glory tomorrow or in a million years. It is completely irrelevant, at least physiologically speaking.
5.9- In other words, not only in practical terms but even in scientific terms (to some extent), at the exact moment of our individual deaths, for all intents and purposes, we will also face, due to bodily resurrection preceded by zero passing of time, at that “same exact” moment, the historical End of the World, the Final Judgment, and the End of Time and Space, in much less time than a blink of an eye, regardless when it will happen. Contemporaneous and inescapable scientifically revealed consequences for future theological and eschatological definitions are profoundly exciting. Actually, like at the time of Galileu, regarding the truth about the Earth, the Church recently also changed official interpretations related, for example, to some aspects of the foundational dogma of Purgatory, now better understood as not a place, but purely spiritual reality, 100% immaterial and mysterious state of distinct "purification-intensities," like being "bearable" bitten by just one "wasp," or instantly knocked down in "agony" by 500 "wasps," at the “same time." Therefore, contrary to previous interpretations, assisted by science (like the recognition that the Earth was round, not flat, after the Galileu controverse), the Church now teaches that Purgatory is not and never was a matter of khronos, never a located space under time lengths, only possible for bodies under astrophysical laws, started with the Big Bang's divinely created Universe, in constant expansion.
5.10- Let’s now try to apply all that, to supernatural Indulgences, for instance, as another example of scientifically enlightened Eschatology, requested at the question (5.): The power and the authority to grant religious Indulgences are a wonderful mystery of Mercy, deeply interconnected with the Communion of the Saints, which is another dogma of the Church. Following the same improvised and obviously precarious “wasp analogy,” used above, a validly granted Indulgencies then would be, evidently, like 300 "less-wasps" intensity kind of Indulgences, instead of 300 “years” less “jail-time” out from the original 500 years guilt sentence, so-to-speaking.
5.11- However, it is very important to note that our human, limited, one-sided only concept of the reality of a single "instant" outside time and space is deeply flawed because a single instant outside time also means, at the “same time," a "perpetual" instant, a never-ending (qualitative, not quantitative) moment, perhaps under distinct kairos (a changeable nature, condition or state). An intriguing mystery, indeed, because a simple Plenary Indulgence, therefore granted from Earth, under time, implies a radical change of status or condition for a Soul, to be no longer in Purgatory state, without the passing of time over there. And since God's Judgement and Purgatory will happen outside space and time, it will, therefore, necessarily, happen at the “same time"! However, within such a "never-ending" moment or "perpetual" instant, Purgatory state can easily be unimaginably horrific if, for instance, under (let’s say) “500 simultaneous wasps" (analogy) spiritual suffering of constant intensity, despite the possibility of a mysterious change of status/condition, spoke above. Nevertheless, the Purgatory state was likely designed out of God’s Mercy, yet created to remain a "horrifically" painful "relational school" of Love and detachment (since refused to learn it on Earth, voluntarily, during life) by the demands of Justice for such eventual individual Souls, in need of intensity level "500" (let’s say), as the only way to be fully beneficial for that particular immortal soul. The merits of the Church, the Holy Masses offered on Earth, the prayerful intercessions of the faithful and, in particular, the fulfillment of devotional observance prescribed as a condition to receive an indulgence, hold the true (divine) power to alleviate or even release these souls from their Purgatory state, keeping the same infinite benefit indispensable for a final and total purification/liberation from sinful pasts, through just (yet mysterious) reparations, with indulgencies.
5.12- From the same scientific sources, we now can and must also deduce the following evidence, previously hidden, and an extremely important distinction affecting souls: I called it "The no-waiting factor." The Church teaches that our human souls, if saved at the moment of death, acquire a new heightened awareness (plus irreversible Beatific Vision, to be fulfilled at the resurrection of bodies) and indeed can intercede for us even from a Purgatory state (likely without the Beatific Vision), because the instant receiving of a new and powerful kind of spiritual knowledge (already proved by some "near-death experiences"). Nonetheless, this does not imply, whatsoever, that they also carried a similar bodily type of perception of the passage of time, which is mostly dependent upon biological and astrophysical laws, but rather the opposite. Regardless of how souls in Heaven or Purgatory may be "looking forward" to the day of the resurrection (the end of the world), to receive their own new glorified human bodies, it does not imply any sense of waiting or anxiety, none at all! It is absolutely impossible for them to “wait,” because they exist outside time, matter, and space. And also impossible the lapse-of-time in itself, since time does not exist outside the framework of the “Big Bang” universe. Thus, the “amount” or the “lapse” of time, figuratively speaking, between any person that passed away yesterday, and another soul that died thousands of years ago, such as our Father Abraham, is exactly the same: zero. As well as among all human souls. That is a major factor and a critical distinction, indispensable to guide the future of a sound understanding of authentic Catholic Eschatology. And this is just the beginning. The list goes on.
6. Gordon: I noted that one of the tentative names for your book includes a risky "ism" (Eschatological Extensionism), or the modified “Eschatological Extension” as a “safer” literary option. Could you comment?
Luis Paul Baron: 6.1- It may be God's Will to use this title, although somewhat culturally risky. We don't know yet, because it is deeply related to a double-mystery so profound, that even Jesus, when asked by His disciples, might have preferred to end the conversation bluntly by saying: Shut-up guys, you don’t know what you are asking about! But He did respond, basically saying: It is not your “business,” it is not even mine, but only my Father’s “business”! (Evidently, He said it in other appropriate words), revealing, again, God the Father absolute Sovereignty also within the Holy Trinity (that’s the second mystery). In addition, this will be a Manifesto for an “Eschatological Extensionism,” and not just a mere calendar-date extension silly petition for the “End of Times,” because it is a comprehensive “seed-doctrine” entrusted by God as an essential part of the charism for our nascent religious community. It should hopefully help our Church to generate and reach a higher Catholic spirituality platform in the future, to be carefully protected by our Church live Magisterium united with future Popes, finetuning and correcting it from gradual heretical contaminations and/or enemies infiltrations, inevitable to any good Catholic spirituality, otherwise it could sadly become a cult like faction, or a new sectary group within the Church, tragically like so many, throughout the history.
6.2- In other words, it is an ambitious ASAP project (but no strict due date), because I'm trying to write even more than just a [to be later considered] “contemporaneous” group petition on behalf of my future religious community for Peace, protection against self-extinction (nuclear war, etc.), including spiritual suggestions for fellow Christians deeply interested in "raising" their own "bars," in their personal level of responsibilities and holiness. Moreover, as another intention, we hope to inspire future generations to plan and act in accordance with Catholic Social Teachings and all other official Catholic Doctrines with a very long vision in mind, looking ahead in terms of millenniums, never more only in terms of centuries or even worse, in terms of decades, as done by previous generations. Important caveats and other related critical nuances will need to be learned from the reading of our Constitutional’s Glossary entries #9, #20 and #23 (eBook: JoAnLab.net/OpenBook).
6.3- Also, the suffix "ism," when attached to a proper name, does not necessarily imply -ipso facto- an evil "ideology," despite the current (and, in my opinion, necessary) negative connotation it carries due to the many horrific evils generated by major ideologies throughout history. As an illustration, it is sufficient to say that the word "Catholicism" ends with "ism," yet only the ignorant or dishonest people would confuse the creator of the Christian Civilization with an evil ideology. Besides, regardless of its name, haters, fundamentalists, and some enemies of the Church will always find-out or make-up excuses to bash it, anyway, under any name. It’s going on for two thousand years. It’s like someone trying, again and again, presumptuously, for two thousand years, to cut or destroy the best fruit tree out from the community “orchard-backyard,” simply because he/she personally dislike it, don’t understand it, or “saw” some good-generated fruits from that tree, that later became corrupted, without [wanting to] realizing it is the only indestructible “Tree” out there!
7. Gordon: The recent "Amoris Laetitia" apostolic exhortation pleaded for a strong and more intense preparation of young couples for marriage and called for the whole Church to be involved and help in such an urgent effort. Would your proposed pastoral emphasis on the couple's spirituality, named "Conjugality," also be able to help or add a new valuable methodology for better preparation of couples for the sacrament of Matrimony?
Luis Paul Baron: 7.1- As we all know, the institution of the Natural Family is under serious attack on several distinct levels, worldwide. It seems that the now ubiquitous scourge of divorce was just the beginning, only the first of many others (i.e., now it is possible to rent a "dad" for a couple of years or pay for a surrogate mother to carry an IVF baby for an intended gay couple!). The need for proper formation for a lifelong and blessed sacramental marriage is not only an urgent but a gigantic challenge that should have been addressed much earlier, with many more indispensable chastity programs, deeper awareness of Natural Family Planning (NFP) options, Theology of the Body formation, and, above all, stronger preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation, as the foundational support for all Christian vocations. Our proposed "Conjugality" spirituality can help immensely not only the formation of new couples preparing for the sacrament of marriage, but also many couples who are already married, whether in crisis or in good health.
7.2- As a glimpse, here I may share what I wrote at the end of that essay, mentioning some practical results, that came from my pastoral experience under the Conjugality Methodology: “… Throughout the years, Conjugality" gradually revealed itself to be a "mother-lode" of precious but very practical pastoral arguments and insights, powerful enough to enlighten even bitter spiritual directness (by the hundreds), bringing real hope for deep healing, plus a didactical step-by-step spiritual path of conversion from years of indifference and hate, to gradual "Conjugality." And to some, after passing through the essential steps, like the "Parent-child indirect-love" step, like the daughter-in-law vs. son-in-law's "competition" of love step, etc., the excellence in Christian Parenthood can happen in a matter of weeks, even for 'single' parents.
7.3- It is critically essential to first rescue the mystery and power of marital unity (Matt.:19-6: ...So they are no longer two, but "One Flesh") as a kind of virtual "third person": The Couple," Mr. & Mrs. "One," when mothers, then, automatically and silently 'say' to their children "whenever you see me, you see your father," and vice-versa. Therefore, I'm deeply certain, also by lived experience, that a "Conjugal Pastoral" should precede any Family Pastoral, or at the very least become the strategic and mandatory first step of any smart Family Pastoral Program, one that is genuinely committed to both quality and measurable results. To learn more, we invite you to read the summary essay available at Conjugality.info
Gordon: Thank you for taking the time to share with our readers your personal inspiring insights into some of our greatest challenges.
Luis Paul Baron: You are welcome, Gordon. I also want to thank you and your organization for this meaningful opportunity. May God bless your work and ministry, abundantly. Let's not forget to pray for each other and, together, for our Church and the whole Human Family.
For our readers who wish to learn more about Bld. Charles de Foucauld, Ven. Chiara Lubich, Fr. George Lemaitre, or the basic principles of the "Conjugality" spirituality, among other serious issues addressed during the interview, here are some links:
The largest collection of videos (100) about Charles de Foucauld in 6 languages:
