Secular Bandaids on Civilizational Hemorrhage: Heritage Foundation’s Futile Family Fixation
Secular Bandaids on Civilizational Hemorrhage: Heritage Foundation’s Futile Family Fixation
Catholic News Agency reports that the Heritage Foundation, led by former Wyoming Catholic College President Kevin Roberts, released policy proposals titled "Saving America by Saving the Family" on January 12, 2026. The document advocates financial incentives like $2,500 marriage bonuses for couples marrying before 30, $2,000 childcare credits, and elimination of "marriage penalties" in welfare programs. Roberts claims the Trump administration will support these measures to reverse collapsing marriage and fertility rates, boasting of congressional support while admitting minimal Democratic engagement. This technocratic prescription for civilizational collapse ignores the divine cure required.
Naturalism as Substitute for Supernatural Order
The report's core error lies in treating family collapse as a mechanical policy failure rather than spiritual apostasy. By proposing tax credits and welfare reforms as primary solutions, Heritage reduces marriage to a contractual arrangement (cf. Pope Leo XIII's Arcanum, 1880) rather than recognizing it as a sacramental participation in Christ's union with His Church. Pius XI condemned such naturalism in Casti Connubii (1930): "No human law can abolish the natural and primitive right of marriage, nor in any way limit the chief and principal purpose of marriage ordained by God's authority from the beginning." The $2,000 "at-home childcare credit" instrumentalizes childrearing as economic productivity, disregarding the primary duty of parents to form souls for eternity.
"We believe that this first foray into family policy by Heritage will not only cause a real important national conversation but one that also improves the discussion" in the U.S. Congress.
Roberts' confidence in congressional "conversations" exposes the report's theological bankruptcy. The Social Reign of Christ the King (Quas Primas, 1925) remains unmentioned, replaced by faith in political dealmaking. Nowhere does Heritage acknowledge that no legislation can compensate for society's rejection of the sacramental order. Pius XI warned in Ubi Arcano Dei (1922) that states ignoring divine law become "shaken to their foundations"—precisely America's condition after decades of no-fault divorce, contraception, and abortion legalization.
The Omission of Grace and Ecclesial Authority
Heritage's plan commits the Modernist error of substituting social science for sacramental theology. While documenting nonmarital birth rates (40%) and single-parent households (25%), the report never identifies the cause: systemic rejection of sanctifying grace. The proposed "Newlywed Early Starters Trust" ($2,500 bonuses) echoes Henry VIII's attempts to manipulate marriage demographics rather than St. Paul's exhortation that marriage reflects "the great sacrament… Christ and the Church" (Eph 5:32). The $17,670 adoption tax credit per child ignores the Church's teaching that procreation must flow from sacramental unity, not financial calculation.
Nowhere does Heritage acknowledge the Magisterium's irreplaceable role in forming consciences. Contrast this with Pope Pius XI's mandate: "Governments can assist the Church… but they can never substitute themselves for her" (Divini Illius Magistri, 1929). By promoting "state competition" for family policies, Heritage empowers civil authorities to usurp the Church's God-given jurisdiction over marriage—precisely the error condemned in the Syllabus of Errors (1864): "The entire government of public schools belongs to civil authority" (Proposition 45).
Symptomatic Silence on Moral Cataclysms
The report' glaring omissions reveal its complicity with cultural decay. While lamenting fertility decline, it never mentions contraception—condemned as "shameful and intrinsically vicious" in Casti Connubii. No reference appears to no-fault divorce, despite Leo XIII's teaching that marriage "cannot be dissolved by the will of man" (Arcanum). The "work requirements" for welfare recipients disregard Pius XI's warning against reducing laborers to "material prosperity" while ignoring their spiritual needs (Quadragesimo Anno, 1931).
"Unless reversed, deaths will soon outpace births, reshaping the American family from a source of abundance into a scarcity of both parents and children."
This demographic fatalism stems from Naturalism's rejection of grace. Contrast Heritage's despair with Pius XII's counsel: "Where the morals of a nation are sound, the demographics will right themselves" (Address to Midwives, 1951). Heritage seeks "safety net reform" through executive orders, forgetting that no civil law can restore what divine law has been denied. As the Syllabus declares: "The Church has not the power of using force" (Proposition 24)—but neither may the state pretend to heal wounds only the sacraments can cure.
Conclusion: The King Demands His Throne
Roberts boasts that Heritage provides "policy proposals [Congress] can chew on," but these are sawdust compared to the Eucharistic banquet. Until America kneels before Christ the King—publicly honoring His reign through laws conforming to Catholic truth—all "family policies" remain Satanic parodies. Let policymakers study Pius XI's remedy: "When all men shall look upon Jesus Christ as King… [then] sweet peace will reign again" (Quas Primas). Heritage's secular fiddling while Rome burns only accelerates civilization's immolation.
Source:
Heritage Foundation aims to tackle marriage, family crisis (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 12.01.2026