As 2012 began, our Bishop of Peoria issued a teaching document that, let’s face it, didn’t have the most grab-your-interest title: “Secularism.” But the days that followed its Jan. 8 release make Bishop Jenky seem like a prophet, and his teaching more of a must-read than ever.

The bishop, you recall, warned of a political reality that is increasingly hostile to the convictions of our Catholic faith. What’s happened since? Here’s just a sample.

On Jan. 19, Pope Benedict XVI echoed many of the same warnings in a talk to visiting U.S. bishops. “Radical secularism,” he said, threatens the core values of American culture, and he called on the church in America to render “public moral witness” on crucial social issues.

The next day came the Obama administration regulations requiring Catholic institutions to offer insurance programs providing abortifacients, sterilization, and contraceptive services. The resulting protest over religious liberty threats still dominates the news.

At the Grammy awards last week, singer Nicki Minaj gave a performance highly offensive to Catholics. In California, courts overturned a ban on same-sex marriage voted by citizens. Less than a week later, Washington became the seventh state where same-sex marriage is legal.

In his festival letter, Bishop Jenky called faithful Catholics to more assertive action in defense of our religion and its public ministries. A good first step would be to read his prophetic teaching, if you have yet to do so. It’s online at href=”http://www.cdop.org/pdfs/festival/DRJFestivalLetter2012.pdf” target=”_blank”>Secularism, and available at your parish. — Thomas J. Dermody