Question: What’s the closest thing to Hell freezing over? Answer: a black pastor praising western civilization for “bringing Africa out of the darkness” in front of a Catholic congregation in Berkeley, California. Even more amazing, this was no ordinary congregation. It was the Newman Center; the church that is the official designated home of the U.C. Berkeley Catholic community, and one where a former Chancellor of the entire 10 campus U.C. system was in the audience along with a substantial contingent of faculty, administrators and alumni. In short, a representative sampling of the people who made and make ‘Berkeley’ synonymous with the far left, and ones who are very much used to living – whether at church or on campus -- in a very comfortable echo chamber.

So, when Father Joseph Ekpo, visiting from Nigeria, uttered those sentiments as an introduction to his after-gospel homily, the collective eyebrows raised among that vanguard elite were likely strong enough to levitate the roof several feet.

Fr. Ekpo preaching at the Newman Center (YouTube screengrab)

For according to the catechism of the new left, it’s a red flag to use such a triggering word like ‘darkness’ to describe Africa, and a downright mortal sin for a BIPOC - black indigenous person of color - to say anything positive about western civ and the dreaded white patriarchal male; especially the missionaries, who they charge with the destruction of indigenous cultures and with them, the ‘noble savage’ they idolize. For nominally Christian, such leftists may be even more so acolytes of the church of Jean Jacques Rousseau and his proto and neo-Marxist college of saints. Accordingly, in the wake of the George Floyd riots they hoisted a 30 foot long “Black Lives Matter” banner across the church entrance and kept it there for well over a year; long after the revolutionary communist aims and virulently anti-Catholic, anti-American and anti-family proclivities of this group- to say nothing of their scandalous self-enrichment schemes - were well known.

However, on this day the banner was gone, the welcome mat was out and so Father Joe proceeded to make the unabashed case that the introduction of Christianity by the western missionaries was a singular force for enlightenment and good on his continent. It brought about, not only a religious awakening to the one true faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but a societal revolution that unleashed the power and potential of all people who were seen to be made in the image and likeness of God. Education and rights for women and all classes was extended and an ethos of service, rather than entitlement among the country’s elite was initiated and is progressing with noticeably positive results in a country that is plagued with economic and social problems we in the West can scarcely imagine.

So, strike one was made against a prevailing nostrum of the left. Father Joe torpedoed the foundation of Critical Race Theory by clearly spelling out that Christianity was a liberating, rather than enslaving force in Africa, as it was for the founding of America. And mind you, this testimony had the added authenticity of coming ‘from the hood’; that is, from an actual third world black man, rather than some pampered academic first world princess or princeling play acting a part of the imaginary oppressed.

Continuing, he proceeded to level strike two by giving a resounding cheer for capitalism and the goodness of America. With disarming earnestness, he urged us to get down on our knees every day and thank God for the great blessing of being born in this decent, bountiful country; a country made affluent by its foundational Christian heritage. “When you enter a Walgreens or a CVS and see that sea of medicines, I want you to thank the Lord that you are able to get these blessings, where those in my country routinely die and are disabled for want of such things.” The Christian virtue of gratitude was an overriding message. Yes, he fervently assured us, more than once, that God had truly blessed America. In hearing this I couldn’t help but think about the left’s favorite president – Barack Obama - and what his Pastor Reverend Wright thought God’s judgment on America was. The contrast was jarring. The cognitive dissonance was building.

Then, it was on to strike three, which was surely the most painful and incriminating part of his homily, especially for a left that has steadfastly looked to bury the revelation of such monstrous undertakings. He told us about Boko Haram. He began with the innocuous observation that for most of our congregation, our biggest concern was getting out of mass quickly so we could go home to eat brunch, go jogging or watch the game. He quickly added however, that for Catholics in his country, their biggest concern when they went to mass is whether they will ever see their homes again at all.

From here he told us, in riveting, eye watering detail the murderous atrocities that the above-mentioned Islamic terror group regularly visits on Nigeria’s Christians. He was careful to say that not all Muslins in his land were terrorists, but he spared no details in chronicling the horrific savagery of those who are; specifically, how they focus on blowing up churches. I recall his words as I remember them. You can go to this link for video of the actual text:

“Most recently, they have elevated their cruelty in this regard. They have started to single out the hungry children in the villages and ask them: ‘Would you like some food?’ Of course, the children say yes, and they give them a little bit. Then they fasten the suicide belts around them, place a new garment over them and tell them to go into the church. ‘We will give you some more food when you come out’ they promise. Once inside and with the congregation at its peak, they detonate the bombs, blowing everyone up as the church collapses.”

Tears streaming down his face, he bore on with the weight of the world on his shoulders, but the righteousness of the murdered dead in his heart and on his lips. Railing to heaven he screamed: “What kind of God implores you to murder innocent children? What kind of God rewards such vicious inhumanity?”

Finally, he directed his fury right over the home target and brought up that most inconvenient of truths. He forcefully indicted the cowardice and corruption of a politically correct western media that, to preserve its ‘fantasy of a faultless other’, has refused to properly inform the world and condemn the Islamic genocide being carried out against African Christians. “Why is no one in the western media speaking out about this? Why the double standard?” he bellowed. Clearly, this was a thinly veiled indictment against all of those sitting in the pews who have made Berkeley the epicenter for PC: that skewed, self-hating ideology.

The congregation was dumbstruck, stunned. And yet, there was more than a smattering of applause as the good Father concluded his searing message. Was a nerve struck? Were hearts truly changed among those who are not committed leftists, for surely there were more than a few of such present? Who knows. Searching for clues, I looked over at the Chancellor from time to time and detected a certain discomfort as he scratched himself, rolled his head, averted his eyes and looked up to the ceiling. Was he truly pierced thru the heart by this noble priest’s blistering words and on his way to atonement? Or was he, more ominously, invoking a darker power and asking: “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?”

We do not know the inner workings of his soul. But then again, there’s no need to count on a Pauline conversion among such commissars of the regime to save us. For we who have eyes and noses can see and smell the momentum of the battle starting to turn ever more clearly, from the ground up. With foot soldiers and fighting generals -- people such as Bishop Robert Barron, Jordan Peterson, Tucker Carlson and local eminences such as Father Ekpo -- we see a new wave of heroes emerging world-wide who have the mind, heart, skills and spirit to move mountains, take the fight to the enemy and save what is best and brightest in our patrimony. May we have the courage of our convictions to join them.